Trans Characters? Hell Yeah! : A Thread

[Mua Viras]

As the title reads, this isn't a rant or anything like a question.  After the trans day of remembrance I wanted to take the time to make a post for the ooc trans rpers out there who might be questioning making a trans character.  

 

*I'm really sorry cis rpers, if you want to make a trans character....just pleeeaaase research and talk to trans people.*

 

So here you are and you're wondering:

 

"What is this rper even talking about?"

 

Well, I'm glad I had you ask.  I've interacted with a lot of people in my time rping.  Quite a few have been here in FF.  Some felt comfortable enough to disclose they are trans and that means the world to me that I could make someone feel that comfortable.  However, I've noticed some similar ideas come up that kinda don't sit well with me and hopefully I can make a positive post to encourage trans rpers to make the trans characters they want. 

 

SO, let's move right into some things I see pretty frequently and why I would like to adress them.

 

1) Are trans characters considered lore friendly?

 

Don't let this one stop you. I always refer back to Yoshi P's words for this. 

 

"A life dictated by someone else is no fun anyhow, is it?"

 

In a world of god like beings causing chaos, gender expression is the least problematic thing your character could have to worry about.  So go for it, make that trans OC you've always wanted.

 

2) Fetish rpers and seekers, no not the cat people, have given us a bad reputation.

 

I was initially caught offguard by this.  ERP is it's own beast entirely.  However, poor portrayal or fetishizing trans characters could affect regular, every day trans characters.  Set your boundaries early on and enforce them, even if it takes the help of friends. I'm trans and my character is trans, my boundaries set up how I rp my character which made a clear way to interact with my character,  appropriately!

 

3) We'll be made fun of by the community.

 

This couldn't be further from the truth.  I have a large network of contacts who are all awesome, respectful people.  It does take some digging at first, but don't be afraid to reach out and test the waters.  Sometimes asking straightforward, OOC can give you an idea of how somebody will respond.

 

 

Those three are the main stops I see but I wanna know from other trans peeps, what are your worries?  How best do you think we could handle trans character fears?

 

I wanna leave you with this.  Don't be afraid to make a character you are comfortable rping.  Games should be about your enjoyment and not others perceptions.  So don't be afraid to roll that funky trans character you think represents you best.  As always, Trans and Proud!

[Impstatus]

On 11/21/2020 at 11:50 AM, Stahlblyss said:

So don't be afraid to roll that funky trans character you think represents you best. 

^ I guess this says it the best.
1) Got killer character idea for whom the any GSRM identity is just the perfect fit? Well just do it, seem lore friendly.
2) I choose to view ERP+fetishs little more leniently. As in, there is worse ways to explore your sexuality than writing roleplay with other consenting adult person, just saying. Perverts will make fetish out of anything. And there is a little pervert inside most of us. 

3) If you manage to find fellow roleplayer who unfortunately is mean and hateful towards your GSRM character because of their GSRM status... you probably won't end up roleplaying to begin with. So this should be problem that weeds itself out. Blacklist is right there.

 

[Mua Viras]

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[Chisae]

Not to sound contentious, but I am not sure how I (as a transgirl) feel about cis people  RPing a trans character.

[Mua Viras]

That is why I included what I did at the start of my post.  I agree, it doesn't sit well with me either.   People will do it though, so I would rather they be informed than do something offensive.

[Impstatus]

On 11/24/2020 at 5:57 PM, Chisae said:

Not to sound contentious, but I am not sure how I (as a transgirl) feel about cis people  RPing a trans character.

What about, say, women (just cis women I guess) roleplaying men (cis men)? Men roleplaying women?

21th century person roleplaying 3rd century person?

Edited November 30, 2020 by Impstatus

[Mua Viras]

Cis people are addressed at the start of my post.  It only applies to trans characters.  Thanks for the question though!

[Impstatus]

11 hours ago, Stahlblyss said:

Cis people are addressed at the start of my post.  It only applies to trans characters.  Thanks for the question though!

Maybe that is discussion for another thread, maybe.
But I wholly agree that it helps when you know something about the thing you are going to put into your character, e.g. being trans. Like the opening suggested. Would not have immersed myself into mongolian/central asian culture hard for months if I did not believe that.
But I do not necessarily think you need to be X in order to write about X well.
Stuff like cultural background or gender are not part of your personality, though they can be very close to it, so they should be easier to research, at least the basics.

I don't have transcharacters, but one of my rp besties does. I rp that transcharacters SO. Lovely characters  Her character did not start as trans, but my character took the "coming out" kinda admirably. Considering I always saw my character having "being a bit of a bigot" among his character flaws. But! He had went and grown out of that character flaw without me even noticing. 

[Mua Viras]

Research is certainly the most important part of learning about a group that you're not a part of, and a lot of people forget that talking to members of those groups is necessary.   As stated before, this thread is for trans peeps that might be afraid to rp trans characters.  It's a means to remove the fear one might have due to irl interactions.