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#I get it mtfs are more loved and get more representation
fawnduu · 7 months
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Follow up on the part one of the Louie trans question! (Same writer. Hi! You can call me goose.) I figured, and I love the name Louie. I’m glad there’s some representation for preferred names for your own comfort, because of gender stuff or not :)
I more meant is she MTF ? I have a good friend who’s MTF and who’s going to be buying watchdog because she’s a trans lesbian and wants to know if my dragon girlfriend has some MTF characters because she’s always happy to see some MTF and T4T rep! by the way, watch dog looks AMAZING! im not sure if I’m able to get it yet but I am getting big cats soon! your work is awesome, seriously! 🪿 I can’t wait to get my hands on the physical copy of big cats
OH! Sorry I meant to include Louie is AFAB!
Olive (the vampire) is MTF, a trans lesbian and definitely a fan favorite (and of course I love her too <3).
Once again thank you for all the compliments! It is genuinely such a joy to get to work on all of these comics.
Lynx from Big Cats is also trans but she gets essentially NO screen time in the first book. It's the Boss and Ty show.
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mademoiselle-red · 6 months
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Reading the Renault fandom dissertation, part 2
An academic decided to write about us, online fans of Mary Renault’s works, for her phd dissertation in 2018, and as the subject of her research, I will be covering & commenting on what she wrote over a series of posts this weekend ✍️📑
(You can read part 1 here, as well as part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6)
Here is part 2. We resume with more theorizing about the audience of BL and Renault’s works, towards the end. [Content warning for transphobia]
“the premise of BL remains the same: a fantasy genre that resists social and political consequences of its desires and representations. Not only has BL not evolved into a “queer” genre or subculture, but contrary to recent critiques, BL in fact operates on the very opposite end of what queer represents and aspires to achieve in current academic and activist climates”
Idk man, BL is a part of my experience of queer culture. Queer culture isn’t all activism and parties with academics. BL and slash fandoms are, as of right now, my preferred means of participating in queer culture, in a community of queer and straight women and men.
“Participation in a subculture such as Boys’ Love involves similar combinations of consumption, recreation, and circulation, but it also entails affective engagement with the material through fantasizing, socializing, and fantasizing socially with other fans. This affective engagement of BL fans is central to my argument about BL not just as a mode of reading but also as a rerouting of sociality through fantasy: women (re)creating and exchanging fantasies about love between men generates a unique subculture where male homoeroticism consolidates female homosocial/homoerotic bonding.”
You are so close to getting it (for some of us!). Like, I actually met my girlfriend through BL/slash fandom, so it’s definitely also “homosexual” bonding for me 🥰
“BL fans use the self-deprecating term “rotten” to describe themselves because they recognize what they practice—erotic fantasy that involves gender and sexual others—to be an abnormal and unseemly business. This is what ultimately distinguishes BL from “gay literature” despite their formal resemblance”
Ah yes, because gay lit wasn’t stigmatized at all. Ever. 🙄
When discussing BL and queerness, the author asks:
“Can a genre with creators and readers of heteronormative identities and where the depiction of sexual dissidence is predicated on the erasure, even denigration of those identities be “queer”?”
Which is again making lots of assumptions about the creators’ and readers’ identities!
“In addition to the concern with relationality within the text, another form of relationality exists outside, or more accurately, across the BL text. Joanna Russ’ famous epithet for slash—“pornography by women, for women, with love”—already hints at the erotic potential that slash facilitates for the relationship between women. In a genre where women produce erotic content expressly with women readers in mind, and where the readers are then inspired to adapt, recreate, and generate new erotic fantasies that energize the community at large, it is limiting to define the women involved as heterosexual simply by their relationship with the male figures on the page.”
Yes! I agree! WHY DON’T YOU JUST ASK US IF WE ARE QUEER??? We know from later chapters that you were lurking around tumblr 👀👀👀
“Arguments about fujoshi as a sexual identity rather than a taste have been made before about fujoshi as a transgender identity, in the sense that they are “gay men trapped in a woman’s body.” The argument is first made by Sakakibara Shihomi, who is herself a writer of novels with BL themes. In Yaoi genron: yaoi kara mieta mono [Yaoi theory of fantasy: what yaoi reveals] (1998), Sakakibara made the bold claim that herself included, many yaoi (BL) fans are in fact psychologically MTF gay men, and yaoi fantasy is the medium through which they project both their desire and their discomfort with their bodies.”
Cites a trans man who writes BL because he is gay. Proceeds to dismiss and misgender him. 🤦‍♀️
“In her discussion of BL as a virtual lesbian community, Mizoguchi does not emphasize the significance of the textual fantasy being exchanged as male homosexual. Indeed, it could be argued that any community where women create erotic content for women is a virtual lesbian community. But as stated above, the unique lack of distinction between creator and consumer in BL subculture allows the relationship between participants to be more of an exchange than a unidirectional reception. […] In terms of creating erotic content, a community of women who produce lesbian erotica with women audience in mind is more likely a matter-of-fact lesbian community—there is neither anything “virtual” about its lesbianism nor any need to theorize it as lesbian.”
Acknowledges that queer women who create and exchange sexual fantasies with other women may be engaging in a form of lesbian flirting. Proceeds to tell us we are Doing Lesbianism Wrong. 🤦‍♀️
“In the following chapters, I examine literary texts that have not previously been read in the context of fantasy, much less in the context of BL—women’s fantasy of male homoeroticism. Placing the pleasure back in moving across identity categories, in restoring the continuum between homosociality and homosexuality, in disidentification and desubjectivation, and in the line of flight from the here and now, I examine the writings of and about Mary Renault and Marguerite Yourcenar through their relationality with otherness.”
A yes, two bi women in lifelong committed lesbian relationships are great examples of heteronormative women writing “non-gay” BL.
[edit: A comment pointed out to me that Renault never said she was bi. We only have evidence that she did not identify with the “lesbian” label.]
And that concludes the “introductory” chapters, where the author laid out her central arguments, methodology, and analytical frameworks. In the next part, we will focus on the “fun” bit: the chapters specifically about Renault and her fandom 👀
More in part 3
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kura-lee · 10 months
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It's gay pride month so here's a small list of who falls under the umbrella in No Future and how that relates to the character and or story.
