#it’s an affirmation of her family’s acceptance of her gender identity

[1000dactyls]

We see a lot of trans hiccup (rightfully so!!) But with your t4t hiccstrid post, I'm curious what your thoughts/headcanons on trans Astrid are? (Idk I just feel like we don't see transfem headcanons talked abt enough. I LOVE your art btw)

you are absolutely correct and I’ve been turning over specifically astrid’s coming of age arc in my head for this reason!!!

Something interesting to me is how Astrid lacks the goofy naming tradition of Berk. To me, in part that’s because when she came out as a girl she really wanted to leave her old identity behind including the silly nature of her name… but ‘Astrid’? Now that’s a name worth fearing, that’s a name that sounds powerful, and for people to respect her and her being-a-girl, she needs to have a name worth respecting. she needs to be The Perfect Girl, the perfect warrior, so she trains day and night to become the best shieldmaiden because that’s what her community needs. They need someone who can fight and kill dragons and protect their home

and then all of that gets upended

And now she’s left with… Astrid the girl who is the best shieldmaiden of her age. but what use is that strength now that there’s peace? how does she come to terms with this new identity? With this name and this image that she picked out for herself that no longer needs to exist the way it once needed to?

Something I’m particularly interested in is exploring Astrid’s trans feminine identity in the largely violent, strength-dominant culture that does not need to exist as it once did. this is why astrid cooking in gotnf and episodes like flight of passage are so interesting to me… we get to see astrid express interest in new ideas and struggle with peacetime, but despite that, she’s clearly someone who loves deeply. Astrid loves Berk, she is willing to kill and die for it — now she has to learn to live for it

[ask-codeearasure]

So... About that shitty Cross take that one person made....

If you've been following certain creators, even this account, I'm sure you've spotted a specific idiot going around complaining about Cross being Trans-Coded and using Republican talking points to say that it's "forced" or "doesn't make sense" and whatever other bullshit that shouldn't even be looked at let alone acknowledged. HOWEVER, instead, we are gonna sit down and talk about how the Trans Experience is so versatile and why Cross (and similar characters) being Trans-Coded is actually extremely important.

Gender nonconformity is fucking terrifying to Republicans, this is why it's been one of this generation's favorite punching bags.

If you look at the women who are tied to the Republican Party, you see a lot of hyperfemininity, so much so it's easy to tell that Barbie is considering suing them for stealing all her plastic.

Jokes aside, gender affirming care is gender affirming care and they are using the same gender affirming care that trans people have been using for years. This isn't only about nail products and cosmetic surgery, but also breast reduction or implant surgeries.

Gender affirming care however, is demonized by the right because they don't get it nor do they acknowledge that there is a range to it.

I once read a story about how one person had realized they were trans because a friend of theirs pointed out that when they had the option of choosing the gender of their playable characters in gaming, they always went with the gender they were not assigned at a birth. Example being an AFAB person constantly choosing male characters.

Though I have not finished watching Underverse this is applicable of XFrisk and XChara shoving the name "Cross" onto... Cross. They are pointing out he is not Sans despite being assigned that name since creation. Their true intentions here had cruelty in mind, but Cross made the name his own.

He is in denial about it which is applicable to how a LOT of trans people are in denial about it sometimes. Hell I remember a Right Wing talking head on Twitter who had tried to transition, detransistioned due to pressure from their family and then stayed at their assigned gender because of it and falling for the Republican propaganda.

Denial isn't just a river. It never has been.

Some people are in denial about their gender identities and sexual orientation and with the coming presidency we are going to see a rampant uptick in that statistic. With that coming, characters like Cross are needed far more.

Cross's story, as far as I've seen, is rough and follows a lot of self-acceptance and self-advocating storylines. Even when it comes to the biggest things that anyone from the LGBTQIA+ has to face, one of these struggles being the fear of rejection and/or being rejected by one's peers.

From what I've seen when it comes to spoilers is that Cross does end up being rejected by those he was close to before meeting Ink, and thus has to come full circle and accept himself by saying "I am Cross". He has to deny the name he went by in the past. He has to because if he doesn't, he'd be giving in to living in denial of who he truly is and thus be living a life of suffering for no reason than to keep others comfortable, setting himself on fire to keep people who couldn't give a damn about him warm.

A lot of Trans people have to show their rejection of their past or even the acceptance of that past to come to terms with themselves. Each person is different when it comes down to finding who they are and accepting that. It depends on the individual.

Some treat their past and their deadname as though they're a completely different person or someone who died so they could live. Think of a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Others treat it like their past self was the caterpillar where their new and true self is the butterfly.

Is it perfect?

No.

Is Jakei a perfect writer?

No. Neither are a lot of my favorite writers and franchises (I'm looking at you Riot Games and your shitty centrist takes on the worst of human history's sins).

But some of the things that imperfect writers make are beautiful and Cross is one of them. He is one of the few characters that speaks for the writer when it comes to saying "I see you, I see your pain. I see your suffering. You are not alone. You deserve to live your life the way you want to. You are valid."

But there are a few questions that the more clueless of people are going to ask.

Why bring Politics into this? And why do Republicans like the media made by progressives?

The answers are FASCINATING.

I bring Politics into this because Republicans, specifically Cishet white people, have made everything political since the beginning of time. Everything they don't like, everything different from them, everything they don't understand, and everything that directly rebels against their patriarchal idea of "paradise" is now considered "Political".

I remember a Republican had argued the dumbest thing once, and I was so dumbfounded I had to take a step back because holy shit.

Their argument was that black people enslaved each other which made their enslavement by white people their own fault.

Now if your jaw is on the floor, you already know where the problem is. If you don't get where the problem, is let me ask you something.

If that is the case, who was the one who made it all about skin color?

I'll tell you.

It was the white people (who were Democrats before the massive party switch, which makes them modern day Republicans).

Who were the ones who made having jobs all about gender? It was the Cishet white men (99% of whom are Republicans).

Who constantly demonized the LGBTQIA+ community during the Stonewall Riots? Mostly Cishet White Republicans.

Who are demonizing Trans people right the fuck now? Republicans and Pick-Me Gay people who vote for Republicans and side with Republicans thinking that the Republicans will finally accept them when they know Republicans won't fucking do it.

Being LGBTQIA+, making non-white characters, making a character a woman, it makes that character "Political", and "Political" characters are always the ones put on the spot for accusations of "forced diversity" and "perversion" where anyone with a working sense of conscience will understand this is a talking point butthurt Republicans or those warped by Republicans pulled out of their assholes looking for a problem where there isn't one.

All art, be it animation, digital art, traditional art, singing, writing, is political. They've always been political.

Do you want to know why Republicans are always bitching about coffee orders? It's because the Enlightenment era thus leading to the Romantic Era of literature was started because of coffee shops it was where all the best writers hung out. The moment they met each other and started talking to each other, the Enlightenment and Romantic Eras started taking off in full force.

It is because of the Enlightenment and Romantic Era writers we don't have Child Labor anymore. A lot of their writing brought talks of nature and the horrors of Child Labor into question. You can't talk about the history of Child Labor without talking about William Blake's Chimney Sweeper and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Cry of the Children. You fucking can't. Without Blake and Browning we'd still have children in mines and on rooftops risking their lives to clean your fucking chimney.

And here is where we get to the why. Why Republicans LOVE progressive media.

Here is a little secret.

All shows and media made by Republicans are shit because it is all Propaganda.

I know. Shocker.

Look around.

Mr. Birchum, New Norm, Leo and Layla, it's all propaganda. It's all the same Republican talking points that they never shut up about and even then they don't know what they're talking about.

Ask a Republican what "intersex" means. Do it, I dare you.

They won't fucking know but they'll tell you that it's Satanic and shouldn't be allowed near children.

They'd never guess that it's a spectrum of natural gender nonconformity and mixed sexual/hormonal characteristics such as having PCOS or being AMAB and still having a functioning uterus. They don't care that their delusions about there only being "male" and "female" for reproductive sex options has led to medical malpractice, social abuse, murder, and erasure of intersex individuals, and the ones that do know about intersexuality diagnose it as a "Differential Sexual Development Disorder" as if just being born intersex makes someone's existence inherently wrong with an inherent need for surgical and hormonal "correcting".

Republicans like progressive media because it knows how to say something and still be well written. This is why Republicans LOVE Star Trek, Star Wars, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, and Arcane.

It's all progressive media but it all knows how to build a world and say something. Good writers are progressive and know how to write.

Don't get me wrong there is a LOT of fucking garbage that tries to be progressive but that is a small outlier that Republicans LOVE to bring out and bash on to say that we're the ones who ruin media. They make false equivalences to try to make you stop thinking. They need stop-thinking clichés and talking points because it's all they have. But they are so fucking terrified of anything different from what is in their stupid bubble that saying "Oh yeah the champion Taliya is trans" will send them screaming and crying.

Yeah, Riot Games danced around the fact that one of their characters is Trans because they knew she'd scare off the entirety of the Republican player base. They had to hide it and use her magical girl skin to gently hint at it with "Yeah when I'm in this outfit I feel more like myself!" and the entire multi hour long Star Guardian album animation having the Trans Flag being the main pallet on everything.

I honestly wonder how many Republicans ran off when they saw THAT CaitVi scene in Arcane.

Republicans just hate anything that isn't Cis, isn't Hetero, isn't a man, and isn't white. This is why it's not uncommon to find that cishet white men are always found at Klan rallies or the modern Klan rallies which are called "Trump Rallies" these days.

This is why a lot of exhausted Democrats, Liberals, and BIPOC, Feminists, and LGBTQIA+ people have been laughing their asses off at the Pick-Mes who are getting fucked over now that they realize that surprise surprise, Project 2025 was the plan! We fucking told you so, dipshit!

This is what you asked for dumbass! We tried to warn you. You didn't listen. LESSON FUCKIN LEARNT!

Republicans like progressive shit because we make good media.

Republicans HATE anything that isn't CISHET and WHITE.

