#bunheads but make them all trans

[fandomshatewomen]

do you not know what pretty little liars is

hey so you can go ahead and chill with the attitude

[link to the original ask]

i'm not the mod who answered the first message but tbh i agree with laina. while i can appreciate the intention to have a mainstream tv show where the lead characters are all trans girls/women but their trans-ness is not at the core of the drama they face, that doesn't really work with the PLL model.

i read all the books and watched the first couple seasons when they came out and the general concept of the series was that these rich/upper middle class suburban girls kept making pretty much the worst decisions -- and yes, lying -- when faced with their various dilemmas. it makes for a compelling YA series but i think it's intellectually dishonest to imagine that this model could be pulled off with trans characters while avoiding transphobia, in today's cultural environment.

on the other hand, if we use a narrative model like sex and the city -- like laina mentioned -- centering transfemme characters without making an issue of transphobia is a much easier trick to pull off. the characters can live in a progressive city or town and work in spaces that have nothing to do with their trans-ness. basically if they're grownups rather than teenagers they have much more autonomy over their lives, structurally reducing their vulnerability to transphobia.

i'll add my opinion here that i think it's unrealistic to literally completely avoid the issue of transphobia, because it is still a relevant issue, and part of the power of representation is to provide real people who live at certain intersections of identity with a possibility model of how to handle issues they may face in real life.

mod dyr

[olivers-cocoapuffs]

(yes regulus is trans, no he isn’t out fully. He still dances as a girl)

James bounces into the studio, bag slung over his shoulder and grin on his face. He looks around, instantly zeroing in on his dance partner at the barre.

Regulus is doing his stretches and glances over at James, scowling when he spots him. James drops his bag in the corner of the studio, next to where Marlene is stretching on the floor before bounding over to Regulus.

“Morning Reggie.” James greets, standing beside him.

“Regulus.” He hisses in response.

“Right, sorry.”

Regulus huffs and resumes his demi plié’s. He’s actively trying not to look at James, who has started following his lead, moving to the other side of the barre.

“What do you want, Potter?”

“Just warming up Reg. What do you want?”

“I want to not have to look at you, let alone let you touch me. Piss off.”

James chortles, delighted. “You’re so mean.”

The expression on Regulus’ face makes James think that he’s about to grab his pointe shoe and slap him across the face. James reckons he’d probably let him.

Ms McGonagall claps her hands sharply, drawing their attention. “We’ll be working on our pas de deux today.”

Beside James, Regulus huffs in annoyance. He moves over to where the rest of their teammates are, James following him. Regulus sits on the floor, and starts lacing up his pointe shoes as Lily and Remus start their dance.

They finish almost flawlessly, and they all clap politely. Lily does an over the top curtesy and Remus winks at James before the pair of them rejoin the group.

“Black, Potter.” Minerva calls out.

James holds out his hand to Regulus and walks him out to the middle of the floor. They settle into position, James standing behind Regulus with his hands on his waist.

“You better not drop me.” Regulus hisses before Minnie turns the music back on.

“Keep your tutu on, bunhead.” James rolls his eyes, but the effect is lost because of his grin.