The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Transgender Characters

Alice Thomas
10 min readOct 9, 2020
Photo by Rubén García on Unsplash

First and foremost, Transgender Identities are not a trend. We have been around for a long time and have received more awareness in the past decade. With more stories now that feature an authentic representation of LGBT people, it’s a perfect opportunity to observe in a more empathic detail over their themes and how to write them.

Dreadnought is a golden example of writing trans characters in a nuanced way. In this story, Danny is turned into a cis woman superhero, only to face challenges by her anti-trans father and a transphobic superhero. Dreadnought really delivers the realistic experience of a trans woman, and we need more of it. Have them like bricks and use them to build a tower above the Hallmark channel and their hesitation towards LGBT romance films. Same goes for all LGBT books!

But if you happen to stumble here because you want to write stories with transgender characters, then you have arrived at the right place. These basic tips will not only help to write more believable transgender characters but to also avoid controversy from your readers. At the time trans people are the most marginalised group around the world, the compelling representation of trans people is extremely important.

The hints below will provide some fundamental guidance on the dos and don’ts of writing compelling trans characters:

Do a balance between trans and general sides of the story

Just because you have a trans character pencilled in, doesn’t mean you have to mention their transition throughout the entire story. It can go in many ways. If your book is focused on trans issues, go ahead! Just make sure to deliver the story as the priority without having to ‘tell’ about the problems the characters have on transgender topics. If not, treat the trans characters just like the others.

Writing issues for trans characters can be complicated but doesn’t have to be a colossal math equation. The best way is for them to integrate into the story and relate to other people. Treat them like cis people, but also allow their issues to slip through. Being trans does not define them; they still have the same goals as anyone else would beyond their transition. Not everyone will mind about trans people unless you’re writing a world where everyone is equal and has everything they want.

Don’t tell the readers about their trans features!

Big mistake. There is no need to ‘tell’ if the person is trans, even if you show them in specific ways. Saying about their dysphoric features can play into casual transphobia. Be careful about telling characters as trans in their introduction too, for it could treat them like the other and sets cis people as the default, much in the same vein as mentioning people as non-white.

So how do you approach that problem? Well, you can still describe them down to their hair colour and their style of clothing, like casual or goth. Also, allow characters to mention topics that hint at their transness, such as their transition or how valued they are as people of an acquired gender. Just not down to their broad shoulders, big hips, large chest or any part that makes the trans character feel uncomfortable about.

Do focus on their positive exchanges

Getting trans characters validated is a more empowering feeling that readers experience from their stories, not limited to just trans people. If they get the clothes, the services, or anything that makes them comfortable in their acquired gender, it works! Just as long as it’s relevant to the story. For example, if a trans woman gets enrolled as a witch in a fantasy world and is accepted as one, then this would work equally as buying dresses in a shop or get freaking gendered correctly by a stranger.

Same applies to other characters. If the trans character’s allies support them for who they are and refer to them by their rightful name and pronouns, then it means they’re being integrated into society as a valid trans person. Not every character has to do that though. Those who misgender or deadname trans characters can either be good or bad, just as long they get reprimanded for their disrespectful remarks. Even better if that’s not the main plot of the story.

Photo by Luke Porter on Unsplash

Don’t patronise them, at all

When trans people transition for their identity, they do it by choice. Almost all of the time, they do not regret it. They take actions to make themselves more comfortable in their skin and would rather not go back to their old selves. Let them be. Your trans characters are who they are and that should not change at all.

Be careful if you allow your character to be questioned about their choices made though. It could end up demonstrating that it’s wrong to transition and better to stay in the closet. It’s true your trans character may experience doubts on their journey and exploring them is fine, but these doubts should be resolved with them being affirmed in their trans identity. As long as you challenge a particular person’s misconceptions there, it can result in a more authentic subplot.

Do be careful about their transition stage

It’s possible to write trans characters who got transformed by magic or stuck in another body at the beginning, but it needs to be carefully done. Just avoid having too many references to their past lives, because this can cause confusion or even provide ammunition for transphobic people to attack the character.

Unless a character’s transition is the centerpiece of your story, going into too much detail about their transition process should be avoided. Your character should be developed beyond their trans identity, for focusing on their identity too much can make them seem biased.

Do allow their ‘realistic’ changes in the story

This tip comes in hand with the positive experiences in the story that helps readers to relate and understand trans people. But do allow realism for the trans issues in your story. In reality, trans people may not get all the help they need for their medical and social transition. Some may not get the acceptance they need from their parents (more complicated than just yes or no). Many would most definitely experience people who either ask questions about their transition and how it works. Many would learn that their best friends and family may even struggle to accept the change in their identity. All this is real, and this is their struggle.

You could create a world where trans people are entirely accepted or be given options to modify their bodies. This approach may not be considered realistic though because it would avoid real-life issues within the trans community, but this can still be empowering to help readers understand more about their identities. One common fix for situations like these is to get the other characters to try to understand them and how they would feel if they are trans. There are other ways that realism can be applied to even fantastical works, and this can be done via research or chatting with other trans readers.