The Already Announced in the Story Crew Andrew (bi/pan) - Our lead character, gets a crush on a guy and discovers he's bi/pan (identifies as bi first, then pan later) so he generally goes through the 'why can't I just be a normal gay (is there such a thing Andrew?? think about that)? Why do I have to like both?" As well as not wanting to come out to his family because he's very close to his family and is terrified of losing that closeness.
Hannah (mtf trans lesbian) - One of the first friends Andrew manages to make. She's in general very comfortable at presenting herself in the way she is most comfortable, and she has a father who is supportive of her (but he's also... very clunky when it comes to it) There are some bumps that Hannah goes through in regards to her living her truth but she's always managed to get over them as the support from her friends really helps boost her drive (and yes, her clunky dad is helpful as well even though he isn't the best at dealing with this issues) Nick (gay) - Starts as an antagonist but gets a redemption arc. Is in love with Daisuke, one of the few friends he has at school. Always pretty open about his orientation, but doesn't have a very supportive family, him being open about being gay generally a way to spite or embarrass his father. Though his dad generally ignores it in the sense of 'it's not real if I don't acknowledge it.
Daisuke (gay) - More of an antagonist by association with Nick that encourages Nick's redemption arc. Is generally not as open as Nick about his sexuality. Won't deny it but also will not confirm it. Is not a fan of PDA at all but is actually a huge romantic. Which is frustrating for him because Nick is not romantic at all and treats their relationship more casually.
Osiris (asexual) - Struggles with wanting to be in romantic relationships, but doesn't enjoy being sexual at all. So just tries to stay out of relationships in general out of fear that he will be disappointment to his partners. Generally isn't open about his sexuality and tries to avoid talking about it if he can, as it usually leads to complicated conversations. Is the guy that Andrew is crushing on.
Set (bisexual disaster) - Osiris's brother, the opposite of Osiris when it comes to sexual relationships. Does not fear relationships and actively partakes in them but does fear committing to them. Very open, not shy, thrives on his own ego and thus talking about himself which often includes his own sexual endeavors. Doesn't care that he is the negative bi representation that bisexuals hate.
Nāga (intersex, they/them pronouns, feminine presenting) - Likes to cause trouble on purpose. They don't really mention being intersex in the comic but they are always correcting people when the wrong pronouns are used. Sexuality is generally something they're still discovering, but it hasn't been gotten into very much at this point in the story.
Shayle and Lilly (lesbians) - Lorelei's moms, minor characters but very prominent in Lorelei's life. Shayle is a very outspoken feminist who is constantly supporting Lorelei with 'strong women' narratives and though she is work orientated, is very involved with making sure Lorelei is able to live her best life. Lilly is less feminist driven and a little more easy going on such topics, she's a gamer who really likes collecting physical copies of games, she's also disabled and wheelchair bound.
The Not Sure What But it An't Straight Crew
Era - Not too sure where he would fall somewhere under the bi umbrella, but he's married to a god that can 'change her genders at will', and regardless of her form he will roll with it.
Abaddon/War/Conquest/Famine - All 4 of these siblings can change their gender from male to female, usually at will. Abaddon mostly sticks to a female form when among the cast, but generally will change form dependent on what is most comfortable to the spirit she is reaping. War has been known to use both male and female forms, but will still use male pronouns when in his female form. Conquest is mostly seen in female form, as she enjoys the 'girl boss' feeling. Famine is generally in the middle, preferring to be 'all genders' at the same time, and will respond to any pronouns.
The Spoilers Crew
Lorelei/Eli (ftm transgender gay) - Lorelei at this point in the story presents as female, but is going through the confusing process of understanding the feelings of 'feeling like I'm actually a boy' and the complications announcing such a thing might cause. Eventually, he do start the journey to be more open and comfortable in his own skin.
Gióng (aro/ace) - Has actually shown up in the comic already, but has not been introduced / given his 'part of the cast' role yet (soon, or well... as soon as comics will allow, they take a very long time to draw) Not interested in romance or sex. He's very open about mentioning or admitting his disinterest as well as lack of experience in both. A close friend of Osiris.
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Mizuki and Ambiguity
i know first hand just how important queer rep is in media, especially in japanese media where its even more rare than it is in the west. transmasc rep is after all, virtually non-existent in almost any media... i know how desperate people can get for that rep as well, with how much shipping and headcanons have burrowed their home within the online queer community.
HOWEVER, the way people have been going about the representation that mizuki brings to project sekai is...incredibly questionable. it’s very clear that the whole thing is run by a bunch of teenagers on tiktok and twitter, and that’s quite the opposite of a compliment. They’re clawing at this rep with their bare, grubby little chronically-online fingers, and by doing so COMPLETELY dodging the whole point of mizuki as a character.
mizuki’s gender being unknown is 100% a marketing tactic, almost purely for the debate and excitement that comes with it. they want us to argue about it, they want us to think up ideas for what mizuki’s secret could be. and this is exactly why only gender-neutral language is used for mizuki, and while their only canon pronoun is ‘boku’, they/them is used to replace this neutral language, since the language structure wouldn’t make sense in english without pronouns (any translations of she/her in the english version are mistranslations, some people assume that certain characters misgender mizuki on accident or that mizuki uses they/she pronouns, but this isn’t true) because using he or she would completely ruin the secret from the start. this also causes people to assume mizuki is canonically non-binary, which is also not true. or well, we don’t know. mizuki uses they/them because their gender is unknown, not because they canonically use they/them pronouns.
japanese media has a knack for making accidentally (or sometimes purposely, idk) queer-coded characters without actually making them queer. this is seen most commonly with ‘trap’ characters, which are essentially biological boys, who identify as boys, but who look or appear to be a girl. sometimes a gender-related issue is hinted, but other times it’s just them choosing how they present themselves. this can cause a lot of confusion with exactly who is meant to be queer-coded and who isn’t, especially because some of these characters don’t exactly correct people when they misgender them (Ex. chihiro fujisaki and luka urushibara who are often headcanoned as transfem/MTF do this) and some people get REALLY MAD if you just stick with calling them boys. coding is super finicky in this sense, especially with how fluid and confusing gender tends to be even in real life. these characters could be transfem as much as they could be boys who don’t mind being called girls, an enby who uses all pronouns, or basically any form of individual outside of the stereotypical binary, whether they’re actually queer or not.
