#the fact that most representations of trans women are sex workers that get murdered on law and order.

[livvyofthelake]

queer rep in children's cartoons is obviously important. how much of a joyless bastard do you have to be to complain about that?

in a society that actively demonizes/hides their existence, it is obviously important for children to learn that all kinds of queer people exist.

Christ, we have homos in cartoons for 7 years & you weirdos are already sick of it!

I would've liked to see a trans woman on TV as a child. It would've made everything easier.

Today. Currently. That still does not exist.

But, PLEASE, continue kvetching. Prick.

love that you said all this and then still needed to get out more with this one

anyway. i feel like all of that is based on your incorrect interpretation of something i offhandedly said in the tags of a joke post but now i feel a need to disagree with you because you sent me this annoying ass message. i actually am sick of queer rep in fucking cartoons and the reason for that is because i don’t watch cartoons due to being an adult and i would like that queer rep to be mine instead of 5-7 year olds that do not even know what homophobia is and have no concept of the need for representation. yes i��m a selfish and narcissistic cunt peace and love

[scriptlgbt]

I have a character who is trans, and I want to make sure I write him properly and as a real person without succumbing to stereotypes. So I was wondering if any of you would be willing to make a list of the most common and/or incorrect stereotypes about trans people? I know it's a lot to ask, and I totally understand if you don't have the time. But you don't know if you don't ask, right? Thanks!!

After a fruitless attempt to find a list for you I have come to conclusion that I’m just gonna have to write one myself… so please forgive me for the disorganised mess this is going to be, I’ve been digging around the internet grabbing whatever I can find. I’ll link to articles whenever I can, and some of these tropes don’t have names yet or have been named by me and the other mods. Also some are beliefs but people apply them to trans characters too. Lets go!

Notes: I’m going to add FIM (fine in moderation) to the ends of tropes that are perfectly fine, but are overused (given the very small amount of transgender representation, these tropes became big problems very quickly but aren’t harmful individually - or at least some parts aren’t)

Bury Your Gays/Punish Your Gays - (here gay is used as an umbrella term for any characters in the community) this trope is where LGBT+ characters are killed or punished and given no chance of a positive future for simply being in the LGBT+ community

Trans Tribulations - this is basically where characters are miserable because they are dealing and facing others transphobia or misconceptions or their own gender dysphoria (FIM)

Forcibly Outed and The Great Trans Reveal - this is where either another character forcibly outs a trans character to others, or when their transness is found out without their consent/forced consent (for example: someone walks in on a trans person while they’re changing to see them wearing a binder or possible even nude, or when a character is injured and when trying to save them others they find out they’re trans.)

Villainous Trans or Gender Non-Conforming Folks (link contains sensitive material) - this is pretty self explanatory, it’s villains who are either coded or explicitly trans and their transness is large part of why they are villainous (and often “creepy”). They’re often made to be predatory and violent

Trans Folks As Victims / Tragically Trans (same link as above) -  those poor tragic trans folk who are ostracised, brutally murdered, and forced into poverty/sex work but screw doing anything to actually help them! (this appears a lot in crime dramas)

Not Truly People - when trans/nb characters aren’t treated as real people or are treated as caricatures or objects

Cis Is Better - the belief that being cis is better than being trans/nb so trans/nb folks all obviously want to be cis

Trans Since Childhood - the belief that all trans folk have known they were trans since childhood/got the opportunity to transition at a young age (FIM, some trans people do know since childhood but not all. Some people are figuring this out in their 60s, they deserve as much respect and representation as young trans folk)

Trans = Gay - trans people aren’t really trans they’re just gay and have internalised homophobia! (sarcasm)

The Knowledgeable Ally - this cis ally knows everything to do with trans folk, in fact they know even more about being trans than trans folk do! They kindly share their bottomless knowledge and are always there to correct trans folk. In stories these brave heroes are often at hand to take transmen by the hand and tell them how terrible it is to ace bandage and give them a binder (that despite them not measuring them fits perfectly) and show them a better way to be trans (people should absolutely not use ace bandages to bind but it’s the patronising nature in which this is done that is the problem)

Trans = Gross / Trans Is Misleading - the “I was gonna get with this hot chick but then it turned out she had a penis and I started puking!” thing, apparently it’s supposed to be funny?

