“My Male Skin”: (self-)narratives of transmasculinities in fanfiction

Abstract

Transfic is a form of fanfiction that creates a variety of trans representations by imagining fictional(ised) trans narratives based on existing popular texts. Analysing transfic, specifically, fanfiction stories based on the BBC series Sherlock that imagine John Watson as a trans man, this paper is positioned at the intersections of (digital) media studies, fan(fiction) studies and trans studies. It examines transfic as a form of t 5rfcrans (self-)narrative which makes use of its digital platforms’ collective modes of storytelling to add trans to our cultural archives by making viable trans imaginings of popular characters and visible different narratives of transmasculinity, resulting in the emergence of trans(ing) spaces.