How to Introduce a Trans Character
Blackwarren Books strives to be a place where trans identities aren’t just represented in the fiction we publish but celebrated. Today, Editor Kezz McDonald talks even more about trans representation in fiction.
Writing an introduction for this blog post has been difficult. Do you know what else is difficult to introduce? Trans characters.
Transgender representation in media is something that has increased noticeably in the past decade or so, and as a trans woman myself, it’s been lovely to see more characters that look and feel like me in the media that I love. However, the thing about being trans is that it’s not often an immediately apparent characteristic - the diverse way that gender (or lack of it) can be expressed means that there largely isn’t some immediate tell-tale sign of someone’s trans status. This can be tough as a writer, as a lot of writing and storytelling relies on some form of narrative shorthand to clue audiences in on character and story details - ‘show, don’t tell’ and all that.
Still a Work In Progress
Overall, it feels like everyone is still trying to figure out the best way to do it. Sometimes, this information is communicated more subtly. The protagonist of the hit indie video game Celeste, Madeline, was not confirmed as trans until well after the game’s release through interviews with the game’s (also trans) creator; there were only a few hints sprinkled throughout the platformer, most famously a small trans pride flag on Madeline’s desk during the game’s epilogue. On the other end of the spectrum, you have a game like Mass Effect: Andromeda, where a scientist NPC very directly tells the player that they’re trans after only a few lines of dialogue exchange. This conversation was patched and revised after the game’s release due to criticism from the transgender community, mainly due to said NPC very readily proclaiming their deadname less than a minute into meeting the protagonist. Well-intentioned, perhaps, but ultimately coming across as inauthentic at the absolute best.
Now, let me be clear - there is no singular ‘correct’ way for a character to be introduced to their audience as transgender. At a very base level, some stories revolve around a character’s trans identity and some make that a more incidental fact - both are valid, and each one is going to handle that fact differently due to context. A writer might feel a character being trans is important to who that character is, but struggles to find a natural way to put it in. If a character just blurts out that they’re trans without proper invocation, the worry is that it comes across as ‘jarring’ or ‘out-of-line’. But being trans can be such a personal, non-obvious thing that the routes of it being ‘discovered’ by others also come with their own heavy baggage and traps to navigate.
The main thing I know is - it’s hard. Really hard.
How do I know this? Because I do it constantly.
The “Expert” Opinion
I have been out as transgender in some form for just about three years now, and I’ve been medically and physically transitioning for over a year and a half now. Over the course of that time frame, I’ve come out and/or presented myself as a trans woman to countless friends, my parents, my siblings, colleagues, acquaintances, strangers… Either with my words or simply my presentation, I’ve told people “hey, I’m trans” in so many small and big ways. Simply due to experience, one might call me something of an expert on the matter.
But I don’t feel like an expert. That would imply there has been a lot of progress made. But if there is a particular set of words that make coming out as trans feel any easier and smoother, I haven’t found them yet. I’ve had varying degrees of success on the matter, but that has more to do with the attitudes of whoever I’ve presented it to rather than what I’ve said. One thing is clear; there really is no great segue into flipping someone’s entire conception of you on its head. There is no perfect time or situation to make that announcement - you kind of just have to do it.
So, yes, this blog post about how to introduce a trans character in your fiction writing is mostly devoid of practical writing advice. Sorry about that. But, ultimately, even fiction is a reflection of our real lives, our real world, and our real interactions, so I’d like to say this isn’t a completely meaningless ramble. Ultimately, the idea of transgender people is a relatively new concept for a lot of people - even a lot of trans people. It’s still something that’s being navigated, and that means there are going to be a few road bumps along the way. The important thing, at the end of the day, is that there is no road map aside from treating trans people as a real community deserving of respect, whether that’s in real-life interactions with them or depicting them in our stories. But I’ll at least leave you with this - if it’s not a trans person’s first coming out, it’s probably their thousandth.
Have your own story to tell? Blackwarren’s current submissions round is still open!