and now we come full circle back to mizuki akiyama from project sekai. a character who initially looks like a girl, but has no gendered language used on them, has multiple events focusing them dealing with a mysterious identity related issue that is never outright explained, and some ‘secret’ that they keep from the rest of their groupmates. from backstory cutscenes, which have them appearing more masculine in presentation, its pretty safe to assume that they’re biologically male. this is a widely agreed fact, but the issue arises with their gender identity. the most common headcanon is that mizuki is transfem, either non-binary or MTF, and canonically uses they/them pronouns. the existence of non-binary characters who aren’t some aliens or robots is already VERY rare in anime, even more so than gender-conforming trans characters are; it is highly unlikely that they’d have a transfem character who chooses to use they/them, as the concept of gender ≠ pronouns is fairly new to the public in general. In fact, I’ve only ever seen this ONCE in any form of media, in a manga called Love Me for Who I Am, which is an explicitly queer story surrounding multiple trans characters, including the main love interest, who is transfem, biologically male and presenting completely feminine, AND uses they/them pronouns, insisting multiple times that they don’t feel like they fit either side of the gender binary.
japanese media kind of dances around the idea of trans people, but dips into it just enough for there to be somewhat well-known trans characters in multiple mainstream anime, games or manga. grell from black butler, magne from my hero academia, arashi from ensemble stars, alluka from hunter x hunter etc. now this representation isn’t really good by any means, a lot of it played for a gag type thing or just not really developed, and all of them are misgendered at some point by other characters. so while its not very good representation, transfem rep does very well exist in anime. the common thing to happen with this characters is one of two things. 1. they or others close to them refer to them by their preferred pronouns from the beginning, and we only find out they’re trans because of separate characters misgendering them at some point. or 2. they start out pre-transition and we witness them do some form of ‘coming out’.
mizuki is a very special case, because they don’t actually fit into either of these categories. 1. mizuki isn’t referred to by any pronouns from the beginning (even in their backstory scenes, no gendered-language is used) and 2. if mizuki is trans, they would’ve started out post-transition and in the closet. i’m sure this has happened somewhere but i truthfully have never seen it.
while it is, again, definitely a marketing tactic, i do believe that mizuki does have a purpose. project sekai is a silly little rhythm game, but it goes over a lot of serious topics that surround teenage life. like any other character in project sekai, mizuki is supposed to be relatable. nightcord as a whole is a huuuge progressive step for representation of mental health, which is also a very taboo thing in japan, they even canonically use discord of all things. nightcord represents the mentally ill part of teenagehood, the rep for kids with anxiety, depression, or any other disorders. the part that mizuki plays is for people who are outcasted from society for being different in the way they present. mizuki is for the people who think matching is overrated, mizuki is for the people who can express who they are with the way they dress because they can’t do it with words, mizuki is for the transfems, the transmascs, the enbies, mizuki is for the boys who like dresses and the girls who like suits, mizuki is for the people that refuse to look how society insists they should look.
mizuki’s gender really doesn’t matter that much. whether they end up a girl or a boy or anything in between. like any piece of media, anything can have multiple interpretations from many different, funky little human brains. because that’s the thing with the unknown, is that people will always try to fill that space up with something. and if your conclusion is that mizuki is non-binary? awesome! you think mizuki is MTF? that’s lovely! you think they’re a boy who simply likes being cute? that’s great also! even if you think mizuki is transmasc, feeling masculine on the inside doesn’t always mean being masculine on the outside too! they, he, she? all fine!
mizuki is just mizuki, and i think that’s a wonderful sentiment on its own.
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yikes077 · 1 year
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Musical Review- Moulin Rogue
Possible Spoilers!
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I know it’s been a while since I posted a review, but here we go.
For those of your who don’t know me personally, I am quite the musical fan. I have had the amazing opportunity to see many different shows in theaters and feel the music swell up inside of me. Recently, I was blessed to see Moulin Rouge in London and it was just fantastic!
I went into the show without a clue of songs, plot, anything, which is quite uncommon for me, but also a good thing as I don’t think I would have even bought a ticket if I knew. I, like many musical fans, am very critical of jukebox musicals. It feels like the pop songs take away from the set, dialogue, costumes, and it just seems forced. But the way that they mixed the songs and the tunes blended just enough that it still had an authentic musical feel and didn’t destroy the other aspects of the show.
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Another thing that would have killed my interest is the plot, or lack thereof. Boiled down it’s just the old play with in a play where the fake play just reflects the actual play, the love triangle that’s barely a triangle, and the war between love and money, where they must make the man with money the most comically evil person to make a proper argument against the money. And don’t even get me started how they used a women as the object of two men’s desire, before killing her off. All ideas that are almost dull at this point.
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The show’s saving grace were the costumes and the actors that managed to shine through despite all the possible faults. Every set and stage move had me breathless, it looked amazing.
I love the more technical parts of a musical, costumes and stage mechanics are my bread and butter, and this satisfied my thirst. In the past I have often seen traveling musicals, ones that come and go for the theater after a period of time, but being able to see the permanent part of the stage, like the windmills in the molding, the added length of stage around the audience, and the lights hanging above me, were just visually stunning. The way that they pulled off a few of the costume changes just fed my little musical nerd heart.
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I also feel like there should be an honorable mention for the way that the show failed the bechdel test, though you almost wouldn’t notice. Just because most of the show seemed to be a white man from america screwing over French minorities, there was a fantastic amount of diversity. Women, though most in nothing but corsets, were definitely front and center, managing to pull off some decent dynamic female characters. Also, the amount of queer coded, and actually queer, characters was awesome. Not only was there a MtF drag dressing character (who was not mentioned in any plot or synopsis I could find, but was very much a part of the show) and but there was also a relationship between Henry and one of the male dancers, which I also don’t know it is apart of every show or just the one I saw. The male dancer that Henry had a situationship with ended up being the one who betrayed Statine and Christian, allowing not just for queer characters but multi faceted queer characters, which will always get a round of applause from me, no matter how small. It reminded me that not everything has to be saying something. The musical wasn’t “woke” and it didn’t have “an agenda” it was just a good time with good representation that wasn’t super in your face, but also wasn’t hidden into the background, which I think important to display in media. That kind of diversity is something that should always be showcased in musical theater, and I’m happy that it was.
