@mynamewasdeleted: thanks so much for doing that

discussion continues in part 2 here:

http://www.comicvine.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/transgender-characters-in-comics-part-2-the-call-h-1456964/#5

@ShadowX: here

@ShadowX said:

@TeamUnitedNerds: does deadman just change bodies or has actual feelings that could be considered to ne transgender/transsexual?

Nope. He just possesses people. I don't think he's ever shown any problems with his gender identity.

@ShadowX said:

@TeamUnitedNerds: does deadman just change bodies or has actual feelings that could be considered to ne transgender/transsexual?

@Avenging-X-Bolt: this is really cool. because martian manhunter is awesome. did this last long? was there ulterior motives or did martian manhunter genuinely want o be in that body?

@Timandm: yeah i love the runaways and this was one of the reasons why. it dealt with it and a pretty amazing way.

@Blood1991:

on one hand i understand what you are saying.. but i disagree. if we keep on saying its not ready yet then we are never going to be ready i feel.

on one final note Gail Simone confirmed a trans character will be appearing in Batgirl.. which i really am excited for.

not too long. their was an invasion of earth by a group of female alien warriors who would only negotiate with females so j'onn decided to try this form for a while

@Blood1991: yeah. youre right.. boo i hate business

@judasnixon: where is she from?

Lord Fanny......

@Timandm said:

@Blood1991 said:

Transgender characters are still considered too risky for the big two if you ask me. Hell you saw what happened when Northstar and Kyle got married there were all kinds of protest groups could you imagine if one of them happened to be transgender? Hell those close minded fools would burn down comic shops. I hope within the next decade that Transgender characters make their way into prominent spots in comics, but as of now I don't think the industry is ready for it.

i didn't realize there was such a controversy over that. Did it make the news?

I heard some stuff on the radio and the wedding made it on CNN, but I'm not sure how much they covered it. I live in a rural part of VA so I heard some pretty ignorant callers.....

@ShadowX: I'm trying to go at it in a business sense, because for the big industries that completely overpowers creative freedom. I feel we are going to see more transgender characters creep into support roles over the next few years in the big two, but I think we are still a ways from having a transgender character play a major role in either universe.

@TeamUnitedNerds: does deadman just change bodies or has actual feelings that could be considered to ne transgender/transsexual?

@Avenging-X-Bolt: this is really cool. because martian manhunter is awesome. did this last long? was there ulterior motives or did martian manhunter genuinely want o be in that body?

@Timandm: yeah i love the runaways and this was one of the reasons why. it dealt with it and a pretty amazing way.

@Blood1991:

on one hand i understand what you are saying.. but i disagree. if we keep on saying its not ready yet then we are never going to be ready i feel.

on one final note Gail Simone confirmed a trans character will be appearing in Batgirl.. which i really am excited for.

Transgender characters are still considered too risky for the big two if you ask me. Hell you saw what happened when Northstar and Kyle got married there were all kinds of protest groups could you imagine if one of them happened to be transgender? Hell those close minded fools would burn down comic shops. I hope within the next decade that Transgender characters make their way into prominent spots in comics, but as of now I don't think the industry is ready for it.

@TeamUnitedNerds said:

I think that Deadman could actually be considered a transsexual

How?

Transgender characters are still considered too risky for the big two if you ask me. Hell you saw what happened when Northstar and Kyle got married there were all kinds of protest groups could you imagine if one of them happened to be transgender? Hell those close minded fools would burn down comic shops. I hope within the next decade that Transgender characters make their way into prominent spots in comics, but as of now I don't think the industry is ready for it.

Actually, this is sort of an issue with the Runaways.  it's been a while since I've read it, but Karolina Dean was in love and, in fact, engaged to a Skrull.  Since Karolina is a lesbian, the Skrull took on the form of a female...  The point (I THINK) was that for a Skrull it's really sort of a non-issue, and to them, two people who are in love are simply two people who are in love, regardless of their sex...

technically Martian Manhunter was one for a while

I think that Deadman could actually be considered a transsexual

Erik Storn has the power of turning into a woman.

