Disappointed to read author was pressurised to add a trans woman character to The Power

[BKingso]

The Power is a great feminist novel from a few years ago. I was looking forward to the tv series and I am enjoying it so far. Disappointed to see the author was apparently pressurised to add a trans woman to a story about teenage girls getting super powers.

www.cinemablend.com/interviews/the-power-author-talks-adding-a-transgender-character-to-her-story-and-introducing-more-diversity-into-the-series

There are so many token transwomen in movies and TV these days. Single Drunk Female is another example.

I just hope that the transwoman doesn't have the titular power - because otherwise the entire premise of the book / adaptation fails if men just need to say the magic words...!

That undermines the premise of the whole book

If men can have the power simply by having estrogen in their blood they would just have been stealing HRT right left and centre until they had the women under their control again

Oops, read the link now. What a shame that Naomi Alderman kowtowed to the usual suspects and in doing so eviscerated, er, the power of her own novel.

You beat me to it. The power would also be available to all men. They'd just take hormones to gain dominant again.

It would ruin the whole fucking point!I

I was annoyed when I watched the first episodes to discover a man in with the nuns.

Why do they have to fiddle with things?

The quote in the article is so strange as well... it ends with "so transwomen are women".

That doesn't really follow.. They are women, because you altered the storyline of your sci fi/ fantasy fiction... and fictional transwomen get magical powers in a made up story, and now that proves something?

It reads to me like Naomi Alderman was really scared of possible backlash and hurried to appease certain pressure groups.

I watched the first 4 episodes yesterday, which character was the man?

Sister Maria the kindly nun.

You know what? When I first her (well him now) I thought "she looks masculine". Then I was annoyed with myself for even thinking it. The trans crap has just gotten to me. Seems like my first instinct was right! Can't believe I didn't realise!

I was even thinking to myself "oh I hope they don't shoehorn a transwoman character into this" so I was kind of looking out for it. At the end of ep 4 when sister Maria is saying how the main nun is really progressive and saved her when she was disowned it's hinted really strongly Sis Maria was born male. Then I googled it and found that article.

I'm now laughing at the idea of all the men running around scoffing HRT, sticking mirena coils up their bums etc to try to get enough female hormones to gain The Power. Ridiculous

God, I just thought maybe she was gay! It never even occurred to me.🙄

😂

It's also ridiculous because her point about intersex people in the books is that someone who thought they were a boy developed the power because of their chromosomes. It was entirely chromosome based.

Now apparently the power can distinguish between transmen and someone intersex.

Its so lazy having a transwoman who mysteriously has the power anyway. It would have been far more interesting to have a transman who had to decided between living as a man or having the power.

If they wanted to remain truer to source, and tick the diversity box then a transman would've been more appropriate.

(Yes I know this would've caused much trantrums and tears by pointing out it's because they are female that they have powers despite calling themselves a man)

And Bugger! I forgot to change from a joke user name! Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh

Now I am a Middle aged bad tempered woman!

But I'm also a Boiled beetle!!!!!!!!!!

If HRT gives men the power they must have changed how one of the stories ends or it will seem completely irrelevant.

Shame. I enjoyed the book. VOX would be an interesting adaptation, the author seems pretty sensible.

I'm really pissed off about this. It changes the whole point of the book. But we don't want to upset the menz by leaving them out of the women-centred story. The author has sold out.

It’s a while since I read it, but I don’t remember anything in the book about post menopause women not having the Power if it’s activated in them? If it’s about “estrogen in the body” then they shouldn’t.

How very stupid and disappointing

That article didn’t make me feel she was pressurised into adding a trans character - the implication is that she was very happy to do it. I agree it changes the story though which is all about biological difference. It would be much more powerful to include a trans woman who doesn’t have the power (or a trans man who does). The character could still be sympathetic and interesting and tick the diversity box without changing the basic premise of the plot. Especially if it was a character who “passed” and was then outed. That could be a really interesting new subplot.

I think this is sort of a modern-day "Bechdel test".

Does a work specifically about women manage to avoid shoehorning in something nonsensical to appease genderologists that contradicts the main logic/argument/theme?

It seems quite hard to pass these days.

I can’t imagine any author would say they were pressurised to include a TW character in a TV adaptation - career suicide

if NA has wanted a TW in her novel she we have included one but she didn’t. Strange how all of a sudden it’s reeeaaally important to include a man

She doesn’t suggest she was pressurised. Just another dumb handmaiden.

Does the nun get the power? I haven't read the article, sorry! If so, that's completely ruined the story!

I'm so sick of the constant boundary pushing. We're meant to believe that men can be women, mothers and now nuns?! I know its sci-fi but just fuck off!

I really enjoyed episode one but I'm not sure I want to watch the rest knowing they've shoe-horned a man in.

And a word to the author - by suggesting that there's a physical basis for being a woman, you are a t*rf. Good luck when the online "activists" come for you.