Now, am I saying all this to claim the person who made that anti-trans Cross post is a Republican, an abuser, or anything else that contributed to this systematic nonsense? Absolutely fucking not. That's an extreme statement to make and they're most likely just a very mislead kid who may or may not have been influenced by a couple of these problems, and them acting out the way they did is perhaps a reflection of how important it is to acknowledge these things even if our community is just fandom and the point is to have fun, to have a distraction from all the bad powers at play.

Either way, their actions pissed me off. Hope they learn.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Get the fuck out.

-- Ouija

[eternal-echoes]

“Your child says she's trans. Now what? Many parents are frightened that if they don't affirm the child's declared gender identity, they could lose their child. In fact, some trans activists openly discuss how they train family court judges to view parental hesitation as a form a "medical neglect."(2) As a result, some parents can lose custody of their children if they don't consent to hormones and surgery.(3) Therefore, what should you do if your child claims to be trans? If you don't affirm her proclaimed gender identity, are you rejecting her?

First off, here's what not to do: Don't freak out, be dismissive, tell her it's just a phase, try to win a debate, convince her she's immature, or remind her that the frontal lobe of her brain isn't fully developed. Upon reading this, some parents might think, "Okay, I already managed to do all of that during our first conversation, and now she's locked in her room with her earphones on, not answering the door, and probably staring at her cellphone screen again. Any suggestions for damage control?"

When the dust settles, approach her gently and say, "I want to apologize. I'm sorry I didn't handle that very well. I honestly wasn't sure what to think or what to say. Do you mind if I could try to listen again?" Although teenagers often have a short attention span when listening to their parents, they have a surprisingly long one when parents offer a sincere apology. Nonetheless, if she spouts off a snarky reply, give her a pass this time. Let her air her grievances.

Should she be willing to reengage in a conversation, here are ten tips for your initial discussions:

One: Express gratitude that she has shared this information with you. Odds are, these feelings have been brewing in her mind for quite some time, but she was afraid to talk to you about them. She might have privately navigated through stages of initial awareness about her gender dysphoria, followed by waves or confusion, shame, exploration, self-rejection, resignation, and acceptance. For her to confide in you more deeply about where she's at in this process, she'll need to feel safe.

Two: Express reverent curiosity. By the time she talks to you about this, she has probably spent countless hours learning about the subject online and discussing it with others. If you don't understand concepts or terms she uses, invite her to explain what she means by them. If some of them strike you as absurd, unscientific, or theologically unsound, now is not the time to debate. Listen and learn what she's thinking. If you show her that you're willing to listen to her, in due time she'll value what you have to say in return. If she's open to sharing with you some of the sources where she's learned about the topic of gender, take the time to explore what they are saying, so you can better understand what she's thinking. In time, as she sees that you're willing to learn more about what matters to her, she may be open to reviewing resources you could share with her, that charitably call into question some of the ideologies she may have internalized.

Three: Be empathetic. Don't try to disprove her feelings. Rather, find places where you agree and might be able to affirm her ache or discontent. You could say, "I can see why you would feel constrained by the way the world expects people to fit into stereotypes. That makes sense." Although you might not agree on what it means for her live as her "authentic self," you can affirm her desire to live authentically. You could also affirm that this must be difficult to experience and acknowledge that you realize she didn't choose to feel this way. It's possible to validate her feelings without validating her reasoning, beliefs, and ideology. You could add, "I can see this has been very hard on you. I hear what you're saying, and I want to help. Thank you for trusting me with this."

Four: Rather than interrogating her, ask thoughtful questions. For example, "Can you tell me more about this? I want to understand." "What can I do for you?" "What has it been like to tell me about this? It must have taken courage." As your conversations deepen with time, you might be able to gradually map out the history of conflicts she has felt with her sexual identity. For example, "When did you start feeling this way?" "What was happening in your life at that time?" "When does the discomfort feel most intense?" For some individuals, gender dysphoria is like a white noise always playing in the background of their lives. For others, it fluctuates in intensity, and certain things such as formal attire and events (where individuals are expected to dress in a strictly masculine or feminine way) could trigger dysphoria. Another female recalled, "I felt the most dysphoric in my teenage years just in my bedroom.”(4) As you learn more about her experiences, you can discover ways to avoid triggering some of the distress.

Five: Don't debate her memories, even if they seem embellished. Parents of gender dysphoric teens often note that their child often reinterprets their childhood history through a transgender lens. Rather than trying to disprove her recollection, listen to her perception.

Six: Be humble. If she points out some of your flaws and the hurts that you have caused, own what you can without blame-shifting. Seek forgiveness where it is needed. Often, parents worry that if they admit blame, they empower their children to hold things against them. The opposite is true. When children witness authentic vulnerability, they learn from example that ownership of one's shortcomings is a trait to be emulated.

Seven: Remind her that she is loved. Reaffirm that you will never leave her, no matter what. Explain that God loves her unconditionally as well. Perhaps you could take this moment to also apologize on behalf of the Church if she has ever been alienated by members of her faith community. Reassure her that God loves her, that He desires a personal relationship with her, and that the Church is her home. Assure her of your prayers and encourage her to have a genuine prayer life as well.

Eight: Listen for deeper motives. Drs. Yarhouse and Sadusky write:

What motivates their gender atypical behavior varies. Teens may engage in atypical expression to manage gender dysphoria, reduce anxiety about body image, express a sense of "true self," experience sexual arousal, seek entertainment, or respond to boredom. Moreover, some teens do appear to be in a search for identity and community.(5)

Each person's motivation is their own. But by listening well, you can gradually discover that there are often motives that run much deeper than simply the profession, "I'm trans." What might appear on the surface to be a feeling of inadequacy could have a layer of shame beneath it, and self-hatred at the core. Insofar as these or other deeper factors surface, try to help them distinguish how they feel from who they are. Your unconditional love will help her to explore difficult emotions such as resentment, anger, hurt, and self-loathing, so that the deeper unmet needs can be addressed with healthy strategies.

Nine: Don't pull away from your child. The topic of gender can cause so much relational friction that some parents opt for a "flight" response, hoping the difficulty will spontaneously resolve if they ignore it long enough. One young woman recalled that as she was wrestling with the idea of gender, she felt as if she were being pushed in a "confused and desperate head space" by her parent's isolated attitude toward her. Speaking of her mother, she wished that she "would have shown a bit more understanding and asked me some questions and talked to me like I was a human being going through a struggle rather than a problem to be solved."(6) So, rather than viewing her as a problem to be solved, consider her to be a mystery to be gradually revealed. According to existing research on the well-being of LGBT-identifying young people, the best predictor of their well-being over time is the quality of their relationship with you, their parents.(7)

Ten: Buy yourself time. You could say, "To be honest, this is a lot for me to understand. But I can tell that this really matters to you, and so I want you to know that I take this seriously because of that. I need some time to process our conversation and learn more about this." Telling her that you need time enables you to avoid making any major decisions or promises (other than love) in your initial conversations. It allows you time to strategize how to help them manage their dysphoria in the least invasive manner possible. Further, it models the type of thoughtful discernment around complexity that you hope your child would emulate.”

-Jason Evert, Male, Female, or Other: A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender

—

Work cited:

2) Julian Vigo, "Capitulating to Bullies: Brown University and the Transgender Lobby vs. Science," Public Discourse (October 7, 2018).

3) Cf. Ryan Anderson, "Parents Denied Custody of Child for Refusing Support of Transgenderism: Here's What You Need to Know," Lifesitenews.com, February 19, 2018.

4) "DETRANSITION Q&A (#1)," https://youtu.be/kxVmSGTgNxI.

5) Mark Yathouse and Julia Sadusky, Emerging Gender Identities (Ada, MI: Brazos Press, 2020), 67.

6) "DETRANSITION Q&A (#1)," https://youtu.be/kxVmSGTgNxI.

7) Cf. Yarhouse and Sadusky, Emerging Gender Identities, 66.

—

For more recommended resources on gender dysphoria, click here.

[mariacallous]

Kevin Lee’s father used to grunt in affirmation if someone asked if Lee was a girl. He did the same if someone asked if Lee was a boy. Growing up in the 1980s in Guiyang in southwestern China, Lee was relatively withdrawn, in part because he didn’t know what gender he was. He was less sensitive than the girls, he said. But he looked different than the boys.

Lee came out to his parents when they asked him about dating. He said he wasn’t interested in dating men and that he saw himself as male. They said “OK” and ignored the issue. Their response, Lee said, felt like being shoved back inside the closet.

It’s not uncommon for transgender people to get a negative reaction from their parents when they come out. But parental support is particularly crucial in China, where trans people need parental consent to undergo gender-affirming surgery and change their legal gender—even as adults. (If their parents are deceased, trans people must prove that to authorities.) These hurdles often make it harder for trans people to obtain care.

Lee, who wanted to pursue the surgery, said he considered the consent requirement an effort to prevent parents from seeking legal or physical retribution against doctors. “They’ll make a scene,” he said of parents who may not support their child’s decision to undergo surgery. “There will be family members taking out knives to kill doctors. It will become a social issue.”

That was one of the reasons Lee didn’t pursue gender-affirming surgery in China. “My mom is conservative,” he said. Though consent forms can be forged, he didn’t want her to go after the doctor who helped him.

In China, the need to obtain parental consent for gender-affirming care forces families to resolve their differences about the procedure ahead of time, dealing with drama or disagreements inside the family. According to Cherry, an LGBTQ+ organization worker, who requested the use of a pseudonym to protect their safety, the requirement exists to avoid parents causing a stir at the hospital.

It is also the product of a Confucian and patriarchal way of organizing society, Cherry said. For instance, police who want to put pressure on young queer activists often visit their parents’ workplaces and out them—so that the target has to deal with the ensuing family drama. “The person is managed through the family so they don’t become a problem in the public domain,” Cherry said.

The first gender-affirming procedure in China was carried out in 1983. The process entered the mainstream consciousness when Jin Xing, a famous dancer and TV presenter, recorded her surgery in a documentary released in 2000. Her father, a military officer, gave her his unconditional support. He even went to the local police station and demanded that they give Jin Xing a new ID card that reflected her gender.

