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Tweak says, "redheads do it better!"

danielolsen (danielolsen) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-03-22 20:55:00

Entry tags:

medium: manga, theme: crossdressing, theme: slice of life

Transient Son by Shimura Takako
I started reading this on a whim and it turned out to be the best darn thing I've read for months, maybe even years.
Transient Son (Houro Musuko)(or Wandering Son) by Japanese cartoonist Shimura Takako is the story about Shuichi Nitori, a gradeschool boy coming to terms with transexuality, gender identity and puberty.

No fetishization, no gimmickry. Just...

Where to start. For the record I marathoned this. It hooked me instantly and Shimura is an excellent storyteller that never lets you get bored. Past, present, dreams and reality take turns and never once is a caption seen or needed. It feels intimate, like someone is confiding in you.

But enough talk, what with the scans? Well... So far the series is released in monthly installments and there are 8 great volumes (wich NEEDS to be published in English so I can buy them in paper). But we'll start from the beginning.

Shuchi, or Shuu, is a quiet and timid boy who lives with his dad, mother and sister. His sister bully him constantly and it doesn't help that they share a room.

On the first day of transferring to a new school he gets mistaken for his sister (who got into an accident on the way to school) by the teacher and meets Takatsuki, the tomboy.

They become good friends and when in Shus room there is this dress that his sister only tried once~

Later that evening:

Its a very dificult series to tell about in limited scans and I feel that I'm not strong enough to analyze it in text. I'm still digesting it myself. All-in-all I just want to spread the word.

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ashtoreth
2009-03-22 11:24 pm UTC (link)

This is interesting. Frustrating point to end on though...

I've a personal interest in this sort of thing, as a few members of my family, old and young, like cross-dressing. It's hard to figure out what their interest is, because of the embarrassment of talking about it. According to my readings online, the ones that are interested in showing off or getting pretty dresses openly, are cross-dressers. The ones who are mortified at anyone finding out, are fetishists. Still not sure where the drag queen fits..

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meatwhichdreams
2009-03-24 09:55 pm UTC (link)

I think it's a bit more like this:

"....the ones that are interested in showing off or getting pretty dresses openly, are generally cross-dressers or drag-queens, because their desire is to flaunt a perceived gender transgression for various reasons (they think it's funny, they think it's fun, they love performing, they love freaking people out, it turns them on as well, etc.etc....

The ones who are mortified at anyone finding out, are sometimes fetishists (sometimes called transvestites), who generally are attracted to the sex whose clothes they're adopting and don't like people knowing because they think it's embarrassing, but could just as easily be transgendered and considered their "normal" clothes drag but don't want people to know because they're afraid of discrimination."

Hopefully that helps sort things out for you! Of course, every situation is different, and every person has their own individual reasons for cross-dressing, and their own personal preference for different lables...the best way to find out is simply to ask them.

In this story's case, I think the author is implying that the young boy has a transgendered identity and wishes to cross-dress because she feels more comfortable and more like "herself" when she does. The tomboy, on the other hand, just seems to be more in the middle of the gender divide rather than having a desire to actually cross-dress, tho' of course I've only read what bit you've read here and am totally guessing.

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	ashtoreth 2009-03-25 02:51 pm UTC (link)
	I wish asking made things clear! Thanks for the clarifications though. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	meatwhichdreams 2009-03-25 09:32 pm UTC (link)
	No problem. I hope it helps somewhere along the line! (Reply to this) (Parent)

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