Everywhere Scootaloo goes, ponies call out to her, and for whatever reason, she, can’t stand it! Good thing it’s only a dream. A dream that surly Princess Luna can solve.
Right?
A collaborative effort between me and Quirky Craft. They came up with the idea, and I simply wrote it out so we could both say we were able to come up with something for 2021’s Pride & Positivity despite them being busy with finals and myself drained of ideas ^^’
Hope you enjoy and this helps anyone who just starting to learn and question their gender, regardless of age ❤️
Pre-read by ExplosionMare https://www.fimfiction.net/user/308436/ExplosionMare
Cover art by Jade https://www.deviantart.com/jadethepegasus/art/non-binary-comfort-883128561
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/214981/folder/74818/pride-and-positivity-2021
Quirky Craft https://mobile.twitter.com/QuirkyCraft
https://youtube.com/c/QuirkyCraft
awesome chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next story
This is a good message, and a good fic. Good job!
I love the way you show the readers its a dream, long before Scootaloo figures it out. Nice little bit of writing there. By having Diamond Tiara clearly know more than she should, you telegraph the un-reality of the whole situation.
The story's great! Well done.
Neat story. Gets a little expository for my taste towards the end, but for the educational value that's no bad thing.
The whole slide into nightmare-territory was done rather well, the situation becoming more and more unreal as time went on. I love the idea of Princess Luna just descending from the heavens to sort out ponies' gender, too. "Hey kid, you heard the good word of HRT?"
Before all the "experts" start showing up and writing off the downvotes as due to "hatred" or "bigotry" I'm going to share my own thoughts and explain my take.
First, I love that the story has Luna and Scootaloo as the central characters. I love anything that lets Luna occupy the "cool big sis" position in her interactions.
Second, this is one of only THREE stories that go the F2M route, rather than the over-represented M2F route.
Now onto the negative aspects.
First, the entire pace of the story is simply far too fast. It's just a ridiculous break neck pace and doesn't provide an opportunity to actually feel for the characters.
Second, it does far too much telling and not enough showing, all but hammering the readers over the head with what the message is supposed to be, rather than letting them find the message on their own.
Third, Scootaloo's thrown into an identity crisis by having to fill out a form? Seriously? That's just an incredibly weak justification for her suddenly wondering if she's a filly or a colt.
The writing was fine. It just felt like a PSA about transgenderism. I half expected the ninja turtles, Scruff McGruff, and a host of 80's cartoons to warn me about drugs.
On the upside, if you were trying to write a PSA, it was a very good one.
10882235
Thanks for the feedback ^.^
While I’m sure the majority of these dislikes are from people who are simply trying to troll anything transgender themed >.>
I’m not nieve enough to think that’s all, and that some are from people who thought there were enough grammar and pacing issues that would Be too much for them to enjoy this story and made them feel like they had to give me a dislike. So any kind of, constructive, feedback is more than welcome and appreciated ❤️
10882291
Hey, I actually really liked the pacing. I think this kind of story is meant to get in, say what it needs to say, and get out. I'm a big fan of a story told in 3k or less words because I think it requires some real skill to tell a complete story so quickly. I thought the sentence structure, use of characters, and overall tone was very good.
I came back to comment again because I felt my last one sounded too negative for a story that I thought was well written. Did I like it? No, not really. But them's the breaks. You write what you like, what you are passionate about. Mad props for that. It's going to alienate some people. It's going to make some people say "transgenders? Screw that! I'm not going to like this!" because it is a decisive stance on a divisive topic. It's going to reflect what people think politically more than on the quality of the work and that's a shame but it's also the invitation you gave when writing on this topic.
And that takes guts. Good job.
10882235
You make a good point with the last thing you said. There are usually a lot more aspects involved in someone suffering from gender dysphoria. I suppose what could have been better is if she had questions about herself but didn’t fully understand them until she saw the form.
Thanks for crediting me in the description
10882291
The authors of these awful propaganda fics generally aren't interested in engaging with critics of transgender ideology.
