So, like, as a nonbinary person who is transitioning, sometimes it feels very... disappointing for me to see a fandom immediately assume a character is a transwoman any time an otherwise male-identifying character expresses doubt or regret about his own gender expression, or vice-versa.
I'm not saying I wish people wouldn't headcanon a character to be transgender. Quite the opposite. I think it should be more queer than that. Like, the gender spectrum is so wide and diverse. You can be he/him and present female. You can be a she/her transman. You can be they/it and just be uncomfortable in men's clothing. You can be agender. You can be gender fluid.
Hell, rejecting hypermasculinity or embracing some parts of femininity doesn't even always need to be a transgender thing.
But, for some reason, despite the agreement that gender is a spectrum, "egg" characters are always assumed to be binary transgender with "his" or "her" respective pronouns.
Is it so wrong to assume a character is transgender but still use their preferred pronouns until they express otherwise? I'm aware I can't just ask the character, but also, what if they still enjoy using he/him? I can't just assume that either.
I sometimes feel like reinforcing these binaries through assumptions only leads to people feeling more insecure about exploring gender expression. A fandom will argue about whether a character is either a man or a transwoman. Man or Woman. But that feels just... so, so reductive to a person. If I was somehow in that character's place, I would be pretty pissed off that people aren't just letting me explore my options before deciding.
I knew I wasn't male. But, I had this binary placed in my brain for a long time due to this kind of narrative. When I started to explore gender, I went hard into being a transwoman, and it didn't feel right to me. It wasn't until I figured out I could be gender fluid that I actually started to feel comfortable exploring gender identity.
Anyways. I guess this is all to say, I really wish fandoms were more welcoming of other transgender identities.
