mysticalword

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IG-@Thesamurairider

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Calling all Writers!

Come join us as we move from Tumblr Chats to discord. We are "Gotta Start Writing," and we are here to help you do just that.

What to expect?

Daily-ish Discussions

Contests

Community

Support

And more!

Please join us an accept the rules to gain access to the full server.

https://discord.gg/dqbfKZc

Had to remake to fix link. My bad.

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Somewhere in the Highlands of Iceland.[1366x2048] [OC] by @marcograssiphotography - Author: marcograssiphoto on reddit

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you may exchange 1000 Gigglebytes for one TERRORbyte on the condition you never speak to anyone of this exchange ever again

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If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind too.

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What a very well thought out response. Trans people are human after all. If you lean into that and stay clear of using their trans-liness as a joke, I'm all for it. Approaching the subject with compassion, understanding, and the willingness to learn is all I ask for (as a trans guy.)

See, I'm kinda writing this little story involving a trans man who undergoes gender reassingment surgery after a lot of events. It's a fantasy story with magic, and he becomes a biological man in the end, with a dick and stuff. Is this offensive to the trans community? Magically transforming into your desired gender? Does it feel like I'm erasing trans representation? Or is it ok? Note that the story doesn't have him angsting over his body because it's not unusual in that universe to be trans

Is it offensive to make stories about people being magically transformed into another gender?

My immediate response is: No. But it all depends on how you do it.

I do not think the movie Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde from 1995 is a good example to follow. I am just saying.

Transformation fantasies made by trans people

There are quite a few genres of transgender fiction, comics and drawings which explore the fantasies of becoming “another” gender or behaving like “the other” gender. 

On the female to male side you will, for instance, find trans people writing fan fiction, slash and yaoi. On the male to female side there you will find concepts like  TG fiction, TG comics and TG captions. 

Lately I have seen some of them embracing 3D computer design to make images and comics. There are even those who have made their own movies!

The quality of these efforts vary a lot, obviously, but they often reflect a deep felt need of those who make them to explore and express this side of themselves. 

Most  transgender people will not be offended by the idea of writing stories containing magical transformations of this kind.

Transformation fantasies made by cis people

There are actually quite a few movies and TV series made by cis people that have made use of the body swap trope, which is one of the “magical transformation methods” also popular among trans people. 

Blake Edward’s Switch comes to mind, as does the amazing anime Your Name, made by Makoto Shinkai.

When such stories are made with wisdom and insight they may help both cis and trans people come to a closer understanding of gender and gender identity.

Others, the ones that are primarily meant to entertain, may also bring in new insights. A comic like Crosswind, for instance, manages the balancing act pretty well, as I see it.

Reinforcing stereotypes

The bad ones, though, have a tendency of reinforcing gender stereotypes. Some even use the opportunity to ridicule femininity in men, masculinity in women and the very idea of being trans. The gender transformation trope has given birth to a lot of homophobic and transphobic trash. Ace Ventura, Pet Detective is extremely transphobic, to give you one sad example.

Then there are those who fall somewhere in the middle. I am still not sure how I feel about The Skin I Live In, a horror movie made by the famous Spanish director Pedro Almodovar.

Treat trans characters with respect

As you can see, it all depends on how you handle your material. Do you treat your transgender protagonist with respect? By this I do not mean that all trans characters have to be heroes. They do not. What I mean is that they should be presented as complete human beings instead of clichés of what cis people think trans people should be like. 

Respect also includes the proper use of pronouns. If this is a story about a trans man, the voice of the author should make use of male pronouns throughout. If you have transphobic characters and antagonists, you can let them use the wrong pronouns and names, but only if that helps the reader understand the conditions your trans character lives under.

It would make sense to ask a trans person read your manuscript before you publish it, though, just to be sure that you have found the right balance.

I have heard some trans people argue that cis people should never write about trans people, because they cannot possibly know how trans people experience the world. This is true on one level. Still, I probably have more faith in good artists than they have. 

After all, male writers have written good stories about women for a long time, as have  female writers about men.  It is possible to use empathy, sensibility, intelligence and research in order to imagine what it is like to be someone else. 

And we definitely need some more positive transgender representation in books and movies.

Maybe some of my other followers can chime in?

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Send me you assumptions about me and I'll respond with a "yes", "no", or "kinda."

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The natural path ✨

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There is no evidence that shows a rise in abuse in bathrooms with advancement of trans rights

 BKK

Over at twitter Owl, a transgender woman and activists,  comments on the British Minister for Women and Equalities  Liz Truss’ plan to “protect single sex spaces”:

//Liz Truss’ plans to ‘protect single sex spaces’ simply means that she wants to ban trans people from using public bathrooms that correspond with who they are. She basically wants me, and others like me, to use the men’s bathroom. Not only is this unrealistic, but dangerous.

Trans women, and trans people in general, have been using bathrooms which correspond with who they are for decades without issue. There is no real problem here. The problem is people whipping up fear about trans people and painting them as the threat they have never been.

How do they propose this works? Are they going to have someone checking the bathrooms, asking people for papers to prove that they’re not trans? This won’t only effect trans people, but anyone that doesn’t fit into conservative and narrow ideas of what 'women and men look like’.

Are they going to start singling people out on masse? Allow people to harass those they don’t think belong in a certain bathroom? Put up a scanning device at the entrance? Imprison people who 'break the law’? It’s not going to work, because it doesn’t make sense.

We’ve seen this before—in conservative USA. They have so called 'bathroom bills’, which are meant to keep trans people out of public bathrooms. It’s not about safety, it’s about stigmatising and pushing trans people out of public life.

The argument is always that 'dangerous men’ are going to 'abuse women and girls’ if trans people are allowed to use the right bathroom. But there is nothing behind that, except fear. There is no evidence that shows a rise in abuse in bathrooms with advancement of trans rights.

If people don’t know much about trans people, it’s maybe not a surprise these discussions might concern you—because they are presented under the guise of fear and that we must 'protect’ people. But there isn’t anything to protect them from: trans people are people just like you.

Trans people in the UK have been using the right bathrooms for decades, and have legally been allowed to since 2010 according to the Equality Act. This has not caused a single issue due to trans people. There is no evidence that this is a threat whatsoever.

We can all hypothese about this as much as we want, but the evidence and facts do not lie. There is no reason for people to be concerned, and people need to start being critical to what they hear and where it’s coming from. These motions are fundamentally anti-human rights.

If this were to happen, it would push the UK back decades and put the UK on a list with some of the most oppressive and anti-human right countries in this world. The consequences for trans people (and others) would be devestating. It will increase inequality exponationally.

These recent moves are little but a trojan horse; a new Section 28. Trans people deserve to be respected and recognised for who they are, both socially and legally. If these motions come to fruition, it would be a dark day in the history of the UK and LGBTI rights.//

Photo of transgender woman by Joakim BKK

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Pia | @pia_photography69

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Cypress Fall by Gabriel Chan

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Squak Mountain, November 2019

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Wistman’s Wood, Dartmoor, Devon, England by Neil Burnell

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Remember, you can disappear into the woods whenever you want. You’re an adult.

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Last winter wasn’t the coldest or the snowiest, but man it was pretty. Taken in northern Finland. [1440x2160] [OC] - Author: joel7861 on reddit

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