Could this example actually be discussed here first instead of just putting it back in with some defensive rewording? I'm still finding it hard to see how a character that hasn't even engaged with transgender issues in the show itself, only the act of crossdressing (which is a neutral act in and of itself that does not automatically mean the character is identifying with the gender of the clothes being worn) is being treated as the representative victim of transgender violence/sexualization. Saying it doesn't matter if the character hasn't been officially confirmed as one doesn't make much sense, either. Without that, you might as well label any of the characters in the series as one and then criticize them for their supposedly unjust representation as well if you wanted to. I mean, you could even claim Hajime is transgender based on that logic since she uses a male pronoun (which obviously must mean she identifies as male, right?) just to complain about how she gets sexualized/treated badly in the show when there's been no such confirmation that she is. Do you see what I mean?
This insistence on Rui being transgender for the purposes of attacking how the series treats him for it is honestly getting ridiculous when it is still only based on assumptions and speculation at best. I recommend reading this link
before continuing to claim that Rui has to be a trans girl, and is therefore being unfairly sexualized or attacked as one, simply because he crossdresses by the way.
Moved this entry here for discussion:
I'm finding this example a bit of a stretch in criticizing a character that hasn't even been explicitly identified as transgender in the first place. Rui has not been confirmed to be a trans girl in the series as much as those tumblr posts like to assume he is. In fact, the creators have repeatedly referred to the character as male or used male pronouns in official articles, so it's equally plausible to assume that he is just a young man who happens to enjoy crossdressing (especially when the series has never shown him reacting negatively to being "misgendered" by others and also shows him casually dressed as a boy often). I can understand the choice to view him as one, but this description just makes it sound like Rui is definitely meant to be considered a controversial and degrading representation of a transgender character, which is highly debatable. Additionally, the citations here only link to two people at best which honestly doesn't seem to indicate this is an opinion held by a lot of fans anyway regarding Rui's apparently negative treatment as a transgender character throughout the series.
On a similar note, Berg-Katze has not been confirmed as genderqueer either for all the assumptions that he is one, and it's too early to dismiss his role this season as being somehow offensive for being reduced to a supposed joke.
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