Hi there. If you're looking for transgendered characters in comics there's Marisa Rahm from 'Deathwish' and Coagula from 'Doom Patrol'. :)

I like Wiccan a lot and help me know being gay is okay when I was in high school.

I agree on the closeted aspect. The fact is that many transexuals if they are able to afford and o through HRT and SRS decide to go stealth just living as an average woman or man like they should be considered. Although it is harder for ftms to do this since the surgery options aren't as widely available or sophisticated as they are for mtf. On the other hand there are transgender individuals that get srs but our still proudly open about the fact that they are transgender. Then there are those who are non or pre-op either due to financial or medical problems or they just personally don't like the surgery options that exist at this moments and feel they would be better of sticking with their current genitalia. So as you can see there is huge spectrum of people who are transgender and could be written about, and thats only one thing that separates us. Things about when we came out, when we started hormones, Our race, for as you can see places like Thailand tend to be more open and accepting of the transgender community, mainly due to tthe fact it's been open in their culture for centuries, or a native american who identifies as two spirit, or an Indian person who identifies as third gender. So a transgender character wouldn't only be a possibility of exploring the thoughts of gender identity, but culture and society as well.

@xybernauts: thank you. thats exactly what I was trying to say on the subject. The only real shapeshifter that I would consider transgender is Xavin, because it was shown that she had some actual gender identity issues and didn't just switch between the two.

@xybernauts said:

@soduh2: Well Psylocke isn't a shapeshifter. If I'm not mistaken, she's an Asian and and British woman who have merged so technically she's both. And about you closeted comment, it's true alot of them are closeted, but alot of them aren't too so I don't see the conflict. Besides if the writers wanted they could portray a story about a closeted transexual.

They're merged? I thought she switched bodies?

Closeted transexual, talk about an untouched demographic.

@Chaos Prime: Thank you

'Katoi' it is

@Rumble Man said:

@Chaos Prime: From now on I will say 'Ladyboy' sounds funner to use

Or Katoi, its the Thai for Ladyboy.

@Chaos Prime: From now on I will say 'Ladyboy' sounds funner to use

@Rumble Man said:

@ShadowX: Just a question though, since that term I used is derogatory.

Is there a non-derogatory shortened term for Transexual or Transgendered?

in Thailand they are more than happy being called Ladyboys, they even have Ladyboy toilets now in schools & most places of work.

@soduh2: Well Psylocke isn't a shapeshifter. If I'm not mistaken, she's an Asian and and British woman who have merged so technically she's both. And about you closeted comment, it's true alot of them are closeted, but alot of them aren't too so I don't see the conflict. Besides if the writers wanted they could portray a story about a closeted transexual.

@ShadowX: On the topic of transgender superheroes, I think you can argue for them (and LGBT people as a whole) that giving them a lot of representation conflicts with the fact that a significant number of them are "closeted".

@xybernauts said:

@TheCrowbar said:

Wouldn't every shapeshifter be considered transgender?

I don't think so. A shapeshifter falls into an entirely different category outside of transgender. It's just something else. To me it's like how some people suggest that Martian Manhunter can represent black people cause his secret identity is black. That's simply isn't the case. A person who can shapeshift into a black person isn't the same as an actual black person. I assume that transgenders feel the same.

Do we consider Psylocke asian or British?

@TheCrowbar said:

Wouldn't every shapeshifter be considered transgender?

I don't think so. A shapeshifter falls into an entirely different category outside of transgender. It's just something else. To me it's like how some people suggest that Martian Manhunter can represent black people cause his secret identity is black. That's simply isn't the case. A person who can shapeshift into a black person isn't the same as an actual black person. I assume that transgenders feel the same.

In NeilGaiman comic book Sandman, the transgender character is Desire of the Endless . In the animated tv series"The Brave and the bold",there is a character who's not really transgender, but has something interesting : Mrs Manface, a woman with the face of a man:

There is also an episode where Batman is bordeline transgender. His mind is locked in a female body:

I see no reason why they couldn't have a transgender hero or villain. Honestly, I couldn't care less, straight, male, female, transgender, homosexual, whatever. If they're awesome they're awesome, it has less to do with gender and more to do with just being an awesome character. If they do a transgender character, just make them cool, and I'll read 'em all day. Hero, villain, anti-hero, tragic hero, dark hero, mastermind, sociopath, psychopath, I'd ream any of them if they were transgender, they just have to have an appealing personality.

