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2w
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Trans characters in media

As I brainstorm for a novel I'm planning to write, what are some good trans characters throughout various forms of media and what do you like about how they're written?

I think I have a lot of good material to work with as I plan to build on and embellish certain things about my own upbringing to make for a better story. I want more material than just my own experiences though.

Abuse, trauma, and self harm are going to be things I want to delve into, at least for this character in particular so I'm especially looking for material that doesn't shy away from grappling with things of this nature.

PKMKII [none/use name] - 2w

Hana from Tokyo Godfathers.

Given how often anime (especially in that era) tends to treat trans characters as gag characters, she’s refreshing in that she gets depth. The way she’s written gives her this interesting development where, while she has her struggles as any trans woman does, her feminine qualities are so natural that both the viewer and the characters in the story come see her as innately a women. She’s got this protective, motherly nature that’s key to driving the story forward. And the story is about homelessness, loss, breaking up of families, so plenty of trauma.

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Hestia [she/her, fae/faer] - 2w

Oh! That looks neat. I'll have to watch it sometime. Thanks!

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Athena5898 [any] - 2w

Compound fracture. Generational trauma and the covering the past of trans people.

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Hestia [she/her, fae/faer] - 2w

Oh hot damn this looks good

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Carcharodonna [she/her] - 2w

Aside from Isabel in I Saw the TV Glow, I can't think of a trans character in any media that I very strongly personally identified with in terms of my own experience dealing with being trans, though there are of course trans characters I still enjoy watching and feel represented by even at a surface level. The depersonalization/derealization thing has been a big part of my life and honestly something I still struggle with during transition. There are few trans characters in popular media as is, and any that really explore trans experiences on that level are almost non-existent.

There are bits and pieces of general media that I relate to, however. Like this scene from A Scanner Darkly hit me pretty hard in terms of just the general feeling of interacting with the world through the mask/persona you wear and trying to hold that together at all times. Mima in Perfect Blue was another character I identified with strongly for similar reasons of having issues finding and being my more authentic self.

Also maybe not as extreme as those examples, but Tsukimi from Princess Jellyfish is another character I heavily identified with in terms of struggling with social roles and the gap between who you are and how the world expects you to be. Kuranosuke from that manga/anime maybe in my mind represented the more confident hopeful voice in my head telling me that better things are possible.

Those are just some examples I thought of immediately though I'm sure I could think of more if I tried. I'm not sure that's the kind of answer you were looking for, but hopefully it was at least kind of helpful/informative in some way.

EDIT: Julie Winters in The Maxx is another character I just thought of that I identified with. Again, not trans, but relatable in some ways to other trans people. I can't say much without major spoilers, but the premise of the show is largely about coping with trauma.

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Hestia [she/her, fae/faer] - 2w

I saw the TV glow is amazing. It was a very emotionally taxing movie though... I should check out princess jellyfish sometime too

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Carcharodonna [she/her] - 2w

Princess Jellyfish was HUGE for me but might not hit the same for everyone. Even if not, it's still a very cute easy-to-watch anime with great (including some gender non-conforming) characters and the manga is even better. I'll probably show it on blorp as soon as I get the chance because I've been thinking about watching again for awhile.

The other stuff I mentioned is quite a bit darker and definitely not easy stuff to watch, just as a headsup.

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