#trans and nonbinary fiction

[meowmageddon]

Book Review: Trans-Galactic Bike Ride: Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories of Transgender and Nonbinary Adventurers - edited by Lydia Rogue

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Goodreads & StoryGraph reviews

Simple Review:

This was more varied in quality from anthologies I've read recently. I feel that even though it's not YA, a few of the stories felt a little too young for me, as I near middle-age. A few other stories were a bit ham-fisted in their metaphors or very predictable. On the whole, I still had a good time with the anthology, and as someone who is nonbinary myself, I always find trans and nonbinary stories refreshing, especially when they're allowed to be trans-/queer-normative and have fun like this!

Individual Story Reviews:

"Per Rotas Ad Astra" by Ether Nepenthes: 3 stars - A brief vignette about a disabled queer bicyclist setting off on her space bike on a solo trip to the moon. I have come to realize that I don't care for banter with inside jokes; at this point in my life, it feels as awkward as when someone tells inside jokes you're not in on around you in reality. It may appeal to younger readers who yearn to be part of this sort of banter.

"Riding for Luck" by Juliet Kemp: 4.5 stars - Four bicyclists discover they can build up a sort of lucky power by perfectly timing their bike rides and decide to see if they can use it for a greater good. This was a neat idea and charming in execution!

"The Edge of the Abyss" by M. Darusha Wehm: 2.5 stars - A couple outcast smugglers—one who deals in goods, the other in information—stop for a rest at a remote outpost, only to find that the grand conflict between two big powers is about to escalate and engulf everything. Perhaps where the anthology publisher's declaration of "politically moderate, centrist" leanings comes into play. The two galactic factions in the story are modeled after the modern conservative vs. liberal divide common in the West. The main character's centrist position claims nuance, but really is a milquetoast position that lacks nuance in its assumption that both sides come from equal footing, rather than examining how the long cultural histories of colonization, racism, capitalism, etc. actually shaped these ideas and this divide. It also very briefly touches on the "Stay and Fight" vs. "Flee for Personal Survival" decision without providing any real depth there either (and I feel very strongly about this due to my own family history of loss and personal experience). I don't think it's impossible for a short story to properly handle something like this, but this story's execution was not there. A shame, because I did enjoy the characters and setting at first.

“Unexpectedly Trans-Parent” by Lydia Rogue: 5 stars - A space cyclist's fetch and return trip through a designated spacetime rip takes an unusual turn when they find their payload is something alive. Fun, charming, and a nifty setting.

“Rovers” by Marcus Woodman: 5 stars - A courier in a post-apocalyptic US encounters an unusual loner requesting a ride. Another one that was fun and charming, and looking back at the title afterward? I'm tickled.

“The Visitmothers” by Charlie Jane Anders: 3 stars - A trans person summons mysterious beings to ask for her heart’s desire, only to have them take her bike instead. A little underwhelming to me, and I felt the conclusion sets up a codependent situation...?

“A Sudden Displacement of Matter” by Ava Kelly: 4 stars - A bounty hunter follows a hunch in looking for the thief who somehow stole a valuable monument from a prominent space station. Frustrating in the way a bounty hunter who is supposedly clever makes obvious mistakes, but otherwise fun.

“Briar Patch” by Lane Fox: 5 stars - A brief vignette about a member of a colony of exiled gender-nonconforming (and other queer?) folks, reflecting on their circumstances. Full of love and mindfulness.

“Clashing/Complementary” by Rafi Kleiman: 4 stars - A kid who dedicates herself to enchanting paint and using it to tag, as inspired by her recently deceased mother, finds out who's been tagging in her territory recently. Thought the characters are young, I still enjoyed this romp.

“Lucy Doesn’t Get Angry” by Tucker Lieberman: 3.5 stars - A child is set to be sacrificed to the Minotaur in its Labyrinth, and must figure out how to escape this fate. Perhaps a little ham-fisted in the metaphor.

“Beyond” by Nathan Alling Long: 3.5 stars - Ninety-nine riders make the trek from Earth to Pluto to see how the journey changes them, with unexpected results. At least, for the folks in the story. I personally found it predictable, but it wasn't a bad time.

Thanks for reading! 💕

[finnslay]

"Do you have to make being queer your whole personality?"

Yes. It angers you. It causes you discomfort... it's payback for the discomfort you've caused me. Its reversing my trauma into my queerness and superblasting it into you just because it pisses you off!

