Trannies rule – just look at sultry male-alien-in-a-babe's-body Sally from Third Rock from the Sun – but it seems like planet Earth in 2006 isn't quite ready for the genderqueer liberation army. That's why so many of us have to turn to science fiction and fantasy for stories about heroes who are girly boys, boyish girls, girls who used to be boys, boys who used to be girls, or anyone in between. Tonight, join me in raising a glass or ten to trannies!
We'll begin by contemplating the wonder that is Brigitte Lin in Swordsman II, widely acknowledged to be one of Hong Kong cinema master Tsui Hark's best. Lin plays Asia the Invincible, a master swordsman who transforms herself into a woman by magic. She tells her girlfriend to get it on with her nephew and rival Ling(an amazing Jet Li), but then falls in love with him herself. There aretons of flying, swooping sword battles and a surprisingly modern lovetriangle. Brigitte Lin is voiced by a male actor throughout most of thefilm, which enhances her gender ambiguity – though her grace and powerremain unambiguous to the end.
But that's not all . . .
For giggles, Kasimasi is anime
about a boy who is accidentally killed by a flying saucer, thenressurrected as a girl by its apologetic alien pilots. Luckily, thegirl he's always loved is a lesbian, so this is a great turn of events.
And when you're ready to hunker down with a novel, try Dark Light,
second in the "Engines of Light" trilogy by sardonic, smart andScottish SF writer Ken MacLeod. The book takes place on an alien planetpartly colonized by ancient Earth people who were kidnapped and broughtthere by godlike intelligences. As class warfare on the planet eruptsinto violence, a transwoman from a native tribe plunges intointer-planetary politics and saves the day. She also gets to fall inlove, which is one of the things I like about MacLeod's books – he'snot afraid to let his characters have emotional lives. I recommend thewhole series, but you can read Dark Light on its own.
