This is a list of trans characters in fiction, i.e. characters that either self-identify as trans or have been identified by outside parties to be trans. Listed characters are either recurring characters, cameos, guest stars, or one-off characters. This page does not include trans characters in film or television.
For more information about fictional characters in other parts of the LGBTQ community, see the lists of lesbian (with sub-pages for characters in anime and animation), bisexual (with sub-sections for characters in anime and animation), gay, non-binary, pansexual, asexual, and intersex characters.
The names are organized alphabetically by surname (i.e. last name), or by single name, if the character does not have a surname. If more than two characters are in one entry, the last name of the first character is used.
| Characters | Show title | Gender identity | Character debut date | Notes | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alice | Superjail! | Trans woman | A hulking and muscular head prison guard of Superjail.[1] She is a trans woman who regularly engages in sadomasochistic rituals with the prisoners, and rebuffs The Warden's constant advances as shown in episodes like "Jailbot 2.0." She may have dated women before, and has sex with The Mistress, a series antagonist who is proprietor of Ultraprison, an all female prison as shown in the episode "Stingstress. | United States | |
| Megumi Amatsuka | Cheeky Angel | Megumi is a physically attractive trans woman who retains her masculine mannerisms and fighting abilities, which she uses very often, attracting the 'Megu-chan Protection Club', a group of misfit admirers.[2] [3] Nobody else knows she used to be a boy but was transformed into a girl. Initially, only Megumi's best friend, Miki, knew her secret, however the protection club quickly finds out.[4] | Japan | ||
| Karnatia Anabald | So I'm a Spider, So What? | Karnatia "Katia" Anabald (formerly known as Ooshima Kanata) is the best friend of the series' side-story protagonist Shun Analeit. Before the start of the series she was a boy who was the classmate of the series protagonists and was heavily implied to be gay throughout the flashback chapters, as well as to suffer from gender dysphoria.[5] After being reincarnated following the destruction of her classroom, when she and her classmates were reborn into the magical world of the series, Katia was reborn into a female body. | Japan | ||
| Makoto Ariga | Wandering Son | Makoto, known as Mako for short, was assigned male at birth like Shuichi, expressing a desire to be a straight trans woman primarily due to her love of men and crossdressing like Shuichi.[6] She dreams of entering into a relationship with a cool adult man. | Japan | ||
| Nagi "Alice" Arisuin | Chivalry of a Failed Knight | Alice is a first year student and Shizuku's roommate. She is a transgender woman.[7] She has the ability to control shadows with her device, the Darkness Hermit. Her Noble Arts include Shadow Bind, Shadow Walk and Shadow Spot. Alice is a very nice person, though she does sometimes tease others. | Japan | ||
| Anita Bidet | The Oblongs | Anita Bidet is the owner of the bar Rusty Bucket and Pickles Oblong's friend. She is a pre-op transgender woman who is saving up money for gender reassignment surgery.[8] [9] The series creator called her a "drag queen."[10] [11] | United States | ||
| Rachel Bighead | Rocko's Modern Life | In the special, Rachel is revealed to be a transgender woman when Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt find her.[12] [13] | United States | ||
| Brooklyn | Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Brooklyn is one of Lunella's classmates. In the first episode "Moon Girl Landing", Brooklyn's water bottle has a trans pride sticker that says "Trans is beautiful". Brooklyn is voiced by trans and non-binary actor Indya Moore.[14] [15] | United States | ||
| Cagliostro | Symphogear AXZ | She used to be a man who was a swindler known for his endless lies, before being granted a perfect body by Saint-Germain, becoming a trans woman, as noted in the episode "Last Resort."[16] Cagliostro has since sworn to never lie about her feelings. | Japan | ||
| Candy Hector Caramella | Space Goofs | Candy is the uptight homosexual neat freak.[17] They get in touch with their feminine side by sometimes disguising themselves as a woman as shown in episodes like "Heavy Metal Madness" and "Back to School Blues." In many situations, Candy is the first to worry, as shown in the episode "Snoutra." Candy flirts with men and is implied to be transgender.[18] This implication is confirmed by the game, "Stupid Invaders" with Candy planning a gender reassignment surgery with the best specialist in the universe. | France | ||
| Professor Caraway | High Guardian Spice | Trans man | Professor Caraway is a professor at the High Guardian Academy. In the third episode "Transformations", he is revealed to be a transgender man, and is voiced by the show's creator, Raye Rodriguez, who is also a trans man.[19] [20] [21] | United States | |
| Cliff Cay | Infinite Ryvius | Trans woman | Criff Cay is a member of the group Team Blue. She is indicated to be transgender when her sister Michelle refers to her as "Big Brother". The character profile lists her sex as male.[22] | Japan | |
| Cha-Cha | Bob's Burgers | Cha-Cha is a transgender sex worker who appears in the episode, "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?".[23] | United States | ||
| Ida Davis | Family Guy | The "father" of Glenn and Brenda Quagmire and the ex-"husband" of Crystal Quagmire. Ida (formerly Dan) was a war hero in the Vietnam War and was thought to be a homosexual by Peter. When Glenn asked his "father" if this was true, Ida claimed that she was a woman trapped in a man's body and came to Quahog for a sex reassignment surgery, taking the name Ida Davis afterward as noted in the episode "Quagmire's Dad".[24] From Season 17 onward, she became a recurring character, and some criticized her role in the show, stating that her character was previously the "butt of many transmisogynistic and transphobic "jokes,"" and that the show does not promote inclusivity.[25] | United States | ||
| Dana Dufresne | The Loud House | She first appeared as the host (and judge) of a beauty pageant in "Toads and Tiaras" and reappeared in the episode "Gown and Out" in August 2018. Maddie Taylor, who does voice over for the character, revealed in August 2019 that the character had transitioned from a man to a trans woman, like herself, and said that the character would return in another episode within season 4.[26] However, Season 4 concluded on July 23, 2020, although Dana would later reappear in the Season 6 episode "Prize Fighter" and further episodes. | United States | ||
| Desiree | Too Loud | Desiree is a volunteer librarian who works with her sister Sara, at the local library. In the episode "Slumber Party Sneak-In," she plots with her sister, Sara, to dress up as a girl in order to go to a slumber party. The rest of the girls find this out, the console her, accepting, and deciding they like her no matter whether she is a trans girl named Desiree or as a closeted boy.[27] In September 2019, series creator Nico Colaleo described the episode as important, arguing it was his favorite episode of the show's second season, and a "pro-transgender episode."[28] [29] It was later revealed the episode was supposed to be the final episode of the series, but DreamWorks posted it too soon.[30] | United States | ||
| Aoi Futaba | You're Under Arrest | Aoi Futaba was initially male but once had to go undercover as a woman in a sting operation to catch some male molesters targeting women.[31] However, she went "native" and has since considered herself and has been treated by her colleagues as a trans woman. Though her romantic preferences are made unclear, she seems to prefer men, as shown in episodes like "Aoi-chan has a White Rose." | Japan | ||
| Herbert Garrison | South Park | Trans woman (detransitioned) | Originally presented as a closeted homosexual, the storylines have featured Garrison coming out as a gay man, then having a gender reassignment surgery to become female (known as Janet Garrison), becoming a lesbian, and then changing back to a man and becoming President of the United States.[32] It is shown he still has feelings for his ex-boyfriend, Mr. Slave, as shown in the episode "Follow That Egg!" | United States | |
