#wanda mann

[writing-for-life]

Queer Representation in A Game of You

Context Matters (And It’s Complicated)

“A Game of You” was published between 1991-1992. Freddie Mercury had just died of AIDS. Clarence Cain had sued Hyatt Legal Services in 1990 and won just before his death (he was an attorney and they’d fired him after they’d found out he had AIDS—and yes, he was one of the inspirations for “Philadelphia”). “The Silence of the Lambs” won Best Picture, which was great in many ways but also slammed for its portrayal of Buffalo Bill, who some people thought was a harmful stereotype (of course it was widely argued Bill wasn’t shown to be “explicitly transgender”). So this was the social and media landscape at the time I still remember quite well (yeah, I’m that old). And in that general media landscape, The Sandman featured a trans woman as a major character in a mainstream comic after having already established several gay and bisexual characters beforehand…

Wanda: Both Groundbreaking and Flawed

In 1991, trans women in comics, if they appeared at all, were often punchlines, villains, or murder victims (usually all three). But Wanda in “A Game of You” is basically the heart of the story. And she has interiority: We understand how she ticks, her humour, her fears, her strength (that’s what’s sorely lacking in the show IMHO, but I wrote about that here). Over all, the narrative validates her identity even when some characters therein don’t. When Thessaly misgenders Wanda and bars her from the moon ritual, the narrative positions Thessaly as wrong. This was huge for 1991. She wasn’t just a token trans character; the story argued for trans women’s place in women’s spaces at the tailend of second wave feminist gatekeeping (the early 90s were a pivotal point for feminism).

And yet, some of Wanda’s arc/portrayal also failed. But it’s not even black and white:

Wanda dies and is buried as “Alvin,” deadnamed on her headstone by her transphobic family. Barbie writes “Wanda” over it in lipstick. The story frames this as bittersweet and poignant. But I think it’s okay to say that in 2025, we could also recognise it as the “tragic trans” trope that always haunted (and often still haunts) LGBTQ+ media. And the biggest one for me is “respectability through suffering”:

Wanda “earns” our sympathy partly through her victimhood (be that how the world treats her, or her ultimately tragic ending), and the “victory” is symbolic. Lipstick on a tombstone doesn’t change what her family did. Barbie calling her perfect, drop-dead gorgeous and not camp when she sees her with Death, now looking stereotypically femme while Wanda was not passing when she was still alive, rubbed up many people the wrong way. Because what about Wanda when she was still alive wasn’t “perfect”?

Yes, it was a nod to Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz” because the whole arc has a lot of Oz references. Yes, it was supposed to show the middle finger to everyone who ever doubted she was a real woman. But it was a fine line to walk, and whether it was successful lies pretty much in the eye of the beholder—some people liked it, some hated it, but the verdict was ultimately divided, and that shows how truly complicated it is. But many critical voices already existed back then (Rachel Pollack was one of them).

Here’s the thing though: We can acknowledge that the comics made an attempt to show the harm of transphobia while we can, at the same time, also recognise that “trans woman dies and/or is deadnamed and/or is portrayed as a real woman only when she’s passing” is a toxic trope that has the potential to hurt trans readers. Intent doesn’t override impact, and impact changes as community standards evolve.

Hazel and Foxglove: The Lesbian Storyline That Falls a Bit Flat

Hazel and Foxglove were portrayed quite differently for the time because they were in an established relationship. Hazel’s pregnant (although I have to say I hated, and still hate to this very day, how DUMB she comes across. Was that really necessary?). Foxglove is trying to make it as a musician. They’re dealing with normal relationship stuff plus (very likely) homophobia plus NYC in the 90s.

But (and there’s always a but) their storyline is also somewhat sidelined to serve as a narrative device (we needed a maiden and a mother). They’re normalised, but not fully centred, for lack of better term?

To me, as a bisexual woman who lived with a woman for many years (some of them in a civil partnership), Hazel and Foxglove never felt like a couple I could in any way identify with, and I wrote why here, so I won’t regurgitate it all. That’s obviously on me and definitely not the only way to look at it, but I think it’s still worth thinking about the fact that their relationship contains stereotypes that, to me, border on the offensive. Stereotypes we’ve tried to argue against for heaven knows how long. Portrayals that feel misogynistic in parts.

Having said this: It should make us ask if any representation is better or worse than no representation.

