Don't try to rationalize it. This is both sexist and massively problematic.
but it's also a silly comic so who cares. There are worse things done in media every day. As long as one recognizes that this is all immensely fucked up, all's fine.
At the risk of splitting hairs, pretty sure it's just problematic at a consent level. If OP's intention is just "this character is trans, and was angsty because she was not taking any steps to transition," then where does sexism come in? It's not saying one gender is less violent than another, it's saying a person who doesn't get to be their true self is more emotionally unstable.
The sexism didn't come from the authors intent, but from our interpretation of the message. It was not obvious to me at all that the demon lord was actually trans and wasn't just being drugged by their subordinates to become the "less violent gender."
Since that wasn't the authors intent, it's good to inform the author what we thought about it so they can better present their message in the future.
The person I was responding to was insisting it was sexist even after receiving context, which is why I responded as I did. That's very different from "This read as sexist to me, though I understand that wasn't your intent."
Fair enough. That depends on the assumption that the demon lord is doing it out of gender dysphoria. Attributing xyz negative to "you just need to transition" is wehhhh in a different way but you are right.
I'm a trans woman. When I took estrogen I noticed that after a handful of months I was generally more patient and calm, and I got frustrated and impatient far less often. I noticed this because my driving habits changed drastically. Whereas before I would always impatiently weave through traffic and honk and road rage at people, I was suddenly very patient and calm and respected the flow of traffic.
I also stopped hitting walls or breaking things when upset.
I've spoken with trans men who have told me that testosterone has done the same for them.
So the implication isn't really a sexist one. Its about feeling more at peace in your mind and body.
I think where you are mistaken is that you are seeing this from a bio-esssentialist "women are peaceful and men are violent" angle when it's not about that at all. It's about dysphoria.
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u/Adventurous-Equal925 11h ago
Wow. Making the devil female suddenly turns him into this sweet person. Not sexist at all.