| Glitter | Bob's Burgers | Trans woman | Glitter is a transgender sex worker who is said to be going under gender reassignment because she mentions the town being full of "Doctors who refuse to cut off your penis," who appears in the episode "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?". | United States | |
| Barney Guttman | Trans man | In an interview on August 17, 2020, series creator Hamish Steele explained how the show changed from its original iteration on Cartoon Hangover in 2014, and the graphic novels that followed it,[33] stating that he is grateful for showrunners who fought for LGBTQ characters in their shows, adding that there was "absolutely no pushback from Netflix about representation," while describing Barney as a trans male character.[34] He also hoped that the show will help out "more trans creators getting their chance to tell their stories" while hinting at other LGBTQ characters in the show apart from Barney. Barney is in a same-sex relationship with Logs, a health and safety worker at Dead End.[35] [36] Barney is voiced by trans actor Zach Barack. Steele also said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that any possible future episodes would further explore the sexualities of Norma and Barney.[37] In the second season, it is revealed Logs' mother is unaware that he is gay. | United Kingdom | ||
| Hermaphrobot | Futurama | Trans woman | Hermaphrobot is a manbot-to-fembot transgender Robot, who often engages Bender in a subversive manner, saying she is "more lady" than Bender could handle.[38] Some critics have criticized her "intersex slur-referencing name," and her character being defined by her physical attributes, while playing into stereotypes.[39] | United States | |
| Lily Hoshikawa | Zombie Land Saga | Lily is a prodigious transgender child actress.[40] [41] She died from a heart attack caused by occupational stress and mental shock upon growing facial hair. Lily does not seemed displeased at the idea of being a zombie, because to her it means that she can be a child forever, preventing her from further experiencing the anxiety and gender dysphoria, as a trans girl, that previously ended her life.[42] | Japan | ||
| Gakko Ibuki | Shaman King | Trans boy | Gakko Ibuki is an aloof youth boy who enjoys fighting, having joined the Flower of Maize to fulfill his wish to be the strongest man alive.[43] | Japan | |
| Kano Ienega | Golden Kamuy | Trans woman | Originally named Chikanobu Ienaga, she is a trans woman and former doctor who feeds on the flesh of her victims to become youthful and beautiful. She debuts in Episode 11 of the anime and is part of "The Abashiri Convicts". Her character has been criticized for being an "evil beauty-obsessed trans woman", the series only trans character, with one reviewer stating that her villainy "revolves around her obsession with enhancing her own body," meaning that there are "transphobic overtones to Kano's motivation".[44] | Japan | |
| Jewelstar | She-Ra and the Princesses of Power | Trans man | Jewelstar is a trans man who is voiced by a trans male actor, Alex Blue Davis.[45] [46] [47] His character was designed by Rae Geiger. | United States | |
| Kikunojo "Kiku" | One Piece | Trans woman | In both the manga and anime, Kiku is revealed to be a trans woman.[48] Before being transported to the future, Kiku dressed in more masculine clothing typical of a samurai. After arriving in the future, Kiku began showing a significantly more feminine side, such as wearing red lipstick and dressing more in feminine clothing, and has described herself as a "a woman at heart," while she was assigned male at birth.[49] [50] [51] Some described Kiku as a "breath of fresh air in terms of her strength and characterization" and noted that her gender identity is never ridiculed.[52] | Japan | |
| Kiyoka | Super Lovers | Seiji Takamori, better known as Kiyoka, runs a bar/cafe with her high school classmate,[53] [54] Haru, is transgender and appears to prefer men.[55] She once confessed to Haru in the episode "Cloudy Sky", and been turned down. She also has transgender friends as shown in the episode "Marine Blue". | Japan | ||
| Natalie el-Khoury | Big Mouth | In the first episode of the show's fourth season, Natalie, a Lebanese-American trans female teenager is introduced. The episode she debuts in highlights "various, popular transphobic arguments", while giving her a supportive friend named Jessi, and another named Seth, who rejects her identity, who she rejects.[56] She also appears in Human Resources. | United States | ||
| Seiko Kotobuki | Love Com | Seiko was assigned male at birth, but is actually a girl and even develops a crush on Atsushi Ōtani and Kazuki Kohori.[57] With her petite stature and fashionable mind, Seiko is arguably the most feminine character in the series, and struggles with her gender identity.[58] | Japan | ||
| Kaoru Kurita | Wonder Egg Priority | Trans man | Kaoru is a trans boy hatched from Momoe's egg. His jacket is designed with colors replicant of the transgender flag.[59] [60] Having been assigned female at birth and struggling with his gender identity, Kaoru went to his kendo club advisor for advice. However, the teacher forced him down, beat him, and raped him, resulting in him becoming pregnant. This is presumably the reason that made Kaoru commit suicide. It is implied that Kaoru is bisexual as although he likes Momoe as a "boy" upon learning that she was a girl, he also makes it clear that he is still attracted to Momoe as female. | Japan | |
| Marbles | Bob's Burgers | Trans woman | Marbles is a trans female sex worker who appears in the episode "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?" and describes pursuing sex reassignment surgery. | United States | |
| Mariandale | Ixion Saga DT | A transsexual maid who wields pistols akimbo and protects the princess.[61] She admits being jealous of the princess getting married. Occasionally, she will revert to her male voice. Near the end of the series, she offers up her "testicles" to Eren (who previously had his removed) as a way to make herself feel more female. | Japan | ||
| May Marigold | RWBY | May is a trans woman, which was confirmed by her voice actress, Kdin Jenzen, who is also transgender.[62] She is a member of a rebellion faction and was inspired by the Robin Hood character Maid Marian. Her transgender identity was later confirmed on screen during the Volume 8 episode "War". May has a power that reflects elements of her personality, with hers being invisibility, which could be a manifestation of her dysphoria and will not to be seen. | United States | ||
| Marshmallow | Bob's Burgers | Marshmallow is a trans female sex worker.[63] In June 2020, the show's creator committed to having Marshallow voiced by a Black LGBTQ actor rather than David Herman.[64] | United States | ||
| Sallie May | Helluva Boss | Millie's sister, from episode 5: The Harvest Moon Festival and Helluva Boss Shorts 1: Hell's Belles. She is confirmed to be trans woman by her voice actress, Morgana Ignis, who is also a trans woman.[65] | United States | ||
| Morley | One Piece | A giant and as well as the commander of the West Army in the Revolutionary Army.[66] | Japan | ||
| Nao | Skip and Loafer | Nao, the main character's aunt, is a trans woman, which is mentioned in the story. For example, in one episode, Mitsumi mentions that her aunt was assigned male at birth, and in another, she has to protect Nao from transphobic comments on the train.[67] [68] | Japan | ||
| Shuichi Nitori | Wandering Son | Shuichi Nitori, otherwise known by and, is a lesbian transgender woman and often dresses to assume the role of the female gender, and is often described as cute, able to appear as a girl while cross-dressing, which is encouraged by their friends Yoshino Takatsuki and Saori Chiba.[69] [70] Later on, they exhibit signs of gender dysphoria and displays an outward attraction to two characters in the series—Yoshino, a transgender man, and their female classmate, Anna Suehiro. The latter date for a shirt time, until the relationship is broken off, and later resumed. | Japan | ||