The thing worth thinking about is that The Sandman has a lot of queer characters, but their queerness is often treated as adverse in some way. Tragic endings are still a part of that (“bury your gays”). And yet, it was still groundbreaking for showing them in the first place and portray them as deeply human (and that might sound really odd to you, but yes, I do remember the times when this wasn’t the case, and I think we can also agree that we still haven’t arrived where we should be to this very day).

The more current comics landscape lets queer protagonists lead major titles (Midnighter springs to mind). We also have far more trans characters written by trans creators (e.g. Shela Sexton/Escapade, who was co-created by trans author Charlie Jane Anders, as one example), or generally speaking: Queer characters in major publications and films aren’t solely written by white, CIS, straight men anymore, which always skewed perspective. Most of all though, queer characters are also allowed to thrive, not just suffer. And intersectional representation is improving.

Having said this, some representation still lags behind in my view, major adaptations are often still a bit tentative about normalising queerness, as in: there’s a tendency for tokenism vs. actual storytelling. The “marketability” question also hasn’t gone away. So yes, there’s still work to do.

But back to The Sandman: For the Netflix show, Wanda’s story has been changed beyond recognition (it was a loss in my view) and all we essentially get was the graveyard scene and the deadnaming. Is it better to show the reality of transphobia, or to imagine trans characters who survive and thrive? Can we do both?

“A Game of You” is a time capsule of good intentions meeting community needs that the creator could only partially understand. Trying hard and doing something quite revolutionary over 30 years ago doesn’t mean getting it right by today’s standards, and that’s okay. Reflecting on that is how progress works.

If Wanda’s story feels painful and even insensitive, that’s valid. The deadname on the headstone is a nightmare many trans people live with. I already wrote this somewhere else: You don’t have to appreciate the “historical context” if the text itself is painful for you.

If you found something meaningful in seeing Wanda in 1991, or indeed today, that’s also valid. Representation that’s flawed can still matter.

And here comes my favourite sentence: Two things can be true.

The best parts of “A Game of You” are the ones where people support each other. There is narrative validation of trans identity even when characters fail at it, and queer characters are allowed to be complex, flawed, funny, and real.

But there are also parts we’ve outgrown, like killing queer characters for poignancy, treating symbolic acceptance as enough and centring cis and/or straight perspectives on trans and/or lesbian experiences, to just name a few.

We Contain Multitudes

To me, “A Game of You” is both a landmark and a bit of a relic. It’s important because it tried and despite where it failed. And IMHO, it failed in a lot of departments, as I already wrote here. All of these things need and should be talked about. But maybe we honour it best by not defensively pretending it’s perfect or irredeemably flawed, but by recognising it as a step in an ongoing journey?

The trans women and lesbians who saw themselves in these pages between 1991 and 2025 matter. The trans women and lesbians who were/are hurt by this story between 1991 and 2025 matter, too.

And I think we’re also allowed to outgrow our formative texts, partly or as a whole. Maybe that’s proof they helped us get somewhere better…

[crowclubkaz]

the wizard of oz is gay culture but the marvellous land of oz is trans culture!! wanda mann ilysm

[arielthedaydreamer]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

So, as a trans person with a transphobic family, I absolutely hated Wanda's depiction in the TV show. It is borderline unwatchable to me. So I took it upon myself to write an alternative version. One that would feel a little more authentic and truthful. I hope you find it so.

The warmth of her smile

Wanda went ahead of them, sitting at the table, while Delirium seemed to enjoy the restaurant's yellow and purple lights. After ordering, Wanda stood up, her phone buzzing.

-One moment, I'll take this.

She walked towards the door.

-Hi, Barbie. -Said Wanda. -Everything ok? Is Ken still trying to call you? Tell that bastard to move on!

-He hasn't called. Not in a while. I'm ok, I just... had a strange dream and... wanted to know how you're doing. Sorry, am I interrupting your work?

-No, not at all. I should be back home by tomorrow. Then let's hang out.

-Where will we go? We're broke.

-Hmmm...Tiffany's. -Said Wanda, with a mischievous smile.

-Tiffany's? Are you insane?

-Well, we're both broke, right. So wherever we go we can afford anything. So... we're going to Tiffany's. Tomorrow. At ten.

Barbie chuckled through the phone.

-It's a date then. I'll be planning my makeup look. Take care, Wanda. Bye.

-Bye, sweetie.

Wanda still smiled as she put her phone away and walked back to their table. A real smile, Delirium noticed. Wanda never did the human thing where they smile just to be all friendly but they're not really happy at all. Wanda only smiled for real.

