More Than One! (2/7) (Patreon)

The spiritual predecessor of this page was a comic I did called The Gender Joke

Every trans person is different and has varying degrees of trauma, a lot of mine was internalized and while I never seem to comprehend it as its happening, the simple truth is I absorb media like a sponge.

Probably going to hear griping from folks who love the performance or artistry of the specific icons I'm depicitng here - not to mention the rather rehearsed "gender if performative" routine - but the simple fact is  there were no positive role models for me growing up when it came to representations of gender non-conformity.

Entertaining? you betcha, of course (I still enjoy movies like "Mrs Doubtfire")

But dignified? loveable? proud? Notsomuch.

Even now scripts about the trans experience  usually adopt the "trauma porn" or "tragic tranny" motiffs wherin all trans people are poor depraved creatures, flung hither and yonder but this cruel world we live in.

And totally some of these stories are legit authentic like "Tangerine?"  It can be exhausting and scary not having an alternative.

One of the things that a lot of trans people crave more than anything else is validation. We want to look good and feel good, and be recognized as complete people (sound familiar? maybe?)

You may recall my first solo attempt to obtain that.

I remember thinking how ridiculous I looked at the time, but when the storm settled I wondered "where did that come from?" and as I revisited movies and shows that I loved during my adolescence it all began to make sense.