#diversitycrosscheck

[askanautistic]

There is a blog called diversitycrosscheck where real people talk about themselves and you can ask them or search through tags so that u can be as accurate as possible

This is a fantastic resource for writers/artists. Thanks for sharing!

-Alex

[snowdressedinblack]

hi, i seen you on the crossdiversitycheck blog, and was wondering if you could give me a hand with my trans character? She's 15 in my story, and she stared her transition from male to female at about 13. BUT im not entirely sure how to represent this like she wears makeup and dresses feminine and everything, but like what would she do about her voice and facial hair?

Hi Anon,

Since I don’t know anything about your story or the characters background I’m going to assume they have a supportive family, and everyone (Doctors, therapists etc) is okay with her transition.

So if she started at 13, she would likely have been put on Testosterone blocking medication to stop puberty happening. Because of this, she would not really have to deal with facial hair. Maybe pluck the rare one that might grow, but nothing major.

As for the voice, with puberty delayed, I’m guessing the voice wouldn’t drop, or drop as much, so would still seem quite feminine.Sorry, I don’t know too much about this, I transitioned at 25, so my voice has already suffered the effects of Testosterone.

To sum it all up, your character is a girl who is about the same height as other girls, takes a pill every day or two to block Testosterone, has a feminine voice, and looks and dresses like a girl. She might have to get changed for gym class in private, but aside from that, she is just going to look like another girl.

Next year, when she turns 16 (depending on where the book is set), she will have access to Estrogen or the like, so that she starts to go through puberty as a girl.

I hope this help.

Snow

[writingwithcolor]

I just want to let you know that I'm a Pakistani girl so if anyone needs help writing a Pakistani character, I'll be more than happy to help :)

Awesome, thank you very much manolovescake!

You might also want to submit a profile to diversitycrosscheck!

[mayhemxtwins]

Hey I'm trying to get a hold of theredvipers because of diversitycrosscheck. My ask box is open. Thanks!

[tengutastic-blog]

  fargreencountryswiftsunrise from diversitycrosscheck submitted:

Hi. I’m currently writing a story where one of my characters lost his right arm in a war. I do know a little bit about amputation as my uncle lost his leg a few years ago, but I need to know in particular about etiquette when it comes to greetings and just general life if you would be willing to share. Thank you for your time and consideration.

As is common to these kinds of situations I will be talking about my experiences and not being a mouth piece for the community as a whole. And as a note, I don’t know much about the community of amputees, since I was born this way and not had my arm removed later in life.

As for etiquette: Just treat the person as you would anyone else! Don’t stare at their disability, don’t make any assumption on how they lost it, and while some people are okay with talking about their disability, don’t assume everyone is. I’m okay with being asked, but a war trauma amputee might not be.

As for life? At this point I personally have mastered anything I might need to do that is possible with one hand, such as carrying things by balancing them, buying pants that are a little too big because it’s easier to put on a belt than button jeans that are just a little tight, and with some effort do more finite movement things like paint my nails and put my hair in a ponytail. You’d have to talk to someone else about usage of prosthetics, a quick google search could probably round up blogs written by amputees, since I haven’t worn one since fourth grade. 

You could even try doing things around your house with one hand to get a feel of what it might be like to accurately describe the frustrations your character will inevitably feel while trying to get accustomed to the life that he has now.

Good luck!

[snowdressedinblack]

Hi! I first found your blog through Diversitycrosscheck-- i am a writer, and one of the characters im planning on writing in my book is a trans woman. just wanted to say congrats and that u are so gorgeous! I also wanted to ask your opinion on something-- I want my readers to know for certain that my character is trans, but I dont want it to be the main focus of her character. basically i want it to be a part of her, but i dont want readers to see it as the most important part of her.

Hi Anon,

I just made a post that I hope covers what you have asked. I know it doesn’t give a hard and fast answer, but the questions might make it easier to work out how to portray your character. As always, if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask

Link: How to write a trans character

[snowdressedinblack]

I recently put in a submission to diversitycrosscheck to be a point of contact for writers who want to ask questions about trans women. And I've had a few questions, and they all seem to come down to this: How do I make my character trans without making it the whole focus of the character?

I'm not a writer. My lovely girlfriend writingkills is though, and so any good writing advice I seem to give has been filtered through her.

This is a tough question. I know I don't speak for all trans women, but for myself (and I'm guessing many others) we would rather not be seen as trans. We would just like the world to see us as women. But this doesn't work in a story.

In a story, you need to know things about the character. Sure, you could pull a Dumbledore and let everyone know that such-and-such a character was trans after the story is released but I really do not recommend this.

I don't have the answer to this question. I'm sorry. All I have are things for you (as a writer) to think about.

How old is the character? Age will determine how they act, and also how others may react to them. It will also determine access to transition related medication. 

What is the world view of trans people in your story? Are they looked down on, welcomed or even celebrated?

How far along is the person in their transition? This is a tricky one, because you need to take age, access to medication and their lifestyle into account.

How open are they about it? Do people know? Does no-one know? Do their family know? How do the people who know feel about it?

There is no hard and fast way to write a character who is trans without making it the whole focus of the character. If they are the main character, it's a little easier. You can tell the reader what they are thinking. When it is a secondary character, it's a lot harder. You need to make references to the fact that they are trans, without making it an issue.

As for me personally, I would love to read more stories about trans women doing awesome things, and not having the fact that she is trans be an issue at all. Where are the books about a trans woman who is a space fighter pilot who saves the galaxy. Or a who is a firefighter who is always called on because she can fit into the areas no-one else can get into. 

Also, have a read of Queer Girls Need Diverse Books. It explains why we need more LGBT books that aren't just coming out stories.

I'm not sure how much this will help but I hope it does.

[snowdressedinblack]

Hi! I saw your post on diversitycrosscheck and I was wondering if you would be able to help. I really want to have trans women characters in a story I'm writing but I don't know how to inform readers that they're trans. (It's a fantasy type story with magic and stuff.) But I just don't know the right way to phrase it without it sounding contrived or offensive. I just really don't want to pull a Dumbledore. Thanks for the input!

Hi Anon.

This is the really tough question. And honestly, I have no good answer for it. But I do have some questions for you. And some ideas.

Alright, so I was actually talking this over with my girlfriend (also a writer), and it hit me. How do you have trans characters in a fantasy setting? You have magic, so you don’t really have science (which has provided us HRT). My girlfriend suggested having a potion that you have to take daily, as a fantasy equivalent of HRT. That way, someone could ask why they carry around so many vials, and thus, your trans character is portrayed to the reader.

Now the questions: What is the world view of trans people in your setting? Are they reviled, welcomed, or even celebrated? How trans people are seen will have a huge effect on the transition of your characters (how they act and react to different situations, how obvious they will be about their transition), even if they are as far along as they can be..

You mention that this is a fantasy setting with magic. Did your characters just suddenly go from male to female because of a magic spell? If so, then you aren’t writing a trans character. You are writing a token. Part of being trans is the transition itself. The things we experience and learn make us who we are. We spend so much time studying others, learning how to walk, how to talk, how to act (body language etc). 

If you asked this question as Anon because you were worried about the kind of reaction you would get, then I hope I have eased your fears. If you have any further questions please feel free to ask. I’ll answer stuff privately if you want a direct reply, so you don’t have to search for the answer in my blog. I know I went quite full on in trying to answer this, and could elaborate more on each of the points I raised.

Thanks,

Snow