I Was Inspired To Do This ~ 🦈✨

hate them

If you’re interested in checking out Stop!! Hibari-kun! then I recommend Hazel’s excellent video that serves as a primer to the series - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa6MK_boub0

If you really like my work, you can support me at https://patreon.com/comicsbyxan and get access to works in progress, previews and extras!

Transcript:

Sometimes I just stop and think about how weird it is that Stop!! Hibari-kun! even exists. A romantic comedy where one of the leads is a trans girl would be notable even today, but this show aired in 1983, and the manga it was based on began in 1981. Stop!! Hibari-kun! is almost forty years old, and yet I’d argue that in certain ways it still hasn’t been surpassed. There have been shows that handled their trans characters better, and there have been other shows with trans protagonists (although, frankly, not very many). But Hibari herself is an utterly unique creation, and I honestly can’t think of any trans protagonist in the intervening years who could match her in brilliance and sheer badassery.

It makes for some bizarre juxtapositions because in every other sense the show is a product of the 80s, whether stylistically, in its pop culture references, or the occasional jarring racial stereotypes. There’s a fair amount of transphobia and homophobia too, which might seem at odds with what I’ve described so far, but part of Hibari’s strength is that thrives in spite of the adversity she faces.

Hibari is the daughter of a yakuza boss and is – on paper, at least – his only son and heir. The story is told mostly from the perspective of Kousaku, a boy sent to live with the family after his mother dies, and who immediately falls for Hibari but then feels conflicted upon learning that she’s trans. Make no mistake, though: Hibari is the star of the show here. She’s strong, smart and beautiful, and at school (where she’s presumed by everyone to be a cis girl), she’s a popular grade-A student with throngs of lovestruck boys – and at least one girl – falling at her feet. In another show this might come across as insincere; a low-key transphobic joke along the lines of “the most popular girl is actually a boy!” But with Hibari it doesn’t feel like that. The show’s presentation of her victories feels genuine and celebratory.

The grace with which Hibari navigates her life extends to her encounters with transphobia, too. Most of her family disapproves of her, and Kousaku’s ongoing inability to deal with Hibari’s transness often comes off as pretty hurtful. But Hibari seems unfazed by her father’s ranting and enjoys teasing Kousaku over his plainly obvious attraction to her. That’s not to say there aren’t brief moments where Hibari expresses frustration over her situation, but the narrative never lets her stay sad for long.

And I think it’s Hibari’s nigh-invulnerability – both physically and psychologically – that makes her work as a character, especially from the perspective of the trans women in the audience. In the hands of a lesser creator, Hibari could have been a figure of ridicule, but remarkably she is never a punchline, while those who mock her or try to hurt her inevitably end up as the butt of the joke. Crystal Frasier, who knows a thing or two about compelling trans protagonists, describes the show as a “transgender power fantasy”, and I think the recent resurgence of interest in Hibari has come at a time when trans women are seeking out stories where we get to be victorious.

This does return us to the question of exactly how this transgender power fantasy came to be, back in the early 80s, and at the hands of a cis creator, no less. And that’s… well, that’s a little complicated. I’ll simply say that Hibari’s creator, Hisashi Eguchi, has stated in interviews that “It is really the frustration of not being born as a girl which fuels my drawings” and leave it at that. Regardless, Eguchi has given trans audiences an icon. In a world of trans stories that focus on pain and misery, here is a protagonist who approaches her transness with joy, optimism and strength. As Hibari herself would say: “Just think of it as God’s prank.”

they shadowbanned alaa again. this is at least the tenth time this has happened. tumblr doesn't respond her to her appeals and deletes her accounts. this is fucking vile. keep donating to her fundraiser. [verified]

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My name is Alaa, I am a Palestinian mother of two children: Maria and Hamza, as … Alaa Amsse needs your support for Urgent! building a new l

I read a super cutee college AU fic recently so I wanted to draw my own little college designs hehe

"it's so fucking over" yeah dude it's 11pm it's the end of the day it's time for you to go to bed. and tomorrow you'll be so fucking back because you'll be awake. go tuck yourself in dude you'll be ok

Gender is entirely made-up and I don't understand why some people are so fixated on it being "true" in the sense of like...are trans women women? Of course they are, insofar as "a woman" can be said to exist in the first place. But people have gotten obsessed with proving objectively that a trans woman is a woman, when the actual core of trans liberation is that anyone forcing their preferred gender on you is fascist. It's missing the forest for the trees. When all you do is play the "I am [x] really truly deep down just like everyone else" game you're meeting the transphobes on their level and accepting their premise that "man" and "woman" are distinct, tangible things.

To be clear, it's not that you CAN'T feel gender is a kinna spiritual force within you, or something to that effect. I think we all do on at least some level. But my point is that trying to rip that spiritual force out of our bodies to dissect it and prove all the haters wrong because look it was here all along is just a waste of time and effort.

The truth of the matter is that the goal is not to get people to see trans women as women, it's to get them to stop feeling like clothes and pronouns and names and locker rooms should be dictated by what some asshole wrote down on your birth certificate.

Etaf and her family need your support.

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Hello, I am Etaf Al-Qataa,I'm from Gaza, Im34 years old ,I… Etaf Alqattaa needs your support for Please help us get out of life's crises

Etaf is a wife and mother of 5 from Ghazzah. Last year, she and her family's home was destroyed, a long with her husband's source of income and their car.

They were displaced for 200 days, all the way induring the hellish tribulations of genocide. Luckily, they were able to flee into Egypt; however their struggles are not over.

Due to their lack of income, Etaf and her husband struggle to provide their children with food, clothing, and education. On top of that, they are struggling to pay the rent on their house as winter approaches.

In order to help Etaf's children continue their education and to help the whole family afford basic necessities, they need to raise €100,000. So far, they've only managed to raise €5,690 and their last donation was 18 hours ago.

Please help them however you can; donate if you're able and share their campaign. Every contribution will help them rebuild their lives.

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"save me, substance abuse!" i cry. before you can moralize to me about the dangers of addiction, a noble and powerful steed gallops into the room - my horse whom i have named "substance abuse". you learn an important lesson about making assumptions. i snort a line off its back

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