“For the girl who needed this book ages ago, and couldn't find it."
Hello my dears, and welcome back to Fantasy Friday (FF). Summer is on the horizon, it is Pride month and today, I want to talk about superheroes.
Now, whenever we think about superheroes, most tend to gravitate towards the MCU and its expansive universe, focusing on the stories that might, strength, and perseverance to do what is right. Other narratives detail that downfalls of absolute power, and how they can be seen as a cautionary tale for those that don't follow the popular mantra of "with great power , comes great responsibility". But one thing that can get lost within focusing on the pinnacle of power and prestige that superheroes present, is that they also represent not belonging or being "othered" in a society.
We meet Taylor, a young boy who, on paper, has an amazing life. Good grades, plays basketball, and everything is perfect.
Everything is perfect.
Except, it isn't. Taylor is not just a normal teenage boy, but is actually the Galaxy Crowned. An princess from the planet Cyandil who was sent to Earth for her protection and hidden in a body that feels foreign to her but acceptable to others. A normal teenage boy and this is when the allegory takes it's true shape, weaving queerness and transness into the narrative and deeping it, in my opinion.
If we peel back the layers of every superhero, we meet a character that is seen as an alien or on the outskirts of "normal" society. This takes the everyday pressures that come with adolescence/growing up, and pairing that with a body that does not perform in the ways that most would deem acceptable. Countless times, Superman is an example of the greatest superhero, a symbol of hope and justice and the all American ideals that we like to believe this nation uphold. But before all of the grandeur, Superman was and still is seen as an alien. He was an awkward teen who had to stumble his way through life, having to prove himself as both Clark and Superman, and also battling the biases.
Now, I compare the two because Taylor (or Taelyr in her home planet) makes the comparison, using Superman and his alieness as a soft launch of her own, position the question to her friend while she is still wearing the a "mask" of a teenage boy. Then only thing that makes this difficult is that Taylor, who does not see herself as a boy, used the poster-boy for masculine energy and wondered why it did not work for her. While their beginnings may be similar, escaping turmoil and making their way on Earth, they couldn't be more different in how the world perceives them. Superman is palatable because he is cisgendered, white, and aligns with what society deems appropriate behaviors for men. This similar to the experience that some trans and nonbinary youth go through, lacking in representations and sometimes allowing the world to dictate who they can be because they are afraid to push the mold.
This is what Taylor represents and goes through. The same praise and accolades that Superman gets only created a further divide into who Taylor wants to be and what is expected of her, causing isolation even if the world see her as this accomplished and model "boy". It is only by happenstance, shifting accidentally into her true form while in the presence of her new friend Kathrine, where she gets to find the strength to be more like herself and allow the world to see Taylor as she truly is and carve out a space just for her.
I think that fact that Taylor is a girl and Clark Kent/Superman is a boy also plays in the factor as to how society treats them. Often what happens whenever the cisgendered individuals come commune with trans individuals, transmen/masc often face less discrimination than transwomen/femme do. Now intersectionality does play a factor as to how further the divide gets, but the inherent message that is ingrained systematically is that being a woman is seen as lesser and, by proxy, "choosing" to be a woman is crazy. Who would want to chose this life, represent themselves in their truth by becoming a woman? A creature that is often seen as weaker, more emotional, strange, and considerably dangerous. This is portrayed as to how Taylor's community rejects her as an alien and embraces Superman, because at the end of the day, he is still a white cisgendered man and that is palatable to the masses.
In today’s climate, it’s integral to have representation in media so that queer and trans people can feel seen, heard, accepted and celebrated. This story brings together beautiful artwork and a compelling narrative that mirrors the journey that some may face in finding where they belong and accepting who they truly are even if society deems them an “alien”.
