How are trans people represented in anime ?

       Trans-identity is something that has, despite what most transphobes would like to admit, existed for a very long time, although it was always very difficult and repressed. Even if nowadays, people are more open-minded, a trans person will still face mockery and prejudice based on their gender. Their representation in media in general is very rare and is mostly limited to gay or lgbt shows. But in some rare occurrences, they might appear in other shows. We will evoke the representation of trans people in Japanese culture, or, more particularly, anime. We will first observe trans girls in anime, then we will speak about trans men.

      To speak about trans girls in anime, we have to speak about femboys. This word describes boys who dress femininely and wear makeup. This is the essential meaning of the word, but its connotation is mostly sexual. They are seen as feminine men and are often sexualized, no matter their age. The link between trans girls in anime and femboys is that, there are not a lot of actual trans girls, mostly femboys. And even in the case of a trans girl appearing, most of the fandom with narrow it down to them being a “Femboy”. This can be very degrading for the characters since they aren’t seen as actual women, as they are, but more as boys who dress feminine. They aren’t seen as women, but as men, and that hurts the image of trans women. 

     Trans men in anime are even rarer. In all of the popular animes, there is only one that actually stands out. James Bond, from Moriarty the Patriot. Although it is never directly said he is trans, we see his transition from his dead name and feminine body to his actual name, James Bond. He faces a bit of transphobia, when his teammate refuses to see him as a man, but that is quickly resolved and is now only seen as a guy by everyone. But there is one big problem. His transition is very unrealistic. Most of his transition aren’t even seen. The only part that we see is that he cuts his hair and magically becomes a guy. This is expected from a person who isn’t trans or hasn’t known any trans person, which the mangaka probably hasn’t experienced. This could be a source of confusion and even stress for some young transgender people. Seeing a trans men transition in a night might make them frustrated of their own transition, which is usually very slow. 

    In general, trans people are usually not represented in anime and even if they are, they are badly represented. They are more often than not sexualized and made as a sexual desire, more than an actual man or woman. This might hurt the image of trans people. But this bad representation might be due to the fact that most trans author haven’t personally experienced being trans. I think you can write about being trans without being trans, but you have to do research to do so. Assuming being transgender is easy and happens overnight is a harmful stereotype, among tons of others.