I guess I'm channeling Oscar the Grouch today.
There's a pretty common story trope among the TG stories I've read here: (AMAB) either comes to realize or has always known he was "really a girl" (often facilitated by an older girl dressing him up), he then has experiences of support and of resistance or even repression, but finally gets to be his "true self" and get HRT at 16 and SRS at 18, and finally goes off into the sunset in a cloud of make-up, pierced earrings, cute pink tops, and sexy girl jeans. A variant is where protagonist is forced into girly stuff, typically girly dresses, make-up, etc., and suddenly realizes this is his (now her) "true self" and goes on as in the original version.
I'm actually quite fond of stories like this, especially if well written and plotted to make the story plausible. But: they're so far from my experience that I enjoy them the way I enjoy fairy tales. I haven't run across stories that are closer to my experience -- of growing up in a world where a boy might as well cut his throat as express any feminine tendencies, and only late in life getting in touch with transgender parts of himself. Nearly all of the trans people I know are late transitioners, too. I guess I wish I could see a few stories that match my experience, but have a happy ending, so I can at least fantasize that my own story will have a happy ending.
I can't help wondering: is this bias towards the "always was a girl" narrative because that's most M2Fs' experience? Or is it more just wishful thinking?
FWIW, I've noticed a fair amount of wishful thinking in that direction in some of the comments to my latest story ("Melanie's Story") There seems to be an assumption on some people's part that having his body (mostly) being turned into a girl's body means that he now is a girl, despite the fact that he never expresses any desire to be a girl and most definitely did not want the transformation. I'd actually say that my story is in fact the anti-trope.
Comments
a bit of both
When you take into consideration that I knew having a hairy chest was wrong for me at 3 [ my younger brother being born this particular day ] the always known is a big part of it. I knew a hairy body wasn't right for me, but I didn't know why.
I wish I had had the words to express exactly why back then, but 1968 wasn't a great era for coming out as trans or gay ect.
you might find:
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/29432/days-and-nights-...
by Bailey Summers to be interesting, not the young and beautiful trope.
[ I have read every word Bailey has posted, at least twice they grab you that much ]
And, as far as the young and beautiful aspect of the tropes go, when reading a fictional story, wouldn't you rather imagine yourself as young and beautiful than old and barely passable? The youth and beauty is what makes TG fiction saleable.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
if you want a happy story
its probably easier to start with a younger character. You could write about a fat, hairy almost 50 year old who transitions, but could you have the same kind of happy ending as a character who knew they were a girl early and was able to transition before puberty? Plus, a lot of feminine things are geared towards the young. Us older types know that heels wreck your tendons, that wrinkled legs dont look as attractive in a skirt, and that our chances for finding a partner shrink the older we get.
Text format allows a little more flexiblity.
I have found, that if one is good with writing character development. That in a text format, where one does not see the characters, one can write some of the main characters as being older and not that good looking.
While on the other side of the coin, while a character maybe hot visually, in a text format, the character's personality is the main selling point. Not that hotness.
I played with those tropes, as well.
Try some of my short stories
one or two of those could be considered gritty or challenging.
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/13585/angharads-story-tre...
Angharad
Had you read the "Skipper!" by Beverly Taff?
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/17578/skipper
It is a great tale where protagonist had hard life and transitioned late.
As for other things... First book about transitioning I ever read (got it in the "library of foreign literature" in Moscow, BTW) was Chrysalis. It was somwhere in the early 90-th and I don't remember author and can't find this book on amazon (AFAIR front cover had a child under grand piano and back cover had a photo of the author with some bits of triva about her). It was a tale of transitioning. And child under grand piano on the cover - was a picture of the moment autor first understood that she is a girl. When 5 or 6 years old.
Anti-trope... could well be
or maybe in doing the opposite of many TG tales you are proving the validity of the trope?
Huh?
Biology vs sex. They are not the same. It is nice when they coincide as that is what society expects. But when they don't?
HE may be a male in his mindset/preferences. But to the eyes of the world SHE is a female. And now some *freak* due to the publicity from the interview.
The poor kid is in a very bad place. The fuc*-up at the hospital has left him with a mostly female body. One that even menstruates but if the doctors are right, is infertile.
He has lost the chance to father children, to even have sex as a male.
He was/is fully happy as a male. Had no desire to be female.
They we have the ill advised press conference and the near rape for which HE?SHE gets punished not the would be rapist football star and his cronies.
No wonder the kid tried to die.
I am still worried Martin may not make it.
The ray of hope is Martin is now with people who care, and not his still in shock parents/siblings. Away from that disgusting school
BTW someday the football star will rape the wrong girl. THEN what will the Principal do?
That in the interview Martin felt the implication that becoming a girl was bad demeaned women suggests MAYBE there is enough respect for women in his mind that Martin might find a way to accept womanhood. Even though forced on him by the hospital's incompetence.
It may be wishful thinking that this still experimental DNA treatment may make HER complete. But to lose his chance ro reproduce is tantamount to murder, genetically wise.
Yeah yeah lots of people are infertile or even chose to not have children. But to have it taken away so capriciously? And to then be so abused by the school. AND his family... how his brothers teased him and the parents did nothing until the uncle called them about about it.,
Will Martin make lemonade out of lemons, have a sour unhappy life or finally succeed in dying?
Or some other outcome?
The tale makes the reader think.
Nice job even if the chapters are short ones.
-- GRIN --
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Where is the lawyer in this?
It sounds like the hospital did this to Martin, against his permissions. The Martin's family would at least have the sense to hire a lawyer to sue the hospital and make some money off this. With possible criminal charges, as well. While getting treatment for Martin.
While having a dark story can being interesting. Lack of suspension of belief starts coming into play when nothing goes right for the main character, and the main character is in a situation not of his own making.
This trope is called, reality ensues.
Huh?
What story is being discussed here? I thought it was a discussion about tropes, but all of the sudden a story about "Martin" is being discussed and I'd like to take a look at it.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Tropes are fun to play with.
When I was writing Badasses Of the Multiverse. I intentionally used that story to make fun, and play with gender bending tropes.
For example, when a gender bender in Book One of BoM, when with her friends to get bras, that gender bender pointed out that she had done this before, and it was an old hat to her. And they would not be embarrassing her that way. The gender bender then turned the tables and pointed out that one of the female characters, that wanted her to go clothes shopping, did not wear bras, with that woman ending up on the short end of the stick on the bra shopping experience.
Another point, by BoM being a fanfic, I would make it so that a number of the gender benders have had their gender bending abilities for years. It was not new to them. And that let me play with all sorts of tropes. Including, Mandy's Rules of Gender Bending.
If you know tropes, you can have a lot of fun writing a story.
Take a look at the stories by cyclist
They're also sometimes referred to as the Sussex Border stories. They're very good and have several older transitioners.