10882377
10882235
Well, I’m afraid I don’t want to spend too much more time on this story as I have other things to get done, but I did add this addition from your critiques;
“After that, well,” she shuffled her hooves. “I suppose it’s always been in the back of my mind before. The fact I’m not really into ‘girly’ things like dress up. So I suppose all that did was make me feel…wrong about myself?” She shook her head. “I know, it sounds silly, but for the past week whenever someone calls me a filly, I just,” she took in a breath.
10882028
10882072
Thanks you very much for the positivity ❤️
10882141
Thanks ^^’
Cause it was actually one of the parts I spent the least amount of time on, so glad that still managed to turn out well XD
10882191
Thanks ^^’
(See reply of mine below this one on the dream sequence)
As for the other one, that’s fine. A small part of that is more a circumstance is having to rush this more than I liked because of irl issues 😓 although another part was more my intention of this story being an educational piece, as through Quirky and my Aeon friend, was as much me learning what NB is as a lot of the concepts still confuse me, although I was more than eager to try and understand
10882324
Well I do thank you for both comments, and it’s perfectly fine if you didn’t like it (of if you do like it, it’s at the very least the like button to try and counter all those dislike ones ^^’ >.>)
But you’re right! Or rather, at first, this story was kind of a chore for me to write at times, and wasn’t until the last minute I found myself really invested as I was questioning if I might not myself be NB through the talks I had with Quirky and my Aeon friend. So, I see this more as an enlightening experience, while allowing Quirky to say she made something for pride month, so at the end of the day it is a win, and thanks 🌟
10882482
Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying that you've identified as being nonbinary, but in the course of getting your ducks in a row for writing this story, you were left questioning whether or not that's actually case?
That was a perfectly sweet story and I can’t imagine why it’s being downvoted.
Oh. Wait. Transphobes.
10882608
Or, you know, those who don't appreciate fast-paced single chapter stories that feel like they're trying to cram too much information into too little time/space. That's why The Dark Tower film did so poorly.
Myself, I'm not really a trans fan, but I certainly like the F2M aspect for a nice change of pace. M2F stories are vastly over represented and I like the more obscure type of stuff.
10882636
Feature box is always full of short, fast paced stories. It’s transphobes.
10882650
And yet the comments section hasn't been flooded with hate, just constructive criticism and questions.
Now, I'm not saying the author really did anything wrong in how they went about telling their story. They have their own style and approach. If this were my project it would've gotten bogged down with Scootaloo questioning what the difference is between a tomboy and a transboy, since the casual observer can easily mistake the two. Which is a worthwhile question in itself.
10882672
As a bisexual whose gay stories are typically way more heavily downvoted than his straight, lesbian, and shipless stories, I can tell you punitive downvoting without leaving comments is definitely a thing. Anyway -- even if there was a serious problem with it, no way is this story bad enough to get fifty-three downvotes.
Too fast paced does not merit fifty-three downvotes.
10882650
Feature box?!
10882721
Not for this one sadly. I meant in general shorts do well in the feature box.
I'll go into greater detail with a full critique tomorrow, but for now I'll say, as a non-binary person, I can see your heart is in the right place. This was a genuine, if flawed, effort to write a story about non-binary Scootaloo, and generally speaking the themes are presented well. My issues are more from a general prose standpoint. One thing I will say now: Keep writing. Though this fic did fall short of my expectations a bit, it was still a pleasant read, and I hope to see more from you.
Take care :). (Thumbs up BTW)
10882931
Oh, um, thanks
It’s fine 👋 kind of had (and still do) a lot of emotional stuff to deal with last month that made writing this and getting my pride video difficult at times. Kind of wish I had gotten into a good grove a week earlier than I did to flesh various scenes out, but any feedback is more than welcomed. Although, most of this story was more written as a means of me figuring out what being trans and NB are from Quirky and my Aeon friend is about, and a desire to understand rather than make assumptions or ridicule
Ponies do not have women and men. They have mares and stallions. In an Equestria Girls story, this would be totally justified vocabulary. Here, it doesn't make any sense. Always try to keep examples like this setting appropriate when it comes to basics like the species of characters unless you're doing a deliberate AU.
