Answer time: Cassandra Clare & representation

Sent by Anonymous :

I'm kinda really insanely worried about the trans character Anna Lightwood in the Last Hours (Clare's series) because I'm worried she's not going to be done right. I know it's difficult for a straight person to write queer/trans characters, and it's going to be more difficult to do it in a time period when it wasn't as common/accepted as it is now but after all the issues I have with Malec, I feel like Anna won't be done properly either.

Quite frankly, my advice for anyone planning to read The Last Hours is to brace themselves for transphobic writing. Plain and simple. I mean, as you point out, CC’s track record with queer characters is less than stellar as it is, I don’t expect her to write Anna properly… although hey, if she does at least it’ll be a great surprise for everyone involved.

Also on the one hand I get what you mean about the time period & such, but otoh Cassandra Clare writes fantasy. If she can include demons, werewolves, fairies and all the rest, then she can damn well include people who aren’t transphobic. In fact, she could also depict Shadowhunters as completely ok with gender identities that don’t quite fit the usual binary.

(Not to mention, of course, that even in harsh time period some people are lucky enough to find happiness. Not every queer story has to be a tragedy from A to Z.)