That kind of parental support is rare. A 2021 report by the Beijing LGBT+ Center, which was shut down in 2023, found that only 3.2 percent of fathers and 5.9 percent of mothers in China “completely supported” their children after they came out as transgender.

Some conservative parents who do not accept their children’s gender identities send them to conversion therapy. A trans woman successfully sued a hospital last year for being subjected to electroshock therapy and being held against her will for three months. “People making policies lived through the Cultural Revolution,” Cherry said. “There’s a fear of not being the same,” they said, referring to the great emphasis placed on collectivism during that time.

Xiaoma, who grew up in the small city of Huzhou in southeastern China and requested a pseudonym to protect her privacy, recalled that before the internet reached her town, her first encounter with trans culture came from tabloids sold by street vendors, which told sensationalist stories about trans people. In phone directories, she saw advertisements for gender-affirming operations alongside those for double eyelids and breast augmentations. When she came out to her parents and told them she wanted to get gender-affirming surgery, “there was crying, there was arguing,” she said.

“There is a saying: Your body, your hair, your skin is from your parents,” said a doctor working in fertility who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to media. Ties between generations are close: “Most parents will think you’re always their child and that they have authority over you,” she said. To her knowledge, gender-affirming surgery is the only surgery undertaken by adults in China that legally requires parental consent. Other major or high-risk surgeries, such as heart surgery, often require a family member’s consent, but it can come from another direct relative or a spouse.

Xiaoma’s parents eventually acquiesced to her gender identity, even offering to help pay for a better doctor for gender-affirming surgery than she could afford on her own. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to ask for their consent. “Acceptance is one thing. Asking them to sign a consent form is another,” she said, since it would require that they actively support her decision rather than simply tolerate it. Xiaoma instead traveled to Thailand, where she could get the surgery without asking for anyone’s approval.

The barrier posed by parental consent has led to the growth of a gray industry of illegal surgeries and hormone replacement drugs in China. People exploring their sexuality and gender identity often turn to sources outside the public medical system for guidance.

When Lee was looking into gender-affirming surgery, he turned to the online forum Baidu Tieba, which is similar to Reddit. He reached out to people posting about which hormone replacement drugs worked and which did not and bought the drugs they recommended. He joined a group organized by drug sellers on the social media platform QQ, where the group’s 1,500-plus members could purchase the drugs.

After taking the medicine, Lee felt strange, and his periods got heavier. When he complained about these side effects, the drug sellers pushed him to get surgery. They told them that unless he did, he’d still be a woman. He believed everything they said. “To put it nicely,” Lee said, “they brainwashed me.”

Lee flew to Shanghai to visit the hospital where these sellers worked; he said he saw them sell the same medicine directly to another patient, a 16-year-old boy, in exchange for cash—far from standard procedure in Chinese public hospitals. Lee left and took a walk along the city’s waterfront, processing what he had seen. He turned it over in his mind. Something felt wrong.

Lee sent the hormone replacement drugs that he bought to a lab for testing. The results revealed that they were substandard anabolic steroids made from a mix of veterinary drugs. “It’s like they sold me an iPhone but just a shell,” he said. “I didn’t know what brand of battery they replaced it with, and it could explode.” When Lee applied to study abroad in Australia, he didn’t initially pass the health tests required to obtain a visa because the drugs had affected his liver and kidneys. “I was responsible for my own ignorance,” he said.

There have been some victories for China’s trans community over the past decade, such as winning a landmark work discrimination case in 2016. But it is still very difficult for trans people to change their gender on the education certificates often required by employers, which in effect outs them. Public medical insurance doesn’t cover hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery.

In 2022, China released regulations that lowered the minimum age for gender-affirming surgery from 20 to 18 and removed a requirement that people undergo a year of psychiatric treatment before surgery. It also lowered the threshold for changing official ID documents: Though the Chinese government used to require that individuals had undergone full reconstruction of their sex organs, a person can now apply for a new ID after having their reproductive organs removed—a less complex surgery that nevertheless carries medical risk.

However, those looking to change their IDs still face obstruction from local administrators, who are not always up to date on the regulations, slowing down the process.

“I was very willing to go for surgery” after reading the new regulations, Lee said. He chose to have gender-affirming surgery in Thailand rather than in China, in part because he did not want to push for his parents’ consent when he knew they did not approve of his decision. He also wanted to avoid causing them more pain. “I don’t want my parents to be gossiped about on the street,” Lee said. “My parents live in a small city where everyone knows each other.”

Lee flew to Bangkok and stayed in the hospital for four days. While he was undergoing surgery, he dreamed of Burger King. When he woke up, he had a hamburger and then vaped.

The ensuing paperwork did not go as smoothly. After returning to China, he started the process of changing his ID card in the island province of Hainan, where he previously lived and was registered as a resident. It was the start of a legal tug-of-war. The administrators asked him to prove that he was a man. He asked them to prove that he was a woman. They found reasons to delay the process, and he had to keep flying back and forth from Guizhou in southwestern China, where he currently lives.

At one point, Lee lost his temper and told the authorities that he would make a reel on Douyin, the mainland Chinese counterpart to TikTok, or talk to the media about his experience. He eventually received his new ID card.

Though China leaves a route open for trans people to pursue gender-affirming surgery, the government actively discourages open trans activism and advocacy. Under its current leadership, China has seen a rise in nationalist rhetoric and heightened distrust of foreign influence, leading to a crackdown on international funding for local organizations, which often rely on such support.

In 2016, the government passed the Overseas NGO Law, which made it more difficult for grassroots organizations to receive funding from international donors. Organizations such as Cherry’s, which received overseas funding before the law was passed, have had to shrink the scope of their work significantly.

Before 2016, Cherry and their colleagues used to go to schools and universities to talk about sexual diversity. They displayed the Pride flag openly and organized rainbow-themed runs and cycles.

The organization still helps transgender people who are looking into surgery, providing them with information on where to stay, which doctors are friendly, and which hospitals can provide the appropriate medicine. They also put on small-scale gatherings and carry out sexual disease prevention work.

But the organization must now report any gathering with more than 10 people to the police for approval, which is not a given. Ahead of dates the authorities consider politically sensitive, such as International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia or International Women’s Day, Cherry’s organization receives calls from the police checking that it will not hold any events, according to people who work there.

Advocating for the rights of sexual minorities and displaying symbols such as the Pride flag are increasingly considered by authorities as proof of foreign influence. “Anything involving the Pride flag is not allowed,” said Lotus, who works with Cherry and also asked to use a pseudonym for fear of political retribution.

“There are many voices telling us to shut up,” Lotus said. A lot of people online take the attitude “We respect you—just don’t speak out.” Though the comments are made by private individuals, that social media moderators do not delete them shows that the comments reflect an “official stance,” they said.

The main sources of funding for Lotus and Cherry’s organization are now state bodies, including the China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the All-China Women’s Federation, which focus on AIDS prevention rather than trans advocacy. The organization can receive money from these bodies when their work aligns with that objective.

Lotus gestured to a jar near where we were sitting in their office, which contained a miniature Pride flag alongside China’s national flag. “If we only put the Pride flag, there would be a problem.”

Lee now runs his own company, selling prosthetics to trans people. He drives a bright orange electric vehicle that bears a sign saying, “I’m a straight guy.” Despite the red tape that he encountered in his transition, Lee told me that he considers China’s policies to be friendly toward trans people. He pointed to other countries such as North Korea, where transgender issues are not formally addressed in law, or Russia, where trans people are not permitted to change their legal gender. In Thailand, trans people cannot change their ID cards following surgery.

He acknowledged that many trans people were reluctant to acknowledge their past for fear of discrimination. He often fielded questions from other people in the trans community asking him how he dealt with showing his education certificates to employers. But since he is self-employed, he has not faced that issue.

Lee had little contact with his parents before his surgery, and that did not change after he returned to China from Thailand. When I spoke to him in January, he said he planned to travel over the Lunar New Year holiday to Xishuangbanna in southwestern China. I asked him if he planned to see his parents, and he said he might see his father, that they might even travel together. He didn’t think his mother would want to join them.

[pnfc]

here is some train-of-thought writing that came out today while i was thinking about labels/identity for d&p, sexuality and gender.

EDIT on ao3 here.

18+ for (brief) sex scenes, you’ve been warned, door is over there etc

When Perry laid out the realities of his private life to the Flynn-Fletcher family it was not, in his preplanning mind, a gay coming-out. That was like the 9th or 10th layer of the curtain he was pulling away in the grand reveal, a flimsy one attendant in its connection to Heinz Doofenshmirtz and all the messiness he embodied, mortal threats on Perry and tristate domination schemes and more than one cringeworthy viral video.

So it’s sweet and befuddling to Perry when Phineas and Ferb gift him a handknitted rainbow pride scarf for his birthday that year, maybe the last people he’d expect to take that particular tack.

“Phineas is really taking to Home Ec,” Ferb tells Perry as they refill at the coffee table. “I don’t mean to devalue our shared gift in your eyes, but he made that in just half a period, it was his first project. And I think,” Ferb continues in his low voice, as he retrieves the creamer for Perry. “He might be just a little excited to have a gay family member.”

That’s what Perry is, now that he and his connection with Heinz are out for the world to see. He’d never thought of it in those terms before, nor had Heinz used the word to describe their still-new romantic partnership. Perry’s gay and his former nemesis turned agent-partner is now his boyfriend, is the buzz at the office.

Perry thought it might have a welcome insulating effect, word spreading that Agent P isn’t into women, on an official basis this time. But it didn’t stop Agent Lyla from flirting at him, in fact seemed to goad her on, like Perry’s stony indifference to her was funny, fun to poke at. And it didn’t stop women from cooing over him in public, even with the enamel flag pin from Stacy pinned to his hat band -- again, that may have only exacerbated the situation.

But it did spare him from at least one Monogram holiday present, a profoundly haunting OWCA calendar starring female models in states of Christmassy undress, posed with plush animals. He’d yanked it back out of Perry’s hands, with what might have been bashfulness, and muttered “Gotta get a male model calendar for next year, too, so HR doesnt get on my keister. Carl! You’re in charge of the gay one.”

