Gail Simone to Write Transgender Character
By J. Skyler
Jan 1, 2013 - 3:15
http://www.comicbookbin.com/Gail_Simone_to_Write_Trans_001.html"A trans story is definitely coming... can't say more at this point, for fear of spoilage!" - Gail Simone
A few weeks ago, following her initial discharge from writing DC Comics' Batgirl, Gail Simone stated via Tumblr that her plans to include a transgender character had been scrapped, along with all other scripts she had completed for Batgirl that were ready for publication. Since her reinstatement on the ongoing monthly title, however, it would appear that the debut of a new transgender character is back on track. It remains unclear to what degree of her original scripts remain in-tact, considering Ray Fawkes will temporarily take over the title as a guest writer for issues 18 and 19, but even if Simone was required to start from scratch, her inclusion of a transgender character will be a huge leap forward for a highly disenfranchised community.
While gender-variant themes are not uncommon in fiction (through supernatural elements, such as the ability to shape-shift), explicitly identified (or self-identified) transgender or transsexual characters are a distinct rarity. Fetishism associated with cross-dressing still carries undue weight in the public perception of trans persons and a number of trans characters that have been depicted in film and television are created exclusively to explore their sexual proclivities over anything else. While the depiction of sexuality in and of itself is not problematic, reducing trans women (as with cisgender women) to sexual objectification is.
