The World Needs More Trans Cuties

***The World Needs More Trans Cuties*** is an anthology of the webcomic *Assigned Male*, written and illustrated by Sophie Labelle. It includes several episodic comics and two small arcs: one of Frank having Stephie over to his house and a Winter Solstice sleepover arc.

## Synopsis

*In this uplifting collection of strips from the webcomic Assigned Male, Stephie and her boyfriend Frank are having a movie night, Ciel and their brother Virgil have philosophical discussions in their backyard, and Ciel invites all of their friends to celebrate the Winter Solstice at their house.*

Includes the mythological origin story of Ciel's rubber chicken, exclusive to this book!

## Plot

Some boys in the school pick on Frank for dating Stephie and insult her transness. He gets into a fight with them over it and ends up getting his face bruised. He then has Stephie over to his house. He hugs her for five minutes straight and doesn't tell her what's wrong; he doesn't want her to feel bad or take the blame. So, instead, he says he hurt himself saving a kitten that was falling from a tree.

Stephie has dinner with Frank's family. Frank's mother misgenders her a lot. Stephie takes it in her stride but Frank is distressed. Afterwards, Stephie finds a doll belonging to Frank's little sister. She recalls how she couldn't play with a doll without hiding when she was younger.

Another day, Stephie and Frank go around to Ciel's house for a sleepover party to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Ciel seems very anxious that Stephie and Frank will find them "the most boring person alive" so Stephie spends the rest of the evening passively comforting them and being affectionate. So, when Eiríkur arrives, Stephie jokingly says that he'll "have to *fight* to sit next to Ciel because today, they're all *mine.*"Frank whispers to Stephie that her behaviour is making him jealous; Stephie dryly points out that this is likely because "toxic masculinity punishes boys for experiencing any form of physical proximity that isn't violent or sexual." So, all four of them pile in on top of each other. Frank seems surprised and pleased.

When Stephie is mock-territorial, Ciel bashfully insists that Eiríkur and they aren't a couple. During the pile-up, Ciel and Eiríkur share an affectionate look. After, they exchange presents. Eiríkur gives Ciel a rubber chicken, which Ciel immediately falls in love with.

Then Frank and Stephie exchange presents. Frank gives Stephie a doll based on what she said previously. Stephie embraces him tearfully.

The book concludes with Stephie, Ciel, and Eiríkur sharing their insecurities. They take comfort in being vulnerable. Ciel says that they're glad the three of them are friends.

## Characters

* Stephie
* Ciel
* Frank
* Eiríkur
* Virgil

## Trivia

* This anthology also contains a couple of pages with Ciel and Virgil. It's shown that the two siblings are quite close; Virgil feels protective of Ciel and thinks of them as "a bit like my sister." Ciel also helps Virgil to understand gender better and decide that he is definitely not a trans girl. Virgil is later seen wearing a dress; Ciel remarks that "he just likes to steal my stuff."
* One page includes a background character in a supermarket with a flamboyant uniform and comical ginger moustache purchasing four large boxes of corn dogs.
* Frank refers to his present as a "Solstice gift," which indicates he is Muslim.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/546375521/the-world-needs-more-trans-cuties-comics?ref=shop\_home\_feat\_4