Perry accepted the designation of gay man, even if he didn’t feel it in his bones. It fit on him like a well tailored suit, the rainbow aesthetic was appealing, queer human history was deeply compelling and Stacy et al were so excited to share in his education on the subject, to share a place with him behind the marching banner. It affirmed Perry’s lifelong indifference to the human and non-human women he was assumed to feel attraction for. But it all felt a bit specious, since Perry harbored attraction for one person only. He couldn’t in a century feel for anyone else the way he does Heinz.

Still here he is, a man with a boyfriend, and if the fact that he’s a platypus threatens that definition, that opinion is not possessed by the people in his life who matter. So he’s gay.

Heinz shares Perry’s ambivalence around labeling, but out of a long legacy of experience that Perry lacks, so he’s a refuge in this. “Bisexual, yeah, that was the rage back in college,” he waxes nostalgic to Perry, during their nighttime couch convos. “The only way to be, unless you were a college republican finance major. But there’s pansexual now too, right? And so many flags -- Vanessa’s friends were over here trying to explain it to me. That girl Laci had so many flags on her bag, it was like the Olympics back there. Or like the last 50 years of Drusselstein regional flags from the warring states -- except like, in more colors than just grey and brown. Drusselstein had a serious dye shortage. They finally cut a deal with the Ukraine in 2006 for green, it was a real gamechanger, but it only complicated the flag design wars.”

“…Anyway it was fun to be bi, in the 80s,” Heinz says. He’s sprawled along the couch, Perry sitting against his bare bent leg, idly rubbing a paw around his knee. “Guys really put themselves together back then, they were electric. And if you slapped on enough liner and eyeshadow to partly obscure your weird shaped face maybe one of them would give you his number, if he had enough cocktails. And sometimes that number would even be legit.”

Pausing, Heinz looking up at the lofty ceiling, his head on the armrest. “I don’t know if I am bi anymore, Perry the Platypus,” he says with a note of regret. “Everyone’s just so sad now, so Linkedin and Panera Bread, even the evil scientists of the day are so sexless -- I dunno, maybe I’ve aged out of the crowd. Once I hit 30 it just seemed easier sticking with women. They can be a lot kinder, in my experience. Or at least more liable to pity a guy like me. Plus they’re, y’know, really hot -- trust me on that one, Perry the Platypus. So I dunno if I’ve got the right to be all ‘loud and proud’ just because I knew how to party in my 20s. …At least, I didn’t have the right for a good decade there.” Perry’s smirking across at him, elbow propped on the bend of Heinz’s knee. “You don’t need to give me that look,” Heinz scolds. “I know what you are to me. You don’t need to rub it in. “But, you know what I mean: you outgrow the bi phase, you get married, you work with a lot of cute dancers, accept an arduous future of heterosexual post-divorce dating efforts -- and then you, ah -- meet a very attractive platypus,” he says, struggling because Perry is pressing his hands into Heinz’s thigh, trailing a leisurely path upwards. “And it, uh. Gets confusing. …Oh my god, Perry.” His splayed leg shakes and he props it up on the back of the couch as Perry focuses on worsening the situation in his cotton workout shorts. He told Perry not to rub it in -- that’s always annoying, being told what not to do, what not to rub.

Despite all of Heinz’s wordy equivocating he is loud about Perry’s role in his life, the first to introduce Perry as his boyfriend or himself as Perry’s, though he tends to prefer the word partner, maybe for its alliterative quality. “Yes, Perry the Platypus is my partner,” is the line trod out to whichever party guest, since more often than not Perry is the one who needs no introduction. “And I mean romantic partner, just to be clear, so there’s no confusion. Because we used to be work partners too, and we still are. But we’re an item.” And if Heinz deems the partygoer in question to be sufficiently magnetic and therefore threatening he will follow this up with the even more unnecessary “So don’t even think about it.” Perry should find this more mortifying than he does, probably, except that it’s cut short conversations with a lot of people who turned out not to be worth Perry’s time. Quite efficient, letting your boyfriend trim the homophobic tallow off your social sphere with his blunt-sheared social crudity. More than one social blowout has turned into a furious makeout session back behind the venue, Perry dragging Heinz’s back down a brick wall so he can suck his tongue, so Heinz’s pleas of “Perry we’re parked right over there” muffle into whimpers under a canopy of evening cicada call.

Perry came up in OWCA right when they were transforming their internal messaging, making it superficially friendlier. Some changes were Carl’s well-meaning suggestions that became enshrined. “The agents shouldn’t be shamed out of exploring their natural desires,” was the gist of his plea to Monogram -- Perry retains a fuzzy memory of the scene, he couldn’t have been older than 3 then, was delivering a hot beverage to Monogram’s office as part of his daily duties. “Even the ones who aren’t, um… intact, they still feel things.”

“So we tell them not to. Anything less is insanity. It’s sick, Carl.” He took the heavy coffee from Perry’s hands. Perry’s palms were wet and burning. “The animals need to focus on one thing, and that’s the mission. Lord knows I don’t need to hear about whatever nasty business they get up to back at the zoo, in their off-hours. But we’re dealing with dumb, wild animals, Carl. We need to stamp out all that mating distraction with a vengeance. This is a war, Carl, against evil itself, and they’re humanity's front line.”

But Carl must’ve gotten something through, because the recruits younger than Perry endured less scare mongering around sex, fewer militaristic tirades from Monogram about the primacy of the fight and the evils of carnal temptation. Mono’s coffee mug featured a hula dancer whose bikini vanished at high temperatures -- it had always been difficult to take him seriously.

And one day they’d all been gifted a Carl-designed asexual pride tee, the OWCA logo in purple and grey, and a “Be who you are!” platitude written in Carl’s loopy cursive. This messaging was muddled to say the least. This was a human designation, asexuality, of which Perry had only partial comprehension -- and Carl seemed to be prescribing it to the agents even as his words encouraged free identity. But the design was nice, Carl had a flair for that -- the flag colors were classy and austere, not quite to Perry’s taste where t-shirts were concerned, but definitely suited to Heinz. Except Perry knew even back then that if any human pride flag fit Heinz, this was not it.

He still has that shirt bunched in the bottom of a drawer with the other old employee tees, including one with Carl’s face and chocolate stains on it. Maybe that human designation does fit Perry, in a certain technical sense. In the fall and winter. Seasons when he sits with Heinz watching trashy old 70s flicks that burgeon and bulge with more nudity than the plot demands. “You see how they filmed skin back then, Perry the Platypus?” Heinz will lament. “It’s crazy, her legs are like glowing -- people don’t look like this anymore.” He works himself up trying to explain the magic effect to Perry, while Perry just leans into his side and gazes up at him. Human attraction is cute, defanged like this, watching Heinz helpless in the thrall of some chainsmoking director’s bad movie about a city cop taking down apocalyptic gangs. And just to be mean Perry won’t touch Heinz’s hard-on -- but he’ll touch everywhere else, as the movie plays, nose his bill up the side of his shirt and kiss his hot skin, and he’ll watch Heinz shudder his way to breaking point, whereat he digs himself out of his pants and pulls himself off in a few fast strokes. Perry doesn’t need to get off to enjoy this. It satisfies just like the old thwartings. Perry’s just hitting other self-destruct buttons, on Heinz’s body -- he’s really one big button, if Perry’s honest, and Perry savors pushing it again, and again, and again.

So he could take or leave the labels. He likes that he and Heinz cut a different shape, one that doesn’t slot neatly into a human-made hole. But they mean a lot to the kids, Perry observes, as they grow into high schools and colleges, as they get passionate and motivated, as Vanessa breaks up with Monty and doesn’t look back. And Perry, Perry’s not even a person to so many of the humans he encounters, much less one with an orientation worth caring about. So it’s nice. He carries the cheery rainbow umbrella with the London skyline that Lawrence brought back from across the pond. He wears Ferb and Phineas’s snazzy rainbow scarf, Stacy’s hat pin. It’s not borne deep in Perry’s bones, this identity, but it’s a lovely accent, fortified by the people he loves. No depth required.

Which is why it does not seem too jarring, many years in the future, a decade onward, when his partnership with Heinz looks different. After they’ve danced through years of late night karaoke, hitting up gay bars and the vanishingly rare sapient-animal-friendly club, both of them growing loose and happy in their linkage to each other, holding each other’s hands and feeling the clink-clink of their rings. It was just more playtime for both of them, Heinz bustling around Perry to deck him out in 70s throwback fits with the big cheesewedge collars and migraine stripes, Perry standing tiptoe to zip up Heinz’s dress as he sits craned forward on the floor, holding frizzy wig ringlets out of the way, before Perry smooths his hands out across Heinz’s shoulders and he lets the hair bounce back down.

It’s still play, maybe, until the year that Heinz’s mousy hair is long and shoulder-brushing. Perry lounges in the balcony hammock with one hand trailing on the ground, as he watches Heinz pull it up into a ponytail before tearing into a vintage radio repair, an ongoing collaboration with Lawrence. And something that wasn’t serious now is, because even now, dressed down in oil-stained sweats and a holey tee, with wispy silver hair and no 80s eyeshadow on to obscure her charming face, Perry sees that she’s beautiful.

Perry wants to tell her this, when they’re getting in from an anniversary dinner out. He has the words in his hands, he’s already told her several times, because she needed to hear it those first few staggering attempts to hit the daytime streets in skirts, that she looked right in them, looked cute. Perry says it differently now, as he presses her down into the pillow with a hand, leaning across her skinny torso. Heinz’s natural hair fans the pillow, heat-curled and sprayed for the special night. Perry presses his soft bill to her forehead, trails down to her rouged cheek, further down to her lips, where her plum purple lipstick looks black in the dark. Perry says it with hands down her face, trailing into her soft hair and gripping it tight as she touches him. He says it with clawmarks trailing up her thighs and snapping the net of her tights as he swallows her down, the ritualistic tearing of Heinz’s fabric newly modified into a synthetic cherry pop, and if in the dark beads of blood flower up under his claws Perry licks them too, with love and apology, with a want to get more of Heinz into him. And he says it one more time when she’s asleep and curled around him like the crescent moon, and he reaches in to unhook her earrings, puts them on the nightstand.

