In the early 1990's, back when Saturday Night Live (SNL) was still funny, there was a sexually ambiguous character named Pat.
The reoccurring sketch revolved around Pat's friends and co-workers trying to figure out whether Pat is a man or a woman and failing. Here, in a 1991 sketch about Pat's office birthday party, Pat's coworkers attempt to sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" but end up singing "For Pat's a Jolly Good Person," after hilariously failing to figure out Pat's gender.
This is pretty funny stuff that, of course, would never air today in our ultra-politically-correct culture of preferred gender pronouns.
Jill Soloway, the creator of the TV-show "Transparent" thinks this is a good thing. In a panel on transgenderism in television sponsored by GLAAD at the Television Critics Association, Soloway said that the Pat Sketch was "a hateful thing to do."
"The idea of pointing at a person and laughing because they were nonbinary? We didn't realize it at the time, but looking back, what an awful piece of anti-trans propaganda that was handed out for years," said Soloway.
Did Soloway just assume that Pat Riley identified as "non-binary?" Pat probably didn't, as that was not a term used back in the 1990's.
Also, I wouldn't say that audiences were laughing at Pat, per se. Pat's coworkers and friends are always trying to help Pat out, whether it's a barber giving Pat a haircut, Pat's coworkers trying to figure out how to address Pat, or a fitness instructor attempting to figure out what kind of body Pat is going for.
The hilarity comes from the other characters helplessly flailing around, trying to figure out Pat's gender without hurting his/her/their feelings. It is actually a pretty poignant illustration of what many co-workers and friends do in 2017 when trying not to offend a person who doesn't adhere to gender norms.
If SNL made the Pat sketch in 2017, Pat would announce their preferred pronouns as "they, their and them" at the very beginning, and then the sketch would be over. Where is the comedy in that?
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