This is gonna sound weird but I wish we were depicted with features that make us clockable like a brow ridge or shoulders or a blocky silhouette in art defending us.

Like I've been looking through comics and almost every depiction of a trans woman looks identical to a cis woman... which like, I get why a trans person would be uncomfortable with drawing dysphoric features, but I feel like it dulls the point of the political art.

Defending trans people who pass is easy, like even transphobes can do that, but defending trans people who aren't conventionally attractive and don't pass is much harder. Those are the people who get into confrontations in public bathrooms, and who experience the most hatred and constant micro-aggressions from almost everyone. The stage where you "don't look good" is when you're most vulnerable and is an almost universal experience for all trans women that tends to last much longer if you're underprivileged.

I would just like seeing more stuff that affirms non-passing trans women are still women and that, in general, women don't need to be pretty to deserve respect and basic decency from other people.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 19 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

I agree with the sentiment. You don’t want to put the idea in people’s mind that trans = passing. Which is in itself a kind of beauty ideal. I can see though, that no matter what you choose to do as an artist, someone will find some issue. If you make a character more ‘masculine’ some might think you do it to show that they are not real women. If they are full fem, it’s the beauty ideal, passing you describe. I have no solution.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago

    Misunderstandings will always happen and it is tricky, but I feel like the text should speak for itself, or else the context should make it clear you aren't trying to punch at any trans person

  • source
  • parent