Avatar: the Legend of Korra, sequel series to Avatar: the Last Airbender, is now on episode 8. It's had its ups and downs, but I'm really enjoying it so far.

What I'm enjoying rather less is the fandom commentary. Unfortunately, people seem to have decided that one of the characters is trans* -- and a lot of the speculation and conversation around this topic seems to me ill-informed at best. (Obviously, I don't and can't speak for all trans* people.) Most of the points I'm making arise from blab's essay on the topic (spoilers up to and including ep 8), but this is mostly because that's how I first became aware of the conversation, and I don't feel up to seeking out more examples.

To be clear: I'm queer and trans*, and specifically I'm non-binary (see icon!). I would love for Korra to contain trans* or queer characters. It would make my year. As a result, much of this mini-essay is deeply personal, which is why I've written it up in my own journal, rather than leaving at as a comment in a place that isn't "mine"; I'm happy for people to discuss the points I make in comments, but I ask you to respect the fact that I might not be able to engage in all threads myself.

There are two key areas I want to address in brief: the language being used in the discussion, and the actual details leading people to speculate.


Point the first: language/framing
This section is a general primer and contains no spoilers.

A lot of the language being used in this conversation is not language that trans* people tend to use about themselves. This is a pity; it would be awesome if the ongoing conversation were a little more sensitive. Particular examples include:

• "transman", "transpeople", "transwomen", etc. Preferred terms are generally "trans man", "trans people", "trans women", as discussed by Transkitten and recommended by Press for Change.
  
• speculating over whether or not someone is trans* full stop is generally considered disrespectful and in poor taste. Yes, it's different (sort of) if it's a fictional character, but some of the conversation feels to me like it's edging into skeevy Erika Moen-style fetishisation, and people need to watch that.

Point the second: the character in question

This speculation appears to be chiefly centring on Tahno, a male pro-bender, as discussed in blab's post above, on the grounds that in a shot in episode 8 we see an individual with a similar hairstyle and apparent breasts. The following commentary concerns the specifics of this spectulation:

• to start with, speculation seems to have been sparked by the similarity of hairstyles. I find it... unlikely that a hairstyle worn by a famous pro-bender would not be considered fashionable and worth imitating.
  
• it is posited that Tahno would detransition as a result of losing his bending, in order to gain "anonymity". This feels totally, totally wrong to me:
  
  • the times when I feel most like some other aspect of my identity are being undermined are precisely the time when I will put most effort into my gender presentation, as something that I can (and need to) control and be secure in.
    
  • transitioning is a very great deal of effort. Getting people to use the right name and pronouns? Not easy. The idea of putting myself through the hell of getting people to switch back to the wrong ones is just awful, and (apparently cis) people casually speculating that someone might do this instead of, e.g., getting a haircut, makes me recoil.
    
  • Tahno would, according to this theory, be known by friends, family and people who'd been following his career for a while by his birth name and gender, and journalists would be likely to make a big deal out of his trans* status: it's not something that would give him anonymity.
  
  
• I’m irritated by the idea that an apparently male person presenting in a feminine manner means they must be queer, or genderfluid, or otherwise trans*: why can't he just be feminine? (More to the point, I think, is the question of why "feminine" is being coded as "bad" - as per Tarrlok and Tahno - in a show that unfortunately seems to be rather more prone to fan-service and rather less prone to calling out the sexism of its male characters than its predecessor.)

Frankly, I would be absolutely astonished (though delightedly so) if even a show as generally non-faily as A:tLA/A:tLOK featured a trans* character without making it visible, as they did Toph and Teo's disabilities; and I think (again, speaking only for myself) that in order to remain respectful of and safe for trans* fans, any speculation in this area needs to remain aware of that context.

edit: I've been asked (out of band) why (or whether) I am reacting so differently to this suggestion vs queering canonically heterosexual characters. I don't inherently object to fic (or other media!) containing trans* characters (I've written some), because seeing representations of People Like Me is nice. What I do object to is the are-they-aren't-they that's going on regarding canon: this kind of speculation is used to undermine trans* people's expressed identities every day, directly and indirectly: among social circles when you're not there, as street harrassment -- if you can think of it, it happens. Consequently, seeing it done by my fandom? Makes me pretty uncomfortable.