Filling out forms is unusual for the student. Something that would make sense is if a teacher separated the health classes of fillies and colts. Many health classes today are still done this way. Mine was, which means I ended up learning information that is entirely useless to me, all because egalitarian/co-ed health classes weren't done at my school. Asking prepubescent pupils to list whether they are a boy or girl in such an unusually formal way is not something I can see any teacher doing. A game or an age-appropriate way for students to identify themselves as such? Sure, that makes sense. This doesn't feel like that, though.
Being trans isn't an -ism. An -ism is something closer to a cult, an exclusive cultural phenomenon, or anything of that sort. Transgender also isn't a noun, otherwise saying "Scootaloo is a transgender" would be appropriate. It is an adjective, so it only acts as a descriptor. Also, Luna said she is new to doing this, but is already trying to offer Trans 101 to Scootaloo here. That comes across as incredibly confusing, especially when your story is about education/discovery. You would want to make it clear that Luna is fumbling or getting her terms wrong, and you can do it without necessarily indicating that Scootaloo knows the correct ones through things like having more prevalent body language and other actions in the story.
In an otherwise serious story, I want to know... was this intended as a joke? There is not a lot in Luna's body language (seriously, dialogue dominates this story) to indicate she is joking, or what specifically is the part meant to be snickered at. I also have to be wary of how this is simplified. Yes, this story is clearly meant for audiences possibly new to trans topics, but not only is it from a character who admits little/new knowledge of trans matters. Also, the simpleness of this in a magical land means that you might have implied that being born transgender is a magical problem as much as it is a medical one. An analogy that might work as an easy way to handwave explaining literal neuroscience to kids becomes entirely different when dealing with magical pastel animals.
The yes but also no meme has never applied more than it does for the awkwardness of being pre-transition. Scootaloo isn't a filly, but until they do anything to make that known, there is only an incredibly depressing limbo that they're caught in. Nopony can poke around Scootaloo's head and notice what is different in there. This means that unless they transitioned socially/medically/legally (to go with some of the more common options) they have retained all the characteristics that fit what doctors presumed they were.
You establish that transitioning has medical options here. While I would say that this is a pretty decent way to present it in an E-rated story, I find that the subject of being transgender (especially when done realistically even in fantasy settings) works best in Teen-rated stories unless it is usually taken along a more magical transformation or allegory route. Luna also shouldn't sound disappointed in this. Hormones before the onset of puberty are a bad idea and therapeutic intervention is best until medical intervention is ready and realistic. Starting blockers/HRT before a healthy, close-to-puberty/ready-for-puberty age can interfere with the physical development needed for later stages of one's transition. If Scootaloo has not gone through puberty, or has barely started, they have a lot more room to figure themselves out and what their future means for them and their peers. That is a message for trans kids that is more focused and ideal to deliver than "lol sucks that the body works this way and you can't do stuff until this age" which is best told to them in the best way possible by a doctor or something. Also, you don't transition to a different gender, you transition to a different sex. There was a reason that transgender people were originally called transsexual people.
Once again, ponies don't have men. Or women.
Luna is somehow both extremely new to transgender ponies and able to define the concept of being the third gender without hesitation.
You spelled pervert wrong. Also, trying to tackle concepts like being trans in sports and the bathroom myth is a bit too much to be adding onto your plate for such a short story. The latter is something I wouldn't consider putting in an E-rated story at all. The sex =/= gender deal is ignored again, and the idea of calling transgender characters damaged is not a good look for a pride-related story, even though I know the intent wasn't malicious.
I wasn't sure if this could count as a proper way to address a genderless individual. Themselves has usually been plural in all the instances I've seen featuring it, at least off the top of my head. Thankfully, I was able to find that despite that it can sometimes read awkwardly (and yes, you do need to sometimes tweak a sentence to fit it) it is entirely correct to use this according to the most recent APA style guide here.
