The Importance of Trans Characters Written by Trans Authors
dopesontheroad.comI had no idea how to describe the discomfort I started feeling in middle school. I would later realize it was gender dysphoria, but at the time I didn’t even know that term existed.
I did my best to ignore the feeling because I had never heard of any similar experiences. I would have felt less confused, lost, and uncertain about what to do if I had a glimpse of honest trans representation in my childhood, but the media I consumed wasn’t there yet.
When I first read a novel with authentic trans representation, it began my journey of having the words, comfort, and hope to happily be who I am.
However, authentic is the keyword there. There was trans representation that resulted in trans peoples’ identities being the butt of a joke and ridiculed, or stories that just completely missed the mark of a real trans experience, which is why EveryQueer wanted to dive into the importance of having trans characters that are actually written by trans people.