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Overall, I had a fun time. I’m glad that I was able to give the show a chance, and even if it wasn’t a deep, world stopping commentary, or a huge diversity win, it was a good show. I enjoyed myself, and it did remind me it’s okay to just enjoy a show with cool costumes and an awesome set. Even though I might still feel like jukebox musicals are a little lazy, sometimes it’s nice to just know the songs.
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reysorigins · 13 days
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https://www.tumblr.com/reysorigins/745051282088361984/httpswwwtumblrcomreysorigins7450422871118315?source=share
Adding to your comments, the lack of mtf fics!
Ive found literally 1 fic. Unless rarely its mtf steve x eddie
But i want eddie x mtf reader or steve x mtf reader (steve would be such a good bf to a transgirl i know it)
Im Intersex so though im not mtf or ftm or nonbinary. I like to read those fics sometimes because its the closest i can get to my experience ❤
I usually stick to regular eddie/steve x reader but i would like to find a tomboy/butch reader x steve or androgynous amab or afab reader sometimes
I can happily read any fic but sometimes its nice to see yourself without having to squint
Representation in fanfiction, especially reader-insert, is nowhere near what I’d like it to be. It’s so hard to find male!Reader fics, let alone trans!Reader, disabled!Reader, intersex!Reader, or any other flavor of Reader besides white and feminine.
In case recent events with this website’s CEO did not make it clear: Cis women, check your privilege.
Cis-white women dominate fandom spaces, dictating what’s being written — and more importantly, what's being read. Consumers have an immeasurable impact on the fanfic “market,” dictating what’s successful (and what’s not). TLDR; People don’t read what they don’t know, perpetuating a “comfortable” norm that is predicated upon cultural exclusion.
I could write a fucking college thesis on this topic, but I’ll stop there. As a fanfic author, I actually wrote a little bit about intersex inclusion in fem!Reader fiction. I’m not intersex, but I am trans; if you have an input, I’d love to hear it. Just know that I see you and I love you, even if I can’t give this topic the platform it deserves. I hope we can be better, together.
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🌟 leave a message on the babygirl hotline 💖🌱
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yourqueerbookshelf · 5 months
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Hench, by Natalie Zina Walschots
LGBTQIA+ Representation: Bisexual/pansexual (not directly specified) protagonist, non-binary side character, MTF side character, gay male side character. Genre: Science Fiction (though it’s really more of a “superhero” story).
Thoughts: Everyone loves a good hero story, but I think it’s safe to say that a large group of people are also drawn to the villains, and that’s exactly who this book is for! Often, what makes a villain so intriguing is the pieces of ourselves that we are able to see in them. Despite their struggles and their flaws, they, like us, are human. Hench, by Natalie Zina Walschots, emphasized this by bringing heroes and villains to the same level. A villain might be willing to sacrifice others to get what they want, but at least they aren’t pretending what they’re doing is something that it’s not; a hero might sacrifice others for the “greater good” and their ego. At the heart of it, they’re pretty much the same. Cool superpowers, evil lairs, a cyborg here and there, revenge plots, friendships left behind, fancy getaway cars and traditional supervillain ray guns, and working through mental trauma are all included! For me, author did a really good job making most of the important characters easy to understand and empathize with, which I really enjoyed. The struggles that the characters experienced in the workplace (crappy bosses, job insecurity, low wages, etc.) before turning into the “bad guys” were all too familiar, and if henching for villains was a real thing, I could definitely see the appeal. A lot of this book just made a lot of sense.
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victoriouslygay · 2 years
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I've finally been going back and watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch (the newer netflix one) and I like it overall even tho I do have a few criticisms.
But omg omg I just watched the episode where Theo tried out for the basketball team and then came out at the end (Season 2 Episode 1) and I'M SO HAPPY FOR HIM. I really feel like they've continued to touch on different aspects of him struggling with his gender quite well in the show, and while I don't think they could ever capture the full grasp of the trans experience for a side character in the show, I do think they've made a solid attempt. Obviously my story is quite different as mtf rather than his ftm, but I could still really see all of his dysphoria moments leading up to this, and more importantly several moments that helped him to slowly realize who is really is.
Also ahhhh I love his friends. Harvey is such a cute little slightly confused ally who totally goes with what Theo and Ros tell him. And I love the conversation in the diner where Ros totally gets it, and Harvey catches up pretty quick. "No, we call HIM Theo now" ahhhhh my heart.
Usually I'm posting non stop lesbianism, but I wanted to take a moment and appreciate some good trans masc representation. I hope they can continue to keep touching on his journey, and I'm currently really excited to see where things go for him
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imdeadtiredtm · 3 years
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Ok but trans girl Danny just hits different, like I love the ftm Danny, he gave me gender envy before I even knew what gender was, but trans femme Danny Phantom is highly under appreciated by this fandom considering how old it is
Holy shit, yes. Yes! I hear what you're saying completely! Like, I don't think I've ever read any mtf Danny, ever? And I? Would love to read one?
Also I think the reason it would hit different is because, like, 95% of fanfics that have a non-cis Danny usually have it to where he transitions before the events of the fic take place, and most of the time the transition happened sometime when he's really young. And I love these fic, I adore them, but you never really get to see Danny trying to figure out his gender or questioning it, or get to see him on the self journey, discovering that he's trans while whatever events the fic writer design happens.
I think that if mtf Danny was ever main stream and explored among the fandom, those fics would be more about Danny learning who she is and transitioning simultaneously to the plot line rather than the transition occurring at some point in the far past.
(Also, they're, like, two different experiences and journeys. So there is also that.)
I mean, there are always AU's. And you can do anything. You can have Danny have a transition in the duration of the Fic plot regardless if it's mtf or ftm or have Danny be nonbinary or anything in-between. Phandom is the wild, wild west. But (and feel to prove me wrong on this or expand it) I feel like the reason most trans fics have Danny being ftm all steamed from people wanting to incorporate trans experiences and representation (especially since a good number of people who watch the show are trans) But wanted to fit it into canon show so thats where the ftm trans! Danny fics developed. And if we switched that it would make a new dynamic in those fics. And this is probably the same reason why we don't see too many of mtf fics because I would not be surprised if the thought simply did not occur to most people.