One thing you really need to do is read about properly formatting dialogue. Especially when it comes to the use of said tags, which the site writing guide illustrates many examples of. There are also sections regarding how to shape things to the setting that are helpful for new and improving writers. Overall, I liked your idea and the characters you selected here. Both were strong choices, and the concepts show a great story. Unfortunately, the execution was rushed and filled with major fumbles. Though this story was for a good cause and had lots of heart, the overemphasis on dialogue over fleshing out a sweet story about Scoots, Luna, and what it means to be trans in Equestria got lost. You have a great deal of promise as an author, and I think that this is something you would want to consider comparing with other stories of a similar theme to see where you can improve, and ask an editor about what you can do to tell the story you want to tell best.
10882235
Obviously, not all the downvotes are, but stories with LGBT content that isn't just fetishized F/F NSFW or pure lesbian fluff will get you downvoted spectacularly. The P&P events have always had their stories hit, and the ratio is telling more about the subject of the story being what rustled peoples' jimmies, not that someone thought the writing was in need of work. Many stories with similar errors in grammar and pacing (all of which can be remedied with careful revisions) have gotten much kinder reception.
I'm not sure if you finished the story, but this one dealt with a non-binary character. If you want to read about FTM characters, you should check out this folder.
Dysphoria can spike when having to do simple sorting things. I used to get it when was faced with any situation that embodied the "Are you a boy or a girl?" question or the "Boys go do X and girls go do Y" situation. While this is a weak justification for dysphoria to start, it would be a good way for a school-aged character to ask themselves "Why does this keep happening?" and reflect on other things that have happened throughout their day or life.
10882672
This is not much of a worthwhile question. A tomboy is a girl (or woman) who has interests deemed stereotypically masculine or presents herself in a non-feminine way. A transboy (or man) who was declared female at birth and has gender dysphoria, a neurological condition that wouldn't be present in a tomboy unless she was a trans woman. Since the transboy's body doesn't produce enough natural testosterone and female puberty is Not Safe For Men, there are things like HRT available to help him. The only way that one could be mistaken for the other is if the tomboy were closeted or pre-op and pre-HRT. Tomboys don't need therapy or medical intervention for being tomboys. They do not have significant neurological differences than their peers because they are tomboys.
10902388
That's one take on the matter, but I don't necessarily believe that to be the sole case. I've heard from people in the gay and trans communities, read their online journals, and if what they're saying is right a lot of them are just plain sick and tired of how over commercialized and meaningless they feel the whole pride month thing has become.
It's a lot like Christmas anymore, with how companies will trot out pride-themed products for a month because they know such stuff sells, but they don't actually support their customers, because those same companies don't signal their support over in middle eastern countries where it would risk alienating their overseas clientele. And then once the occasion passes, right back to business as usual, putting the hollow platitudes and pride-flavored goods away for another year until it's time to put them on the shelves again.
I've tried to read through a lot of the P&P stories, and maybe it's just the ones I read, but a lot of them just kind of feel like they're about transgender characters, rather than characters who just happen to be transgender. Style over substance if you will, like trying to adapt a graphic wall poster into a full story. It's like the character being transgender is the basis of the plot, rather than an aspect of the plot.
Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the slow burn approach to storytelling where you get to know and like the character first, get invested in them, and then find out later that they're transgender.
Yeah, my bad. I posted that before I finished reading the story because I had it bookmarked for later.
Can dysphoria spike over something that seems as mundane as the color scheme of a particular item that catches one's fancy? Because growing up I remember a lot of my tastes in toys were inspired by what colors were available and presented. Toys stereotypically associated with girls tended to have weak, sickly pastel shades at the time that didn't appeal to me at all, even if what they were put on did overall. I liked toy fire engines because I really liked the shade of red they were painted. I liked toy construction vehicles because I really liked the shade of yellow they were painted. Same thing for John Deere stuff with its specific green and yellow coloring. The coloring was more important to me than any associated masculinity/femininity that was supposedly attached.
