Episode 17: Making a Good Fictional Trans Character

Welcome to another episode of Trans Sister Radio: Broadcasting Everything Trans!

In this episode, Athena and Erin discuss what they feel makes a trans character a good trans character.

Main Topic: Making a Good Fictional Trans Character

1. Characters we used as good examples

   1. Lup (The Adventure Zone)

   2. Alesha (Magic the Gathering)

      1. https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/truth-names-2015-01-28

   3. Janeva (Horizon: Zero Dawn)

2. The character needs to be believable and interesting regardless of their trans identity

   1. Lup (has realistic motivations, interesting hobbies)

   2. Alesha (is the khan of a warlike tribe, story isn’t actually about her trans-ness)

   3. Janeva (is the leader of a prison, fought for his right to be a soldier)

3. The character should not be a stereotype.

   1. Lup and Alesha are both feminine but aren’t over the top feminine; Lup is more of “punk” style of character, and Alesha is the leader of a tribe of warriors.

   2. Janeva is a little more stereo-typically male, but this makes sense in the context of the brutal nature of the world.

4. The character needs to approach their trans identity realistically

   1. Hainly Abrams controversy

      1. https://hornet.com/stories/mass-effect-andromeda-hainly-transgender/

Really Silly Thing: Fall Themed Recipes

Erin’s Recipe:

• Ingredients

  1. 1 cup of apple butter

  2. 1 cup of canned pumpkin

  3. ½ cup packed brown sugar

  4. ¾ tsp cinnamon

  5. ½ tsp salt

  6. ⅛ tsp ginger

  7. ¾ tsp nutmeg

  8. 3 eggs slightly beaten

  9. ¾ cup evaporated milk

  10. 1 unbaked pie crust

  Instructions:

  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the first 7 ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the eggs. Gradually add the evaporated milk and mix completely. Pour the ingredients into the pie shell (and you can cover the edges of the pie with foil so they don’t burn if you want) and bake for about 40 minutes or until a table knife can go in and come out clean in the center.

Athena’s Recipe:

• https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe-1950261

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