Is Perry gay now, when the shape of him and Heinz seems so the same, despite her changes? Well, it’s not the most pressing question. It’s hard enough contemplating how Perry will introduce his girlfriend to his family, when he used to swear up and down the day would never come. But not girlfriend, wife, and not wife, partner -- so he’s circumvented it rather ingeniously, actually, a fact he hopes Phineas and Ferb appreciate. They decide to do it that week, packing the fixed-up radio and a few fresh loaves of zucchini bread, decoratively ribboned, into the truck. Perry helps smooth Heinz’s hair in the driver’s seat, and Heinz smooths her floral skirt down before taking off the brakes. Perry adjusts his hat in the mirror, and judges the scarf around his neck. It still looks cute on him, now flaming more vibrant in hue against the greying fur of his chest. It’s still his boys, hugging around him, all the unrestrained cheesy love they felt for Perry as kids preserved in rainbow yarn. So he wears it, as he and Heinz drive ahead together through the rest of it.

[corycorvidae]

on being trans: an ode and an elegy

i am transgender.

i have known this concretely for about 7 years. i have known that i wasn't quite a girl for much longer.

my family chalked it up to tomboyishness. that was an acceptable form of gender rebellion; they didn't have to acknowledge anything, so it wasn't there.

when i did come out to them at fourteen (via text, as i was terrified that saying the quiet part out loud would force them to squash it), there was nothing. no change, no reassurances. my mom said exactly this:

"we know. be home in 15."

we never talked about it. like i had never said a word. the most i got was performative language from my mother in sessions with my psychiatrist. outside of that room, it didn't actually matter to her. it didn't matter that i had bared the softest parts of my soul just to say that i exist. it didn't matter that i was moments away from being another statistic. it didn't matter that i tore my skin open with the desire to escape it. we never talked about it.

the ignorance hurt more than any rejection ever could.

we do not talk about it.

i am now nineteen. i have been on testosterone for roughly 9 months. my voice has dropped and my bones have been covered and my mustache grows in dark. she has helped with injections. everyone who matters calls me gray. we still do not talk about it.

my father is hateful. he has tried to stop me every step of the way and she has enabled him. he has torn down my flags and demanded i act the part of daughter. i continue to grow through the cracks in the pavement.

do not mistake my story for tragedy. my transness is not an ailment or burden. i am loved, not despite being trans, and not even though i'm trans. it is a simple fact of my existence and i am loved in the acknowledgement of it. in the celebration and radical acceptance of it.

it is freeing, and it is terrifying. especially now, transgender people are being aggressively targeted in the government. as of writing this, 821 bills that would harm trans and gender-nonconforming people are in consideration nationwide. 88 anti-trans federal bills were proposed in 2024. two years prior, there were zero.

this is political violence. these are the textbook warning signs of genocide. we are being stripped of our humanity. we are being denied healthcare, employment, homes, respect, acknowledgement, and dignity. our children are being taken from us, our marriages invalidated, our existence pushed out of the spaces we share with our cis peers.

do i threaten you by sharing a stage or a sports team with my brothers? am i brainwashing children by simply affirming that i am a man when they have questions? would you take my medication and my name and my identity from me, knowing that it would kill me?

there is no exaggeration. i would be dead. forcing myself to be a girl killed me in every single way you can be without physically dying. and in the worst of it, i almost did.

my friends, you have allowed me be alive. i urge you stand for all of the trans people in your life. leave no space for hate or denial of our existence. be vocal.

this is not asking you to love every single trans person without question; like everyone else, we can be bad people. this is asking to recognize that transness is not the root of evil. that transness is real and factual and not tied to the worth or integrity of an individual.

i am trans in the same way that i am nineteen and i have freckles and my eyes crinkle when i smile. it is true. there is nothing else to understand.

i am gray.

IN THE FACE OF EXTERMINATION, SAY FUCK YOU!

[yourlocalxiaosimp]

How I think Genshin characters would react if you came out as trans to them:

Obviously I’m gonna start with my favs

Xiao: he wouldn’t be against it, but you might have to explain what exactly it is because mortal terms aren’t the most important to him.

Gaming: very supportive, would ask if your family knows and supports you. If they don’t, he’s your new brother.

Kaveh: would immediately feel terrible for misgendering you in the past. You might need to reassure him. He will be very mindful in the future, and extremely hard on himself if he slips up.

Itto: immediately offers to beat up anyone who misgenders you (hoping you won’t take it seriously because he would never beat someone up)

Neuvillete: He would be quite confused, but he would support you anyway.

Furina: She would become your number 1 ally the second you finish telling her and even offer to take you shopping for gender affirmative clothing.

Zhongli: He wouldn’t be outward in his support, but he’d definitely accept and acknowledge your identity. As someone who’s changed his own identity, he’s very likely to be someone you can confide in.

Childe: doesn’t care, as long as you can still fight him. He might go slightly easier on you if you’re a trans girl tho (idk I just think it’d be funny)

Barbara: I imagine she’d be a “god loves everyone” kind of ally. What that means I’m not sure, but you see the vision. Right?

Chirori: She’d accept you, and she might even offer to make a new outfit for you. Not for free, obviously.

Cyno: will start making jokes relating to transness (respectfully ofc)

Hu Tao: asks if you want to hold a funeral for your deadname (get it?)

Feel free to add onto this, but I also made a part 2

[wefaithfulfew]

tumblr, am i still your william wisp guy?

anyways heres my in depth headcanons for william wisp and her transfemininity

- high dysphoria, medium euphoria.

- values being gendered properly, though sometimes it feels like its not enough. she feels bad for that.

- childhood was strange and is even more strange looking back. its not like she always knew and just never had the language to describe it. it just only hit whenever she finally made friends, and realized things were not the same.

- she wanted to act like the rest of the boys. she plays "tough," though her idea of tough is currently vaping and raging over videogames.

- she doesnt know how her parents would react. logically, they would completely accept her, as they always have. but theres always some part of her that is scared.

- some part of her wants connection and validation from men. from david, from her dad, from tide, from everyone.

- her identity as a man, initially, had to be pulled from her hands. it had to be clawed away. she couldnt stand losing it. she barely even had it in the first place.

- a definite victim of the idea of an "ideal male", though she knew she could never be that. it even kind of influenced her initially superficial crush on vyncent.

- coming out was never going to be easy, and she knew that. sometimes she thought it wasnt going to be worth it, because she didnt know how long it would actually last.

- tide knew first, but everything started happening when dakota knew. without dakota, william would not have let go of her previous attachment to manhood.

- i think watch would absolutely provide gender affirming care to their heroes. i cant see why they wouldnt. itd also really fit with alastyr letting will go without an actual scan, considering that she probably had met him before and discussed her gender with him.

- she built a strong support system!! her family fucking loves her. her friends love her.

- definitely forgot to save up on her E whenever her and vynce went off grid between seasons. had to do lower doses and was definitely at her most insecure.

- in grayscale she was desperately clawing at her past just to see david be happy with her. she never would come out to him.

- does not dress very feminine because she's scared, but loves to mess around with hairstyles and makeup which she can get away with, assuming people will just see her as "a weird little bisexual man"

- dresses more feminine in the comfort of her own home. usually when alone but she wont really change to leave her room at tides. she doesnt do it much in the winnebago, which is noticed and eventually she's assured she could if she wanted to.

- boobs grown by fig newtons (this is a joke but do consider)

- alternatively thats where the extra inch on one of her legs went. into boob meat.

[classygreydove]

3 Wangxian + Mulan AU ideas

I wrote a comment about this somewhere but couldn't find it again. But basically, I love wangxian. I love mulan. I love mulan au. But I'm not that into the a/b/o au. So here's some mulan au ideas that don't use that specific trope but still have all the Gender:

Idea #1: transmasc!wwx escapes his miserable life endlessly disappointing Madam Yu and feeling uncomfortable in his own skin by running away to join the military. He meets LWJ, who comes from a very respected Lan lineage of court officials, scholars and generals. LWJ hasn't married yet, despite pressures from family and politics, bc bro is gay and isn't interested in loveless marriage (see: madam lan trauma). He's putting it off by focusing on his career, which is defending the current dynasty from the Wen (a very rich clan from north China trying to overthrow the southern-based dynasty, with the help of a strong nomadic tribe whose leader is zhao zhuliu and whose tribe raises the *best* horses and therefore is very much a Threat.) Wwx, using his radical ideas about fireworks/gunpowder (or some other genius weaponry innovation), ends up turning the tide of the war and defeats the Wen. Lwj is absolutely smitten and wishing he could take those bows so bad, but knowing it is impossible. Somehow, whether injury or madam yu, wwx gets forcibly outed, which is very :(( but luckily there is a happy ending! He is given a general position regardless of being afab/ is offered a place in the Emperor's court instead of execution. Wwx accepts, and continues to dress and act as masc as he pleases, and still being addressed by masc titles (admittedly, part of the reason he can do this is bc misogyny, but still!) and Lwj courts wwx - regardless of others opinions about wwx's unsuitability as a "wife" - and is the most gender-affirming husband to wwx ever, and wwx and lwj live happily ever after.

Idea #2: they're both women. Wwx cross-dresses (maybe has a little fun with gender/gender expression, maybe nb? or just mostly prefers being a woman) to go into the army instead of jc so that jc doesn't die on some battlefield somewhere. Meets lwj, who is also cross-dressing, and whose mother chose to raise her as a son from birth to give her daughter a better future free from the chains she had experienced. She is a very respected general (again from lineage of generals). She recognizes wwx doing a rather poor job of hiding her identity but doesn't say anything, even before wwx earns her respect (and she earns wwx's). Similar plot stuff as idea #1 occurs, wwx is revealed to be a woman. Through either betrothal due to the emperor doing some shipping, or through lwj beginning the courting process herself, wwx and lwj begin courting. As the steps are completed, however, lwj is more and more panicked trying to figure out how to tell wwx she is a woman (luckily, we know wwx is bisexual). Lwj knows she's a woman, but she doesn't know how to *be* a woman, having lived all her life as a man, so she's insecure about that as well. And Will wwx even want her once she discovers lwj isn't a man? Fic ends when wwx and lwj finally have that talk and get married and live happily ever after.