Well the question is based on how exactly can one know for certain if they have a dysphoria, or simply different tastes from their peers, based on brain chemistry and the home environment in which they were raised.
Take a girl I know for example. She was raised by a single father because her mother ran out on them. Among other things she grew up watching old action movies from the 70s, 80s, and 90s with her father because it was one of the times she got to spend time with him when he was always busy working. She still likes those sorts of movies. She hates modern romcoms. And she's far more comfortable dressing in clothes she says are more durable, easier to clean, and easier to replace if they get ruined. From a psychological standpoint, would she better qualify as having a, undiagnosed dysphoria regarding her gender, or were her tastes unconsciously influenced by what she grew up doing due to the circumstances she found herself in? She asked me once, and I honestly don't know what to tell her.
It was about this time that I realized it was a dream. Nice twist.
Then you choose again.
Nightmare scenarios aside, this was short and sweet. I really like that instead of being an instafix it takes some soul searching and experimentation to figure it out.
Life isn't about getting everything right on the first try, it's about growing as a person.
This definitely earned an upvote from me.
10902388
Thanks for the feedback. Don’t quite agree with all of it, but I think I’ve seen enough to want to attemp a redux.
Although I’m sorry, from what I read, you saying I should keep what causes Scootaloo’s crises of filling out a form, or change it to something like health class splitting up the mares and colts.
10906519
Thanks for this comment because without it, I might have forgotten to reply to the other comment I got. I wish Fimfic would let you mark notifications as unread again.
I wouldn't take down the story or anything, I'd just paste any new version you come up with into the old chapter and make a blog that tags the story. As for which part you don't agree with? I'm not sure which those were unless you were specific. The story and idea was fine, my issue mostly lay with how the execution and logistics were handled. Though, I could understand if that means you wanted to handle a narrative aspect differently now.
As for where Scootaloo's dysphoria flares up: there are a multitude of ideas you could go with. The simplest might be to have them feel distressed when filling out a worksheet instead of a form, since the former would be more fitting to give to a student. That would only involve dialogue tweaks. Using the idea of Scoots having a divided health class would require rewriting some exchanges entirely. Those aren't the only two possibilities you could go with, but they would be more realistic for driving the level of conflict that results.
10902697
The proportion of downvotes and the comment sections/site climate are pretty telltale of why these stories get as many downvotes as they do.
That refers to the phenomenon called pink capitalism. P&P on Fimfiction is a non-commercial event that raises money for topical charities using stories about LGBT topics written by (mostly) LGBT authors. That is very removed from the actions of corporations simply switching things to rainbow designs for a month. Both have wholly different motivations and connections to the topic.
I wouldn't call drawing attention to a character being trans the same as lacking substance, but it means you probably want a very different narrative. Coming out stories tend to be the most commonly centered on being trans as the core theme because that is the primary conflict in the story. Usually stories with multiple main cast members or a character who has already transitioned delegate the fact that the character is trans to a secondary theme. The only way to really tell which is which would be which is to guess by the summary or read every one of them. P&P entries tend to be coming out stories and on the shorter side. My suggestion would to either be trying to find the longer entries or check for other places (the transgender group, the LGBT one) for stories that have more appealing summaries or don't explicitly refer to a character being trans. Those are more likely to have a character who already transitioned or it as a secondary story element.
You're looking for something longer than a one-shot or a story about a transitioned character.
Yes, but also no. When I was growing up, I still had toys that belonged to the opposite gender, something that was seen as a reason for confusion about why I was trans or evidence against it. I liked the toys because ponies were fun and I liked magical animals, but I also still grew up when children still had wildly segregated aspects of childhood as the norm. So it isn't the color scheme or the type of toy itself that would be an issue in the case of a trans kid. The issue is that the perception around that quality is so strongly applied to the person because of cultural symbolism. I don't like the color pink because I think the color is ugly, but I also don't like it because the culture I come from associates with overbearing femininity. I'm not going to get upset that someone else likes it or if it is on something unless that thing is given to me. Fucking Pepto Bismol ass shit.
