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transgender

The First Transgender Superhero?

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Chalice

A new comic book will be the first time a transgender superhero will lead a title. Chalice, the star of new superhero series ‘Alters’, is being described as a ‘hero for the new age’. Paul Jenkins, the comic book’s author, said the main character will have not come out to her family yet and can only present as a female when in costume. So unlike other superheroes who only have one secret identity – Chalice has two. By Joe Morgan – Full Story at Gay Star News

Science Trying to Answer Why People Are Trans

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DNA

Why are girls born as girls, and boys as boys? What about an individual who is biologically female but feels or sees oneself as male, or the other way around? Dr. Qazi Rahman who is a lead investigator into LGBT mental health at King’s College London revealed that science still can’t give a complete answer to those questions. ‘This is the key question at the moment,’ the scientist told The Guardian. ‘We know much more about how nature shapes sexual orientation, and my view of the science is that nurture does very little, if any, shaping of sexual orientation. We … Read more

For Writers: Gender Shift

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Gender

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Richard Wood: Speaking of FF and other non MM varieties of LGBT sex, why are almost all shifters male? Can a male shifter be female when shifted or choose which sex to be? Or how about shifters who shift between male and female human forms? Why are all shifters shifting between human and animal forms? How many men and women would like to experience sex from both male and female perspectives? Thinking here of Heinlein’s “I will Fear No Evil”. This topic deals with gender issues, which can be a touchy topic, so I … Read more

For Writers: The Difference Between Transgender and Gender Bending

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Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Matthew J. Metzger: For trans: the difference between trans stories and genderbending stories. This could be a dicey one. Gender discussions often are, so let’s try to talk this in a respectful, polite way. As Matthew points out, gender bending and being transgender are two different things, though to the outside observer, they may have some similarities, in that both challenge our traditional conceptions about gender. And in addition to transgender, we can also add the gender fluid category. So here are my thoughts – and feel free to tell me if I am … Read more

For Writers: Writing Transgender

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Transgender Flag

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Matthew J. Metzger: The big one for me is the double standards. There seems to be a presumption that you need to have a degree in gender studies to write a trans character, no matter the actual plot or genre of the book. Whereas I can see eight novels on my feed right now that are M/M and could be changed to M/F with a simple pronoun switch-up. Why can LGB books be about, well, anything you want, but the idea of a book with a character who just so happens to be transgender … Read more

Categorizing Our Books

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Book categories

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer ‘Nathan Smith: How do we walk the fine line between categorizing books as readers (or writers) in order to challenge the industry to be more representative? A novel with gay characters is often listed as gay (or, m/m) primarily, and discussed that way, even if it’s a science fiction or fantasy or romance or mystery. In SF we have a bit more leeway and I feel like we’ve made a bit more progress than other genres, but even then: if the book involves LGBTQ characters, it’ll be very much treated as a queer book–which … Read more

Trans Woman Becomes a Dragon

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Eva Tiamat Baphomet Medusa

A trans woman has claimed to be the first person to have both ears surgically removed, for cosmetic reasons, in her quest to become a dragon. Eva Tiamat Baphomet Medusa, or Tiamat for short, is a 55-year-old trans woman from Arizona who has undergone a series of procedures to become a ‘mythical beast’. She has had her nose radically altered, tooth extractions, eye coloring, a forked tongue and a full-face tattoo. Full Story at Gay Star News

For Writers: Tech and Trans

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Trans Sci Fi

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Elizabeth Barrette: How magic or technology can allow people to alter their bodies, and what that means for transfolk. This is a fascinating one, and a tricky one. I used magic to “transform” a trans character, and ran it by one of my trans friends. I was surprised by some of the minefields I was walking across without even knowing it. How would your trans character feel about having their physical gender changed to match their internal one? Are we being myopic thinking every trans person would want such a thing? What about gender non-conforming … Read more

Announcement: Choosing You, by Jaylee James

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Choosing You - Jaylee James

QSFer Jaylee James has a new sci fi book out: Collin is in high school when he is visited by a time traveler – a woman who claims to be his wife in a hypothetical future… only the timeline has been disrupted, and the two will never meet unless he makes four key choices in his life that will guide them together again. “Choosing You” is a short story in a conversational, first-person voice, about what happens when deciding to love someone becomes a literal choice. It’s 7300 words long and features a transgender protagonist. Excerpt The first time I … Read more