I don't know if I expressed my thoughts very well, but in conclusion: any trans!Danny fic is awesome, and you're completely right, trans femme Danny Phantom is highly under appreciated by this fandom.
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jaanusbooktalk · 2 years
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Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse - Review
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10/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TWs: child abuse, self harm/mention of suicide, blood & violence, mention of child prostitution, death of a mother, discrimination based on origin, ableism
(TWs are ranked in order of severity, please take them seriously!)
I am never getting over this. This book is one I am pushing onto everyone I know and even the people I don’t - I don’t even know where to begin this review because there is so much I loved.
I guess I can start by saying that epic fantasy as a genre was almost always based in Europe when I was younger. The representation I saw was few and far between (I’m looking at you, Parvati Patil). So let me tell you something refreshing:
This is an epic fantasy and there are no white people.
Read that again^
In the world of fantasy books, especially ones as intricate as this, it’s such a beautiful thing to see. Black Sun is set in the pre-Colombian Americas - AKA before the smelly colonizers ever set foot on the continent 🍅🍅🍅
Everyone. Is. Brown. And it’s glorious.
^I’m gonna amend this to say Black & brown because of some of the character descriptions but the point stands. Glorious.
It covers switching perspectives between four main characters: Xiala, the captain of a ship destined to deliver the Crow god, Serapio, the Crow god (ish?), Naranpa, the Sun Priest, and Okoa, the son of the leader of Carrion Crow (one of the four peoples in Tova).
You will fall in love with each and every one of them. 😩😩
(Also there’s crows. Lots and lots of crows)
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The summary:
A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun
“In the holy city of Tova three lives are converging during a solar eclipse, proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.
Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as “harmless”, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being the villain.”
Featuring a morally gray villain I love right here btw:
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So on to representation:
Once again, this is not my culture so I am looking from an outside perspective - this is just what I appreciated.
Firstly, Rebecca Roanhorse is half African American, and of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo descent (though not an enrolled tribal member). I would never review a book based so deeply in Native culture if it was written by a white person (this goes for any and all books written about BIPOC culture by yt ppl - including City of Brass).
The diversity of skin tones, ethnicity, language, and dress is so beautifully done. There are many many dark skinned characters of varying shades and hair textures. These are rich empires and each has their own unique culture and traditions. The detail that Roanhorse has used to create this world is truly breathtaking.
She also did a ton of research before writing Serapio’s character - he is blind and she put in a lot of effort to make sure she avoided tropes and stereotypes (talked about in the author’s note).
In addition, the representation of queer characters is very well done - there’s those who identify with a third gender, main characters who use neopronouns (such as xe/xir), and at least one canonically trans character 🏳️‍⚧️ (mtf) in a happy and healthy relationship. Western labels aren’t used (such as pansexual, lesbian, etc) and the author conveys these orientations & more perfectly without them.
The author says in the author’s note (always read those!!) that she mixed together some of the indigenous empires in the pre-Colombian Americas to create the world of Black Sun. There is no racism & slight homophobia and sexism present, but largely it is a fictional world where people simply have more to worry about than whether their leaders are women or men or neither.
Characters coming from regions where they are unaware of a third gender etc. take it in stride and learn as they go, and I appreciated that because it shows the ability to accept others for who they are even if you don’t understand at first.
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What I Liked:
I’ll admit - it normally takes me a while to catch on to the language of fantasy worlds and their structure. But Black Sun made it so easy I didn’t even notice because I was too invested in the plot.
Right off the bat I’ll say my favorite characters are Xiala and Naranpa 💫
I liked Naranpa because I related to her, since she left her home and people and culture at a young age to go serve in the tower among the privileged “Sky Made”. She was not welcomed with open arms and struggled because of her origin and because people didn’t like how high she was climbing (sucks for them, she became the Sun Priest, the highest position there😜). Naranpa also has big dreams and is trying her best to save a city (Tova) that doesn’t love her back. I honestly wish I didn’t relate to her as much as I did because my girl is not doing so great… anyways.
Xiala is a straight up baddie 🔥 and she is Teek, meaning she’s from a mysterious island no one can ever reach where only women live, rumored to be children of the Sea herself 🌊 . I adore Xiala because she doesn’t care what people think and is just trying to drink herself into an early grave but somehow ends up getting hauled into villainous plots with high stakes. She also has no preferences when it comes to gender - as long as they’re hot. Xiala has a quick wit and dirty mouth, but she’s also willing to get soft with those she trusts. I enjoyed reading her point of view chapters the most!
To avoid making this too long I’ll leave a bullet list of everything else I liked (no spoilers!):
• Consent is key 🔑 and this is respected
• Representation: gay & trans BIPOC, disability rep., dark skin rep.
• The plot is so intricate and it keeps you guessing - I had no idea how this was going to end
• The romance (only one or two relationships but my standards are infinitely higher now)
• The characters are so flawed and real that you are rooting for them even as they make terrible decisions
• Detailed writing and the prose is BEAUTIFUL
Ex. “Star pollen clung like shattered light to his wet skin in a fine sheen of silver dust.”
• Morally grey characters
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^how I imagine Naranpa looks
What brought this book to a ten:
Black Sun does something that I have only found in a few fantasy novels. Not only does it give us a whole world with diverse characters from different backgrounds with gripping struggles, but it’s full of wisdom than can be applied to real life as well. I found myself learning lessons about how to interact with difficult situations in predominantly white spaces from Naranpa, who is surrounded by those who grew up more privileged than her. I learned about loving and letting go from Xiala and all the Teek sayings at the beginnings of chapters.
I came away from this book not only feeling the joy of good representation but also knowing that it has changed the way I see the world if not slightly. That is the most valuable kind of reading experience I can ask for.
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Here’s some of my favorite fanart I found of the characters online!