So, yes, people can become dysphoric about unusual things but not usually because of the superficial quality itself. There are still some extremely strange dysphoria-inducing things out there.
Being a tomboy isn't a medical condition and has no symptoms. Dysphoria has observable symptoms that can be evaluated, diagnosed, and treated. Evaluating the hobbies of an individual has nothing to do with whether or not they have gender dysphoria, though the childhood diagnostic criteria including observing how the child expresses themselves through things like play or around peers because those are qualities that best fit the kinds of symptoms that would manifest at that age group. (You can't medically intervene with children, though. Diagnosing =/= starting a medical transition.) If you wanted to look up the criteria for diagnosing gender dysphoria at different stages in life, that could lay out a decent example of what a dysphoric child/teen/adult could come across like.
Your friend (I'm going to call her Jane Doe) sounds like a masculine woman, judging by this account alone. She's doing things she likes based on her preferences and habits that suit her lifestyle. None of that has to do with her gender because people can still like things without it tying to gender whatsoever. If all of her authentic expression, habits, and issues in life were things going back to the fact that she was assigned female at birth, that would be a cause for concern. I can't imagine any psychologist would diagnose Jane as having gender dysphoria, especially as an adult, based on those qualities alone unless they were really bad at their job. As a child? I don't think so, not just for having gender non-conforming interests. There have to be other things to look out for too, and while I'm absolutely not remotely certified to give out diagnoses I've at least been exposed to enough research on transgender topics and been treated for GD for years that I think it is fair to say that your friend just sounds like a tomboy. If she was worried (I'm not sure why?) about getting a mistaken diagnosis, she should talk that out with someone who is qualified to give those answers.
10906835
What I was trying to say at the time, is that the downvotes could also be coming from trans individuals on the site who're tired of feeling like others see them as just a cause, rather than individuals.
Very much the case.
I know, right? If girl's toys had more appealing colors when I was a kid, I might've given them a second look. Even the OD green on little plastic army men was better than the sick mint green girls got stuck with.
I think I'm starting to delve too deeply into the psychological angle for exploration in a story. Because I'm trying to figure out how to properly portray a character who may have gender dysphoria, and I want their discomfort to be something that feels visceral since it's manifesting in unusual ways. Like a psychosomatic, poison ivy-grade sort of itch during times of stress that might be triggered by certain gendered words and terms. Or how the enunciation of certain words has a physically grating quality on them. Degrees of pains and discomforts that anyone can understand, because they're what everyone has experienced at one point of time or another.
If I do something then I want to do it right.
I'll let her know that. Hopefully it helps.
10906975
Trans rep in media outside of fan creations isn't super common, and the same goes for good trans rep. Fanfics are unique in that the author can have no strict regulations, big name, or need to consider a commercial audience, so trans rep is put into their hands and they can create as much trans content as they want whenever they want. Yet, on fFmfiction, it is a somewhat rare product compared to the overall population of the site. I've seen openly trans users downvote or negatively comment on very badly written trans stories, but not stories for charity events, by budding writers, or just for being trans. Is it possible? Yeah, sure, this site is filled with all sorts of weird combos, but the only people I've seen taking credit for downvoting these stories are genuinely trans/homo/whateverphobic people in the comments, on discord, or in 4chan threads. Comments that consist only of actual critique regarding the story aren't the kind I've seen proclaiming that they downvoted the story so I can't ascribe a motive into those.
The only people who can know for sure are the site staff since they see the votes. You might be able to ask them in a way that doesn't break privacy policies.
tldr The only people claiming to have downvoted the stories visibly tend to be dicks, even if you just stick to the site itself.
I honestly wonder how effective of a marketing strategy it was too? It isn't solid evidence, but it wasn't as though most little girls didn't think pink, sparkly toys were fun and cool... but I still wonder why they resorted to that type of thing as the "girl" branding.