Idea #3: wwx is the well-renowned general tasked with leading his forces against the Wen. Lwj is the transmasc! (or even just cross-dressing woman, bc I confess I love a good het romance that breaks gender roles, as a disaster bisexual) who was childhood friends? betrothed at a young age? to wwx. Lwj is not willing to leave wwx to face the enemy alone, so lwj joins the army and is stationed under wwx. Wwx, who hasn't seen or interacted with lwj in years, finds himself falling in love with this soldier who fights with such dedication and devotion by his side...and Stuff Happens from there.

[lorekeeperazurai]

I know that it is popular to hate on Fire Emblem Engage's story because of how tonally different it is from Three Houses, but Alear's story resonated with me because of how easily it can be read as a trans narrative. It has made her one of my favorite FE protagonists.

Alear lived most of her life in a state of self loathing. She pretended to be a person she wasn't in order to meet her father's expectations of her and was socialized a certain way because of the identity assigned to her at birth. To protect herself she adopts a painfully relatable emotional apathy.

Later she is able to escape the toxic familial obligations to her father and finds a new family, who not only accept her, but actively encourage her to grow and become the person she wants to be. She is even given a form of magic treatment that slowly changes her body to match her chosen identity.

We start the game with her halfway through that transformation (represented by the dual tone hair) and she goes on to make many friends who genuinely love her and affirm her new identity after she is outed. She then goes on to help her sister with her own struggles with identity and family.

This probably wasn't the intended read of the character and the Fell Dragon / Divine Dragon transformation doesn't map perfectly onto the concept of gender, but that's the beauty of art. It can be interpreted in different ways.

Anyway, Alear is a trans icon and says trans rights!

[ruusaanrambles]

writing a script for a video about being a trans mandalorian and how the two connect together and aren’t just separate facets of me

If you wanna read it or offer suggestions I’ll stick it below the cut ^-^

Introduction 

Queerness in legends mando culture 

Acceptance and bigotry in the mando cosplay community 

Gender affirming armor

Intro

Hi everyone. My name is Ruusaan Miit’ad, my pronouns are he/him and she/her and I’m a genderfluid transmasc mandalorian cosplayer. 

I’ve noticed a theme of other trans mandos, so today I’m gonna go over mandalorian culture in universe, acceptance and bigotry in the mando cosplay community, and how my armor has helped me figure myself out and deal with dysphoria.

PART I

MANDALORIAN CULTURE 

First off, I’m going off of legends culture here. As much as I enjoy Disney canon mandos, there’s some issues with that lore.

The most core part of mando culture is of course the resole’nare, a set of six tenants all mandalorians live.  However there’s a vast list of other phrases and values that impact mandalorian culture. Let’s start off with Cin Vhitin.

Cin vhetin is the concept of white snow, a fresh start. When you become a Mandalorian and you live by the resolnare, your past no longer matters. Anyone who is willing to leave their old life behind and take up the resolnare can be adopted into the ranks. This makes, or should make, mandos an incredibly diverse group of people.

Next is the language itself. In the entirety of mando’a there is exactly one gendered word. That is the word for woman. Even the word for man sometimes has gender neutral uses. There is only one third person pronoun, and that is kaysh.

Mandalorian society is nither matriarchal nor patriarchal, rather power based. 

When described in the books Mandalorian armor is gender indistinguishable, as well as for most beings, species indeterminate. 

Much of this is not represented in Disney cannon, but that’s a topic for another video.

Overall, mando culture as described in the books is inclusive, diverse, and doesn’t give a shit about your gender. True icons 

Part II

COSPLAY COMMUNITY 

I’m not going to get into cosplay drama here, but one thing you need to know about mando cosplayers is that they tend to be incredibly accepting, or very bigoted. This usually (though not always) goes along with what part of mando culture they are drawn to. Some are mainly here for the warrior culture, drawn to the power and prowess. 

Others see the family values, the inclusiveness, and the concept of protecting those who cannot protect themselves. 

Now there are no clear lines on who in that situation is going to be the bigot, but I’m sure with the context clues you can guess which one it usually is.

Admittedly a lot of us are just here for the cool armor, so that’s not always a tell. 

You’ll hear from a lot of people things like “keep the identity and politics out of Star Wars.” 

My existence should not be political, though Star Wars, a franchise about taking down the space nazis that rose from a crumbling republic certainly is, but that’s a topic for another video.

An unfortunate amount of clubs will let transphobia, ableism, and homophobia slide under the rule of keeping politics out of cosplay. Blatant sexism and racism are less prevalent, but certainly still there.

If you are marginalized not every mando is your friend, but to be very clear a lot definitely are. 

PART III

GENDER AFFIRMING ARMOR

Alright. I mentioned that in the books Mandalorian armor is described as gender neutral. However if you’ve seen it in the shows, it becomes very clear that’s not how Disney portrays it. HOWEVER this can actually be kinda nice when you’re trans, so let’s get into it.

Buckets tend to be gendered with curved visors for women and straight t-shaped visors for men. So something as simple as changing out your helmet can be very gender affirming. Pairing a straight visor with femme armor or a curved visor with masc armor can be great for making a more androgynous kit.

How much of your figure mando armor covers, is entirely up to you.

As a transmasc I lean toward bulky full coverage armor. A chestplate like that of Paz Vizsla or Aran Tal is great for concealing those pesky boobs and the right Kama or hip plates can help hide hips. 

In the reverse, if you make it right you don’t actually need the boobs to fill a Bo-Katan chestplate. Or if you don’t want a gap for storing snacks, Sabine’s armor while still looking feminine can fit a flat chest well.

Look at Bo-katan’s hip plates to accentuate your hips, and maybe try a loincloth like ursa wren has.

For a more masculine look a slightly baggier flightsuit, still close fitting but not skin tight. Think straight jeans and a turtle neck as opposed to skinny jeans and a women’s long sleeved shirt.

Or for a more feminine look you can opt for a more skin tight suit.

Bulkier armor in general makes me feel more masculine, on the legs, and shoulder armor can make your shoulders look wider.

I’m someone who never passes. If I’m in every day clothes it’s once in a blue moon someone thinks I’m i guy. 

However in mando armor I do in fact pass. As a giant freaking nerd true, but also as a guy. 

I’ll make a video in future for fellow boob havers about how to pattern your own chest plates to both fit your frame and look like you want. 

That said, if you have any questions or comments please leave them below.

I’d love to help some people out with making armor that you feel good in, or explain further to any cis people who are just here for armor and allyship.

Thanks for being here, ret’urcye mhi friends.

Planning to post this on my YouTube, and this might be how some of my extended family finds out I’m trans lol wish me luck 

[esor-ogramira]

I've seen a lot of negativity about AMAB nonbinary people, so as an AFAB nonbinary person, here's a familial love letter to all my AMAB nonbinary siblings out there!

I love you AMAB nonbinary people who like having a beard! I love you AMAB nobinary people who prefer to keep your faces clean-shaven! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have hairy chests! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have no hair on your chests! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who shave your body hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't shave your body hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who developed breasts during puberty! I love you AMAB nonbinary people with flat chests! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are fat! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are slim-built! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are muscular! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't have much muscle tone! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy wearing dresses! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy wearing skirts! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't like wearing dresses! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't like wearing skirts! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy wearing makeup! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't wear makeup! I love you AMAB nonbinary people with long hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people with short hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are balding at a young age! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are over the age of fifty! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are in high school! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are in college! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are trans and no-op and no-HRT! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are trans and no-op and on HRT! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have gotten the gender-affirming surgeries you want but don't want to/can't go on HRT! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are stealth! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are out and proud! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who can't come out/don't want to come out! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as masculine! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as feminine! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as androgynous! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as gender neutral! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting your genders as something that confuses everyone who looks at you! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who aren't trans! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't refer to your previous names as your deadnames! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't want to change your names! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who've chosen masculine names for yourselves! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who've chosen feminine names for yourselves! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who've chosen gender neutral names for yourselves! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who love your previous names/deadnames too much to change them! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use he/him pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use she/her pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use they/them pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use neopronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use no pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use any pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use all pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are in high schools that aren't very accepting of your gender identities! (It will get better, I promise!) I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are autistic! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are ADHD! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are schizophrenic! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have dissociation disorders! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are systems! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have personality disorders! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have mood disorders! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who experience psychosis! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who experience delusions! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have learning disabilities! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have intellectual disabilities! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are neurotypical!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Christina Buttons

Published: Mar 12, 2025

Last year, a series of Yelp reviews surfaced on social media, written by a young man named Yarden Silveira. Silveira was a detransitioner—a person who once identified as transgender but no longer does—who suffered severe complications from gender-related genital surgery. In these reviews, he castigated his doctors, claiming they had mistreated him.

Yarden died only two months after posting the reviews. Their discovery briefly made waves on social media, but details of Yarden’s life and death remained obscure, hidden behind multiple aliases and a vanished online presence.

Now, through investigative work and interviews with his mother, Kendra, and his aunt, Ginger, it is possible to tell his story. This evidence reveals a boy on the autism spectrum who struggled to accept his homosexuality. Health professionals facilitated his transition when he was a teenager. After traumatic surgical complications, Yarden tried to detransition, only to be rebuffed by the same medical community that had readily agreed to operate. He died at just 23, in what his mother believes was a suicide.

Yarden’s last wish was for accountability from the medical establishment. His story is a devastating testament to the failures of that establishment. Rather than help a healthy gay man come to terms with who he was, doctors “affirmed” his insecurities and led him down a path of surgery. Later, when he begged for help reversing or repairing what had been done to his body, he found only closed doors.

The timeline and assertions that follow are based on Yarden’s online posts and conversations with his family. The physicians mentioned either did not respond to comment requests or declined to comment.

