Panel 1: Bilbo Baggins holding a character sheet.
- Bilbo: “After all, why not?”
Panel 2: character sheet now has a transgender pride flag in it.
- Bilbo: “Why shouldn’t I make this character trans?”
Panel 1: Bilbo Baggins holding a character sheet.
Panel 2: character sheet now has a transgender pride flag in it.
Ooh, I do this too! I like to throw a twist into my characters, just to make them different from me. That way they become less of a self-insert, and I get to explore a different life experience.
I also had my very patriarchal, xenophobic dwarven cleric go through a bisexual awakening after meeting some fit, hairless male monks. It was remarkable how normal it felt for him to have that dawning realization, even as he was already married (to a proper Dwarven woman). I was a much better ally after that campaign, especially when a new player joined us, who was bisexual.
For my one trans character, I asked my gender non-conforming friends for advice, so that I wouldn’t accidentally make an ignorant caricature.
Make your characters Ace! Or Pan! Taste the rainbow in your games, even if you’re limited to one or two colors IRL.
No. I wanna be miserable.
Exploring identities through roleplay is a valuable experience. I discovered I was bisexual because I made a gay mad scientist, and it turned out that didn’t take much effort to stay in character.
That said I made an enby war survivor for a game about pilots and as a cis guy I have no idea what I’m doing. Thankfully nobody has seen any problem, including a trans friend, but I constantly feel like I’m about to fumble it.
Ayyyyyy, part of the reason I found out I’m trans is through realising I enjoyed playing female characters moreso than men, and had an easier time doing it.