[befemininenow]

It may be a week late, but I hope your Valentines was amazing this year. Here's a little throwback from Escafa (aka Spawnfan) of DeviantArt fame. (If only transitioning was that easy.)

Created back in Valentine’s 2013 as an MTF transformation sequence, it's about a person (in this case, a man) who has a crush on a tomboyish girl. Unfortunately for him, she's a lesbian and does not like men. What the girl on the right doesn't know is that the person presenting as a boy has the ability to turn into a girl. Their female equivalent is a blonde bombshell and the shocked tomboy falls for her. The last panel shows some form of affection for the new lesbian couple.

At the time I saw this post, it was definitely a hot favorite of mines since I was really into MTF genderbending. 11 years later, however, my opinion on this piece is conflicted. Don't get me wrong: the girls are cute, especially the pretty blondie, who is definitely trans girl goals. However, there’s three problems with this piece:

Is the transformed girl transgender? Do they identify as a girl? What if they’re genderfluid, bigender, or even non-binary?

What are the chances this relationship may get impacted if the person in the left switches between genders based on their mood?

As cute as it seems that the left person will do anything to make the tomboy girl so happy, this piece is also part of the MTF transformation genre, which can be off-putting for some due to it’s fetishized and/or kinky nature.

I still think this is one of the better MTF TG transformations since the left person transformed themselves by choice and not by force (the latter is very common on those transformations). Yet, I can’t help but envy the transformed girl for her pretty looks and cute outfit. If only transitioning was that easy.

These were the kind of pieces that I was into before figuring out I was trans myself. This particular line art became one of Escafa’s most popular pieces and one of the most popular MTF TG transformation pieces. In fact, the one you see here is a vector repaint from another DeviantArt artist named P@ntied-Princess (their account is deactivated).

The ones you see online are reposts in ranging quality from good to really pixelated. This one, however, is not only the highest quality post I found, but it’s the one I saved from the original account. I had to use an image search engine and digital archives to find it. I’ve seen a few caption edits of this art throughout my searches, but they’re not in the best quality. Maybe with this repost, there could be some better editing to match with today’s time. Anyways, happy belated Valentine’s Day!

Original art tracing belongs to Escafa (aka Spawnfan). Vector painting done by P@ntied-Princess.

[corviiids]

there are many arguments for why light could be transmasc but chief among them to me is that it explains why soichiro and sachiko yagami have one child named "sayu" and one child named "light but it's written with the kanji for moon unusual isn't it"

[hot-kellynixe]

I'm all yours daddy 😉🤤💋

[beckyts]

Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.

[rexanesolo]

Adventures in Clairune is out!

If you want to:

Bully a dragon lord

Flirt with an elf

Trust an assassin

And most importantly romance them!! With perks such as:

he/she/they option for players

6 endings (good and bad for each love interest)

A 1 hour playtime (roughly)

Pretty art style & good music

FREEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

So go play my first vn! (I was inspired by the arcana and y'all might like this too :3)

[farmerlesbian]

Came across this call for submissions and wanted to share it with yall! I am in no way affiliated with the magazine, just want to share for anyone who might be interested.

Sinister Wisdom 📣Call for Submissions📣 Gender Diverse Lesbians! This issue seeks to honor and affirm Lesbians outside the sex/gender binary and to include nonconcrete gender identities found in all cultural specifics. We are seeking essays, short fiction, poetry, oral histories, and visual art to be submitted in one document of up to 10 pages, including a brief biography with any social media. The new deadline is August 31st — if you already submitted the first time submissions were opened, your submissions are still being considered and there is no need to resubmit! If you haven’t yet, then please send your submissions through submittable: sinisterwidsom.submittable.com! As Sinister Wisdom is completely volunteer-led, we are unable to provide compensation for contributors, however they will receive a free copy of this issue and a year-long subscription to Sinister Wisdom. Send us your best work! Sinister Wisdom Linktree

[whereserpentswalk]

You saw an angel shopping at a convenience store. They were just sort of hanging out. It's actually a myth that all angels are less powerful than all gods, or all serve them. Angels exist to uphold cosmic law, while gods are powerful entities but are free to do what they will with that power.

Anyway, you end up going up to the angel and talking to them. It's slightly awkward at first. You expected them to be both more humanoid and more divine. They have a doll like body, made out of white hard plastic with obvious joints, their wings are made out of pure light, and they have black hair and glowing yellow eyes. They're only wearing a t shirt and baseball hat, nothing else. They seem incredibly uncomfortable being here.