| Ollie de Ooievaar | Alfred J. Kwak | Trans man | Ollie is one of the protagonist's close friends. At the start of the series he is referred to with female pronouns, but after a timeskip he starts using male pronouns. This is never directly addressed during the series. In a Dutch interview from 2013 Ollie was confirmed to be a trans man.[71] | Netherlands | |
| Hazumu Osaragi | Trans woman | The series protagonist, Hazumu Osaragi begins the series as a boy.[72] After being rejected by a schoolgirl named Yasuna Kamiizumi, they are inadvertently killed due to an alien spacecraft crash-landing on them, with the alien, Hitoshi Sora, resurrecting Hazumu, but changes their physical sex to female. For the rest of the series, the agender Hazumu adopts to life as a girl, is attracted to two of her childhood friends: Yasuna, and Tomari Kurusu.[73] | Japan | ||
| Hibari Ōzora | Stop!! Hibari-kun! | Assigned male at birth, Hibari looks and behaves as a girl, expresses interest in having breasts, and has become more feminine after Kōsaku starts living at her household.[74] [75] She has demonstrated romantic interest in Kōsaku and is implied to have zero interest in women. | Japan | ||
| Cherry Pie | The Nutshack | A friendly, flirtatious Vietnamese woman who is a virgin and runs a salon. She is said to dominate "the Vietnamese Cross dressing scene."[76] | United States/Philippines | ||
| Brunella Pommelhorst | The Simpsons | Trans man | Mrs. Pommelhorst is the gym teacher who announced his intention to take time off and return as "Mr. Pommelhorst, the shop teacher" in the episode "My Fair Laddy", although he later returned as the same.[77] [78] | ||
| Prelati | Symphogear AXZ | Trans woman | Like Cagliostro, she used to be a man who indulged in luxury and pleasure, before being granted a perfect female body by Saint-Germain, becoming a trans woman, following his defeat at her hands in the episode "Last Resort." Prelati has since sworn to become an earnest researcher, but sometimes lets her preference for fun get in the way of her work. | Japan | |
| Selma Reesedale | Gotham Girls | Selma Reesedale works for the Gotham PD. She is revealed to be a transgender woman, which Batgirl discovers, and she later helps Batgirl.[79] [80] Batgirl is one of the only characters who knows Selma's secret.[81] She is possibly the first trans sci-fi character to appear in any "superhero production."[82] | United States | ||
| Rosa | Young Justice | Rosa, also known as Fury is a member of Lex Luthor's Infinity Inc. She is based on the Erik Storn incarnation of the character. In June 2022, Greg Weisman confirmed that Rosa is transgender when he retweeted from a fan.[83] Rosa is voiced by transgender actress Quei Tann. | |||
| Snapdragon | High Guardian Spice | Snapdragon is a snarky student, and friend of Amaryllis, with red hair who goes to the same academy. Throughout the series, Snap figures out who they are and Caraway helps them move toward gender transition.[84] The voice actress for Snap, Julia Kaye, confirmed that Snap is a trans woman and that Rodriguez based aspects of the character on her.[85] Rodriguez further confirmed that Snap is a trans woman.[86] | |||
| Stephanie | Sorcerous Stabber Orphen | Stephanie, also known as Steph, was Orphen's old partner and initially a man but was severely injured and while using the rest of his magic to cast a healing spell, made some "modifications", and became the trans woman Stephanie, as shown in the episode "Snake in the Temple."[87] She falls in love with and marries her boyfriend the florist Tim but continues to help Orphen and his friends,[88] although she later becomes their foe.[89] | Japan | ||
| Mari Tachibana / Ryo Tachibana | Back Street Girls | Kentaro, Ryo and Kazuhiko are forced by their boss, Inugane, to go to Thailand to undergo sex reassignment surgery, and train to become idols. They debut as Airi, Mari and Chika, the Gokudols.[90] [91] | Japan | ||
| Chika Sugihara / Kazuhiko Sugihara | Kentaro, Ryo and Kazuhiko are forced by their boss, Inugane, to go to Thailand to undergo sex reassignment surgery, and train to become idols. They debut as Airi, Mari and Chika, the Gokudols. | Japan | |||
| Mari's father | When Mari sets out to find her ex-yakuza father whom she had not spoken to in years, she finds her to also be living as a woman, albeit without having gotten any sex reassignment surgery, due to being unable to afford it. | Japan | |||
| Hinata Tachibana | Life with an Ordinary Guy who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout | A frustrated and lonely man, save for his friend Jinguji Tsukasa, Hinata drunkenly expresses his wish to become a woman, saying "I want to become a woman so beautiful that I couldn't possibly exist in this world". The wish is granted by a goddess who transports the two of them to a fantasy world and transforms Hinata into a woman. Despite her protests and claims not to have made such a wish, her "game stats" list her gender (not sex) as female, heavily indicating that she is in fact trans, as supported by her prior despair-induced outburst.[92] [93] [94] | Japan | ||
| Terrestrius | The Dragon Prince | Trans man | Terry, whose full name is Terrestrius, is an Earthblood elf who was born into a female body and faced discrimination as a result of this. As a result, he is very empathetic and has a desire to embrace and be embraced by others. According to his voice actor, Terry is mid-transition.[95] He is also Claudia's Earthblood elf boyfriend.[96] | United States / Canada | |
| Isabella Yamamoto | Paradise Kiss | Trans woman | Isabella was assigned male at birth,[97] [98] but lives as a trans woman as revealed in the episode "Rose." Robin Brenner calls the character "one of the most realistic and accepting portrayals of a transgender character in anime," with the same applying to the manga.[99] She acts as a mother figure to the members of ParaKiss and inspired George to make several dresses for Isabella since childhood. | Japan | |
| Raine Whispers | The Owl House | Transmasculine | Raine is the head witch of the Bard Coven who uses they/them pronouns.[100] [101] Raine is Disney's first non-binary character, having been confirmed as non-binary by Avi Roque, who voices the character.[102] [103] Roque later made the additional statement that Raine is transgender and transmasculine.[104] In a similar vein, art by series storyboarder King Pecora would depict the character with apparent top surgery scars.[105] The teenage version of Raine Whispers is voiced by non-binary actor Blu del Barrio.[106] | United States | |
| Yamato | One Piece | Trans man | He idolized Kozuki Oden as a child, emulating everything about the samurai warrior, and his pronouns are respected by Kozuki.[107] [108] He has also been described as a "rebellious son of a pirate emperor," and noted as a fan-favorite character.[109] | Japan | |
| Airi Yamamoto / Kentaro Yamamoto | Back Street Girls | Trans woman | Kentaro, Ryo and Kazuhiko are forced by their boss, Inugane, to go to Thailand to undergo sex reassignment surgery, and train to become idols. They debut as Airi, Mari and Chika, the Gokudols. | Japan | |
| Hiroyuki Yoshida | Wandering Son | Hiroyuki, known as "Yuki" for short, is a tall and attractive straight trans woman who lives with her boyfriend Shiina and runs a gay bar. She takes an early interest in Yoshino, whom she remains on good terms with after learning of their assigned sex, even giving Yoshino and Shuichi helpful advice when troubled. Due to her transition, she has not been on good terms with her parents, who run a uniform store as shown in the episode "Cool Girlfriend ~Green eye~." | Japan | ||
| Zadie | Danger & Eggs | In the final episode of the series, Zadie, who sings about acceptance at a Pride festival and helps the series protagonists understand the meaning of a chosen family.[110] She is voiced by Jazz Jennings, a pansexual and transgender LGBT rights activist.[111] | United States | ||
| Zagan | Series creator Hamish Steele confirmed on Twitter that Zagan is trans.[112] Zagan is voiced by transgender actress and singer Michaela Jaé Rodriguez.[113] |
See also: List of webcomics with LGBT characters and List of graphic art works with LGBT characters.
