🌈 LGBT+ OCs discussion thread

fluffypettis

Agreed!! I think a good way of doing things, either as a queer person or not, is to just write queer characters as you would write non-queer ones: as people!

Micaiah i have a variety of different LGBT characters, so maybe just some things you see commonly?

i have a bit of an odd question that i'm not entirely sure is suited for this thread considering the characters in question aren't lgbtq+, but i'm looking for advice from trans/genderqueer people and it kinds falls in the realm of the topic so i guess it's going in here lol? basically my question is how to appropriately handle non-sapient animal characters and gender?

when it comes to animal characters that are pets i almost always see them with assigned genders + pronouns based on their sexes, and as a pet owner, this is also how i refer to my pets in real life (and how every other english speaker i've ever met has, lol), but my question is more specifically about non-sapient animal characters who are completely wild and never have or will interact with sapient life. since gender and sex are not the same thing, and gender is a social construct that these animals are not even remotely familiar with or will ever have assigned to them by humans, i've caught myself on multiple occasions wondering whether it's appropriate (or even just, like, most accurate) to be listing genders and pronouns on their pages. would it be more appropriate to write something like "sex: male" than "gender: male" on an animal character's page? furthermore, is it appropriate to use "gendered" pronouns for them based on their sexes, or would it/its (or they/them, or any pronouns, in complete disregard to gender/sex) be more fitting? (pronouns ≠ gender, yes, but that would be assigning pronouns to them based on their sexes)

would doing things like this be perpetuation of outdated ideas about gender and sex (i.e. the idea that cis gender identities and associated pronoun usage based on genitalia/chromosomes are the default) or am i overthinking it, and it's not that deep? (even if it's not a big deal, is there a better or generally preferred way to go about it?) on some level i feel like i am overthinking, but i'm cis and i don't want to assume i know what's appropriate here when that's really not in my right whatsoever. it's a question that's occurred to me enough times that i thought i should ask, especially since i've been expanding on these characters more lately, so i would love to hear what anyone here under the trans/genderqueer umbrellas thinks about it! (please ping if you reply!)

(edit: OOPS i totally forgot to reply but thank you very much for your input @ChanteRyuutai !!)

StormyStarlight Hi 👋, I'm genderqueer genderfluid

Gotta start saying I'm only me and can't speak dor the whole community so pls try to get feedback from more people

So, if the creature has the same level of sapience as a pet, and is not owned by a being that lives in a society that cares about gender as much as ours I personally think it's odd to assign them a gender. But I don't see a problem with stating the sex, even tho unless it actually matters I'd maybe not do that either.

Pronouns I guess it doesn't matter, I usually use they/them in those cases, but I don't think wold matter much 🤔.

And we'll, depending on how and if you do that it may give your story a different vibe or add to the story. For example, it wold make sense if a sapient being had a bunch of info catalogued on a dangerous creature that they are hunting, and this info can include if they are male or female or something else, even more since some species have differences between male and female such as apearence and some attack and defence mechanisms, so in this case wold make sense for a archive like profile with all the biological info.

Hi, can I get a response from any intersex or genderqueer people from this one? Any input is fine tho! 

I frequently work with sapient alien species for my main story, and several of them are biologically hermaphroditic. Is it offensive to call the characters hermaphrodites if they are a sapient species?

I’ve written their species information pages that way. My info is modeled after how wiki pages write about irl animal species (protoandrous sequential hermaphrodites, simultaneous hermaphrodites, etc). I do a lot of research for it from the biological side! I just find the concept very fascinating and a fun way to explore nontypical gender roles in different societies.

Here’s my approach to CHARACTERS so far: I’ve been using intersex when referring to specific characters within a species. This is because I’m aware using the term hermaphrodite to refer to people who are intersex irl is highly offensive. I would never call an intersex human person a hermaphrodite. I’m just a little confused abt aliens?

On one hand, I’d like them treated as people (sapient species); and on the other, being intersex is a normal thing for them. Would it be better to use intersex or hermaphroditic? I guess to get more specific, Is it better to use the human term (intersex) for alien species that are typically so, or treat the scientific one (hermaphrodite) as normal?

