hai man, so u wrote a real good post about writing trans characters, and that is what im currently doin, but like a good lil writer im researching first. My main concern is the time period (think golden age of piracy but fantasy based) being at odds with modern notions of sexuality and gender. I don't want to accidentally fall into a cliche pothole, so was wondering if you had any advice on trans characters in genre fiction, or any resources/already existing stories of that kind.
Hi there!! I’m so SO sorry it took me so long to get to this, I am a disaster human. Unfortunately I don’t know any books like this, but here’s my 2 cents:
If it’s fantasy based, you can sort of control what the rules of the world are, and how the people in that world think about sexuality and gender. Maybe it’s totally normal in your world and accepted.
Is there magic? Maybe in this world surgery is a bit more advanced. Maybe your trans character is searching for a doctor skilled enough to help, them transition, or a magic spell, or whatever (that might be a dope plot line actually.) Or maybe your trans character doesn’t have that much body dysphoria and is content the way they are.
My advice is don’t overthink it. The amount of thought that needs to go into it depends on whether or not your trans character is the MC or a MC, how important the trans-ness is to the character (or, more importantly, the story), what perspective you write in (3rd tends to be more ‘vague’ or forgiving than 1st in these situations.) If your trans character isn’t a MC/you don’t get to see their POV, and/or you’re not super confidant, you might not have to mention it often. To some people, being trans matters a lot and is a big part of their life. Others, it’s not, they do what they need to do to feel right and then they move on with life and on’t think about it much. I can imagine this would be especially so in a world where being trans isn’t a big bad deal.
As I said in the other post, my favourite type of representation is the understated kind, or the kind that benefits the story or a character journey.
I’m sorry if I misunderstood the question, I hope this answer is okay, n good luck!! Fuckin superb u funky li’l writer!