| Characters | Name of comic | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alain | Shutter | 2014–present | In the third issue of this urban fantasy series, the protagonist Kate Kristopher's lifelong friend, Alain, is revealed to be a trans woman. |
| Claire Augustus | Questionable Content | 2003–present | This comic by Jeph Jacques includes characters of various sexualities, transgender woman Claire, as well as various other themes of sexuality.[114] [115] |
| Blaze | Jem and the Holograms | 2015–2017 | Sophie Campbell, the artist for the series, came out as a trans woman in March 2015, and she created a new character for the series named Blaze, who is also trans. |
| Braga | Rat Queens | 2013–present | In January 2015, this punk rock comic revealed that Braga, a "fearsome orc warrior," is a trans woman, in an issue about her titled "Rat Queens Special: Braga #1." Due to a number of personnel changes, trans artist Tamra Bonvillain became the colorist of the comics in the fall of 2015, making the comic series "another book with both a trans character and a trans person on the creative team." |
| Cassandra/Urdr | The Wicked + The Divine | 2014–2019 | This comic features various queer characters, like a gender non-conforming character named Inanna, and a trans woman (and journalist) named Cassandra/Urdr. Reviewers have noted that not only is Cassandra/Urdr a well-developed character, but that it serves as "one of the best portrayals of a trans character so far in comics" due to the way it handles her "being trans, and other people's transphobia." |
| Zoë Alexis Carter | Venus Envy | 2001–2014 | The protagonist of this webcomic, she adjusts to school life as a girl and has severe depression.[116] |
| Larson Delgado | A trans Latino boy who is, like Lisa, friends with Zoë, going to the same high school, and often wears chest binders.[117] | ||
| Lord Fanny | The Invisibles | 1996 | Fanny, a shaman from Brazil, was assigned male at birth but raised as a girl. Some have said that you could categorize Fanny as "not-quite-trans" however. |
| Rain Flaherty / Liriel Rain Bryer | Rain | 2010–present | This comic by Jocelyn Samara DiDomenick features a trans girl, Rain, as the main character and other LGBT+ characters,[118] like a bisexual woman named Fara Bryer, a lesbian woman named Maria Strongwell, a gay man named Rudy Strongwell, an asexual girl named Chanel Montoya, and a number of others with an "unknown" sexuality (Anastacia Rubina, Brett Desrocher, Quenton Morrison, and Chiaki Koizumi).[119] Additionally, this comic features two bisexual men (Randy Martin Guy and Kylie Coven), an asexual man named Arthur Feltman, and a gay couple (Trevor Kurz and Frank Johnson). |
| Kate Godwin (Coagula) | Doom Patrol | 1993 | Kate, otherwise known as Coagula, is a trans woman, and part of a superhero team known as Doom Patrol, with the comic itself was written by Rachel Pollack, a trans woman. Kate has the power to "coagulate and dissolve liquids at will," and is bisexual, entering into a relationship with a character who has the body of a robot and a human brain. Pollack said this was wonderful because Kate "brought together the story and its implicit themes — body issues and extreme outsiders learning to accept themselves and embrace life." |
| Janis | Dykes to Watch Out For | 1983–2008 | This comic by Alison Bechdel features multiple LGBTQ characters,[120] the trans adolescent daughter of Jasmine, Janis.[121] |
| Jak | Go Get a Roomie! | 2010–present | In this webcomic, by Chloé C., which explores sexual themes,[122] Jak is a "transboi friend" of the protagonist, Roomie, and has a girlfriend named Gulden.[123] |
| Jo | Lumberjanes | 2014–2020 | This series, by Grace Ellis and Shannon Watters,[124] features various LGBTQ characters. Jo is a trans woman of color with two dads, and acts as an "expert on what it means to be a Lumberjane" to the fellow campers.[125] [126] One reviewer described Jo as "the first trans protagonist of an all-ages comic." |
| Judi | Bruno | 1996–2007 | In this comic by Christopher Baldwin, the titular character is bisexual and a minor character is transgender.[127] [128] |
| Julia | Up and Out | 2013–present | More recent comics focus on the Julia Kaye's experiences of transitioning from male to female, with the character also named Julia.[129] |
| Kylie | Trans Girl Next Door | 2013–present | This autobiographical comic by Kylie Wu is about the author's transition as a transgender woman.[130] |
| Marisa Rahm | Deathwish | 1994 | A four-issue mini-series published by Milestone and set in their Dakotaverse, shared universe. The main character is trans woman Marisa Rahm, a police detective who has spent years on an obsessive hunt for a serial killer. Rahm's girlfriend, Dini, is also a trans woman. Written by Maddie Blaustein.[131] |
| Masquerade | Blood Syndicate | 1993–1994 | Although he is a shapeshifter, he is a trans man, making him the first trans male superhero, with Fade finding out his assigned gender in another issue of the comic, but he works as a "male superhero because that is his idealized version of himself." |
| Mogumo | Love Me for Who I Am | 2018–2021 | Manga about a nonbinary character, Mogumo, who finds acceptance at an otokonoko maid café. Mogumo's insistence on being neither male nor female inspires their coworker Mei to come out as a trans woman. The cafe is owned by another trans woman, Satori Iwaoka.[132] [133] |
| Mei Tatebayashi | |||
| Satori Iwaoka | |||
| Claude de Montesse | Claudine | 1978 | The youngest son of an aristocratic family in early 20th century France, Claude is a trans man who faces tragedy and hardship in his romantic life. Claudine is notable for being one of the earliest manga to feature a transgender protagonist.[134] |