You end up saying hi though, and asking them how they're doing. You realize it's not normal to talk to strangers like that but you're doing it. They seem a bit afraid to talk, but eventually you ask them if they're ok talking, and they say yes, and become ok with it. You offer them an apple, they say it's pretty but they can't eat, and they'll watch over it until it dies.

After talking for a bit they start talking with their boss, whose a very powerful angelic knight. They're negotiating with the fae again, and they need to buy some things that fae like, and they were sent to earth for the first time because thats where things are cheapest. They take this task very seriously, in angel culture one is only valued by their ability to serve their angelic duties, no other entitiy of the cosmos has a culture of such strictness. You show them some things you think might work. The apple was one of them apparently.

You end up complaining about your boss a bit. The angel asks you where you work and you point to the office building across the street from you. The angel said that they found the massive glass towers on earth pretty, that only human cities have them, and they didn't know what they were for. You've never thought of the place you worked as pretty.

The angel asks if you're a boy or a girl in a slightly awkward way eventually, and you explain that you're neither, just like them. They're a bit confused, because they thought humans had two sexes, but you explain that you chose the form you now inhabit. They tell you they would choose to be female if angels were allowed to. They tell you some demons who used to be angels chose genders, but that they'd rather die then fall so it'll never happen to them.

Eventually you have to say goodbye to them. They give you their number, it's an irrational number but your phone will call it all the same. You ask to take a photo of them, and they let you, they ask why and you tell them they're pretty. They became weirdly happy about that. You don't think angels call eachother things like pretty, especially not for just existing, for just being there. When you hug them their body is strangley cold, you remember they're closer to a machine than a human in how their body works, it's strangely calming and refreshing just to touch them. Mabye soon you can touch them again.

[spooky-angel-eddie]

MY GORGEOUS WIFE!!!

i just think they shouldve let her buy a nice silk night dress to wear to bed >:(

ouughh its 2am and i cant stop thinking about him

[finnslay]

"Don't shove it down our throats"

"Protect the kids, keep this away from them"

No. Stop.

We need to keep showing it

We need to let people that they are seen.

We need to show these kids. Kids. That they have someone.

Why?

Because queer youth are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than their peers

Because 45 percent or queer youth have considered suicide within the last year

Because a young queer person attempts suicide every 45 seconds

Because having just one supportive adult reduscing the risk of suicide in queer teens by 40 percent

If you want to protect the kids, save our fucking lives

Instead of saying to stop shoving it down your throats

Take the pills out of our throats

Take the noose off our necks

Take the blades and guns out of our hands

And let them out their hands there instead

So they can hold us and help us

And listen an let us know

Hey. I see you. I hear you. Your feelings are valid. And you are loved

If you care about the children then let us be seen and heard...

At this point I'm scared for my life... If I didn't have a support adult that had that sign on their door at school and wore that pin I would be dead

That sign. That pin. They don't hurt the straight cis kids. They don't cause harm. They don't get affected by them. But it saved my life...

So please. Stop saying stuff like that.

To other queer kids, please. Here me. You are loved. You will be accepted one day. My messages are open. You deserve to be alive. You're not broken. You're not a fuck up. You are a person just like me and all those other 8 billion on this planet. You are worth so much more than what theyve said. I love you so so so so so much. This world is better with you here. It's better with you and your personality because you're unique. We need people who are different. I love you. I'm here if you need anything at all. And I'm so proud of you...

[the-meme-monarch]

“well I’m trans and idc if people don’t refer to kris correctly�� ok well I’m Also trans and this is my fucking video. refer to them correctly on my video or fuck off

[vroomvroomwee]

Question for the non-binary and trans people on this app.

Due to some unhelpful introspection I (non-binary) have realised that most of the characters (particularly male characters I don't know why) I don't really see as men, in the sense that I don't see them as the gender that I would see them as if they popped to life in front of me. So I'm wondering if this is a gender blind trait due to being non-binary or smth else.

PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT GENDERQUEER DONT VOTE!

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

goodreads

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

Mod opinion: It‘s a very sweet and quiet story and I really, really enjoyed it.

[blitzsicedcoffee]

I don't have the hots for my own characters....

(They're still unnamed until the polls are done)