Don’t rely on transphobic tropes

There are tropes out there in the media that can give a wrong impression about trans people in society. They can either demonise or mock them to the extent that they would separate them away from those who know little about or had not experienced the LGBT issues at hand.

Disclosure is a recommended watch on Netflix, for it flags such tropes that harm the existence of trans people. Some other stories also provide misconceptions about the trans person’s journey. ‘The Assignment’, for example, involves a scientist who forces a gender reassignment on Frank, which turns him into a woman. Not only it uses dehumanising lines from the characters, but also gives heavily unrealistic expectations of how surgeries and treatments work for trans women in real life.

Always be careful when you write trans characters in this area. If you link their actions to their trans ideals or identity in a harmful way, then they would brand the story as offensive. That’s not to say that you cannot have trans villains, and that’s a plus, but avoid situations that could be interpreted as a character’s transition being the motivation for their villainy. Doing so risks painting trans people as a whole in a negative light.

Photo by Türkiye LGBTİ Birliği on Unsplash

Don’t forget Trans Men, Intersex and Non-Binary people!

Conflict over rights for trans women may get substantial media coverage today, but it is still important to remember that trans men, intersex and non-binary people exist as well, even though they get less media attention.

It’s worth researching your story and seeking any opportunities for a trans man/intersex/non-binary character to be featured in the plotline. This could double the effectiveness of the transgender presentation in your story.

Do use your creativity!

Take The Matrix. It’s a fantastic film where Neo uses his abilities to fight Agent Smith clones and save cyberspace, whilst tackling the onslaught of robots in a real post-apocalyptic world. Great, isn’t it? Oh, it was originally going to have a trans main character by the name of ‘Switch’, who discovers their identity through the means of different worlds. Too bad it didn’t happen due to how the world would handle such issues back in the 90s.

But the point is still clear. The Matrix is one of the best stories with a trans allegory, for it uses themes related to transitioning and desired identities. There are even works that use LGBT allegories. X-Men, while using civil rights allegory as a central theme, is one golden example of this, where mutants tackle racism and prejudice from the humans, in addition to fighting supervillains.

It just shows that using creativity can help to disguise the trans/LGBT themes in a way readers can easily relate to. However, it can lead to additional controversy depending on how it illustrated them. Darling in the Franxx has an interesting trans allegory involving Zero Two, where she is a human-alien hybrid and gets integrated into human society. However, the show didn’t handle the LGBT themes well around its exaggerated binary hetero-innuendo themes.

Don’t be afraid to write a story with a trans character in

Depending on where you got them from, don’t let the haters get to you. By having trans characters in your stories, it really helps to change the perspective on trans awareness and boost the understanding of trans people in general.

There will be people out there who would criticise works for featuring trans characters. They would do the same towards characters that are LGBT, or when the main character of a popular franchise is a woman instead of a hulking white cis man. Don’t let them get to you and listen to those who deliver good faith criticism towards your work.

We need more stories, especially fiction, with trans characters in. Like with LGBT folks, readers need to see them relatable as human beings and not just exclusive to mature themes. It’s not really a one-in-all solution to change the dynamic of trans issues in society, but it helps to push the positive message across.

Do your research on Trans People, Characters, whatever

Yes. The best takeaway from this article. Do your research on trans people and their issues. Talk with trans people and their communities. Get to understand what works for people to relate to them through stories.

Even better if you could collaborate with trans people by featuring them as a consultant on your project. Allowing them as a co-author or an executive producer would also work wonders for your story.

There are a lot of stories told across history and show how they fought for their rights and lived their lives to the full extent. It’s worth noting that Marsha P. Johnson did tremendous work for the LGBT community, and without her, we would not have progressed so far in our rights.

There are books out there that give not only information about trans people but also detail their experiences. There are also fiction books that give compelling trans stories, and they would guide you in the direction of what to include and how to write them properly.

I also suggest watching videos from trans YouTubers, especially ones who talk about her lives and their struggles in their transitions.

Recommended Reading

Dreadnought - An excellent novel that details a trans woman’s struggle to save the world by combating prejudice from her peers. It’s a first part to a series of novels, which I would also recommend reading them all.

Magical Boy - It’s a webcomic and one of the best stories with a trans man as a main character. He struggles with his magical abilities and friendships, as he tackles the negative-emotion spreading enemies.

Ancillary Justice — A more complex novel with a rich sci-fi world, that tackles gender and identity via a more fluid system. After reading a few entries from the series, I recommend looking through this article for a deeper analysis into their identity tropes.

Trans Voices - It contains interviews with other trans people, on their experiences in society and their difficulties with prejudice. It was the book that helped me understand more about our community.

Uncomfortable Labels - There are a lot of memoirs from trans authors and this is one of them. Not only it details Laura Kate Dale’s experiences as a trans woman, but also as a gay and autistic one.

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