My Dear Lass - Vol. 6 Ch. 73

[MangaDex]

 

[NyxOwl19]

Girl’s got style

 

[moofmurphy]

Fucking hell this is so god damned relatable, it's not easy being a girl but you've gotta fight and live

 

[flowsthead]

Great points all around. I will say it's much harder to make those choices without a community to support you. It makes me admire Mu Xiaoen even more. Like, girl really built that community.

 

[Guyincognitus]

LET'S FUCKING GO!

 

[quantumcroissant]

I like this progression! I'll also take the line 'it's not easy being a girl' as confirmation that she's a trans girl and not a femboy/nb, which was still a bit ambiguous for me

 

[King_julien]

Thank you for the translation!

 

[MacinteuchPlus]

Let's goooo

 

[PixelCrow12]

I might be reading too much into it but I think that from a few scenes we have with Xiaoyang's mother, the narrative is trying to frame her as another victim of the patriarchal society Xiaoyang's father represents. While she still upholds patriarchy as we have seen, she doesn't agree with father's actions but still submits to his will out of fear and because that's what women are taught to do in such societies. I hope that in the next chapters she'll support Xiaoyang and oppose her husband.

 

[outinthegardener]

Building your own town to be more accepting of gay people is pretty punk rock.

 

[ranyamaelstrom]

im a little scared for what will come next, it's probably not gonna be pretty is it

 

[vvboondoggirl]

MC: It's not easy to be a girl, but you gotta fight and stuff, here is the option to still be a boy to your parents if you don't wanna do that.
Xiaoyang: Actually gonna present more feminine thank you and start fighting to be who i am, ty.
Audience: Most normalest cis boy, leave him alone1!!1111!


At this point it's willfully ignorant. So many trans people—the world over, mind you—have had to describe themselves in AGAB terms because they have been intentionally deprived of the language to express themselves accurately. It's not proof or definitive of anything to insist that because that happens in the text, it is depicting "feminine man" and not trans woman/person. How many trans women have been told to just be feminine men, I wonder? I honestly don't know what to say anymore. And before I hear a lick of "buh buh but youre pressuring hi-", it needs repeating that the pressures on ppl perceived as men to conform to being a man are a million times more powerful than the faint whisper that is "be a trans woman". Just ask the hundreds of millions of dead trans bodies since the start of recorded history.

 

[Guyincognitus]

Don't yell at us we're with you on this

 

[MakoMachine]

MC: It's not easy to be a girl, but you gotta fight and stuff, here is the option to still be a boy to your parents if you don't wanna do that.
Xiaoyang: Actually gonna present more feminine thank you and start fighting to be who i am, ty.
Audience: Most normalest cis boy, leave him alone1!!1111!


At this point it's willfully ignorant. So many trans people—the world over, mind you—have had to describe themselves in AGAB terms because they have been intentionally deprived of the language to express themselves accurately. It's not proof or definitive of anything to insist that because that happens in the text, it is depicting "feminine man" and not trans woman/person. How many trans women have been told to just be feminine men, I wonder? I honestly don't know what to say anymore. And before I hear a lick of "buh buh but youre pressuring hi-", it needs repeating that the pressures on ppl perceived as men to conform to being a man are a million times more powerful than the faint whisper that is "be a trans woman". Just ask the hundreds of millions of dead trans bodies since the start of recorded history.

Hi, checking in as one of the trans women that wouldn't have been able to transition as fast without a little loving pressure from friends AND as one of the trans girls that was told by my parents "why can't you just be a feminine boy?"

And you know what, I'm as happy as I can be now where I am. Let's hope our girl stands up for herself completely and tells her dad to fuck off.

 

[ElariaFlori]

MC: It's not easy to be a girl, but you gotta fight and stuff, here is the option to still be a boy to your parents if you don't wanna do that.
Xiaoyang: Actually gonna present more feminine thank you and start fighting to be who i am, ty.
Audience: Most normalest cis boy, leave him alone1!!1111!


At this point it's willfully ignorant. So many trans people—the world over, mind you—have had to describe themselves in AGAB terms because they have been intentionally deprived of the language to express themselves accurately. It's not proof or definitive of anything to insist that because that happens in the text, it is depicting "feminine man" and not trans woman/person. How many trans women have been told to just be feminine men, I wonder? I honestly don't know what to say anymore. And before I hear a lick of "buh buh but youre pressuring hi-", it needs repeating that the pressures on ppl perceived as men to conform to being a man are a million times more powerful than the faint whisper that is "be a trans woman". Just ask the hundreds of millions of dead trans bodies since the start of recorded history.

