See, I'm kinda writing this little story involving a trans man who undergoes gender reassingment surgery after a lot of events. It's a fantasy story with magic, and he becomes a biological man in the end, with a dick and stuff. Is this offensive to the trans community? Magically transforming into your desired gender? Does it feel like I'm erasing trans representation? Or is it ok? Note that the story doesn't have him angsting over his body because it's not unusual in that universe to be trans
Is it offensive to make stories about people being magically transformed into another gender?
My immediate response is: No. But it all depends on how you do it.
I do not think the movie Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde from 1995 is a good example to follow. I am just saying.
Transformation fantasies made by trans people
There are quite a few genres of transgender fiction, comics and drawings which explore the fantasies of becoming âanotherâ gender or behaving like âthe otherâ gender.Â
On the female to male side you will, for instance, find trans people writing fan fiction, slash and yaoi. On the male to female side there you will find concepts like TG fiction, TG comics and TG captions.Â
Lately I have seen some of them embracing 3D computer design to make images and comics. There are even those who have made their own movies!
The quality of these efforts vary a lot, obviously, but they often reflect a deep felt need of those who make them to explore and express this side of themselves.Â
Most transgender people will not be offended by the idea of writing stories containing magical transformations of this kind.
Transformation fantasies made by cis people
There are actually quite a few movies and TV series made by cis people that have made use of the body swap trope, which is one of the âmagical transformation methodsâ also popular among trans people.Â
Blake Edwardâs Switch comes to mind, as does the amazing anime Your Name, made by Makoto Shinkai.
When such stories are made with wisdom and insight they may help both cis and trans people come to a closer understanding of gender and gender identity.
Others, the ones that are primarily meant to entertain, may also bring in new insights. A comic like Crosswind, for instance, manages the balancing act pretty well, as I see it.
The bad ones, though, have a tendency of reinforcing gender stereotypes. Some even use the opportunity to ridicule femininity in men, masculinity in women and the very idea of being trans. The gender transformation trope has given birth to a lot of homophobic and transphobic trash. Ace Ventura, Pet Detective is extremely transphobic, to give you one sad example.
Then there are those who fall somewhere in the middle. I am still not sure how I feel about The Skin I Live In, a horror movie made by the famous Spanish director Pedro Almodovar.
Treat trans characters with respect
As you can see, it all depends on how you handle your material. Do you treat your transgender protagonist with respect? By this I do not mean that all trans characters have to be heroes. They do not. What I mean is that they should be presented as complete human beings instead of clichĂŠs of what cis people think trans people should be like.Â
Respect also includes the proper use of pronouns. If this is a story about a trans man, the voice of the author should make use of male pronouns throughout. If you have transphobic characters and antagonists, you can let them use the wrong pronouns and names, but only if that helps the reader understand the conditions your trans character lives under.
It would make sense to ask a trans person read your manuscript before you publish it, though, just to be sure that you have found the right balance.
I have heard some trans people argue that cis people should never write about trans people, because they cannot possibly know how trans people experience the world. This is true on one level. Still, I probably have more faith in good artists than they have.Â
After all, male writers have written good stories about women for a long time, as have female writers about men. It is possible to use empathy, sensibility, intelligence and research in order to imagine what it is like to be someone else.Â
And we definitely need some more positive transgender representation in books and movies.
Maybe some of my other followers can chime in?