TRIGGER WARNING FOR NEXT TROPE

Predatory Trans Women / Invading Trans Women / Trans Women Are Predatory Men (straight or gay) - the belief/ rhetoric that trans women are straight men who want to invade lesbian spaces to to rape cis lesbians ( and to turn them straight). Or that trans women are gay men who want to rape straight men

END

Delicate Trans Boy - the “trans boy are soft and delicate” or “boys-light” thing, it’s basically where people infantilize and fetishise trans guys. (FIM - other than the infantilizing and fetishising thing, don’t do that). These characters frequently can do no wrong or their wrong doings are glossed over/ignored

Trans Guys Are Either Super Masculine or Super Feminine - no in between (FIM - this may be because of societal pressures, please do explore)

Trans Women Are Either Super Feminine or Super Masculine - no in between (FIM - this may be because of societal pressures, please do explore)

Transmen look extra feminine / Transwomen look extra masculine - this is done to establish their non-cisness/show how abnormal trans people are, transmen are all super curvy and soft and all transwomen are all very tall and very hairy ect. This is separate to the above tropes because this is usually used when fetishising trans people and is often done to other trans people from the “normal” cis people

Only Skinny White People Are Trans/NB - our media pretty much only includes trans/nb folks as skinny white, androgynous or hyper masc/fem people. This is beginning to change, but slowly

All Trans Women Are Overly Sexual - a side affect of the Predatory Trans Women trope (this is most likely linked to A Man Is Always Eager and the misconception trans women are men) as well as the fetishisation of trans women

All Trans Men Aren’t Sexual / Are Asexual - it’s an extension of the Delicate Trans Boy trope (most likely linked to the All Women Are Prudes (don’t want to or have interested in sex)) (FIM, there are asexual/non sexual trans men)

Trans Women As Sex Workers (link contain sensitive material) - the most common occupation for trans women in media is sex work, it’s heavily linked to the fetishisation of trans women and to Trans Folks As Victims

Easy Sex Change - the myth that transitioning is one quick surgery away when in reality it can take years, several surgeries, and HRT (assuming the person wants/can transition medically)

Trauma Made Me Trans - the idea that people are trans because of a trauma they’ve suffered, or because they didn’t get enough attention when they were young

My Parents Wanted A Boy/Girl So I Became One - when characters are trans because their parents wanted a kid of another gender and the character wanted to make them happy

“Trans” For Love - when a gay character pretends to be of another gender (sometimes even transitioning) so they can be openly affectionate/love their partner, or when a character pretends to be of another gender (sometimes even transitioning) so their love interest will be attracted to them. (if I’d seen this only once it would have been to many, but no, I’ve had to see it multiple times. do not.)

Love Heals Dysphoria - (the trans version of Love Heal All) It can help some people but doesn’t eradicate dysphoria (unfortunately) 

Born In The Wrong Body (narrative) - I don’t have enough space here so here’s a short article explaining the problems with this and a quick quote for those who don’t want to read it “I am not trapped by my body. I am trapped by your beliefs. And I want to reclaim this body from those who want it to breathe and be fed by their dogmas”

Trans = No Body Confidence - when trans characters have absolutely no body or confidence in their appearance what so ever. This is often used with The Knowledgeable Ally and Love Heals Dysphoria, in this scenario the trans character is filled with self hate and lacks any kind of confidence what so ever until their cis friend decides to take pity on them and helps them over come all their confidence/trans related problems (in a very patronising way)

“Required” Medical Transition - the belief that trans people need to undergo surgery/surgeries and HRT in order to be trans or to be their gender. This and it’s problems are very heavily linked to Born In The Wrong Body and Cis Is Better. Here’s an article which covers this and a quick quote “mainstream discourse has viewed cis-gender embodiment as superior and ‘correct’ […] it is as if you are not done until your body looks like a cis-gender body!”

All About Trans - this is where the whole story is focused around being trans, sub-plots included (while there is a place for trans centric stories, there’s more to us and our lives than just being trans). Or when a trans characters whole narrative/development is centred on them being trans

Trans Folk Must (Want To) Adhere To Gender Rolls - no one must adhere to gender roles, trans folk aren’t exceptions 

Old Friend, New Gender - while this trope seems innocent enough it’s often coupled with Trans = Gross / Trans Is Misleading. This is typically played out with a cis male who meets this strangely familiar super model looking women who he’s interested in, only to find out she used to be one of his old (”male”) friends. From here we go one of two ways, first the “omg she’s actually a man” repulsion where we’re supposed to find it funny/gross that he was attracted to trans women. And the second is where he has the same reaction but this time, it’s still played for jokes but, there’s a blatant message of acceptance/tolerance and he stops being attracted/interested to her but he accepts her as a women and as his old friend (this is typically handled terribly) 

This is a fairly sizeable list, but by no means a comprehensive one. 

Please do reblog and add trans/nb tropes and trends as well as links to lists by others!

If you have any questions or would like us to further elaborate on any of these tropes or any other trans/nb tropes, please send us an ask (when the ask box is open).

- Mod Emery