A GUIDE TO WRITING TRANS MUSES: it's not as scary as you think, i promise
if you have followed me at all in the past few months, years, whatever you will have heard me bang on about wanting more trans muses in the rpc. while we as a community have come a long way since the early days of circulating the same three white actors & casting female characters aside (which is still an issue!), trans muses remain quite underrepresented. & since complaining has never brought the world forward, the least i can do is educate for free. you are welcome.
in all seriousness though, this "guide" is by no means comprehensive. i am a guy with a tumblr blog, quite a bit of this will even be extremely subjective. but i am going to write it anyway & if just one person decides to create a trans oc after reading this i have already achieved all i ever wanted.
i'm transgender, angry & fueled by caffeine & spite. that is all i need, really.
while anyone can read this for inspiration obviously, it is meant predominantly for cis people who are worried that writing a trans character is in some way harder than writing a cis character. it is not, but i will get to that.
WHY WE NEED MORE TRANS CHARACTERS IN THE RPC
because trans people make up about 1% of the global population & are in no way represented accurate to that number. because trans people are still largely misrepresented & have their identity used as their only character trait rather than a part of a whole person. because stereotypes are still controlling the narrative. because i have trans muses on my blog & notice the interaction gradient as compared to my cis muses. because, because, because. i could list you dozens of reasons (& i didn't even include the ones that count towards the harassment trans people face on- & offline) but i think it all boils down very easily to: because trans people exist & deserve to be treated as such. & because i have high hopes for cis people to do better in the future.
WHY CIS PEOPLE SHOULD WRITE TRANS CHARACTERS
idk how to break this to you but you are the majority & it is unfortunately largely up to you to make trans voices be heard. the point of community is supporting each other & this applies to the rpc as much as to any other place. & if trans people can write cis muses to get any interactions at all, i'm sure you are able to include a trans muse or two in your rosters.
there is a more palatable answer, too: playing around with gender is a lot of fun. once you understand that nothing you do should be dictated by the shape of your genitals, you acquire a sense of freedom you will not have known before. this applies to character creation as much as to real life.
i will keep this section short, smarter people than me have explained this at length & i will trust that, if you have come this far, know at least the basics.
trans includes all gender identities that do not match with the one they were assigned at birth. this is where i beg you not to use terminology such as X identifies as a man, Y was born a woman, Z is now a woman. if you are a trans woman, you were born a trans woman & nothing else. just as a gay man wasn't heterosexual until proven otherwise a trans person wasn't cis until they weren't. it's an aspect to discover, not one that has to be created before it applies. & yes, non binary people are included in the umbrella term transgender. we do not argue about this fact.
this is perhaps the part you will be least happy to hear about: having to find a faceclaim that is not cis. yes, sorry, i know this will hurt but using your favorite cis actor is not going to look great. because trans people are not cis. many of us don't even want to be cis. i would certainly hate it if they made a movie about me & cast tom holland to depict me. it is important that you understand this: trans people are not cis people to be. if you use a cis person as a faceclaim for a trans character, you are still not casting accurate to gender, as a trans man has as much in common with a cis man as he has with a cis women.
but that takes effort!! you may want to complain. yes, it does, that's character creation. but to make it easier on you, here are some trans actors & actresses to get you started: jordan gonzalez (trans man), abigail thorn (trans woman), miles mckenna (trans man), michaela jae rodriguez (trans woman), elliot fletcher (trans man), elliot page (trans man), linn da quebrada (trans woman), josie totah (trans woman), indya moore (non binary), lux pascal (trans woman), angelica ross (trans woman), jack haven (non binary), liv hewson (non binary), mason alexander park (non binary), jessie mei li (gender non conforming), yasmin finney (trans woman).
i also recommend checking the tumblr tags for trans & non binary fcs as well as dear-indies's masterlists.
or more accurately: what is the policy on dead names? as a general rule: never use a trans person's dead name even if you are aware of it. repeat this three times. (yes, some trans people do not mind this to be done. most do. when in doubt, ask. it is an extremely personal experience for everybody.)
for character creation, some exceptions apply. if you are writing your character's biography, you may want to explore their identity & as such, they are likely born with a name that applies to the gender they were assigned at birth. can you use that name then? allow me to preface this with a reminder: this is simply my opinion as a guy writing a little guide to make things easier for cis people in the rpc. & as such, my opinion on the matter is, that, as a part of a character's past, using their dead name is a perfectly fine thing to do. as long as it is made clear that it is their name no longer (or they use their dead name still), there is nothing wrong with their dead name simply existing.
& one more thing: some trans people may use the feminine / masculine version of their dead name (eg. paul & paulina). you can do this, but i implore you to think about it critically. it plays into the above theme of having a deep connection to their dead name for some reason or another but is not common otherwise.
HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THEIR IDENTITY. RESPECTFULLY
here are the good news: this is the part that you can get really creative with! there is no (well, almost no) wrong answer because everyone experiences their identity in a different way. i am going to offer some examples that you may want to consider when exploring your muse’s gender, though:
what is their stance on hormonal therapy? on bottom or top surgery?
do they experience dysphoria? if yes, regarding which parts of their body? if no,
why not? (these can be perceivably illogical, too, & aren’t limited to genitals.)
do they experience euphoria? if yes, regarding which parts of their body? if no, why not?
do they pass well? would one look at them & think them to be their assigned sex?
are they publicly out or in the closet?
are they themselves aware of being trans?
are they comfortable with their dead name? do they reclaim it or any nicknames given to them in the past?
aside from the above mentioned, the stereotypes surrounding trans people in media are numerous, so allow me to list a few i am tired of seeing. be aware that all of these can still exist but if you're creating a trans character & this is all you can come up with, try harder.
trans men who are soft & gentle (because that is what you think a woman should be),
trans women who are loud & aggressive (because that is what you think a man should be),
trans people who spend their entire life wishing they weren't trans (begging you to talk about trans euphoria with people),
making fun of neo pronouns,
full bottom & top surgery is the ultimate goal,
literally anything about being trans to deceive others,
making the characters past & trauma revolve solely about being trans.
the list is by no means exhaustive but this post is long enough as it is.
i am aware that i preface this by saying writing a trans muse is not that scary. i still believe that to be true. yes, there are aspects to be aware of & there is some research to be done, but does this not apply to every minority? if you want to grow as a writer, you have got to put the work in. & while i happily supply a little guide to fall back on when in doubt, here is the most important advice of all: talk to trans people about their experiences. every trans life is different, just like every cis life is different, & if we want to be a functioning community, we have got to start talking with & listening to each other a lot better.
& if you have read all this & still have questions: do not hesitate to contact me. peace out.