My LGBT brain and my AP Bio brain are dogfighting on this one. I’d appreciate any input, it’s something I’ve been debating with myself for a long time </3 

Ig I’m mainly worried about the distinction between intersex characters of species that are not normally intersex vs species that typically are, and where the line should be drawn in reference to scientifically based species development and socially based character development. I’m fine with using intersex with individual characters from a species as I’ve been doing. I’d just like more input on it to put my brain at ease (or in its place lol)

I can talk about specific species if anyone wants to hear about them ^^ I have three that are simultaneous hermaphrodites and one that is a sequential hermaphrodite. All four of these species have individuals I refer to as intersex (for some; they are labeled as their preferred gender. It depends on the character!). These are not the character’s entire personalities— I’m just in a weird position when writing species info if that makes sense YGDGFGM.

Pls ping me on replies!

Wenldy

Tysm for the input! I was looking for genderqueer people (as well anyone else who had info) as I feel they’d have a bit more insight to the subject of ocs not fitting within binary gender? It’s a newer term to me and I sincerely apologize if the inclusion made you uncomfortable! 

Also thanks for the word correction! I always forget sapient is the better option when discussing distinctions between feral/non feral species whoops. They’re spelled so similarly my brain blanks out </3 My post has been edited now!

And yes, I‘m mostly worried people will assume the worst when I use the term hermaphrodite for a hermaphroditic species. My dilemma is basically trying to figure out what’s offensive in this context and staying away from that— I always love using scientific terms for things, but when I found out that hermaphrodite was an offensive term for intersex people it alarmed me. It’s good to know that some intersex people prefer the proper terms used to avoid confusion between them!

Hello I am transmasc non-binary and the main transmasc character is already out since the start. However how do I get my main transfem oc to figure out she's trans, come out and what voice actors should I hire? Should I keep the same one after she come out?

phantasmagoric i’d find places where transfems have shared their own stories! take examples of how they figured it out and came out for some inspiration! for the voice, if they’re on estrogen or anything that still doesn’t change a voice, so i’d keep the same one! the only way their voice would change is through vocal training, in which case i’d try to find a voice that’s quite similar and believable! but keeping the same voice would not be a problem at all! 

So this is a question about a main-stream media comic that's been bothering me for a while now so I hope it's allowed.

What are people's thoughts on this Trans Allegory?: If a character is depicted to be dysphoric, but the dysphoria is coming from needing to be the oppossite (asigned at birth) gender for hiding/etc

for extra context the story I'm referring to is Galaxy the Prettiest Star. I picked up the preview for free comic book day & to me (gender-questioning), I was confused about the depiction of the main character being dysphoric from needing to hide as her opposite gender (& did make me concerned it could be misinterpreted as "transition-bad" instead of abt being closeted). Though I'm aware I might not be getting the full context because again, this is a short preview + I'm aware the author is trans. So I'm curious on what other people feel (esp. if you've read the full book. I'm personally keeping watch of LGBT media bc I'm also interested in writing content with LGBT)

edit: reworded main question & context because I realized it REALLY came off the wrong way

Jade-Everstone I'm trans myself and I don't see why it would be. Even if the character was cisgender, cis people still experience gender dysphoria (just are rarely in the circumstances to) and it would be great to see authors acknowledge it! But I just looked up the book and it looks like this particular scenario is a pretty straightforward transgender narrative with a fantastical twist. I'm not even sure you could call it a metaphor. Considering real life transgender people present as the wrong gender (i.e., remain closeted) for safety reasons all the time...I don't have a clue how this could possibly be transphobic. Plus, since as you said, the author is a transgender person writing a transgender narrative, I'm really not sure why the idea that their story was somehow bigoted because it personally made you uncomfortable jumped to mind.

Architeuthid Thanks for the input. the reason it rubbed me the wrong way is because on first reading it came off the opposite/like the reason for the characters suffering was because of presenting as the opposite gender. I probably should've considered being closeted for safety as a parallell for her hiding in the first place

I didn't mean to come off as saying the story's bigoted (sorry about that! probably should've worded better). I mostly found the way it's handled confusing

This is a topic that interests me as someone who's a trans man/transmasculine. 

Ultimately, I'm interested in what other transmascs or people who want or got top surgery think but of course anyone can comment on it! 

So, with the character I linked what are your thoughts on how I drew his scars? I've started seeing folks draw top surgery scars like that and in my opinion I think it looks super bad ass so then I started doing it. But the thing is I've seen some other folks say it's unrealistic. 

It definitely is! I think this is mostly a personal preference thing I get why it would not be someone's taste I guess I'm just curious if there's some type of theme? Like, would any of you all say when the scars are drawn that way there's some type of implication or a  harmful stereotype even? Maybe I'm just over thinking it but I would just like to be sure yknow? And maybe spark more discussion about top surgery scars and how one might go about it. Especially since there's different ways to do the surgery itself and different ways it may look.