So, there’s been some posts about Rule 63 on my dash the last 24 hours, specifically on whether or not it’s transphobic. I’d like to ask a separate question, “Are Rule 63 fics triggering for trans folks?”
That one unquestionably, measurably is yes. And if you’re a fan of Rule 63, you should respect that, no matter the reason why you like it.
However, I want to acknowledge that Rule 63 clearly appeals to a lot of fans too, and I think they should be allowed to write/read it. So, let’s discuss the etiquette with writing this sensitive subject
Item 1, tag it, so people who don’t like it can block it.
Item 2, Rule 63 tends to come in one of two flavors: There’s “genderbend” or otherwise temporarily rendered “the opposite sex” and there’s “always a girl/boy.”
For “genderbend” or temporary changes... You’re changing your character’s genitals, but you’re not actually bending their ‘gender’... (Or maybe you are, but that’s a different matter entirely).
For the majority of “genderbend” fic out there, the characters’ pronouns stay the same, only their genitals change, and the effect is reversed by the end of the fic, usually after a sex scene. If you’re writing one of these, you’re inherently playing with gender. And if you take that lightly, make sure you tag it that way because there’s a not insubstantial portion of the population for whom gender is a VERY personal and important part of their identity.
There’s a BIG difference between “X wakes up ‘a girl,’ has a panic attack, calls the medical/magical fix-it character, and the whole fic is trying to manage their dysphoria and find a way to reverse it” and “X wakes up ‘a boy,’ decides having a dick is #cool and is gonna go sex-up her girlfriend.”
I can think of audiences for both of these fics -- there may or may not be overlap between them -- but if a reader goes in expecting one and gets the other.... Writers, be THOROUGH in your tagging. Please.
For “Always a girl/boy” I think we, as a fandom, have phrased this tag in this way solely to distinguish it from the previously mentioned, temporary status fics. This is about a character whose assigned gender is ‘opposite’ what their canon assigned gender is, and they identify that way. The fact that ‘opposite’ is already a misnomer, it’s pretty clear why people are upset by this phrasing. So... perhaps the simplest solution is to instead start tagging these “Afab and cis” or “Amab and cis.” And hey, it’s actually fewer letters!
Additionally, it is my understanding that the majority of these fics are “afab and cis” not amab. And that this is simply because there is a dearth of fleshed-out, female characters in fandom spaces. It’s not unreasonable to want to write about female characters without having to define your characters from whole-cloth based off of side-characters with 2 lines and 40 seconds of collective screen-time.
If it is accepted and encouraged to recast white characters as black or brown -- or to make canon straight characters bi/gay/ace because the representation doesn’t exist, then it should be reasonable to want to recast male characters as female.
THAT SAID, do NOT expect or demand trans or nonbinary folks like those fics, or even read them at all.
TL;DR Respect people’s boundaries. If your fic contains content people may want to avoid, make sure it’s tagged so people can avoid that content.