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Xiala
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Naranpa
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Serapio
I sincerely recommend to fans of:
Mirage by Somaiya Daud💕
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia🔑
Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas👻
Ana Mendieta’s works (a Cuban American artist who worked with fire and earth)🔥
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland🖤
Note: Black Sun is the first in a trilogy called Between Earth and Sky, but I feel like it can be read as a stand-alone (depending on how invested you are). The second book is called Fevered Star and I will absolutely be buying it ASAP. I can’t wait to see where it goes!
Happy reading ☀️ and remember…
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magicaltrans · 2 years
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I love HP fics (and all creations!) that include trans people - some of my favorite fics include an ftm Harry or Sirius, or an mtf Ginny or Luna, just to name a few.
As a writer, I would love to participate in this fest. But I am a cis person, I want to make sure I'm not stepping into a space where I don't belong. I can VERY loosely imagine what life for a trans person might be like, based on research and discussions with trans friends or my partner. But I worry that I'm going to get something wrong - is it inappropriate for me to participate in this fest? Or is there an opportunity for sensitivity readers that might be willing to read through cis folx' works to make sure we're not making any missteps, major or minor though they may be?
I understand that a lot of fic writing is writing from a pov that is foreign to you. I'm not a wizard (still lamenting that), I'm a woman who almost exclusively writes slash fic, I've never ridden a dragon or held a bowtruckle. But I also understand that this is different/more loaded than those examples and want to approach with caution. Any advice would be appreciated, and if the answer is "maybe this isn't the fest for you" that's fine, too!
Thank you for taking the time to check in with us!
On this blog we encourage cis authors to write trans representation, as long as they are mindful of some things. This fest is the same. To put it bluntly and to quote @stargayzing-enby: "More fic. Less work trans people need to do if it's a cis person writing it"
However, since this fest is centered around comfort, we ask you to take extra precaution and to take a sensitivity reader, one who has similar experiences to your characters. Trans experiences are varied and numerous, from one side to the binary to the other, to all those who identify outside of it (sensible folx), it's always vastly different.
We wrote a bit about writing trans characters and another on tropes that should be handled carefully.
Ultimately, it's not our business to tell who's trans and who's not, we won't ask that of any of the authors participating. That's invasive and that isn't our vibes; nobody should come out if they're not comfortable with it and yet be forbidden to explore their identity through writing.
This fest is open and everyone should feel welcome (except JKR supporters. You know where you can go). Stay tuned for a guide on how to safely tag trans fanfiction in the next few days.
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2 points: 1° I'm a MTF trans girl, and i'm kinda embarassed bcuz the first time I knew about transgirls was in porn and everybody had such fabulous come out storys and mine was that, i'm kinda afraid that everybody will see me as a chaser or something like that, but that's not the case at least. 2° I don't have a femenine look and even if i clothe like a girl everybody see me as a boy and i hate it even my family treats me that way, i need some positivity.
1. That is totally okay! It doesn't make you a chaser. Unfortunately most trans representation in the past has either been fetishized or villainized, and it isn't super uncommon for people to find out though porn when so many trans women turn to sex work as a means to earn a living.
2. There are cis women who don't 'pass' as women. How feminine people interpret you doesn't change that you're a woman and that it's okay to identify that way even if you don't look like a super model. Your family should not be treating you that way, and I'm sorry that you have to deal with that kind of treatment in a space that's supposed to be safe and supportive for you. I understand how that feels. There will be a point in your life, though, where you will be able to have more independence and present the way you want to, and whenever you feel stuck I hope you remember that. The trans community has made so many strides in recent years and I truly believe that they will only get better as we continue to fight for our rights. Know that you have a community that loves you and has your back.
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i-did · 3 years
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Do you think trans Neil fics are just a way for people to enforce more heteronormativity into Andriels relationship? From what I’ve seen it just seems like an excuse for writers to feminise Neil more which is really harmful to trans male stereotypes. Not to mention the smut seems like an excuse to write about penis/vagina sex. Idk if I’m overthinking this but it’s the feeling I get and I’d appreciate someone else’s perspective on it
I think the fact that the vast majority of trans representation in fics is smut is pretty telling. I also am unfortunately nosey and back when I still read smut (I rarely do these days, it just makes me feel bad these days instead, haha) I would check out the author, and they were often women, presumably or openly cis since Fandom is an overwhelmingly (but not exclusively) AFAB space.
So far all the trans men I've personally spoken to have mentioned that they can't read any trans fics and actually actively avoid them.
NSFW LANGUAGE
There is also the discussion of language and misgendering of genitals in smut fics, as well as how differently the characters (who are being written as trans) become. Trans andrew fics are dominated by smut as well as writing him as a bottom and very sexual and ... okay I genuinely can't think of another word for this besides "cockslut" so sorry about the informality of language. But they wrote him as a cockslut, and same as neil. Trans men can be tops, and often are because of bottom dysphoria, and anal is still a thing trans men can enjoy, anyone can.
We have a pretty good idea how andrew and neil act during sexual acts together since we are shown andrew jerking neil off and andrew sucking neil off in the books. So when because they're afab they suddenly act very different during sex it can be... suspicious.
Its also important to discuss language used during smut fics as well as what is included and what isn't. Often chests are mentioned, not so often with top surgery in mind, and body hair isn't. Trans men on testosterone are very aware of their body hair and how it has changed, and usually proud of it. I think even a passing remark about how one of them (pre or post op) would have chest hair or a happy trail would be good to mention, when happy trails are often mentioned in cis smut but omitted in trans smut.
Also when having sex with a trans person (yes speaking from experience) it is best to openly and honestly discuss what they are comfortable with and what language they like. Consent is always important to be discussed and when/if your partner has dysphoria that is another element to be considered and discussed. Some trans women get dysphoric about anal, some don't, some trans men keep a shirt on some don't some people keep their socks on some people like some words that others don't. Its best to assume someone doesn't have a misgendering kink! Its not that common and all kinks should be discussed beforehand anyway. Dirty talk should also be discussed, what words are good to use vs not.
