Project: Shadow

Share this post

Transgender and Androgyny in Speculative Fiction

www.projectshadow.com

Transgender and Androgyny in Speculative Fiction

Charlie Dorsett
May 19, 2010
Share this post

Transgender and Androgyny in Speculative Fiction

www.projectshadow.com
Drag queen

Image by VOLPE1981 via Flickr

My new story is in trouble.  A lot of trouble.  I can not figure out what I want it to be about.  I really want to do something different, something I want to read, something I want to see, and I've learned that I am a hard target audience.

I only know one thing about the story, I want it to have a drag cabaret in it and I want to play around with gender in a way I've never done before.  I want the character list to include at least 1 drag queen, 1 transgender, and 1 androgyn.  It is hard to deal with this in a way the average reader will be able to cope.

Pronouns and gender words are posing a problem for me.  Also introducing the characters in a way that tells the readers who these characters are without a "coming out" scene or using unflattering language.

When I read iambic kilometer's META: Five+ Ways Being Transgender in Fandom Really Sucks, and Why I Stick With It Anyway, I felt an ache within me to work even harder to get this right.

The trans character is to one I am having the more trouble developing, so I might drop her from the roster.  Is it better to do a questionable job with a character or to leave them out?  I'm not really sure, but I need to figure that out.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Share this post

Transgender and Androgyny in Speculative Fiction

www.projectshadow.com
Previous
Next
Comments
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Charlie Dorsett
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing