Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-25396609-20191207154319/@comment-39235991-20191209163701

Phantomlink959 wrote: I'm gonna be honest, a few years ago i was pretty shitty towards trans people due to complete ignorance of the subject (I didn't even know it was a thing until I was like 19 simply because I had never been exposed to it); but my mindset has changed completely since then.

I'll also admit that I'm still learning about it and I only count one trans person amongst my friends (she came out around a year ago).

My thoughts as to which characters may be trans and how people might react are, however, based on experience. I volunteer at a LOT of conventions in Portland Oregon; and there's a significant portion of LGBT+ who attend them in that city. I have spoken with some of them about trans characters in media; and opinion on whether those characters should be (for lack of a better term) perfect transition (indistinguishable from cis) or not has been EXTREMELY mixed.

Some of them prefer characters who are visually recognizable as transgender, since they find it more believeable and can empathize more closely with the characters.

Others prefer characters who you wouldn't know the person is trans without being told, as it gives them an ideal to aspire to.

The comment of "I can see people complaining already" is because of a third group not directly related to trans persons. I won't assign a name or designation to the group; but there are people who look for excuses to be outraged, and hunt for some sort of perceived moral high ground to excuse it. Individuals who will NEVER be happy with how a sensitive subject is handled. And, unfortunately, the RWBY fandom has a lot of those people.

And let's be honest Thank you for your honesty as a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself and as someone who gets made fun of for being gender fluid, I find myself advocating for people who have the same troubles I do.