Arcade Alex

Introducing Ren! They’re the first non-binary character we’ve met so far.

This is what Jessica’s conversation was about earlier – she was asking Alex’s permission to disclose his trans status to Ren. Not every trans person is open about being trans, so it’s important to ask before you share that info with someone else. Unlike being out as a queer person, living as your true gender is being “out” for trans people. Some of us are stealth (i.e. not disclosing that we’re trans) because we don’t want to have that conversation – whether it be because being trans is just part of our medical history or we don’t want to deal with the discrimination of others.

However a trans person chooses to live is okay. If we choose to tell you our trans status, it means we trust you, and that means asking our permission before disclosing to others.

As for Alex, I think his views on being trans are similar to my own – it’s okay if my friends know, but I don’t like to tell strangers or random coworkers if I can avoid it. I was super open about it at first, but I got tired of fielding weird questions from strangers. I joke that you have to get to level 2 friendship with me to hear about my (not so) tragic backstory lol.

Next post: (Mar 26) Jessica tells Kaz about cosplay.

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Page transcript:
Jess: Hey Alex, this is my friend I wanted you to meet.
Ren: H-hi…
I’m Ren. Um… they/them pronouns, please. It’s great to meet you…
Alex: I’m Alex, but you already know that! I use he/him pronouns, and so does my boyfriend, Kaz. I’m glad to meet you too!
Jess: Ren and I met in one of our art classes. They’re studying printmaking. We both love anime and video games too, so really we hit it off because of that!