-Sorry, it was important. -She said. -A friend.

-Something wrong? -Asked Dream.

-No. But friends are always important. -She said, raising her glass and making a toast with Delirium, who seemed to hold the most colorful type of soda Wanda had ever seen. She could have sworn that each of its bubbles had a tiny face, and some of them kissed while others snuggled together as if afraid of popping as Delirium drank them up with her straw.

Dream only watched her drink. He's ordered nothing for himself. For a while, the two brothers just sat in silence.

-I love how you two know each other well enough that you can just... be with each other. -Said Wanda. -You don't even have to speak. You can just enjoy each other's company.

-You don't have siblings, do you? -Asked Dream.

-I used to. An older brother.

-Was he grumpy and bossy and thought he knew everything about everything? -Asked Delirium.

-He was, actually.

-Do you not see your family? -Asked Dream.

-No.

-Why not? -Asked Delirium.

Wanda shifted in her chair. It was quite a personal question to be asked at work, and she didn't like being questioned by two people at once. But such is the way in a cis world. She thought she should be used to explain things like this, but she wasn't, not really.

-My parents were very conservative. They didn't know what to do with a kid like me. One day their delightful little boy began to grow into a woman. They thought I had gone crazy. I didn't know, then, that being seen as crazy is sometimes just the price you pay for being yourself. I guess I didn't have the heart to stay. I ran away when I was fifteen.

-Did you tell them you were going?

-No, but I left a note.

-Do you miss them ever? -She asked.

-Sometimes... My aunt Dora still calls. She prays for me. She thinks I don't have acess to God anymore.

But mostly, I daydream of going back home to get my favorite childhood books back. -Wanda smiled. -They were my companions, when there was no one else.

-Wanda, if your family came in now, uninvited, looking for you... -Said Dream. -Would you be happy to see them?

Wanda pondered on that for a while.

-... Maybe. It doesn't depend on me at the end of the day. It's on them. I'm here, looking gorgeous as I always do. But I could be the prettiest woman in the planet and they'd come here and they'd still call me a man, cuz that's what they want to see. They already have a story about me in their head, and they won't let go of it. How could I be happy about seeing someone who doesn't see me at all? Who keeps trying to bring me back to who they thought I was, instead of accepting that I've changed?

So no, I guess I couldn't be happy to see them if they showed up like that. But I respect their choice. If they want to keep their story, let them have it. I'll be here, thriving, with the people who actually see me for who I am. I'm building my own story. And if they don't wanna be in it, it's their loss.

The two endless exchanged a look. Evidently the response didn't please them much - real trans stories seldom did. -But Wanda saw a change in their eyes. They seemed to have understood something she was not aware of. And they moved with determination as they made their way to find the Dancing Woman.

------

The funeral was already at an end when Dream arrived.

Dream had already met Wanda's aunt, Dora, coming to deliver him the book he'd asked for.

"The Marvelous Land of Oz". It hadn't taken long for Dream to find Wanda's favorite childhood book. It was all over Wanda's records in Lucienne's library. As a child, she had drawn the characters in colourful crayons, and as an adult she had told her closest friends about it. The story had embraced and shaped her dreams, and Dream could have recognized its ripples in her very smile had he been looking for it then. But he hadn't paid attention. He wished he had.

But in this place, the booked seemed to be an exception of sorts. In Dream's starry eyes, it was as if its red cover glowed, detached from the scenery arount him. He'd understood, then, why Wanda had to leave.

This felt, to the Lord of Dreams, like a completely different realm. The place reeked of a different dream. A nightmare, perhaps. Yes, their story was a nightmare. It was told by the epitaph, sharp as a blade:

"For they have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind"

Wanda's grave was not hers, but her family's. And her family was grieving a boy. A boy that had died a long time ago, long before Wanda, and whose death they believed to be his own fault.

Dream knew that every mortal has their dreams and daydreams. He usually knew to respect each one of their stories. He knew. But each time Wanda's aunt had gendered her male still stung. It seemed to him like she clung to the pronouns like a memory of the boy she loved once, and repeated them at every chance. Dream could have respected that. He could.

But he'd talked to Wanda. He'd seen the colour of her dreams, the warmth of her smile. How could anyone choose to grieve a shadow of her past, instead of her? He wanted to tell them of the sparkle in her eyes and the way she'd loved her friends. But he knew they wouldn't hear it. They wouldn't hear of her.

