“My Male Skin”: (self-)narratives of transmasculinities in fanfiction

ABSTRACT

Transfic is a form of fanfiction that creates a variety of trans representations by imagining fictional(ised) trans narratives based on existing popular texts. Analysing transfic, specifically, fanfiction stories based on the BBC series Sherlock that imagine John Watson as a trans man, this paper is positioned at the intersections of (digital) media studies, fan(fiction) studies and trans studies. It examines transfic as a form of t 5rfcrans (self-)narrative which makes use of its digital platforms’ collective modes of storytelling to add trans to our cultural archives by making viable trans imaginings of popular characters and visible different narratives of transmasculinity, resulting in the emergence of trans(ing) spaces.

KEYWORDS:

• Fanfiction
• trans representation
• Sherlock (TV series)
• transfic
• digital culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. See Hutcheon (2013, 9) for her understanding of adaptation as both process and product.

2. While the majority of fanfiction is created by individual authors, the creative process can be regarded as an openly collective one in that readers can sometimes influence the progression of a narrative, stories are written in response to requests and frequently undergo test readings, allowing beta readers to leave their marks on a given story.

3. See Stryker, Currah, and Moore (2008) for further elaboration on transing as a practice.

4. As fanfiction is not only a means of distributing narrative extensions to popular culture texts online but also always embedded in a community, the following readings extend to paratextual elements such as comments and their replies as well as author’s notes and commentary.

5. Around fifty percent of the Sherlock stories archived on The Archive of Our Own are labelled as Sherlock Holmes/John Watson slash, i.e. stories “about same-sex trust, intimacy and eroticism” (Duffett 2013, 170).

6. Packing Heat by Songlin, which is similar to Brilliant and Commonplace, likewise confuses some readers when it comes to the reading of trans embodiment. One reader claims to have been “confused on why John had a penis if he had no bottom surgery” (comment to Songlin 2014). Another states, “You REALLY confused me when John’s packer came off and he still had a ‘penis’” (ibid). It is interesting that the reader uses quotation marks for penis here, calling into question the authenticity of John’s genitalia as male.

7. Since I began working on this paper, the fanfiction in question has been deleted from the Archive of Our Own by its author and is no longer available online. While I will use examples and quotes, I will refrain from using the title and author name according to the author’s wishes expressed in our email conversations.

8. There are some explanations provided in the author’s notes given before and after individual chapters that contextualise John’s experiences as not being universal for all trans men as “every trans person has their own unique experiences and voice.” The author furthermore warns for content that might be difficult to read, especially for trans readers. They also provide an insight into their writing process which includes test-reading by trans and non-binary people, who provided information on, e.g., how to self-inject testosterone.

9. Voice pitch would be another way in which trans bodies become readable as such but will not be considered here as it does not play a role in the story itself.

10. The author’s gender is confirmed in the mentioned fandom podcast on transfic.