Today’s topic comes from QSFer Freddy MacKay:
It would be also great to have a discussion on trans* characters in the different genres. How they are handled. How the world/tech/magic/nature works for them or against them. SF could be interesting because technology could be developed enough you wouldn’t ever know the difference unless a trans* person wanted you to. What kind of society would that be? How would trans* people identify themselves and why? A parallel (though not the same) would be looking at the deaf community and how they feel about cochlear implants. Some are all for them, others feel it’s destroying culture and community.
So what do you all think? And what are some examples of trans characters done well (or poorly) in speculative fiction?
FYI, here’s a list of 80- sic fi books with trans characters:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/33634.Trans_Characters_in_Science_Fiction
I have a Trans Sword & Sorcery list over on Goodreads. The Gender Non-Binary Fantasy & Science Fiction list is a good one too.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/user_vote/4952715
The book I’m working on at the moment is set on a space station where all the aliens are nongendered and there are transgender and hermaphroditic human staffers, two of whom serve on the Station’s Board of Governors.