If there’s one thing that’s become more and more of my personality, it’s transness. I fear (not really) that I have become one of those people whose identities are their personalities. With that in mind, I wanted to go through some (read: three because I hit my word count very quickly) of my favorite trans characters — both canonical and non-canonical.
Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender — “A Series of Unfortunate Events”
Not only do I support trans rights, but I support trans wrongs. In the books, Klaus Baudelaire believes the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender is the scariest henchperson/troupe member. In the TV series, their alias is often Lucafont, which I will use despite it not being a name used in the books. The series retcons several aspects of Lucafont, which shows most in the way they speak in the series instead of remaining silent and explicitly are not killed off in the hospital fire. They are portrayed as more sympathetic in the series and discuss gender studies. Lucafont’s arc ends with a defection from Count Olaf’s troupe and forming a successful acting troupe with three other ex-henchpeople. And, you know what? I love that for them and fully support their endeavors.
Birdo — “Mario” franchise
Birdo (also known as Birdetta and Catherine/Cathie) of general Nintendo fame has to be included in any article about trans characters in media, as she is often considered one of the first trans video game characters. Not only that, but she is especially deserving with her most recent accomplishment of being added to “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” with the Wave 4 DLC released March 9. She is a high femme icon with a supportive boyfriend (although apparently she’s never been in a “Yoshi” game with him?) and we all collectively have no choice but to stan. Birdo acts as an elder trans woman, having experienced some transphobic language and rhetoric in her past but is now, to some degree, accepted. She deserves better from her franchise and I want to play a “Super Princess Peach” styled game with her.
Fujimoto — “Ponyo”
I simply would not dare to write an article about trans characters without my one and only love, Fujimoto from “Ponyo.” Now, I know it’s potentially (probably) in bad form to have a non-canonically trans character as this article’s send-off, but hear me out for a minute. I’ll admit, I wasn’t always on the trans Fujimoto train, but ever since I talked to my friend about “Ponyo,” I’ve been a diehard fan. My friend, like many of us, was raised with pretty traditional ideas of gender, and let me know she was simply so confused when she first watched the film as a child because she thought Fujimoto was Ponyo’s mother, especially when Gran Mamare came on screen … also as Ponyo’s mother. I remember remarking that he was, as I mentioned in a previous article, the cross of David Bowie and gender envy. Unlike in the published article, I specifically told my friend that the gender envy was in a very specific lesbian kind of way, and ever since then I have been firmly on the side of Fujimoto and Gran Mamare being T4T lesbians. Despite the non-canonical nature, aren’t trans lesbians the best way to send off an article?
