https://theweek.com/articles/476844/hunger-games-stomachturning-racist-tweet-scandal

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hunger-games-racist-tweets-rue_n_1380377

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/some-hunger-games-fans-upset-character-rue-black-flna560267

Because they made the claim.

>Nothing is stopping people from....

Fundamentally, wrong. There's a thousand sociological reasons for this. We see it historically with other groups for the same reason.

The choice of whites only is a choice. The interest isn't made in a vacuum and you know that.

And that's you.

This is arguing semantics. You know what OP meant. WHY do fantasy and sci fi and post apoc focus only on white populations? Can authors only write about other authors? Only about people of the same gender and sexual orientation as them? Why are they only interest in European populations in settings that should also call for non European populations (and maybe even exclusively non European ones)? That's the soul of the question you're dodging.

I read the OP and I think you're reading into one phrase that she said A LOT. You can disagree on the idea of "passive" transphobia; I don't care about your feelings on that. Of course, someone being purposefully malicious IS harmful, but that's not what we're talking about. It's pretty clear throughout the OP that she is not stating that the author is an outright, unabashed transphobe purposefully sneaking in transphobia. ("intentional or not", "some flawed thinking" and then multiple times saying outright that she doesn't think the author is) Hence why I bring up societal conditioning which is what the other poster and the OP are clearly talking about.

>Nope. I said most trans people for a reason, just like you.

You didn't quantify it in the same way. You said "this is the way most trans people feel". You also said that most trans people aren't their gender, they feel like they are, otherwise transitioning would be pointless lmao

>That’s why I said everyone has a different way of explaining they are transgender

I agree with this, it doesn't change the fact that this isn't coming from a trans person. It's a cis person and many cis people phrase it this way because they don't understand.

>No. I make it clear which parts are my perspective, most of which are direct responses to the OP’s expectation that the author writes a “trans experience” as contrived and cliché; that, while not every trans individual will experience the same struggle, it exists.

Except when you didn't. Like stating most trans people (not the ones you know, not even yourself or your friends as a metric, MOST) trans people think this way and see themselves this way.

You criticized OP's method of writing this because it didn't conform to your expectations of a review. You also said OP is expecting the author to cater to their experience. Which is the exact thing you're doing. You both write your perspectives in the exact same way, but your perspective fits with the book.

>That is why I said, “I think you should,” which was not an obligation. It was a suggestion. The OP can do whatever they want; I do not care enough to “complain.” Lol.

You complained about their tone for two paragraphs and told them what you wanted them to do. The fact that you couched it with "I think" doesn't change that.

The Lord of the Rings. My father read it to me as a child. His dad also read it to him as a child. It's one of my most fond memories as a child. We started The Two Towers when there was a thunderstorm and our power went out. Me and my sister were in sleeping bags on the living room floor and my dad had a little lantern shaped flashlight. My father is Greek, a first generation American, and his accent is pretty thick. He read it to us in English because we didn't know any Greek at all.

The magic of Tolkien's world and fond memories of my father like this make me want to make it a family tradition. I'd love to read with my child and share a world that me and my father shared.

Intention versus impact. You can cause harm without meaning to. Our society is inherently transphobic from our media, socialization, and to our language. Just like our society is racist for the same reasons. You can be racist and/or transphobic and not mean to cause harm. You can be transphobic and only have good intentions. Maliciousness is not the only way to cause harm.

>I mean, if this were true, then the need to transition would be unnecessary. If you have not transitioned (medically, socially, etc.), then how are you already the opposite gender? Because you feel like it? It does not work like that. Quite the contrary, the reason why most trans people transition is because they are not already the gender to which they feel attached.

You're assuming an entire group of people off your understanding on a topic. Most of the people I know, my own experience, and from others online has been to seek medical transitioning to ease gender dysphoria. This isn't the only perspective, but it's the most common one I hear.

>I suppose it is more progressive using colorful language, but the last part seems emotionally driven if trans people have never said, “I was born a boy” and “I used to be [gender].” I say that all the time. It’s simple, straightforward, and better for me. Everyone has a different way of explaining they are transgender.

I say that too, but it's because people don't understand and think I'm a trans woman if I'm not straightforward about what people perceived me as before. It doesn't reflect how I feel about myself or how I felt about myself. I was always a man (except when I was a boy).

>I think you should rewrite this review with less emotionally-driven thoughts because some things are subjective to each trans person, and you make it abundantly clear throughout your review that you were expecting this story to tightly fit your experience as a trans person, which is wrong to justify attacking the author for not catering to your experience.

You just did this exact thing to OP but pushing forward your own perspective as the "real" trans experience.

>I think you need to give the author the benefit of the doubt. We need to stop saying everyone is transphobic without justifiable reasons. While I would have preferred a trans person to write a story like this, I appreciate that a ciswoman tried her best to not only understand our struggle but equally try to represent it. Keyword: try. I am not saying she did anything award-winning, but the effort shows, and it was a step in the right direction.

No one needs to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, but you're in luck because OP literally did just that. Multiple times OP gave the author the benefit of the doubt. Why are you complaining?

You can criticize something while enjoying it and even finding it helpful (in comparison to the norm). You can also be thankful for something while realizing it was not what you wanted and didn't do you or anyone else any good in having it.

Agreed. The majority of reddit is going to be represented by cis het men (as women are underrepresented as a whole and queer people are a much smaller population) whose opinions on this topic aren't really going to be that helpful or nuanced (as a generality). A conversation is probably going to be very unproductive when a baseline of understanding isn't necessarily going to be there.

>Finally, doesn’t it seem a bit unfair to accuse an author who is actively trying to help trans people of transphobia? Can’t anyone just have a difference of opinion, even if we strongly disagree with said opinion? This type of thinking is exactly why skilled people are running from the non-profit sector. You try to help and invariably wind up painted as some kind of villain. It’s a wild world we call our home.

I can't speak for the text or the author here as I've never read it, but I think this is simplifying things a bit too much. Is it unfair? Maybe. It's also unfair to be subjected to transphobia. The idea of intent versus actual impact is kind of important in these topics. You can have good intentions and cause a lot of harm. Let's also not dismiss that the non-profit sector is diminishing because society as a whole doesn't care about it if it doesn't affect them and many countries are stumbling into capitalist hellscapes. Putting that on one trans person's outlook of being represented is silly.