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Trans characters in fantasy
Oct. 14th, 2021 10:39 amSometimes, I get very confused as to what is the "right" way to write a trans character when I look at published fantasy books that do what I thought authors weren't supposed to do with respect to trans characters.
For example, in These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong, there is a trans girl named Kathleen. So many people have praised TVD (I was lukewarm about it), but I haven't seen anyone seem to have a problem with the somewhat detailed depiction of the transphobia Kathleen faces throughout the book when Gong herself isn't a trans woman.
Then, I recently finished The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho.
(**Warning for spoilers.**)
The main protagonist of the novella, Tet Sang (who uses he/him pronouns and passes as male), turns out to be a trans man or a trans masc genderqueer character, but it's revealed when another character sees him without his clothes on and proclaims, "You're a woman?"
Which...hey, I thought authors were NOT supposed to link physiology with gender when writing trans characters?
I mean, on one hand, I think it's unfair when authors of color are disproportionately targeted for writing other marginalized identities "poorly," and I'm sure I'm only noticing these issues in Asian-authored books because I don't read that many white-authored fantasy books these days. But both of these books are critically acclaimed, which makes me, someone who's trying to write a genderqueer character in my current novel, confused about what even is good representation anymore.
Sigh.
For example, in These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong, there is a trans girl named Kathleen. So many people have praised TVD (I was lukewarm about it), but I haven't seen anyone seem to have a problem with the somewhat detailed depiction of the transphobia Kathleen faces throughout the book when Gong herself isn't a trans woman.
Then, I recently finished The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho.
(**Warning for spoilers.**)
The main protagonist of the novella, Tet Sang (who uses he/him pronouns and passes as male), turns out to be a trans man or a trans masc genderqueer character, but it's revealed when another character sees him without his clothes on and proclaims, "You're a woman?"
Which...hey, I thought authors were NOT supposed to link physiology with gender when writing trans characters?
I mean, on one hand, I think it's unfair when authors of color are disproportionately targeted for writing other marginalized identities "poorly," and I'm sure I'm only noticing these issues in Asian-authored books because I don't read that many white-authored fantasy books these days. But both of these books are critically acclaimed, which makes me, someone who's trying to write a genderqueer character in my current novel, confused about what even is good representation anymore.
Sigh.