Instead, they'd sought to erase her. They'd disrespected her very corpse, changed it to fit their story. Their nightmare. And this, Dream could not respect at all.

He kept his disgust concealed from the back of the ceremony, until nearly all guests were gone. All except for one.

Dream recognized the blonde woman. She was Rose Walker's friend, the one who dreamed of being a princess, in a world full of fantasy and wonder.

Barbie didn't seem to take notice of him. She knelt in front of her friend's gravestone and reached for her purse.

-It's your favorite lipstick. -she said. -Tacky flamingo or something. Thought you would like it.

With the bright pink lipstick in hand, Barbie crossed out the name at the gravestone, and wrote WANDA above it. A sense of vindication and justice washed through the woman. It felt as if the very graveyard had become brighter, the air lighter, like a nightmare turned into dream.

-Hey, no worries. -She said to the grave. -Least I could do.

As Barbie stood up to leave, she thought she had seen something. For a second, she'd catched a glipse of Wanda, with her bright pink smile, waving at her, next to a woman in black. She didn't know where it had come from, or if it was real. But she knew she would cherish that vision, as she left, taking no notice of Dream's presence.

Finally, Dream placed the book over Wanda's grave, now made hers by the name, so visible, and yet ephemeral against the pale rock.

That name would never fade. The mortals would scrub it with water and soap until their muscles ached, and time would damage the rock, eroding the stone carvings until the old ill-fitting name and the cruel epitaph were both equally unreadable and forgotten. But the bright pink lipstick would remain just as clear. Never would there be a time when one would gaze upon this gravestone without knowing the name of the woman it belonged to. It was the least Dream could promise her.

He then noticed he was being watched. A little far ahead, Wanda stood next to Death, and smiled at him. A smile as bright and real as any smile she ever gave in life.

He bowed his head and turned as he heard the sound of his sister's wings.

[bullfrawgs]

So with the recent allegations about Neil Gaiman, it has suddenly become much more popular to criticize his works. Often to the point of claiming that they "always knew", that they'd always been critical of it. We've seen this pattern before with Rowling, among others. That's not what this is, I cannot claim that I wasn't a big fan of Gaiman's works. But I still have this concern that has been rattling around in my head for years now. The way the trans woman Wanda is handled in Sandman trade 5, A Game of You. It opens with Wanda being nice, and sweet, and making me as an audience member really like her. Then, when the main thrust of the plot begins, she is excised from it and left on the outside of the dream realm explicitly for not being a "real woman". And then the space surrounding the dream dimension, where Wanda is, is all destroyed and she is killed, and the story ends with her getting buried under her deadname, misgendered, and the 2 small acts of defiance that Wanda's friend graffitis her real name on her tombstone, and that Wanda looks like a cis woman in the afterlife as a ghost. So the question is, why is she here? She's one of the very early trans characters in Big 2 comics, so Wanda draws a disproportionate amount of analysis in talking about this arc, but her "purpose" in the arc is to be explicitly tertiary and unimportant to it! This is, in effect, her downfall, her entire purpose is to not be involved in the story and then to die, because her death is the direct result of the characters in universe cutting her out of the story. And *maybe* there's something to that, I suppose, but it's not enough to justify the outcome. This story would be roundly hated if released today, because it's just fridging a trans woman who was created for the purpose of being fridged. People traditionally cut Gaiman a fair bit of slack, because it was the 90's and best practices around trans characters hadn't been established yet, but he was told *at the time* that he shouldn't fridge her. Trans icon, contemporary comics writer, coworker, and purported friend of Gaiman Rachel Pollack told him before GoY was published that he couldn't kill her. He does so anyway, and has said numerous times that GoY is his favorite arc of Sandman as a direct consequence of the criticism levied against him. He recounted this story of going against Pollack *in the memorial article he wrote for the DC Pride issue following her death* and I've just kept seething over this ever since. It's so incredibly frustrating, he did nothing to really break the chain of trans characters that are there to die which would continue for years hence.

[milfzatannaz]

Wanda my beloved for @bohemiandaydreams

[dogboyboyshorts]

vertigo girls always come out on top

[lokitty-supreme]

Happy Trans Day of Visibility! 🏳️‍⚧️

Shout out to Wanda & Echo of The Sandman Universe for being trans icons

[dxliriumoftheendless]

sandman fandom how are we feeling about the season two casting call??