Yarden was born Jorden Matthew Dykes on February 20, 1998, in Santa Clara, California. His parents separated when he was young, and his father was largely absent. His mother, Kendra, gave birth to him in her early twenties. She raised him alongside two younger daughters in modest circumstances. She later remarried briefly, with a man whom Ginger described as “abusive.”

From early childhood, Yarden showed signs of experiencing the world differently. As a baby, he would stare at ceiling fans for hours. In childhood, he developed an intense fixation with vacuum cleaners. He had been in therapy since around age five for anger and anxiety and had received multiple diagnoses, including ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder. Doctors finally identified Asperger’s syndrome (now classified under autism spectrum disorder) when he was about ten.

Ginger described Yarden as both loving and quick to anger, with a tendency to speak or act impulsively. He struggled socially, seldom making friends. He preferred instead to absorb himself in “special interests,” a behavior typical of children on the autism spectrum. At 13, he came out as gay on Facebook, triggering conflict with paternal relatives who had conservative religious views. His mother’s side, however, embraced him.

[ Jorden Matthew Dykes at age five ]

Two years later, at 15, Yarden told his mother that he was transgender. He believed that he had a “female brain”—the still-prevalent but scientifically flawed notion that transgender-identifying individuals’ brains resemble those of the opposite sex.

Kendra and Ginger recalled that transgender issues quickly became an all-consuming fixation for Yarden. Within months of announcing his transgender identity, Yarden began making plans to seek medical assistance.

By 16, Yarden had socially transitioned. He began using the name Emily, adopted female pronouns, grew out his hair, and wore feminine attire. It was 2014—the year of the “transgender tipping point.” Public awareness of trans issues was surging, and the number of children identifying as transgender spiked.

[ Yarden, then identifying as Emily, pictured at age 17 ]

A year later, Yarden was on cross-sex hormones, prescribed by a Fresno clinic. His mother noticed that he frequently changed his name, with monikers often tied to fleeting fixations or short-lived friendships. He spent much of his time online, cycling through intense interests—social justice, genealogy, Communism.

He also began seeing a Fresno-based gender-affirming therapist, Carol Montgomery Brosnac. Yarden later claimed that Brosnac and other health professionals had encouraged his transition and fostered unrealistic expectations, setting him up for failure. “My doctors and therapists said it was possible to change genders and even recommended that I transition,” he wrote. “Given how naive I’ve always been, I genuinely believed them.”

[ Yarden, then identifying as Emily, pictured performing community service at age 18 ]

At 18, Yarden was preparing for the next step in his transition: a penile-inversion vaginoplasty, in which an otherwise healthy penis is surgically dissected, with its tissue rearranged to construct a facsimile of a vagina. He underwent the procedure shortly after his nineteenth birthday, in early 2017, at Align Surgical Associates in San Francisco.

The surgery marked the beginning of a downward spiral. Soon afterward, he was back in the hospital with severe complications, including excessive blood loss that required a transfusion. According to medical records, Yarden developed necrosis of the “vaginal” tissue. Over 2017, he was hospitalized repeatedly to undergo corrective surgeries, including stomach-tissue grafts, in which sections of tissue from his abdomen were transplanted to replace the lost tissue.

Complication rates for penile-inversion vaginoplasty vary widely, with estimates ranging from 20 percent to 70 percent. But Yarden felt his doctors had downplayed the risks and overpromised on outcomes.

Thomas Satterwhite, a plastic surgeon and founder of Align Surgical Associates in California, performed Yarden’s vaginoplasty. Satterwhite is a leading figure at the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the controversial professional association for gender medicine. He has a focus in “non-standard” genital surgeries—customized procedures that do not conform to conventional male or female anatomy.

[ Kendra (left) and Yarden, then identifying as Emily (right), pictured before a therapy appointment ]

In May 2019, Yarden underwent what he hoped would be a final revision vaginoplasty, this time performed by surgeon Maurice Garcia at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. The procedure utilized a segment of Yarden’s colon in an attempt to replace tissue lost in previous surgeries.

Only a week later, Yarden expressed profound regret, telling Garcia that he wanted a reversal. Garcia refused to comply unless Yarden waited six months, underwent consistent therapy for at least three months, and continued with post-op dilation—despite Yarden’s desire to close the “vaginal” canal. In medical notes that Yarden later shared, Garcia wrote that Yarden showed a “lack of insight” about the “irreversible” nature of closing the surgically created canal and appeared to have “unreasonable expectations.”

Between the ages of 19 and 21, Yarden also underwent breast augmentation and facial feminization surgery—both, like his genital surgery, deemed “medically necessary” and covered by Medi-Cal, California’s publicly funded insurance program. He pinned his hopes on each successive procedure, hoping it would bring him the happiness that had eluded him. “[I]f this one surgery is a massive success,” he wrote in 2019, “then I wouldn’t have wasted so many years of my life for nothing.”

After his latest surgery failed to bring that happiness, Yarden’s optimism gave way to frustration and despair. He was in constant pain and rapidly losing faith in the doctors who had once promised to help him. As his desperation grew, he sent increasingly distressed and sometimes menacing messages to Satterwhite and Garcia. Both doctors filed restraining orders against him.

Around this time, Yarden became absorbed in religion, exploring various faiths before converting to Judaism through online courses. At the same time, he was searching for a solution to his worsening surgical complications and believed that doctors in New York could help.

Using a Birthright trip to Israel as an opportunity, Yarden took his return ticket to New York, where he spent six months homeless before securing a spot in a Brooklyn supportive-housing program. During this time, he began the process of detransitioning, adopting the name Yarden Matityahu Silveira—Yarden being the Hebrew equivalent of his birth name, Jorden.

By 2021, he had joined the Detransitioner community on Reddit using the name “Mindless-Mistake-176.” The forum was then a small community, one of the few spaces where detransitioners could share their experiences. Today, it has some 56,000 members.

Through his posts, a clearer picture of Yarden’s circumstances emerged. Struggling with chronic pain from his surgeries, he attended weekly therapy and regularly used cannabis to cope. He chronicled ongoing suffering, a sense of betrayal, and futile attempts to find medical help, detailing one doctor after another who refused to assist him.

In a post from February 2021, Yarden claimed that he had his breast implants removed by plastic surgeon Aron Kressel at Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan. Yarden was unhappy with the result, maintaining that Kressel left him with uneven nipples and residual breast tissue. His desperation escalated; he saw plastic surgeon Alyssa R. Golas at New York University, who reportedly told him, “I can’t help you. You’re honestly the first detransitioning patient of mine.” Then, Yarden said, Miroslav Djordjevic at Mount Sinai, a specialist in sex-reassignment surgery, refused to operate without additional requirements. Shortly after, Djordjevic’s office warned Yarden to stop contacting them or face police intervention.

He approached other surgeons at Mount Sinai, who were unwilling to assist. An appointment with Frank Fang at Mount Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery was canceled; an email from the clinic stated that it would not provide him with surgical services. He sought a consultation with Loren Schechter in Chicago—now the president-elect of WPATH—who, he claimed, acknowledged the severity of his case but declined to take him on. David M. Whitehead of Northwell Health, he said, simply wished him “the best of luck” on his “gender journey,” providing no care plan.

Around this time, Yarden began posting scathing reviews on Yelp and the doctor-review site Vitals.com about the physicians who had operated on him and those who allegedly refused to treat him. In a March 2021 review of Rachael Bluebond-Langner, he claimed that she dismissed his concerns and suggested physical therapy as a solution.

Ultimately, Yarden felt deceived by the idea that he could ever become a woman. “It isn’t possible to biologically transition from one sex to another, which really smacked me in the face when that reality became clear to me,” he wrote. He felt that he had been “lied to” from the start.

[ Yarden at age 22, after his detransition ]

Yarden seemed to recognize that his autism may have influenced his decision to transition. “Maybe if I didn’t have autism, maybe if my brain wasn’t so defective, I would have caught on before it was too late,” he wrote.

Autism is increasingly prevalent among those who identify as transgender. Research links autism to higher rates of same-sex attraction and gender nonconformity—to behaviors, preferences, and traits atypical for one’s sex. Many autistic individuals develop strong moral convictions, spend excessive time online, and gravitate toward social justice spaces that reinforce transgender narratives. The high rates of depression and anxiety among people with autism, combined with black-and-white thinking, can lead them to believe that transitioning will solve all of their problems.

In 2016, Yarden claimed that he had been sexually assaulted by a man and was deeply distressed when some peers didn’t believe him. Autistic individuals are at higher risk of sexual assault, often because of their difficulty reading social cues, greater naïveté, and tendency to trust others too easily.

When Yarden turned 23, he should have had a long life ahead of him. Instead, he was growing hopeless. “I can’t continue living like this,” he said. In one of his final posts, he reflected on seeing a happy gay couple on the subway, acknowledging that his discomfort with his homosexual desires played a role in his decision to transition. “You just really wanted to escape the label,” he admitted.

On May 20, 2021, Yarden died in New York. The medical examiner listed “unknown circumstances” on his death certificate. According to Kendra, no autopsy was performed because some Jewish traditions discourage it.

Nonetheless, Yarden’s mother believes that he ended his own life. He had been open about suicidal thoughts. She also acknowledges that complications from his surgical issues might have played a role. Yarden described his worsening condition in graphic detail—a significant blockage caused by scar tissue and an exposed colon, which he feared could be life-threatening. Either way, his physical and mental suffering were inextricably bound together.

He was laid to rest at Mount Richmond Cemetery on Staten Island, a burial ground managed by the Hebrew Free Burial Association, which provides Jewish burials for those in need. He was buried without a tombstone.

If we can draw any lesson from Yarden’s short and painful life, it is that blind affirmation can do irreparable harm, especially for autistic or otherwise vulnerable youth who cling to the hope that adopting a transgender identity will solve their deeper struggles. When that hope shattered, Yarden was left without options, without support, and finally, without life itself.

“He was a light, and important to this world, and now the world is a little darker without him,” his mother, Kendra, told City Journal. “Yarden was so loved.”

