Ask Ms. Jessica Issue 53 – Transgender mutants and passing (Patreon)

(The content for Ask Ms. Jessica comes from real questions from real people sent to AskMsJessica@gmail.com)

Dear Ms. Jessica:

I'm MTF transgender with a latent mutant gene that hasn't activated yet. I'm aware of the research that trans women have a similar incidence of mutations as cis women, and let me tell you, that came as an odd relief! My question is a bit more vain, though: as a trans woman who currently doesn't pass in the slightest, is there enough evidence to indicate that mutation will help matters when mine finally triggers?

I wouldn’t consider your question vain. Most people with a mutant gene are concerned about what they will look like after a mutation.

As for whether or not it will help you pass… well that depends… pass for what? If you are concerned with passing as a cic-AFAB female then, yes, mutations can help with that. In general, mutations tend to create a sort of accentuation of secondary sexual characteristics. We theorize this is because they are somehow linked with the same hormones that make these characteristics appear.

I’m not going to say it’s guaranteed though. As I mentioned before, mutations aren’t really “smart.” They are triggered by random pieces of our junk DNA being read and interpreted as actual genetic code. So you could end up with a more female body. You could end up with a body that doesn’t even look human and has no sexual characteristics male or female. You could end up with a body that isn’t even solid, at which point you could take whatever form you wanted, provided you had control over your shape.

There’s just not an easy way to tell. I will say chances are you will look more feminine post mutation. However, I will also say that, it’s probably not your biggest concern. I’m not a professor of sociology, but people tend not to look at secondary sex characteristics all that much in mutants. They tend to be focused much more on, you know, the mutation than anything else.

As a bit of reassurance, think of it this way. I’ve seen the porn sites. All those futa-girl pics? Do you think they are all cis-females who grew a penis? Hardly. While, yes, this is a mutation that can happen, many of them are just trans-females who already had a penis, whose feminine characteristics were accentuated and/or mutated by their mutation. Of course, this can sometimes cause the penis to grow as well, being a sexual characteristic linked with hormones. That’s why you rarely see mutants with small penises.