A lot of the language see in ftm trans smut (because there is next to no mtf trans smut) ((not that I think it would be much better but who knows I haven't read it)) refers to the genitals with dirty language associated with women (tits, pussy, cunt, etc) but doesn't mention the trans man's erection, in fact I haven't seen any mention T-cocks/T-dicks. Its also best to assume your partner doesn't like those words and use vague terms unless otherwise stated, using general words such as hole is still hot and also not misgendering their genitals. Some people do not see this as a form of misgendering, but not everyone does and the reason people I've talked to about this (and myself) don't read these fics is because the language makes them uncomfortable so we avoid it all together. (As well as the other problems discussed).
The fact that effects of testosterone are hardly mentioned makes me feel like these fics are more so existing for the often afab non mlm consumers of smut fics who use them as porn to get off to and increase their self insertablility. I'm honestly curious about this psychologically, I know some people don't realize they're trans until moments like this, but I also know fully confident cis and sometimes het women get off to gay porn.
Regardless, obviously writing trans neil is not problematic, and same as writing trans andrew fics. But its important to note how you or the author might have changed the characters canon personalities, presentation, reactions during sex and preferences during sex. And also why there is so much emphasis on sex, when people who are trans are trans not just during sex, but also... when they're not having sex, which is most of the time like everyone else. Its also important to note which one you choose to prefer being trans and why, I know a lot of non Americans who only use the word for binder as a chest binder and not a folder assumed neil was trans until it became apparent he wasn't written with the intention of so, but I've also seen people choose to have neil be trans because they think "trans men are just hotter" and if you're not a trans man,,,, maybe. Don't say that. Because that's fetishizing trans men.
END NSFW
Whatmack wrote a good fic where neil is trans and its not just a device for smut, in fact its not about his genitals and sex at all, its about WWI and is really good but mind warnings, its called "in flanders fields" i believe.
Also I'm told I'm an overthinker a lot but honestly? My mind is blank a lot of the time lmao. And then when its not blank I'm just... thinking. I don't think I'm an over thinker regardless of what others have told me lmao, I think they just don't realize how often I'm actually just vibing. Also "overthinking" can be good. Analyzing things and what they mean can be important and questioning stuff is also important. Obviously if you're getting anxious than overthinking isn't good and its overwhelming instead, but a little overthinking is good because some times I feel we under think things and don't analyze what they could mean.
When I have a reaction to something or an instinct idea about something I try to assess why. Do I hate Kora? Why? Do I think she's arrogant and unlikable? Or am I actually being misogynistic and potentially colorist against her, and if she were a white male character would i question her personality and actions as much as I do when she's a woc, much less be annoyed by them? (I love Kora, this is just an example lol)
Also sorry I keep answering these like always 3 am my time which means for a lot of you guys its even earlier in the morning, (whats up Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Philippines, and other awake places)
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lesbian7sm · 3 years
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let’s talk queer misrepresentation in; | the one chicago universe.
coming from a pissed off queer who knows we deserve better representation.
important bits in red, don’t try and defend a different opinion in notes, i don’t care.
where do we start? let’s start at the beginning of the queer misrepresentation, beginning with chicago fire. i’m talking earlier seasons, probably from like s1 - s4 ish. obviously i’m referring to leslie shay. the whole mindset of “let’s have our only out lesbian character have a family and then lose it” further plays into the stereotypes and misinformation surrounding queer woman, and especially lesbians, who went through hell during pride month this year.
• her lesbian hookup was engaged and having a baby with a straight man, making lesbians look like people who get up and go, or further playing into the stereotype that lesbians can be changed by the “right man” and that they just haven’t found “them yet”.
• seemingly killing shay off before she ever got a chance to go through ivf or attempt to have a baby.
• having all of her relationships and experiences with love being discoursed, whether it’s by them cheating, (a typical queer stereotype), ending up being with a man, or losing custody of their child after half and half custody. devon was a prime example of this, with her stealing and being an overall horrible partner. this lead to what seemed to be shay’s seemingly clear attempted su*c*de (the scene of the bridge). this could however not be the case as it is not confirmed that it was an attempt.
• although she was classed as a “main character”, she seemingly never got screen time, and we never got deeper into her backstory until her funeral.
i like to think the show redeemed themselves introducing emily foster and darren ritter + aaron in later seasons, especially them being poc queer characters, but it still lacks good consistent representation.
moving on to chicago pd, this is probably the worst show for queer representation. there have been 8 seasons of this show, 13 main characters, and 27 recurring characters in the goddamn show, and how many queer characters do we get? none! sure, most of them can be canonically queer, but we need actual proof and recognition for it to help queer representation in media.
the only insight we get to some maybe queer characters are nadia’s sentence “i flirted with the girl at the front desk” when she’s talking to erin about receiving results so quickly, and erin’s brother teddy.
once again, 1/2 of the most likely queer characters in this show ends up dead.
the show also lacks poc representation, with one black main character, who’s a detective, and that’s kevin. he doesn’t get focused on enough and his storyline is barely looked at. they take away all his love interests and basically make him irrelevant with how little they refer to him.
do better pd.
ending the convo with med, there’s only really two people to talk about here.
denise lockwood, maggie’s mtf trans sister, who’s not even a recurring character. two appearances over six seasons? i don’t know how others feel about this, especially not actual trans people watching it, but to me as a nonbinary person it was very heavy on the “trans victim, CIS savior” side.
med’s only other queer character is terry mcneal, a minor but recurring character. all we got on him was that he was not very sure in his own abilities as a doctor, we didn’t even end up getting any character development, friendships or other dynamics with any of the other characters, much less any romantic relationships.
and then all of a sudden he comes out to one of the main characters with one simple line. he hasn’t been seen since, it’s been like 3, nearly 4 seasons since.
quick recap for you:
one trans background character, who appeared in two episodes,
one minor gay character, who was introduced after three seasons, has had no romantic plotline and has inexplicably been absent since his coming out,
one lesbian main character, with whom they played “bury your gay” after only two seasons,
one “i don’t like labels” main character, who was only introduced after four whole season without any LGBT rep in that show.
all of this in a universe that spans 4 different shows,
summing up to 433 episodes in total over the past nine years,
with a total sum of 43 main characters over the years,
but all we have to show for are 2 LGBT main characters and 2 LGBT minor/background characters? in total?