Hi! I think you're entirely yelling about nothing. I say this not because I think what you're saying is not a problem, but instead just that it isn't an issue here??? In previous chapters, yes, there were people saying that it's not confirmed whether Xiaoyang was a trans woman, and that was true! So saying she in reference to her would've been jumping the gun a bit when we didn't know anything concrete. Xiaoyang could've been nonbinary or whatnot. So yelling when people called Xaioyang nonbinary or at minimum gender non conforming, was weird! I understand that trans women are very much snuffed out of a lot of media, and that characters who are very likely trans or even confirmed so are instead called femboys by many (Bridgett from Guilty Gear, or Felix from Re: Zero, for example). That IS a problem. I'm not exactly the type of person who would ever specifically seek out romance mangas/manhuas featuring trans woman, despite being a trans woman myself. I do still absolutely understand how people would benefit from significantly more representation in media, particularly good representation with a lot of depth (IE ranging from stories about trans journies in particular, to trans characters merely existing throughout life without making their transness the primary focus of the story or who they are).

With all that being said, this series is not one to make that complaint. Is it very likely that Xiaoyang is a trans woman? Yeah, absolutely. And in the comments of this chapter, there is not one person making the claim that they're some standard cis boy. In previous ones, I saw most people say they were gender non conforming, without saying anything concrete. But everyone here has called them a trans woman. I genuinely, fundamentally do not understand why you're yelling about this topic here of all places, when it's in fact a series that anecdotally contradicts your points.

 

[dudelookatree]

"Go change"
comes back a changed person
"Not like that"

 

[artificialicecream]

thanks for the translation !

 

[vvboondoggirl]

Hi! I think you're entirely yelling about nothing. I say this not because I think what you're saying is not a problem, but instead just that it isn't an issue here??? In previous chapters, yes, there were people saying that it's not confirmed whether Xiaoyang was a trans woman, and that was true! So saying she in reference to her would've been jumping the gun a bit when we didn't know anything concrete. Xiaoyang could've been nonbinary or whatnot. So yelling when people called Xaioyang nonbinary or at minimum gender non conforming, was weird! I understand that trans women are very much snuffed out of a lot of media, and that characters who are very likely trans or even confirmed so are instead called femboys by many (Bridgett from Guilty Gear, or Felix from Re: Zero, for example). That IS a problem. I'm not exactly the type of person who would ever specifically seek out romance mangas/manhuas featuring trans woman, despite being a trans woman myself. I do still absolutely understand how people would benefit from significantly more representation in media, particularly good representation with a lot of depth (IE ranging from stories about trans journies in particular, to trans characters merely existing throughout life without making their transness the primary focus of the story or who they are).

With all that being said, this series is not one to make that complaint. Is it very likely that Xiaoyang is a trans woman? Yeah, absolutely. And in the comments of this chapter, there is not one person making the claim that they're some standard cis boy. In previous ones, I saw most people say they were gender non conforming, without saying anything concrete. But everyone here has called them a trans woman. I genuinely, fundamentally do not understand why you're yelling about this topic here of all places, when it's in fact a series that anecdotally contradicts your points.

see i would be with you if their hadnt been like 12 previous smoking guns that trans fems have been pointing out for the past 20 chapters or so and I hadnt been harangued and lectured in this forum about being a bad transes for forcing a different cultural understanding of gender on the narrative or whatever or misunderstanding Authorial Intent.

There was never a lick of "i am neither/both boy and girl" that would point to a nonbinary identity like idk Pale Green Saudade or Love Me For Who I Am. Hence this was a very obviated trans fem narrative from the start. When people say in response to ppl pointing out the trans fem narrative signifiers with "No, [he] is gender nonconforming" the tacit part of that is that they are saying Xiaoyang is still ultimately a man. You are implicitly saying that the individual is still attached to their birth gender, albeit behaving differently than the expectation. "Gender Nonconforming" is entirely a conversion therapy dogwhistle, whether its misuse is understood as such or not, that has impacted my life and the lives of many a trans woman. So yeah I'm gonna holler when I see it. Especially when there was increasingly less and less basis for a NB reading of the narrative. So when people are saying to me "Don't say trans woman, dont say trans woman, yet" and I know there is no strong good faith argument for a NB reading then it necessarily follows they are aligning the character with something that still fits cisness. I take issue when people try to minimize a trans fem narrative or allegory with "but maybe its NB" as a crutch or compromise between what a trans woman might interpret vs what cis people interpret, and that has been the case here for awhile despite the text heavily leaning on the language of trans fem narrative.


We would have seen Xiaoyang have some kind of alienation from all the ways gender is organized in her environment but we really only see her desiring to be placed within the sisterhood of the women around her. She is confused why she can't share social positions of girls and women, not in a, "why cant everyone just be where they want to be" way but "why cant I be seen as this"

 

[vvboondoggirl]

Nevermind the usage of femboy in the forum which, jesus fucking christ I could go blue in the face about how that word is derived from nazi incel anime boards to be the "nicer" way of invoking transmisogynistic fetishization.

 

[ElariaFlori]

see i would be with you if their hadnt been like 12 previous smoking guns that trans fems have been pointing out for the past 20 chapters or so and I hadnt been harangued and lectured in this forum about being a bad transes for forcing a different cultural understanding of gender on the narrative or whatever or misunderstanding Authorial Intent.

