So! There’s something I want to share with you guys and see what you think (please be nice with me).
I mentioned before that I want to make the process of trans and nb MCs to feel as organic as possible since in-game there’s not much knowledge of what’s outside of the cisgender binary form (so the MC has to discover their gender identity taking baby steps; there’s not nearly as many information/knowledge as we have with Internet). Also, there are plenty of other sides I want to deal with.
In this world the medicine is rather undeveloped (to put it nicely) in comparison to other fields; I have mentioned that surgeries are simple and minimal (and rarely done), and people rely a lot in remedies and pills from natural plants (because they don’t have anything else). Also, there’s no magic in this world, so we won’t get help from there.
I have developed a form of hormone transition with the limited means I have in this setting and very basic, limited surgery. What does it mean?
Hormone therapy is relatively simple, with estrogen/testosterone blockers and enhancers. There are no bottom surgeries for anyone; sex reassignment surgery was successful towards mid to late 1900s, and as I said, here they are far behind any kind of surgical medical procedure, so it’s not an option
Oophorectomy was done in the early 1800s and mid 1800s, and mastectomy as early as 548 AD, so I’ll add them. I believe they are very different in nature, since these two are surgical removal procedures, whereas sex reassignment surgery requieres reconstruction, something the doctors of this world didn’t even think about.
Now, on the other hand, the whole process is not only about the medical side of transition, but I also want to deal with family and Society, too. Mind you, I’m not going to make trans/nb characters only about that, but the relationships you make and how they react are important too. I don’t really consider this one a spoiler, but Datura, the MC’s father, will always support his child. But as someone raised from a very binary and cisgender society, there are things he just doesn’t understand. He will help and support you, and maybe he makes mistakes, because he’s just human; the MC will also have to support and help him, because in order to reach full understanding, every side has to make an effort. Does that mean that the MC will have to conform/bow down? NO. But communication is key; Datura, nor anyone else, can’t read minds, so your MC has to help them in order for them (Datura and the others) understand them (the MC).
I think I’m going to step on some toes with this one, but this is something I want to tackle if the player decides to go through it (of course, if your character is trans/nb and they don’t want to go through hormone therapy or surgery, they don’t have to!), because this story is about a character growing up, the relationships they make and their decisions. I feel like I can’t write about their growth and leave something as important as this in the dark.
What do you think?