Assigned Male

***Assigned Male*** is a webcomic that tells the story of a trans girl named Stephie discovering and embracing her gender. The comic is written and drawn by Sophie Labelle, and is updated on Tuesday and Friday at assignedmale.com.

## Plot

### Early Stories

A genderfluid child named Ciel has difficulties with their mental health after their mother's suicide. In school, they're isolated until they meet the confident trans girl Stephie. They form a fast friendship.

My Dad Thinks I'm a Boy?! also covers Stephie's earlier childhood before the start of the comics. Her dad used to do a bad job of respecting Stephie's gender and Stephie had to be the grown-up.

### Meeting Frank

Stephie is paired with a boy named Frank for a class assignment. Initially, Frank is mean towards Stephie about her transness, and Stephie is hostile in return. But over time, Frank improves his attitude and educates himself, and their relationship becomes friendly, then romantic.

### School Trip

Stephie's class go on a school trip with controversial co-ed dorm rooms, meaning boys and girls sleep in the same dorms. Frank outs Stephie to his mother, not realising that it would make her uncomfortable. He eventually confesses his mistake. This arc is the first appearance of Eiríkur.

### Hallowe'en Camping

Stephie and her friends go camping on Hallowe'en with a plan to catch a unicorn. Frank feels that he doesn't fit in with Stephie's friends because he's a straight cis boy, but Stephie reassures him that he's welcome.

### Ciel and Eirikur

After getting to know Eirikur over time, Ciel develops a strong crush on him. They devise a ruse to ask Eirikur over to their house under the pretence of getting rid of spiders which have infested their room. Ciel is anxious but the two of them are happy together. Ultimately, Ciel musters up the courage to ask Eirikur out and he accepts.

## Characters

### Major characters

* Ciel
* Stephie
* Frank
* Eiríkur
* Virgil

### Minor characters

* Aidan
* Alice
* Brianna
* Feyrouz
* Hamza
* Madison
* Martin
* Milena
* Myrick
* Raquel
* Ryder
* Stella

## Publications

*Assigned Male* has had several publications, both anthologies of previous strips and original works.

### Original Comics

* ***Nail Polish***: a story told from Ciel's perspective about the early days of their friendship with Stephie.
* ***Help! Everything in my Life is Turning Gay***: a Halloween special about Frank joining Stephie and her friends on a camping trip to catch a unicorn.
* ***Ultra Chicken Fun-Time Super Special***: a story about Ciel's adventures with the Rubber Chicken.
* ***My Dad Thinks I'm a Boy?!***: a prequel to the comic about Stephie growing up while her father Martin fails to accept her transness.
* ***Dating Tips for Trans and Queer Weirdos***: the story of Ciel and Eiríkur's first date (contains some previously published material).
* ***Trans-Lucid**: A Netfiix Drama*: Ciel and the Rubber Chicken make a 'Netfiix' series about trans kids. The comic satirises documentaries about trans people by cis journalists.

### Novels

* ***Ciel: Comment Survivre aux Deux Prochaine Minutes***: the first in a series of upcoming novels told from Ciel's perspective. Released in French in 2018. The title translates to 'Ciel: How To Survive the Next Two Minutes.'
* ***Assigned Male novel 2***
* ***Assigned Male novel 3***

### Anthologies

* *Dear Cis People:* an anthology of early comics which are now of dubious canon. No longer on sale.
* ***The Assignment***: Comics #151 to #180 covering the storyline of Stephie and Frank's relationship, from their hostile first encounter through to their first date.
* ***Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies***: Comics #195 to #215 covering the school trip storyline, plus Comics #231 to #240 covering the storyline of Stephie and Frank babysitting Hamza, in which Stephie tells them a tongue-in-cheek fantasy story about 'the legend of the rarest genders.'
* ***The World Needs More Trans Cuties***
* ***Serious Trans Vibes***
* ***Nice Gender, Did Your Mom Pick It Out For You?***

## Trivia

* Though the webcomic is largely realistic and not fantastical in tone, there are some fantasy and sci-fi elements of dubious canon:
	+ Ciel has laser eye powers that they have only used once. This is shown in one of the early comics of questionable canon.
	+ Help! Everything in my Life is Turning Gay shows that at least one unicorn exists.

## References

1. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie\_Labelle
2. ↑ https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/517572609/pre-order-dating-tips-for-trans-and