I do editing, particularly for trans stories too. (Though, not always.) Consider this a resume and shoot me a PM if you want.
10906975
10907000
Boy, you two have been going at it :/
A bit much to read, but not sure how this will help you conversation;
When consulting with my Aeon friend about how I represented transgender in the story, one thing that stood out in the talk and stood out to me was they said this when we were discussing the part were talking about how transitioning isn’t an overnight thing and is something you are sure about;
“You feel it inside that you are a boy or a girl. No matter of how you got assigned at birth. And that feeling can fade away a bit, hide, cuz of expectations of others and you wanting to be a good kid. But then it can come back and hit you, and also all relationships are harder cuz you see yourself in correct way, but others see you as opposite. This why transition helps. So they no longer see you different than you see yourself, than who you truly are.”
10907040
I'm pretty familiar with transitioning myself, having done it, but this does shed light on what you took into the writing process of the story.
10907040
There are times I'd like to believe it really is that easy. That we can just know who and what we are by virtue of being ourselves.
But then I read about folks who go through de-transitioning, for whatever their reasoning ultimately is, and that just makes the entire issue feel/sound far more complicated. I know de-transitioning is rare, or at least not heavily spoken about, but it muddies up the issue for someone who's outside looking in. It gives me more questions than answers.
10908307
The main thing that one has to understand about people who detransition is that the vast majority that do, they do so because of the hatefulness that is directed at them so they go back into the closet for safety. In an ideal world this wouldn't happen because they are suppressing who they are and are forcing themselves to be unhappy, but sadly this is not an ideal world and it is very dangerous to be trans in a lot of places right now. Myself, I could care less about what the bigots think and say, but I know that the hate they spew can cause harm to other trans folks who might not have the ability to just say f*** it and ignore them. Not everyone has that kind of personality, and not everyone is able to defend themselves in a physical confrontation. So when you see a story about a person that has detransitioned, just remember that they are doing so out of fear and having societal pressure heaped on them and the decision is not truly one of their own free will.
10930172
Hatred of anything that's different, unfortunately, is an integral, indelible aspect of not just the human species, but every species on the planet. Xenophobia is ingrained into all living organisms. It's why different species of ants get into hive wars. It's why cats of the same species will attack one another if they're not part of the same family. It's why humans kill one another; they all have differences, and they can't stand that fact.
For better or worse, that's the real world that we live in. We as a species don't like differences, and there are folks will go out of their way to eliminate differences so they don't have to deal with it. It's something you see all on the time on social media, where folks have gotten doxxed and even swatted simply for having a difference of opinion, or posting a joke that some people find offensive. We've reached the point of degradation as a society where we don't know how to handle being upset so we feel the irresistible urge to hurt someone in response to make ourselves feel better.
Trans, gay, straight, asian, successful, literate, religious, omnivorous, etc. it doesn't matter which category you fall into willingly or unwillingly, the world is full of people that're going to hate you simply because you're different from what they consider acceptable.
10930520
Sad but true. We have been so conditioned to be afraid of "The Other" that we can't see the person for who they are beyond what their presence represents.
10930663
This is starting to remind of me one of the questions I was contemplating having the character ask if I can ever get around to doing my own story on the subject. You're know full well that you're essentially trapped between a rock and a hard place in this sort of situation, and no matter what you do there's going to be a reason to be unhappy. Is it better to be living a lie and unhappy with yourself, but largely invisible and ignored by the public so you don't incur their wrath? Or is it better to honest and open and happy with yourself, but become visible to the masses who will find reason to hate you because now they know you're different from the perceived norm?
What's easier to live with, what's better to live with? What course of action has greater potential for happiness over the long term, not just the short term? Questions like that, where there's no right or wrong answer, just what would be the lesser of two evils, are the sort that I'd like to see asked more often.
Actually non-binary is agenda or a gender umbrella, the term for having no gender is agender
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It really is