There was never a lick of "i am neither/both boy and girl" that would point to a nonbinary identity like idk Pale Green Saudade or Love Me For Who I Am. Hence this was a very obviated trans fem narrative from the start. When people say in response to ppl pointing out the trans fem narrative signifiers with "No, [he] is gender nonconforming" the tacit part of that is that they are saying Xiaoyang is still ultimately a man. You are implicitly saying that the individual is still attached to their birth gender, albeit behaving differently than the expectation. "Gender Nonconforming" is entirely a conversion therapy dogwhistle, whether its misuse is understood as such or not, that has impacted my life and the lives of many a trans woman. So yeah I'm gonna holler when I see it. Especially when there was increasingly less and less basis for a NB reading of the narrative. So when people are saying to me "Don't say trans woman, dont say trans woman, yet" and I know there is no strong good faith argument for a NB reading then it necessarily follows they are aligning the character with something that still fits cisness. I take issue when people try to minimize a trans fem narrative or allegory with "but maybe its NB" as a crutch or compromise between what a trans woman might interpret vs what cis people interpret, and that has been the case here for awhile despite the text heavily leaning on the language of trans fem narrative.


We would have seen Xiaoyang have some kind of alienation from all the ways gender is organized in her environment but we really only see her desiring to be placed within the sisterhood of the women around her. She is confused why she can't share social positions of girls and women, not in a, "why cant everyone just be where they want to be" way but "why cant I be seen as this"

Again, I think you're being somewhat extreme with the wording here. For repeated clarification, I am a trans woman. I've known that I'm trans for 6 years now, have been fully out for 4 years now, and on hrt for over 2. If you're looking for bonafide trans women perspectives, I should qualify.

Throughout this story thus far, I have viewed Xiaoyang as gender non conforming, being potentially just a feminine guy, potentially non binary, and potentially a trans woman. I never had any major leaning until this chapter, mainly due to Xiaoyang's own language. Previously, the main point of contention was that Xiaoyang wanted to wear more feminine clothing. They previously referred to themselves as an Uncle, happily, in a comfortable environment where they aren't judged for being authentic. I was certainly very undecided on what the author was indicating them to be. The implication that anyone who didn't immediately scream from the rooftops that Xiaoyang is trans is supposedly dogwhistling transphobic nazi forum board conversion therapy propaganda is genuinely insane. I think this is an extreme overreaction to people just not being entirely convinced of any one particular thing because it is still technically unconfirmed.

I do think it's very likely that Xiaoyang is a trans woman, and it would make a lot of sense. It's still technically not confirmed until potentially next chapter. I understand that a lot of language has been used to vilify and isolate trans people, especially trans women, given we're the scapegoat of a lot of media. This does not mean that every person who uses this language is some malicious or even ignorant person. Sometimes, people just don't want to say something without 100% certainty, and I think that's a very reasonable (and arguably very admirable) trait to have.

I absolutely understand your anger, because yes, a lot of media has 100% snuffed out trans women, the world is by in large setup for our failure, and society, even if somewhat accepting in some places, is still a ways away from being truly equitable and supportive. There are absolutely problems that NEED to be addressed, and fast, because there is a genuinely real effort to demonize trans people into near extinction. This story, however, is not one of those very important problems!! The people in this forum are not malicious, the story is not some cowardly twisted tube from which transphobia is pumped into people's brains, and the people in previous chapters saying he/him or they/them in regards to Xiaoyang were not intentionally misgendering!!

I also find it baffling that you implied that the story itself was possibly misgendering Xiaoyang. That comment itself is the implication that 1. You know more about the story and characters than anyone involved in its creation, and 2. That being trans is something that can be shoved into some box, and anyone who ticks off enough social aspects is Ding Ding Ding! Trans. When in reality it's a complex chemical phenomenon involving the human brain, and nothing else. We obviously cannot choose to be trans, it is not something that can be decided by anyone. So who the hell actually knows who Xiaoyang is deep inside until the author (through Xiaoyang's words) confirms it. Especially since, while I absolutely understand that the term "gender nonconforming" has absolutely been weaponized by conversion therapy, it is still a thing that exists in its own right!! Being a trans woman isn't "wear dress, be fem, slay".

I'm trans because that's my neurochemistry. Who I am as a person is comprised of a lot of things, and one of those things just so happens to be the fact that I'm trans. I tend to wear more feminine clothing because it's what I prefer, but it's not just because I'm trans. So implying that gender nonconforming as a term is somehow inherently harmful instead directly harms the existence of trans people as a whole. It makes the implication that being a trans woman is to be one type of person, and that people who happen to correlate with those features are also thereby trans. Even if that's not what you're trying to say, it still somewhat comes off that way, and for that reason I think it's a fairly harmful way to communicate your message.