Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies

***Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies*** is an anthology of the webcomic *Assigned Male*, written and illustrated by Sophie Labelle. It covers two story arcs; *Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies*; and *The Legend of the Rarest Genders*.

This item is no longer on sale in Labelle's Etsy store.

## Synopsis

> *Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies (followed by The Legend of the Rarest Genders) is the sixth zine from the iconic Assigned Male webcomic.*
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> *It follows the adventures of trans 12 year old Stephie, as she goes on a field trip with her classmates. The decision to make the dorms co-ed brings up so much drama that the gender binary almost ends up colliding into itself. It is also when we see Stephie and Frank's relationship grow into something more meaningful.*
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> *Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies is filled with some of the best strips from Assigned Male, put together by the author herself in this handmade and unqiue zine.*
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## Plot

### *Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies*

Stephie and her class are going on a class trip which will have co-ed dorms, meaning the dorms won't be separated by gender.

Frank's mother refuses to sign the permission slip at first because she doesn't want him sleeping in the same dorm as Stephie. Frank convinces her by saying that Stephie is trans, and therefore she'd probably be put in the same dorm anyway. Later, when talking with Stephie, he realises he shouldn't have outed her and keeps his mistake a secret from her.

On the trip, Eiríkur comes out casually as gay, then is immediately flustered and calls it "the most stressful thing I ever did in my life." When Raquel finds out, she decides to strike up a friendship with him, whether he wants one or not.

The teacher announces that during camp, everyone in the class will have 'secret friends.' Each student will pick a piece of paper from the box, and the paper will have the name of a classmate. During the trip, they'll have to do something nice for that person.

Ciel is worried. Apart from Stephie, they have no real friends in school, and if someone else picked them, they would be humiliated. They are overjoyed when they pick their own name. They write a letter to their 'secret friend,' heaping praise upon themself.

Frank's secret friend is Stephie, and he takes the opportunity to ask for a kiss. Later, he admits that he outed her to his parents. Stephie is disappointed, but they stay on good terms.

### *The Legend of the Rarest Genders*

Stephie and Frank babysit Hamza while Alice and Feyrouz go on a date. When Hamza goes to bed, Stephie tells them a tongue-in-cheek fantasy bedtime story.

The story tells of civilisation thousands of years ago, when all genders lived in peace and the rarest genders were revered as sacred. Until one day, "one of the two common genders" seized power. The rarest genders were subjugated, and "the other common gender" was enslaved to increase the labour force.

If the rarest genders didn't remain invisible, they would be punished severely. They were forced to assimilate to a common gender arbitrarily assigned at birth. Members of the ruling gender were only allowed to express anger and violence, especially towards any perceived threat to their power.

After hundreds of years of fighting, the rarest genders succeeded in getting some human rights back. They were now protected against discrimination. This gave them enough power to overthrow the government and institute a trans dictatorship in which the most common genders were oppressed and enslaved.

After the story, Stephie and Frank hang out in the sitting room. Frank says that his mother didn't want the two of them to be together because Stephie wouldn't be able to bear children. Stephie is more upset by this than Frank expected, and she breaks down crying. He tries to suggest alternatives, but Stephie shushes him and shoves a pillow up her dress to simulate a bump. They cuddle together. In the tender moment, Stephie asks an alarmed Frank, "if I ever believed in the oppressive institution of marriage, would you marry me?"

## Characters

* Stephie
* Ciel
* Frank
* Eiríkur
* Raquel
* Milena
* Hamza

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/480697234/gender-liberation-and-warm-fuzzies?ref=shop\_home\_active\_2