| Victoria October | Detective Comics | 2017–present | |
| Porcelain | Secret Six | 2014–present | In this comic, Gail Simone introduced another trans character in Secret Six #4 on July 15, 2015, with Porceline starting to present in a masculine way, whether than a feminine way, explaining to their team that "some days they feel more like a man, some days they feel more like a woman." |
| Prill | Witchy | This comic by Ariel Ries features a trans girl named Prill, a witch who is Nyneve's class, a bully at first, but then later becomes an ally.[135] [136] | |
| Rosemaster | Cucumber Quest | 2011–present | This comic by Gigi D.G. features two girls, Peridot and Almond, who have crushes on each other, and a complex trans woman character named Rosemaster, who is a villain in this story.[137] [138] |
| Sam | Baker Street | 1989–1991 | In this "punk rock take on Sherlock Holmes," Sam is revealed to be trans in the second volume of this comic. |
| Sera | Angela: Asgard's Assassin | 2013–present | In Angela: Asgard's Assassin #3, Sera notes she was born into an all-male group in the home of angels and is portrayed as a "likable character who is a trans woman of color."[139] She later appeared in two other series, 1602: Witchhunter Angela and Angela: Queen of Hel (2015-2016) where she and Angel share two "on-panel kisses." |
| Timofey | Unsounded | 2010–present | Timofey is a trans boy who is a poetic intangible construct formed by a selection of ghosts and housed in First Light created by Bastion Winalils, acting as his master's disobedient servant. Originally given a feminine appearance due to being created by Bastion's attempt to resurrect his sister after her death, when Bastion's creation insisted he saw himself as male and named himself "Timofey", his creator eventually relented and gave him shorter hair and a black suit with a cape and cravat rather to replace the dress he'd originally been given (fashioned after his sister's favorite).[140] |
| Stefan Sequidy | The mayor of Durlyne City, who is "kind of a prick [buy] not a bad guy". Named Sara at birth by his parents, Stefan is one of the few trans-men in Unsounded to be able to take advantage of the Third Option in Alderode.[141] | ||
| Stephie | Assigned Male | 2014–present | This comic by Sophie Labelle follows life through the eyes of a middle schooler named Stephie who alternately makes light of, and chafes under the realities of growing up a transgender child in a cisgender world.[142] |
| Stephie | Serious Trans Vibes | This long-running webcomic counters "misconceptions about transgender people," and features a trans girl named Stephie and a non-binary person named Ciel who both "explore their gender identity, relationships, and just life in general."[143] | |
| Sula | O Human Star | 2012–present | In this comic by Blue Delliquanti, main characters include gay men, River and Al, and a MtF trans robot named Sula.[144] [145] [146] |
| Tong | FF | 2012–2014 | This young Moloid, is not human, but humanoid, showing up wearing a pink dress, and reveals herself as trans in FF #6, with her brothers embracing her. |
| Unnamed | 1990 | In issue #14 of comic, there is a killer standing over a dead trans woman, and says "there's something about preoperative transsexuals that makes The Connoisseur uncomfortable. Something brittle and bright in the back of their eyes. He loves them. But he always feels they're laughing at him. He's only ever found eight that he's been able to talk to."[147] | |
| Wanda | 1993 | In issue #35 of comic, Wanda is living with Barbie, the book's protagonist, and she demands recognition that she is a woman despite the witch declaring she is a man. Later in the series, she is killed and her parents disrespect her wishes, bury her as a man, but Barbie crosses off the name on her tombstone, writing "Wanda" in red lipstick over it. She is said to be one of the "earliest and best examples of an actual trans person in comics," but her representation gives some trans people mixed feelings about this representation. | |
| Alysia Yeoh | Batgirl | 2011–2016 | In Batgirl #19, on April 19, 2013, the Singaporean-American, and bisexual, roommate of Batgirl (otherwise known as Barbara "Babs" Gordon), Alysia Yeoh, came out as trans, with some calling it "probably the biggest moment in American trans comics history." Before this point, Alysia had been a close friend of Babs. Alysia coming out as trans was described as the "most prominent" trans character in comics up to that point[148] with writer Gail Simone working on Alysia's character "with input from trans friends and writers."[149] Later on, Alysia, after announcing she was engaged to Jo in issue no. 42 and rescuing her in issue no. 44, walks down the isle and marries Jo, becoming the "first major trans character in a mainstream comic" to be "smiling in a wedding dress."[150] |
| Ystina | Demon Knights | 2011–2013 | In the 2005 series Seven Soldiers, a character, Shining Knight, was changed from a cisgender man to a woman named Ystina. This was expanded in this comic series, which takes steps toward better representation, with Ystina saying they are male and female, with Cornell later labeling Ystina as trans. One reviewer said it is not clear if Ystina is "a trans man, bigender, intersex or some combination of those identities." |
| Zhen | Trees | 2014–2016 | In this science fiction series, there are two trans characters introduced. In issue no. 6, released in October 2014, Cenglei falls in love with a woman named Zhen who tells him she is a trans woman, and he realizes he has no problem with that, finding out his uncle is "actually a trans man." |
| Chenglei's Uncle |
See main article: List of video games with LGBT characters.
