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transSo, up until recently, I used to call myself "androgynous with slight transgender leanings" as I had occasional brief longings to be the oposite of my birth gender at times but still strongly identified with my birth gender at others but most of the time just felt like I was a perfect blend of both. A few weeks back though, I discovered this thing called "gender fluid" as part of the trans community and realized upon reading about it that this fit the way I was feeling far better than the term "androgynous" ever could.
I wanted to see if there was anyone else who was part of the community who was also this way. It is not something you hear about often, I guess it is not so well spread as the more common presentation of people who are 100% the oposite of their birth gender.
Anyway, since having reassignment surgury is really not an appealing option to me (my gender identity disagrees with my body half the time now, and it will still disagree half the time afterwards, so what's the point?) I have mostly found my sollice in Japanese entertainment, I often find myself wondering if there is a significant number of gender fluid people among the manga artists, because there seem to be a good few series dealing with this subject, but absolutely nill everywhere else.
Of course everyone probably knows about Ranma 1/2. If you were like me though and absolutely adored the gender-flipping concept and envied the title character for having such a blessing, but were turned off by how immature the series' view of gender identity was, then you might find a series by the name of "Futaba no Change" will be more to your liking. Same gender-flipping concept, but a far more mature tone and expression of gender identity.
Other good series on the trans-gender subject include a real hidden gem by the name of Kaiba, a 12 episode series that is absolutely artistically fantastic in its implimentation. It is about a distopian future in witch everyone's minds are downloaded to computer chips, and they can transfer to a different body at any time, and one of the very most touching parts of the entire series is when the main character, by a series of circumstances beyond his control, finds himself getting transfered to a female body in witch he spends the majority of the first half of the series. I don't want to give away too much more, but take my word for it that this series is absolutely brilliant. I would highly recommend it even if it didn't have the appealing transgender aspect.
And just to round it off, another just plain rediculous one on the level of Ranma 1/2 by the name of "Ichinisen ni nachitara." It involves a highschool teenager getting hit by a truck and recieving brutal injuries that almost kill him, and his life is saved by a woman who happens to be a "super scientist," (this series uses science as though it were magic) who.... apparently.... errr..... saves his life by turning him into a 7 year old girl. Yeah, it didn't make much sense to me either. Read it for the transgender aspect, and forget about all the other rediculous stuff the same way you did with Ranma 1/2.
(EDIT: something that bears mention as brought up in a later comment by Healer, I am not saying Japan might be some kind of paridice for transgender people. Actually, Japanese media seems to reflect more of a silent precursor to a Japanese civil rights movement to me. Right now, they treat anyone who is not a cys-gendered heterosexual Japanese person horribly. The art that is made sympathetic to trans people or people of different ethnicities seems to be more of an awareness raiser hoping for social change. Just needed to say that to prevent anyone from getting the wrong idea about Japan.)
I wanted to see if there was anyone else who was part of the community who was also this way. It is not something you hear about often, I guess it is not so well spread as the more common presentation of people who are 100% the oposite of their birth gender.
Anyway, since having reassignment surgury is really not an appealing option to me (my gender identity disagrees with my body half the time now, and it will still disagree half the time afterwards, so what's the point?) I have mostly found my sollice in Japanese entertainment, I often find myself wondering if there is a significant number of gender fluid people among the manga artists, because there seem to be a good few series dealing with this subject, but absolutely nill everywhere else.
Of course everyone probably knows about Ranma 1/2. If you were like me though and absolutely adored the gender-flipping concept and envied the title character for having such a blessing, but were turned off by how immature the series' view of gender identity was, then you might find a series by the name of "Futaba no Change" will be more to your liking. Same gender-flipping concept, but a far more mature tone and expression of gender identity.
Other good series on the trans-gender subject include a real hidden gem by the name of Kaiba, a 12 episode series that is absolutely artistically fantastic in its implimentation. It is about a distopian future in witch everyone's minds are downloaded to computer chips, and they can transfer to a different body at any time, and one of the very most touching parts of the entire series is when the main character, by a series of circumstances beyond his control, finds himself getting transfered to a female body in witch he spends the majority of the first half of the series. I don't want to give away too much more, but take my word for it that this series is absolutely brilliant. I would highly recommend it even if it didn't have the appealing transgender aspect.
And just to round it off, another just plain rediculous one on the level of Ranma 1/2 by the name of "Ichinisen ni nachitara." It involves a highschool teenager getting hit by a truck and recieving brutal injuries that almost kill him, and his life is saved by a woman who happens to be a "super scientist," (this series uses science as though it were magic) who.... apparently.... errr..... saves his life by turning him into a 7 year old girl. Yeah, it didn't make much sense to me either. Read it for the transgender aspect, and forget about all the other rediculous stuff the same way you did with Ranma 1/2.
(EDIT: something that bears mention as brought up in a later comment by Healer, I am not saying Japan might be some kind of paridice for transgender people. Actually, Japanese media seems to reflect more of a silent precursor to a Japanese civil rights movement to me. Right now, they treat anyone who is not a cys-gendered heterosexual Japanese person horribly. The art that is made sympathetic to trans people or people of different ethnicities seems to be more of an awareness raiser hoping for social change. Just needed to say that to prevent anyone from getting the wrong idea about Japan.)