AYRT - i see your point fair enough on the terminology re: Fiona, and appreciate your input, so thank you, genuinely. though i will note that no group is a monolith, different people will have preference for different terms, and if i am reading your last sentence correctly, you are quoting opinions you've read from others regarding how they feel about the language that is applied to them as humans (not fantasy dragon characters), rather than coming from a place of personal experience - although of course not sharing a certain identity doesn't preclude you from participating in discussions, and i'm not trying to de-legitimize your viewpoint in that way.
words & identities are a very personal thing, and always sliding around in meaning as language evolves. my partner is a binary trans woman and doesn't really fuss about the "woman/trans woman/transfemme/trans fem/MtF" distinctions in cases of Fiction (though obviously there Are distinctions, and through context clues you can conclude when someone has chosen a certain term pointedly to cause harm), but again, both my partner & i fit into the "older FR player" category, and that definitely informs our views on the terminology.
trans women are women. you can dress or present "femme" without being a woman. & i definitely would rather have someone on my side who ACTS in support of LGBTQ+ people but knows nothing other than outdated/offensive terminology, versus someone who knows the LINGO but uses it to couch their oppressive/conservative ideology in "acceptable-sounding" words.
i chose "transfemme" in this scenario because Fiona the character was designed to show the multi-set antennae trait in common with M pose Skydancers, but is also clearly feminine in name & social presentation, and i couldn't be fussed to look up exact terminology quoted on the website, which is kind of what the whole argument is about in the first place ahahaha. this time i went to look it up, and found just a post by Aequorin quoting a player question "I see some people say she's trans?" & replying simply "She is."
if i'm missing something more exact, by all means correct me with that information, but if all we're given is "she is trans" then that becomes a non-canon-negotiable trait of hers, but the exact identity comes down to player interpretation. also, she's not a real person, she's a dragon character who happens to have trans traits. which i think is the idea that staff is really trying to emphasize here, rather than ironing out super specific identities to ascribe to NPC dragon characters as some "representation checklist" to tick off. to paraphrase, "these are DRAGONS, existing as dragons. some might happen to be trans or disabled or (whatever else), but we strive to have those attributes arise & be recognized naturally, rather than adding these types of characteristics on purpose purely to satisfy microrepresentation requirements."
and just to be clear, i'm not trying to fight anyone here, my opinion is not the be-all end-all opinion, and i think nuanced discussions on topics like these are important. so thank you everyone for showing more level-headedness & maturity than some of our infamous FRD & suggestions forum regulars :P
Re: aaaaa pronouns so scary
though i will note that no group is a monolith, different people will have preference for different terms, and if i am reading your last sentence correctly, you are quoting opinions you've read from others regarding how they feel about the language that is applied to them as humans (not fantasy dragon characters), rather than coming from a place of personal experience - although of course not sharing a certain identity doesn't preclude you from participating in discussions, and i'm not trying to de-legitimize your viewpoint in that way.
words & identities are a very personal thing, and always sliding around in meaning as language evolves. my partner is a binary trans woman and doesn't really fuss about the "woman/trans woman/transfemme/trans fem/MtF" distinctions in cases of Fiction (though obviously there Are distinctions, and through context clues you can conclude when someone has chosen a certain term pointedly to cause harm), but again, both my partner & i fit into the "older FR player" category, and that definitely informs our views on the terminology.
trans women are women. you can dress or present "femme" without being a woman. & i definitely would rather have someone on my side who ACTS in support of LGBTQ+ people but knows nothing other than outdated/offensive terminology, versus someone who knows the LINGO but uses it to couch their oppressive/conservative ideology in "acceptable-sounding" words.
i chose "transfemme" in this scenario because Fiona the character was designed to show the multi-set antennae trait in common with M pose Skydancers, but is also clearly feminine in name & social presentation, and i couldn't be fussed to look up exact terminology quoted on the website, which is kind of what the whole argument is about in the first place ahahaha. this time i went to look it up, and found just a post by Aequorin quoting a player question "I see some people say she's trans?" & replying simply "She is."
https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/2812274/4#post_42031300
if i'm missing something more exact, by all means correct me with that information, but if all we're given is "she is trans" then that becomes a non-canon-negotiable trait of hers, but the exact identity comes down to player interpretation. also, she's not a real person, she's a dragon character who happens to have trans traits. which i think is the idea that staff is really trying to emphasize here, rather than ironing out super specific identities to ascribe to NPC dragon characters as some "representation checklist" to tick off. to paraphrase, "these are DRAGONS, existing as dragons. some might happen to be trans or disabled or (whatever else), but we strive to have those attributes arise & be recognized naturally, rather than adding these types of characteristics on purpose purely to satisfy microrepresentation requirements."
and just to be clear, i'm not trying to fight anyone here, my opinion is not the be-all end-all opinion, and i think nuanced discussions on topics like these are important. so thank you everyone for showing more level-headedness & maturity than some of our infamous FRD & suggestions forum regulars :P