| Characters | Title/Series | Year | Notes | Developer | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hainly Abrams | Mass Effect & | 2017 | Hainly Abrams leads scientific research on one of the Andromeda Initiative's outposts. When the game initially released, Abrams would readily inform the player that she is transgender and the masculine name she was given at birth. She tells the player that she left the Milky Way galaxy searching for greater acceptance of her gender identity. The abruptness with which she shares this information received criticism from fans, and the game was later patched so that Abrams would only reveal this information if the player developed a supportive relationship with her.[151] | BioWare | |||||||||||
| Cremius "Krem" Aclassi | Dragon Age & | 2014 | Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi is a former Tevinter soldier and currently works for the mercenary company Bull's Chargers, led by The Iron Bull. Krem is the first transgender character to appear in a BioWare video game.[152] | BioWare | |||||||||||
| Erica Anderson | Catherine | 2011 | In this Japanese puzzle-platform and adventure game, Erica, the waitress at The Stray Sheep, is a trans woman.[153] | Atlus | |||||||||||
| Catherine: Full Body | 2019 | In this Japanese puzzle and platform game, Erica, the waitress at The Stray Sheep, is revealed to be a trans woman in one of the endings. | |||||||||||||
| Angof | RuneScape | In this MMORPG game, Angof is a female character in "The Light Within", a quest released on 24 August 2015, and at some point after the quest, the player can show her a wedding ring, prompting her to tell the player she was born male, but "corrected" herself to female once she could shapeshift.[154] | Jagex | ||||||||||||
| Birdo | Mario & Super Mario Bros. 2 | 1988 | In the first-edition manual for the North American release of this NES game, Birdo is referred to as a "male who believes that he is a female" and would rather be called "Birdetta", making her the first transgender character for Nintendo.[155] [156] Birdo's name was also mistakenly switched with another Super Mario Bros. 2 enemy, Ostro, both in the manual and in the end credits.[157] The Japanese manual originally referred her as Catherine, a "man who thinks of herself as female", adding that she would rather be called "Cathy."[158] In this version, three "Super Catherines" were voiced by gay men and transgender women.[159] In later printings, mention of Birdo being male was omitted, and further not included in most later games with the character.[160] However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008), it is said that Birdo is of indeterminate gender. Her identity was only further explored in the Wii Japan-only video game Captain Rainbow (2008), which delves into her gender and how she was imprisoned for using the woman's bathroom, with her asking the player to find proof of her being female so she could be set free.[161] | Nintendo | |||||||||||
| Bridget | Guilty Gear | 2022 | Bridget returns as the first character in Guilty Gear Strive's second downloadable content pack. Bridget was born male, one of twin brothers named and raised by her parents as a girl in a British village. They do this to protect her since the villagers believe that identical twins bring bad luck. In Strive, her arcade mode story revolves around her being unsure whether she is truly happy and is being her true self, which is revealed to be her questioning her gender identity in one of the endings. Depending on the difficulty of the arcade route, she makes progress towards figuring it out and accepting change for the better, with the Hard difficulty ending directly showing her coming out to Goldlewis Dickinson and Ky Kiske.[162] | Arc System Works | |||||||||||
| Damien Bloodmarch | 2017 | In this visual novel and dating sim, Damien Bloodmarch is a gay trans man.[163] | Game Grumps | ||||||||||||
| Bob Hickman | 1993 | This adventure game features a gay bar, with the player, a police officer trying to track down the murderer of his police partner, with his quest leading him to discover that his partner had a double life as a cross-dresser at a West Hollywood transgender bar.[164] | Sierra On-Line | ||||||||||||
| Isabeau | In Stars and Time | 2023 | Isabeau is stated to be a "trans faux himbo".[165] as well as confirmed to be transgender by the developer.[166] In his Friendquest, he shares that he was once a nerd with "neat braids" (feminine, like his name), and his past self is referred to by they/them pronouns before he "Changed" his own body to be an airheaded jock with a lot of intelligence. | insertdisc5 | |||||||||||
| Jackie | Night in the Woods | 2017 | According to the game's developers, Jackie is a trans woman, a character trait that was not mentioned in the game itself.[167] This was later remedied a bit in the Weird Autumn Edition, where one conversation reveals that Jackie has started a one-woman band called "Trans World Order Give Them Hell" (T.W.O.G.T.H.), implying that she is indeed trans. | Finji | |||||||||||
| Max Lao | Technobabylon | 2015 | In this adventure game, Max Lao, Regis' partner, is a woman eventually revealed to be transgender.[168] | Technocrat Games | |||||||||||
| Lev | The Last of Us Part II | 2020 | Lev is a trans boy and former member of an antagonist faction who one of the main characters, Abby, meets and is scheduled to be executed.[169] The two become friends through a series of mutual trials. | Naughty Dog | |||||||||||
| Jackie Jameson "J.J." Macfield | 2018 | Toward the end of the game, it is revealed that J.J. is a preoperative trans woman who was outed for being who she wants to be, and forced into conversion therapy by her transphobic mother, before attempting suicide by slitting her wrists and falling into a coma, thus setting off the game's events. Eventually, she regains her will to live with help from her plushie doll and the emergency medical team at the end of the game.[170] | Arc System Works | ||||||||||||
| Madeline | Celeste | 2018 | Towards the end of the game, in a portion of the game added in a 2019 update, Madeline can be seen at her desk with a pair of pride flags (transgender and the community rainbow flag) by her computer. This sparked a debate among fans about whether or not she is transgender, which was ended when the head developer released an article stating that she was indeed trans.[171] | Extremely OK Games | |||||||||||
| Mizhena | & Baldur's Gate | 2016 | Mizhena is a transgender woman who explains to the main character that she picked her strange name after transitioning. The character, among other aspects of the game's writing, was met with significant criticism. Beamdog later announced that they would be expanding the character's story a week after the expansion pack released, saying in part, "In retrospect, it would have been better served if we had introduced a transgender character with more development."[172] | Beamdog | |||||||||||
| Roller Derby Morty | Pocket Mortys | 2016 | Roller Derby Morty is a trans girl and an alternate reality equivalent to the cisgender boy Mortimer "Morty" Smith and cisgender girls Mindy "Morticia" and Mortabel Pines–Smith from a parallel dimension, one of the many Mortys the player character can add to their parties. Introduced as the male Roller Disco Morty, she comes into herself as Roller Derby Morty over the course of her storyline, returning from boot camp at the Morty "Day Care" Center as a girl, and changing the focus of her skating career from roller disco to roller derby. | Adult Swim Games | |||||||||||
| Princess/Queen Morty | 2021 | Princess Morty (later Queen Morty) is a trans girl featured as one of the many Mortys the player character can add to their parties. Introduced as the frowning Prince Morty, described as an arrogant ballroom dancer first in line for his throne, she then comes into her own as the smiling "malusdomesticaphobic" Princess Morty, awoken from her slumber by true love's kiss, taking her vengeance on the witch who stole her throne, before becoming queen.[173] | |||||||||||||