WAKE UP PEOPLE.
queer people aren’t myths, we’re real and we’re not going anywhere. we’re bright and beautiful and we need to see more representation. show little kids and older kids, show everyone that queer love is beautiful, and something that needs to be celebrated. show people that one day they’ll live life as the person they were born to be, even if they can’t right now.
wolf entertainment, do better.
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showf4lls · 2 years
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REQUESTS
⎼ hard boundaries will be listed below, but here are my preferences for requests!
⎼ i don’t do too well with super vague requests, so don’t be afraid to give me something detailed! the more detail you give me, the better the request will probably turn out
⎼ tell me who you want me to write about! if you don’t pick a character i will literally put their names in a generator and pick that way lol, so please give me options for who to write about
⎼ i don’t answer requests in my askbox until the actual request is posted, so please don’t assume that i’m ignoring your request! i just wait that way i can link your fic for easier access :>
⎼ please respect my request statuses! i’m a full-time film major in university and chances are that, if my requests are closed, i’m either struggling with school or have other personal stuff going on. if i get requests when they’re marked as closed, i won’t hesitate to delete them so, if you care about your request getting filled, please make sure you check the statuses!
⎼ i use y/p to refer to reader’s pronouns in fics, but let me know if you want me to specifically use neutral or he/him pronouns! i’d love to give more representation to the lgbt+ community in this fandom, especially considering that i’m a transmasc he/they /lh
⎼ feel free to ask me to write for transmasc/enby readers! like i said above, i’d love to give the community more rep in fanfiction
⎼ i only write for the people i have outlined on the masterlist! feel free to ask, but i usually don’t write for many other people
⎼ please let me know if my content crosses any cc’s boundaries and i’ll take it down immediately! 
⎼ when sending me media, please properly trigger tag it or else i’ll just delete it
[ boundaries below ]
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GREEN LIGHT
angst. blurbs. character death (depending). comfort (depending). drabbles. fics. fluff. headcanons. matchups. most to least.
RED LIGHT
abusive dynamics (unless referenced as taking place before the fic with the reader recovering). eating disorders (unless comfort). graphic/descriptive dysphoria (unless comfort). mtf!readers (no hate, i just don’t want to misrepresent that part of the community considering that i’m not a trans woman. y’all deserve better and i don’t want to contribute to misinformation /gen). minors. romanticization of mental illness/manipulation. self-harm (unless comfort and only in the past, and i’ll never write it graphically). suicidal ideation.
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STATUSES
FICS - open / slow posts / limited [ /? ] / closed
DRABBLES - open / slow posts / limited [ /? ] / closed
HEADCANONS - open / slow posts / limited [ /? ] / closed
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p0publur · 3 years
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I wanna talk about genderswaps.
And what I want to talk about specifically is how I, personally, have found genderswaps to be a good way for people to explore their own identities. Yes, there are a lot of gross things that come out of genderswaps, but for me personally, I know I am not one of them.
Under the cut for a long, somewhat personal story. PLEASE DO NOT REBLOG.
When I first created Vel, she was a genderswap--I myself am a female bodied person. I was a tomboy for most of my life, and I always wanted to be considered one of the boys, but I obviously didn’t relate to having a male body. I loved Sonic the Hedgehog since 2002 and around 2009 I was getting into the idea of Sonic... but as a girl! Back then, I didn’t really know much about gender and trans-ness or being genderqueer or nonbinary. I had no idea about these things, just that I know that for myself, I didn’t relate to the idea of how a “girl” was.
I proceeded to design my ideal for Sonic--and that was Sonic, except female bodied, and using “she/her” pronouns. I was told that this was a genderswap, I found genderswaps to be a fun way for me to explore writing characters in a way that I could relate to, especially since for a very long time, the Sonic series has been lacking in diverse female character representation, and like there had been one tomboy in the series at the time, and she was hated by pretty much everybody except me (Marine the Raccoon). 
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I began to receive nasty messages about Velocity. “If she’s a girl, why doesn’t she have breasts?” or “You can’t tell she’s a girl! give her eyes like Rouge” or “why doesn’t she wear heels or have a huge ass?” I hated this, because I was like Of course she doesn’t have these things, Sonic doesn’t have these things! And then I’d get the messages “If you’re not going to make her look like a girl, then just play Sonic instead.” 
I hated this, because I was like “Why would she have to change so much just to match YOUR idea of what a girl is? She’s still the same person! but I want to write her as a girl!” 
I stuck to my guns--and she ended up getting a few fans. People would tell me “Thank god you don’t write her like other genderbends.” because I wanted to continue writing a CHARACTER, not some weird idea of what people thought.
When I found out that people were saying genderswaps were transphobic, I panicked. I had never ever used them as such, but I can see how the wording can sound like you can only choose between two things. I started to wonder, maybe I can just change the name! I saw posts that came down to “instead of writing a genderswap, just write a trans character!!” But I do not have any experience being mtf trans. I did not want to stress over and over about messing up representation that is so very important to people! I wanted Velocity to be female-bodied and I wanted her to use she/her pronouns, but I didn’t want to write her as some GROSS idea of what being a woman is to a bunch of cishet men! 
It wasn’t until last year that I realized that I was genderqueer. I have been genderqueer my whole life but I didn’t know how to describe it until now. And Velocity helped me get there--but of course, I’d already made her blog.
I wanted her to mean something, I wanted her to be freeing for people. But I always feel a lot of stress when I write her and draw her... because I am not writing a character that is meaningful to me. I am constantly afraid of slipping up. 
She’s not cis, she’s genderqueer like me, or maybe genderfluid is the better descriptor. I want to write her with the body that I am familiar with. I do not want people to label me as transphobic when I am ANYTHING but transphobic!! Figuring out who you are is a MESSY process and it’s not cut and dry! 
Is it too late to change her? To write the character I want to write? A genderfluid she/her Sonic? Or will people take one look at her and go “Sonic but as a girl? This is a transphobic genderswap blog.” 
I guess that’s a risk I’d have to take.  It hurts, but this character is too important to me to just not play in the way that makes her meaningful to me.
Her personality wouldn’t change, her backstory would be adjusted quite a bit--but I would be writing her from how I’ve seen her these last eleven years--and I’d FINALLY feel like I was writing from a perspective I more so understood and wasn’t afraid of making mistakes with. 
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I hope that you guys can give me a chance.
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