Hanayome wa Motodanshi

Hello Charlie !

I posted this article on my personal tumblr, and I believe it might be interesting to some of you.

Today I am presenting a little Manga I found on the internet : 
Its name is Hanayome wa Motodanshi. It means, I believe “The bride was a boy”, or “My wife is an ex-guy” (those are the two “official” translations I found).

I was discussing with a friend about the comics about trangenderism one can usually find on tumblr, Facebook, or any other social media (*coughs* assignedmale *coughs*), and how they are usually very negative and sometimes even cisphobic*.
I was very unhappy with that, because I would have liked people to use comics and drawings to spread positive messages towards both transgender people and allies*.
Some time later, this friend sent me a link to this little Manga named Hanayome wa Motodanshi, telling me it was a very cute and positive story about transgenderism that I would enjoy.
And well, I did !

Hanayome wa Motodanshi is a little Manga drawn by the blogger “Chii”, a transgender woman who used to draw her feelings and daily life on her blog, and then decided it would be interesting to have her story made into a Manga.
It tells the story (her story) of a boy who wasn’t comfortable with being one, and, as “he” grew up, started crossdressing*.
One day, as “he” was hanging out with friends, “he” met a man who quite fast got a crush on her. When he asked her out, “he” told him “he” was a crossdresser, which the man had no problem accepting !
(Note : I will now refer to “him” as "her" because I believe she is a woman and nothing else. I did it differently in the beginning so it would be clearer she was born a boy, and as a boy, started crossdressing)
It was only the beginning of their relationship, and back then she had no idea they would end up getting married; this is the beautiful story of how their relationship evolved until they got married, and how her husband encouraged her when she decided to go through transition before getting married.
 
This a really sweet story, with really cute drawings and its bunch of funny stories. It really conveys the couple’s feelings and shows what a person going through transition has to live.
At the end of every chapter Chii gives a little explanation of different LGBT+ terms she might or not have used in her story.
It is adorable to read, and very instructing, be it by the story itself or by the notes the author gives.

You can find Chii’s original blog here. Its is entirely in Japanese, so it is not really accessible to everyone.
But you can read her Manga translated here. I highly recommend it, for it might help you understand transgenderism better.
The Manga is very clear and easy to understand, and you can find the synopsis on the website linked earlier.

I hope my presentation was clear enough, and it will encourage people to read this story ! I really think anyone would love it.
And if anyone has other recommandations of comics, manga or else like this one, I would very happily hear them !

Glossary :

cisphobic : "Cis" stands for "cisgender", which is the opposite of "transgender". Not the word one would use to describe oneself, but the one you would use to mark a difference between a trans and non-trans person. "Cisphobic" is just the opposite of "transphobic" : negative towards cisgender people. Because yes, some trans people or even just allies start to be anti-cisgender people.
allies : An "ally" in the LGBT+ community is simply a person who is not necessarily part of the community, but is encouraging and positive towards it.
crossdressing : "Crossdressing" means dressing with clothes of the opposite gender, trying to look like said gender.