| Nova | Pokémon X and Y | 2013 | In this Japanese role-playing game, Nova is a trans female Pokémon Trainer found at the Battle Maison, who is a, an exclusively female trainer class, stating that she used to be a, an exclusively male trainer class.[174] In the Japanese version of the game, she explicitly credits her transformation to medical science, but this was cut from the English version.[175] [176] | Game Freak | |||||||||||
| Pelagos | 2020 | Pelagos is a member of the Kyrian society whom the player comes across as a quest giver in Bastion. He reveals to the player that the only thing he remembers about his life on Azeroth was having a female form, but was born into a male form upon death.[177] | Activision Blizzard | ||||||||||||
| The player character | Dys4ia | 2012 | In this abstract autobiographical game, the player controls a character transitioning and undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Journalists for The Guardian and the Penny Arcade Report observed that the game featured observations of the politics and personal development of those experiencing gender dysphoria. | Anna Anthropy | |||||||||||
| Poison | Street Fighter/Final Fight | 1989 | Poison was initially planned to be a cisgender woman. However, because of an issue with making female characters participate in a beat-em-up game, the developers went with the idea of making her transgender. | Capcom | |||||||||||
| Tyler | Tell Me Why | 2020 | In this French adventure game, Tyler and his twin sister Alyson travel to their childhood home in Alaska and must come to terms with their childhood. The game will also deal with how Tyler, who has transitioned from female to male, since leaving home, is being affected. Dontnod worked with GLAAD to help create the character.[178] | Dontnod Entertainment | |||||||||||
| V | Cyberpunk 2077 | In this Polish role-playing video game, the character creator will allow V to be transgender or non-binary.[179] | CD Projekt Red | ||||||||||||
| Claire Russell | In the game, this non-player character talks about her transition in a cutscene and also has a transgender flag on the back of her truck. | ||||||||||||||
| Venus | We Know the Devil | 2015 | In this visual novel, Venus is a trans girl, with her pronouns in the narration changing from "he" to "she" as she comes to terms with her identity.[180] | Date Nighto | |||||||||||
| Vivian | Mario & | 2004 | In this GameCube title, the player encounters a Shadow Siren named Vivian. In the Japanese version of the game, Vivian is heavily implied to be a transgender girl. Other characters, as well as narrative text, describe Vivian using masculine terms such as otoko "man", and otōto "little brother".[181] [182] [183] However, Vivian initially describes the shadow sirens as san shimai "three sisters", and routinely uses the feminine first person pronoun. This continues in Super Paper Mario (2007); Vivian's catch card describes her using the term otoko no ko "boy".[184] In the English and German localizations of the game, all masculine descriptions of Vivian are removed, and she is referred to with exclusively female pronouns. However, all other localized versions of the game explicitly retain the transgender portrayal.[185] [186] | Qu'est-ce que tu racontes? L'Obscur Trio! Tout court | Où tu vois tres sœurs, toi? Tu es un garçon | " ("What! Vivian | What are you talking about? The Dark Trio! Period | Where do you see three sisters? You're a boy!", with "garçon", "boy", being written in red font for extra emphasis). Vivian apologizes and starts to try to argue her case, but Beldam cuts her off and threatens punishment for her words (Vivian says "Désolée, Marjolène. Enfin...", "Sorry, Beldam, [but] let's just say...", and Beldam cuts in with "Il y n'a pas de " enfin " | ", the equivalent to "there is no 'but's"). ~ Frigiel. (August 13, 2012). Paper Mario : La Porte Millénaire Let's Play - Episode 4. YouTube. Retrieved December 28, 2013.[187] [188] | Imbecille! Ti sbugiardo davanti a tutti | Spiegami: come facciamo ad essere tre sorelle? Avanti!"). Vivian admits that Beldam and Marilyn are the real sisters, but says she feels like a woman too and is proud of it ("Siete due sorelle, è vero... Ma anch'io mi sento una donna e sono fiera di esserlo diventata | "), which Beldam waves off with the disparaging comment that Vivian probably thinks she's the prettiest too, and deserves to be punished ("E magari credi anche di essere la più bella, eh? Meriti una punizione!"), causing Vivian to slump to the ground with a sigh. ~ TheGamerDani. (May 23, 2012). Let's Play Paper Mario:il Portale Millenario parte 14 - Trisdombra e Spirù. YouTube. Retrieved December 28, 2013 The Nintendo Switch remake of The Thousand Year Door restores her trans identity to the English localization.[189] | Intelligent Systems | ||
| Ned Wynert | Assassin's Creed & Assassin's Creed Syndicate | 2015 | Ned Wynert is a minor non-playable character (NPC) and a trans man.[190] | Ubisoft Quebec | |||||||||||
| Yasmin | Circuit's Edge | 1989 | This DOS Interactive fiction and role-playing game includes a variety of gay and transgender characters,[191] including a trans woman named Yasmin with a gay man named Saied alleged to be Yasmin's former lover.[192] | Westwood Studios | |||||||||||
| Zoe | Monster Prom | 2018 | Zoe is one of the two main love interests introduced in the Second Term DLC. She is officially stated to be transgender[193] and several of her events involve her discussing transitioning and dealing with trans specific struggles such as deadnaming, and misgendering.[194] | Beautiful Glitch |
See main article: article and List of LGBT characters in modern written fiction.
| Characters | Work | Author | Year | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick "Kitten" Braden | Breakfast on Pluto | 1998 | Braden is an Irish trans woman (and drag queen), with "transvestism...a defiant rejection of bigotry, labels, and borders" as one reviewer put it, with Braden refusing to confirm to sexual stereotypes and even flirting with a cop.[195] Later turned into a motion picture, another reviewer noted the prevalence of the "Irish Troubles," with Kitten wrongly arrested and charged after a "bombing in a London disco."[196] | ||
| Emily Christina | Being Emily | 2012 | Never comfortable with being seen as a boy, they originally hide themselves as a girl, until they can no longer stand it anymore, with a psychologist later helping them in the coming-out process.[197] | ||
| Ella | Just Girls | 2014 | Ella is a fully-transitioned, but closeted, trans woman who deals with a lot of transphobia while she explores her gender identity with a cisgender lesbian named Jess Tucker.[198] | ||
| Jess Goldberg | Stone Butch Blues | 1993 | The narrative follows the life of Jess Goldberg, who grows up in a working class area of upstate New York in the 1940s to 1950s, and explores gender identity as a transmasculine butch lesbian.[199] [200] [201] [202] | ||
| Josh | Holding Still For As Long As Possible | 2009 | Josh is a trans man and EMT who struggles with his identity.[203] | ||
| Kade | Every Heart a Doorway | 2016 | Kade is a classmate of Nancy, who has an asexual crush on them.[204] | ||
| Felix Love | Felix Ever After | 2020 | This book follows Felix, who is a Black transgender art student facing transphobic abuse. Throughout the search for his bully, his connections between other characters and himself change in unexpected ways, and Felix goes on a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance.[205] | ||
| Anna Madrigal | Tales of the City series | 1978–2014 | Anna is a trans woman, and Jake (introduced in 2007's Michael Tolliver Lives) is a trans man.[206] [207] | ||
| Jake Greenleaf | |||||
| Melissa | Melissa | 2015 | Melissa is a transgender girl whom the world sees as a boy named George.[208] | ||
| Roberta Muldoon | The World According to Garp | 1978 | One of the story's main characters is Roberta, a trans woman and former player for the Philadelphia Eagles, and has a gender reassignment surgery, becoming the bodyguard of Jenny and one of the best friends of Garp.[209] | ||