Thanks for reading,

Floopay

@ShadowX: I think it would be brilliant but I'd hate to have it be a Transgender hero. As opposed to a hero that happens to be transgender. Otherwise it seems more like an exploitation move than an accepting one. Also, I'm not sure if it counts but in The Punisher: Barracuda there is a guy that dresses as and seems to identify as a woman. That is the only male transgender character I know of though.

@Joygirl {"Transexual thai mafia? That sounds... strangely more badass than other kinds of mafia"} Ha ha ha you made my day!

@Rumble Man: yeah, i know about asexuality.

@ShadowX: terminology used is ladyboy mafia

@ShadowX: I will use trans person from now on because transhuman has a totally different meaning

just like there is the asexual 'preference' and asexual biological function

@Rumble Man: You could use trans person, trans girl, trans boy, trans man, trans woman,

@Rumble Man said:

@Blood1991: thailand has a more interesting twist because there is transexual mafia (kinda cool and they kill stuff) and transexual muay thai champ

i've never heard of that. I know Thailand has a large open transgender population but I never heard of a mafia.

@ShadowX: Just a question though, since that term I used is derogatory.

Is there a non-derogatory shortened term for Transexual or Transgendered?

Transexual thai mafia? That sounds... strangely more badass than other kinds of mafia.

@Rumble Man: It's alright. You didn't know.

@Blood1991: thailand has a more interesting twist because there is transexual mafia (kinda cool and they kill stuff) and transexual muay thai champ

@Rumble Man: Yep, I find how they have blended tradition with new cultures incredibly fascinating ^_^

@ShadowX: sorry shadow

@Blood1991: yes they do, even thy still do in kabuki

@Rumble Man: Anime and Manga have tons of transgender characters. I read it was a cultural throw back to how men used to play women's roles in plays.

@Rumble Man: intresting. thanks. I know of alot more transgender characters in anime then in comic books. I want to get into the show Wandeirng Son which mainly deals with gender identity.

also as a favor please refrain from the word tranny it's actually a negative slur.

I know this guy in manga, he is badass not much in comics though

One of the best I know (kicks ass, great human being, comedy relief and deadly serious at times)

One of the best hirs around, made his own martial arts and hangs with an island of Trannies

@Jorgevy: Thanks for agreeing with me. Although to be honest shapeshifting would not be the choice of power for me. For me I would feel like it would be somewhat of a cop out. Although they did Xavin well with it.

@TheMinister: Yeah she is. I don't know if she has any love intrest though.

@SmashBrawler: Lord Fanny? I'll look into it.

@Teerack: Maybe they should of done that with spiderman then. IT sounds like a potential for a great ftm character, who struggles with gender identity.

@Ravager4: Really? Thats awesome. I hope it didn't get delayed too far back.

@Joygirl: Woo! great minds think alike.

@TheCrowbar: No not really. They could be gender non-conforming but for the most part the shapeshifter I noticed in the past tend to stick with mostly the gender they are born with and when they do switch to the opposite gender it's just using that ability they have to get something they need. Just like when Loki became female, they didn't really show him prior being unhappy with his male body or wishing to be female. Or two showing any real discomfort in that new body. So they are gender non-conforming most of the time but I wouldn't really say transgender, none of them want to be truly seen as said gender except for that specific ploy, but when all is said and done they typically identify with their birth gender. What I want in a transgender character is a character who actually does struggle with their gender identity that discomfort of being read male when inside you know you are female or vice versa. Or somebody that has overcome that or working to overcome that. It would be a part of the character but not the only part of them.

Donatella from Young Liars is quite a prominent character in the series:

Wouldn't every shapeshifter be considered transgender?

I was thinking about this... yesterday, I think. I'd like to see some transgendered characters in comics, it could be really cool for a shapeshifter to choose another gender to use as their usual form, or even a non-shapechanger who just knows what they want.