this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2025
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[–] Lifter@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 20 hours ago

The problem with these characters is not the trans part but the poor writing that comes with them. They can never be complex in any qay because ni writer would dare to depict a "bad" trans person, so they are always boring, virtue signaling goodie two shoes.

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 34 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Its scifi but in the Culture series by Iain M Banks, this is basically the case. Genetic engineering has come so far that people's bodies produce drugs just by thinking about them. Gender transition is so complete that pregnancy is possible - one male character transitions every so often just because he likes being pregnant, then goes back to male. You're considered odd if you haven't transitioned at least once out of curiosity.

[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Ok if someone that plays videogames 24 hours a day told me in their 35 years of gaming they haven't picked a character of the opposite gender once I would consider that odd too.

Like it heavily implies sexism at this point.

[–] damnedfurry@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

it heavily implies sexism at this point.

That's a ridiculous assertion. It's much more likely that such a person simply always want to self-insert as much as possible, and so they choose characters as close to them as they can when given the choice, each time.

[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Yeah that's fair.

In my defense I was also imagining someone physically say "In my 35 years of gaming I have not picked a female character once!" in a conversation instead of them just not thinking much about it lmao.

[–] RedAggroBest@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago

Or being afraid of the feelings they might feel if they do.

[–] applebusch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It's interesting to look at the Culture series with a modern eye. Many of the ideas he had about what humans would choose to do in those circumstances were interesting, but he was also kind of comically unimaginative with how people would choose to change themselves. The humans of the Culture seem to be incapable of transitioning to a more androgynous or nonbinary gender, at least for the long term, and are also incapable of altering their own sexual preferences. At one point a character expresses disappointment at not becoming attracted to men when they transition to a woman, which seems like an odd lapse of imagination for a society that would bother to give all their members full conscious control of their genital function and the ability to change genders at will by default. No big dick goth futas or furries in the culture, even though there are people living today who would do almost anything to be that in real life. All of the humans depicted appear to remain approximately human shaped, which in itself isn't necessarily unexpected, but with the kind of biological engineering they're capable of you would imagine some people would want to be some other shape. No one decides to be a space whale that can swim between the stars under their own power. No one decides, or perhaps are unable, to expand their minds to significantly increase their intelligence or alter their consciousness. Everything he imagined they would do to themselves was essentially a refinement of some feature already present in humanity. Even more strangely he imagines that, to the Culture, remaining young forever is seen as a social faux pas, that they would value aging and death from age for some reason, despite creating immortal true AGI so advanced none of them even need to do anything anymore. To be sure some of this is practical for the sake of storytelling, but it's interesting to see the statement that "science fiction isn't about the future, it's about the present" played out in the Culture like this. What might current science fiction writers imagine post scarcity people would do? How comically unimaginative will that seem to future humans doing things we couldn't have even imagined today?

[–] BluesF@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

No big dick goth futas or furries in the culture

No, but isn't there a guy who's just covered in dicks? I'm fairly sure there are folk described who choose to take weirder and wackier shapes, but they kinda live on the fringe of things,

[–] A7thStone@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Charles Stross' Glasshouse gets into more of those themes. You can tell he's writing from a masculine point of view, but I appreciate his attempts to explore more ideas of dysphoria, and the crazier body mods people would try.

[–] knightly@pawb.social 2 points 4 days ago

Highly recommended title

"Saturn's Children" less so.

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 21 points 5 days ago

It always amused/annoyed me how turning into a completely different species was often considered more "normal" than swapping genders in these games.

[–] damnedfurry@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I think the notion is that it does not make sense for someone to be transgender in a world where they readily have access to a perfect/permanent means of changing their sex to match their gender identity.

After all, the purported ultimate 'solution' for a trans woman, for example, is to have a female body, to match their sense of identity, no?

If said means above isn't readily accessible by everyone (e.g. it's a potion that's prohibitively expensive to produce for the majority of people), then that's a different story, but if it is, why would anyone willfully continue to exist as trans, when they can 'solve' the dysphoria between their mind and body instantly?

P.S. I don't consider using such means above to change your body to the other sex out of curiosity or other such reasons to be at all the same as being trans. If there's no dysphoria, but you're curious what it's like to have sex as the other sex, etc., you're not transgender.

[–] BluesF@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Twist: the potion perfectly transforms all of you so if you're a trans woman with a male body it turns you into a trans man with a female body.

[–] damnedfurry@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That makes me wonder: what would most trans people prefer, given the choice of two 'magic wand' solutions? To remove the dysphoria, or perfect body alteration to the sex that matches the existing gender identity?

[–] BluesF@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

In my case the latter, and I suspect most would say the same. I'd much rather change my body than who I am.

[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

95% of the non-humanoid races don't have "gender" so it's really low in both supply and demand.

[–] bob_lemon@feddit.org 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The goblins just carry it because it tastes like cherry coke.

[–] FishFace@piefed.social 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I think there might be a slight miscommunication around the word "fantasy" here

[–] 4am@lemmy.zip 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Cmon now, it’s NOT that easy to make your own HRT drugs…is it?

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

There are diy guides online. In a more civilized society, they wouldn't be necessary.

[–] TherapyGary@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 5 days ago

Image Text Transcription:

People who object to trans people being in fantasy are wild. As though some silly-hatted alchemist wouldn't simply invent Almazar's Gender Fluid in an afternoon and distribute it to every dungeon chest in the land. It's Common on the loot table and half the goblins drop it. You can brew it yourself with three mushrooms and eight snail shells. It sells for 1 copper at the merchant because the supply is so abundant. You fool. You melon. You absolute buffoon. The limits of what you are willing to imagine are an epitaph you wrote for your own freedom.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 4 points 4 days ago

Come all to Almazar's gender fluid sex party! First 3 mystery potions free.

[–] bizarroland@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Think about the societal ramifications of that. Like, you go to a pub, like a seedy pub, doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl, you're gonna be watching your drink like a hawk to make sure nobody does something to you.

Actually, you'd probably be watching everyone's drink like a hawk to make sure that nobody does anything seedy to anybody because it's so commonplace that everyone's vulnerable to being forcibly sex changed, abducted, and sold into slavery.

[–] atopi@piefed.blahaj.zone 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

But wouldnt the effects of the potion be reversible by just drinking another potion? I doubt the worst thing someone can do in a magic world is temporarily change your sex

[–] bizarroland@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I mean,yes,but if you were prevented from getting the potion

[–] atopi@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 4 days ago

If someone is able to prevent you from getting a potion that common, couldnt they also force you to drink any potion?

[–] Scubus@sh.itjust.works 8 points 5 days ago

Given that everyone is already capable of being drugged, its kinda wild that more people arent hyper vigiliant when publicly drinking. Not just for their own drink, but for everyone elses too. I am always on the lookout for suspicious behavior when out with friends

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 days ago

Love it 🤣🤘🏼