| Myron | Myra Breckinridge | 1968 | An attractive young woman, Myra Breckinridge is a film buff with a special interest in the Golden Age of Hollywood, and still in the process of transitioning and unable to obtain hormones, Myra transforms into Myron, and due to a car accident, is forced to have their breast implants removed, later deciding to settle down with Mary-Ann.[210] [211] | ||
| Luna (Liam) O'Neill | Luna | 2004 | The story follows the life of Luna, who keeps her trans identity secret originally, pretending to be an average 16-year-old senior boy named Liam in the daytime.[212] [213] [214] [215] Later she considers transitioning and fights for her right to be the person she feels that she was meant to be, helped by her sister, Regan, in the process. | ||
| Oshima | Kafka on the Shore | 2002 | Oshima is a 21-year-old intellectual gay trans man who is a librarian and owner of a cabin in the mountains near Komura Memorial Library.[216] He becomes the mentor of Kafka as he guides him to the answers that he's seeking on his journey. | ||
| Scratch | Nearly Roadkill | and Caitlin Sullivan | 1996 | Scratch and Winc are two lovers of an ambiguous gender identity, with the plot is told through cyberchats and emails between each other, while the FBI is engaged in a nationwide manhunt to find them.[217] | |
| Winc | |||||
| Dana Stevens | Trans-Sister Radio | 2000 | Dana, the protagonist of this book, is a Vermont professor who is prepared to have a gender reassignment surgery to transition from male to female, leading Allison Banks, a teacher who has been divorced, to be even more attracted to Dana.[218] | ||
| Danielle Tozer | Nemesis series | April Daniels | 2017–present | Danny is a 15 year old trans girl who upon gaining the powers of Dreadnought, the world's greatest superhero, has her body transformed into that of a girl and has to navigate the struggles it caused as well as deal with the super villain who killed Dreadnought.[219] | |
| Diana Wrayburn | The Shadowhunter Chronicles | 2007–present | While the author implied Diana to be trans in one post,[220] leading some to call her the first trans character to appear in this book series. | ||
| Yadriel | Cemetery Boys | 2020 | Yadriel is a transgender boy determined to prove his gender and status as a brujo to his Latinx family. In an attempt to solve his cousin's disappearance, he accidentally summons another spirit with unfinished business. Together they go on a journey to solve these mysteries and, despite the difficulties they face, grow closer together.[221] | ||
| Elminster Aumar | The Elminster Series | 1994–present | Although already an established character in published works by TSR, Inc., and even longer in Greenwood's unpublished stories, TSR commissioned Greenwood to publish Elminster's backstory, which resulted in Elminster – The Making of a Mage. During the course of this novel, Elminster embraces living the life of a female version of themself named Elmara, after the goddess of magic encourages her to expand her understanding of the world and her bond with its magic by living life as a woman.[222] Although Elmara was, years later, returned to their original male body & identity, numerous future publications would show El (a gender neutral term used by most of their closest friends) use magic to adopt many identities – masculine, feminine, and agendered. |
See also: The Drag (play), The Hungry Woman, Split Britches, Tea and Sympathy (play) and Watsonville.
| width= | Character | width= | Playwright | width= | Name of play/show | width= | Year | width= | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herman Amberstone | Kate Bornstein | Hidden: A Gender | 1990 | This play brings together the stories of an intersex person, Herculine Barbin, living in Paris, and a fictional trans woman named Herman Amberstone based loosely on Bornstein herself. This play introduced audiences to the idea of "gender blur," and began the career of Justin Vivian Bond who plays Barbin. | |||||
| Grace | Sarah Kane | Cleansed | 1998 | In this play, set in a university which has been converted into some form of bizarre institution under the rule of the sadistic Tinker, Grace, the sister of the protagonist, wears her brother's clothes and undergoes a gender reassignment surgery in the hospital.[223] | |||||
| Christine Jorgensen | Bradford Louryk | Christine Jorgensen Reveals | 2005 | In this docudrama-like show, stretching an hour long, Louryk channels the life of Christine Jorgensen who became the "first celebrity transwoman" in the U.S., when interviewed about her life and her gender identity by R. Russell, played by Nipsey Russell, who uses a pseudonym.[224] | |||||
| Lola | Philip Ridley | Mercury Fur | In this play, set against the backdrop of a dystopian London with a narrative focusing around a party at which the torture and murder of a child is the main entertainment, Lola is a 19-year-old trans woman who is skilled at designing costumes and make-up, which she makes for the parties.[225] The play influenced other playwrights like Lou Ramsden.[226] | ||||||
| Charlotte von Mahlsdorf | Doug Wright | I Am My Own Wife | 2003 | Based on Wright's conversations with the German antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, this play examines the life of Charlotte, born Lothar Berfelde, who killed her father when she was a young child and survived the Nazi and Communist regimes in East Berlin as a trans woman.[227] | |||||
| Max | Taylor Mac | Hir | 2015 | This is a play, produced by Playwrights Horizons, about a dysfunctional family including a mad housewife, a transgender child named Max, a son that spent three years in combat in Afghanistan, and a husband who had a stroke that left him nearly speechless.[228] Max is a young trans male character, with gender being only "one piece of hir personality puzzle" in this play. | |||||
| Vicky | Nicola Bland and Stacey Bland | Call Me Vicky | 2019 | This play tells the story of their mother,[229] Vicky, her trials and tribulations in transiting from male to female,[230] with Vicky ultimately transitioning by the end of the play.[231] |
| width= | Characters | width= | Playwright | width= | Name of musical | width= | Years | width= | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Cienega | Jeff Whitty | Bring It On the Musical | 2011–present | Bring It On was the first Broadway musical to feature a transgender high school character, La Cienega, originally played by Gregory Haney.[232] [233] | |||||
| Hedwig | John Cameron Mitchell | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | 1998–2017 | Although Hedwig, a survivor of abuse, a failed gender reassignment surgery, and abandonment, is one of the most famous roles of a trans woman in a musical, Mitchell said that they are not "traditionally transgender" but rather a "gender of one," and are a "man and woman, top and bottom." | |||||
| Kitty | Joe Iconis | Love in Hate Nation | 2019 | Love in Hate Nation features the character Kitty, who is a transgender girl.[234] |
| width= | Characters | width= | Playwright | width= | Name of opera | width= | Year | width= | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hannah | Laura Kaminsky | As One | 2014 | The story follows Hannah, a transgender woman portrayed by two singers, Hannah Before (a baritone) and Hannah After (a mezzo-soprano), as she discovers her gender identity and learns to love herself in a world where she is not accepted.[235] The organization of the opera is composed of two parts as representing essential moments of Hannah's coming of age through a series of episodes.[236] | |||||
| Sarah | Mark Campbell | Stonewall | 2019 | Stonewall is about the 1969 Stonewall riots, the spark of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, which received its world premiere June 2019 in conjunction with Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019, projected to be the world's largest LGBTQ event.[237] One of the characters, Sarah, is written for an openly transgender singer, mezzo-soprano Liz Bouk.[238] |