--

[saintjosie]

I'm gonna jump in the discourse lol, I don't pass as a trans woman and I don't think I'll care to. But demilypyro was advocating for living as your best self, she happens to be in a country that funded her transition? But other than that she's like poor too. Idk it feels like everyone's just looking for trouble because she was responding to hate with snark

okay people really don’t get this so i’m gonna tell y’all a story. my story.

i’m a trans woman with a fuckload of privilege. i’m pretty, i’m passing, and i have a platform, but most importantly, i had the privilege of starting my transition when i was financially stable on my own in largely supportive environments. and i recognize these things now but i didn’t always.

i started my transition in may of 2020, during the height of lockdown. and at that time, i was working a cushy corporate salaried desk job with full benefits which included both therapy and gender affirming care. i got on hrt quickly, and because of good genes, because masculine asian features are regarded as feminine in western beauty standards, because i’m really fucking good at makeup, and because i was working from home and there was no where to go, i was able to stop boymoding by october of 2020, about 6 months after i started hrt.

and then around that same time, i had another stroke of luck. i made a tiktok about coming out at work, which i did in the most extra way imaginable, and that tiktok went viral. it got 300k views and overnight i went from having 150 followers on tiktok to several thousand. and a less than a year later, that grew to 100k.

that year was rough as hell. i transitioned during a time where going out into the world to find community was impossible. and i lost my job. and i got divorced. and i cut out my family. and because of all of that, i felt like i was doing better than a lot of other trans people. cause i was facing hardships and still doing incredible.

but even so, i was longing for community that would validate and accept me the way that i was validated and accepted online. and so over the next year, i moved across the country three times, something i was able to do only because i was able to afford it

during that year i finally started to get out and meet queer people as the pandemic slowed down. and as i connected with queer and trans people in varying stages on their own journey, i realized the enormous privilege of being able to transition, afford therapy, afford my meds, afford moving to a place where i could find community. i wasn’t just “better at being trans”, i was just luckier than most.

being able to accept being trans is so dependent on having the support structure around you to process what you are feeling. being able to socially transition is dependent on having the people around you who will accept your identity and being in a place where you are able to do so safely. being able to medically transition is dependent on having the physical health and financial stability to do so.

privilege is something that needs to be constantly dismantled within our community because privilege is the main weapon that is used to oppress us.

the fact that this demily person made a snide sarcastic comment doesn’t change the fact that she sought out a person without a following to shit on someone without a following. the inherent privilege of saying something like, “i’m better at being trans” even if she didn’t mean it seriously, shows that she doesn’t recognize the privilege of being in a place where you can learn to accept yourself.

and on top of all that because she’s a person with a following and a platform, the danger of that kind of thinking compounds and is worth calling out.

i’m not misunderstanding her intentions or the context.

you are misunderstanding privilege.

[risingscorchingsuns]

What was hikaru's transition experience in the corps? How did they take his coming out (if that happened)? How easy was it for him to get care (you said shinobu did his top surgery)?

This is a great question! Unfortunately Hikaru being trans is one of the most historically inaccurate parts of his story, if not medically, then definitely socially. I use a lot more modern methods and language because I wanted Hikaru to be trans similarly to how I am. It’s my canon-accurate Achilles Heel 😭

Don’t get me wrong, trans people definitely existed back in the Taisho period!! We’ve always been here, but back then we were recorded a little differently, generally regarded as “women in men’s clothing”, et cetera. I will never deny their existence, and Hikaru being modern with his gender expression isn’t meant as erasure or denial to them, but as an expression of myself via a fictional character. Their existence is real, and valid, and they are no less trans than Hikaru- at the end of the day, he’s my silly little self insert, and I wanted to write his experiences based off of mine. If the focus of Hikaru’s story was his gender journey, I would put more emphasis on the time period and the difficulties surrounding being trans in the Taisho period, but the themes surrounding Blazing Heart’s Rhapsody are acceptance and solace found within family, and love in spite of war. This isn’t a story about trans people- Hikaru just happens to be trans ☺️

Hikaru realized he was a boy very very young, (probably around 6 or 7) and his father, Hiroki, encouraged him to live in whatever fashion made him feel most comfortable. Because Hikaru grew up in the woods with only his father and little brothers, he was never really socialized as a woman or a man- he was just Hikaru, the oldest Eritora child. He likely hit puberty while living on his own in the Sumitomo Forest, but didn’t experience dysphoria until he was found by the Kochos when he was 16. When he was brought into the Corps, Hikaru experienced gender norms full-force for the first time. It wasn’t really that they didn’t support Hikaru being trans, it was more that he didn’t fit. He was Different, and that made him Othered. For the first time, Hikaru was struggling with where he belonged, and that was when he started to really learn the societal importance placed on gender roles. Additionally, Hikaru is neurodivergent, so these norms never made much sense to him logically in the first place. So while he never really had to come out, he did have to fit in, which was difficult for him to navigate. He talked to Shinobu, who in all her medical expertise, gave him the best advice she could. She was the one who helped him hormonally transition, (if she can inject herself with 700x the lethal dose of wisteria without fucking poisoning herself, she can probably make Hikaru’s testosterone. She’s iconic like that I think.) and ultimately it was Shinobu who helped Hikaru figure out where he stood in terms of gender identity. Hikaru is a self-made man in every sense of the phrase, but he couldn’t have done it without the help of those around him.

As for top surgery, I don’t really have a canon-friendly justification for that. Shinobu’s not a plastic surgeon, she’s probably done minor surgeries before, but never anything to the level of gender-affirming surgery. I feel like she’d DIY that shit tbh. She could pull it off. I’d let her do my top surgery. Shinobu says trans rights 🗣️

Thank you for this ask!!! I rarely get to do longform Hikaru analysis :D

[milevenotfound]

TRANS DEKUSQUAD HEADCANONS

Izuku: Izuku realized he was trans when he was quite young, possibly in elementary school. He struggled with understanding and expressing his identity at first. Izuku came out to his mom, Inko, when he was around 10 years old. He was nervous but prepared a heartfelt explanation. Inko responded with unconditional love, saying, You’re my Izuku, no matter what. He initially kept it private, waiting until he was more comfortable before sharing it with others. Izuku struggles with dysphoria occasionally, particularly when he compares himself to others. He tends to overthink and self-critique, but he uses journaling as an outlet to process these feelings. He keeps a private journal dedicated to his own journey, where he writes affirmations and documents his progress, much like his hero analysis notebooks. Training helps him combat dysphoria, as physical strength and growth remind him of how far he’s come. All Might becomes a pivotal figure in Izuku’s life, offering not only hero mentorship but also subtle emotional support. Though they don’t talk directly about Izuku’s trans identity, All Might’s belief in him reinforces Izuku’s confidence. Ochaco Uraraka is one of the first classmates Izuku tells. She immediately supports him and cheers him on, helping him feel safe and accepted. Iida Tenya is unwavering in his support, offering practical help when Izuku needs it and standing up for him if anyone says anything hurtful. Bakugo Katsuki initially struggles to adjust but never questions Izuku’s identity. Over time, he learns to express his support in his own gruff way, like saying, You’re still a nerd, but I guess you’re my nerd.

Shoto: Shoto realizes he’s transgender around the time he starts learning to fully accept himself. His struggles with his family and his quirks make him more introspective, leading him to explore his gender identity during his high school years. Shoto starts binding his chest, feeling more comfortable and confident in his body. He may have had some moments of self-consciousness at first but grows to feel more at home in his own skin. Bakugo, despite his rough exterior, is surprisingly protective and fiercely loyal, standing up for Shoto if anyone disrespects him. While Shoto is generally stoic, he has moments of dysphoria that make him retreat inwardly. He may sometimes feel like he’s not measuring up to his own expectations or the ones placed on him by others. But he pushes forward, using his determination to create a path toward self-acceptance.

Lida: Tenya’s realization that he is transgender happens during his teenage years, possibly around the start of high school. Growing up in a family with a strict sense of duty and discipline, it takes time for Tenya to understand and accept his true gender identity. He spends a lot of time reflecting on how he feels, especially after coming to terms with his values and his role as both a hero and an individual. Tenya’s family, especially his mother and older brother Tensei, are initially confused but ultimately supportive when Tenya comes out to them. Tenya would start binding as a way to relieve dysphoria. He’s very cautious about it and might even be self-conscious at first, given his sense of discipline and perfectionism. Over time, though, he becomes more comfortable with it, especially as he sees how his friends react with nothing but acceptance. As a person who is incredibly disciplined and hardworking, Tenya feels pressure to live up to the standard.

Uraraka: Ochaco might realize she’s transgender during her time at U.A. The more she grows, the more she starts questioning her gender identity, eventually coming to terms with being a woman, which feels more authentic to her. While she had always been feminine and nurturing, there was a period of self-reflection where she realized her gender didn't fully align with how others saw her and how she felt inside. Ochaco’s family is very supportive when she comes out. Her parents, especially her mother, have always instilled confidence in her, encouraging her to pursue her dreams. The support might come as a surprise to her, as she expected some hesitancy from her traditional parents, but their love for her is unconditional. Her family works with her to make her transition as smooth as possible, helping her navigate the emotional and social challenges that come with it. Ochaco may experience some gender dysphoria during her transition, especially in relation to how her body changes. As someone who’s always been energetic and athletic, she might have some challenges in reconciling her physical self with her inner sense of identity. However, her determination to live authentically helps her push through these tough moments. She becomes more confident as she learns to embrace her body, quirks, and femininity.

Asui: Tsuyu might realize she’s transgender in her early teens, around the time she starts developing a deeper sense of who she is and what it means to be comfortable in her own body. Growing up, she always felt comfortable in her skin, but as she matures, she starts to understand that her identity as a woman doesn't completely match the gender others assumed her to be. Her self-discovery is gradual, and she comes to terms with it quietly, taking her time to understand and embrace it. Midoriya is one of the first to support her, offering a listening ear and comforting words. Uraraka, who shares Tsuyu’s values of empathy and caring, is particularly close to her and often checks in to make sure Tsuyu is doing okay emotionally. Even Bakugo, who may struggle with expressing emotions, respects her identity and makes sure to stand up for her if anyone disrespects her.