Sophie Labelle
Sophie Labelle | |
---|---|
Born | 22 April 1988 |
Nationality | Canadian |
Area(s) | Cartoonist |
Notable works | Assigned Male |
www |
Sophie Labelle (born 22 April 1988)[1] is a Canadian[2][3] cartoonist, public speaker, and writer. She is known for her webcomic Assigned Male, which draws upon her experiences as a trans girl and woman.[2][4] She is an activist in the transgender rights movement, and speaks on the subjects of trans history and transfeminism.[5][6]
Early life
Labelle grew up in rural Quebec, near Châteauguay.[3] She worked as an elementary school teacher, and was the camp coordinator for Gender Creative Kids Canada.[7][8][9]
Career
Labelle is the author and illustrator of Assigned Male, a webcomic and series of zines addressing issues of gender norms and privilege. It features the character of 11-year-old Stephie, a trans girl discovering and embracing her gender.[9][2][5] Labelle said that while working with transgender children, she "noticed how negative everything we tell them about their own body is, so I wanted to create a character that could respond to all those horrible things trans kids hear all the time."[5] She has made educational guides to go along with the comics, promoting safer spaces for trans youth.[5] The Washington Blade called the webcomic "hilarious" and said it shows transgender humour can be funny without being offensive.[10]
Labelle has written several books and zines about gender identity and expression, including The Genderific Coloring Book, A Girl Like Any Other, Ciel at Camp Fabulous, and Gender Euphoria.[11][12] She wrote the foreword to Tikva Wolf's book Ask me about Polyamory: The Best of Kimchi Cuddles.[13][9] She has created trans-centered sex education materials for Trans Student Educational Resources.[3][14]
In May 2017 Labelle released the comic book Dating Tips for Trans and Queer Weirdos. A scheduled launch at the bookstore Venus Envy in Halifax was cancelled after threats were made against both her and the store. She received death threats, her home address was posted in online forums, and her web site and social media accounts were compromised (which she temporarily took offline).[15][16] In the wake of the harassment, Labelle advocated for Canadian Bill C-16 to protect gender identity and expression, and for stronger laws against cyberbullying.[17]
Books
Title | Type | Languages | Description | # of pages | Color | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
My Dad Thinks I'm a Boy?! | children's book | English, French | My Dad Thinks I'm a Boy?! is a prequel to the webcomic Assigned Male. The book is about the relationship between Stephie and her father Martin and deals with how trans children have to deal with the ignorance and insensitivity of their parents. | 36 | color | |
Nail Polish | comic book | English, French | Nail Polish is set at the beginning of the comic series, when Stephie and Ciel met each other.
As the characters explore their femininity, they learn to care for each other, empowering themselves along the way. |
20 | monochrome | |
The Assignment | comic anthology | English, French | The Assignment is an anthology of the webcomic Assigned Male. It covers the beginning of Stephie and Frank's relationship and how they first met. | 32 | color | |
Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies | comic anthology | English, French | Gender Liberation and Warm Fuzzies (followed by The Legend of the Rarest Genders) follows the adventures of trans 12 year old Stephie, as she goes on a field trip with her classmates. The decision to make the dorms co-ed brings up so much drama that the gender binary almost ends up colliding into itself. It is also when we see Stephie and Frank's relationship grow into something more meaningful. | 36 | color | |
Help! Everything in My Life is Turning GAY! | comic book | English, French, German | In this Halloween special of the webcomic Assigned Male, Frank ponders upon the effect his girlfriend Stephie has on his life while they go on a unicorn watching trip along with two other friends. | 28 | color | |
The World Needs More Trans Cuties | comic book | English, French | The World Needs More Trans Cuties includes several episodic comics and two small arcs: one of Frank having Stephie over to his house and a Winter Solstice sleepover arc. | 24 | color | |
Ultra Chicken Fun-Time Super Special | comic book | English, French | The exclusive adventures of everyone's favourite rubber chicken and their sidekick Ciel!! | 20 | black and white | |
Dating Tips for Trans and Queer Weirdos | comic book | English, French | Dating Tips for Trans and Queer Weirdos is about Ciel and Eiríkur's first date. | 24 | color | |
Serious Trans Vibes | comic book | English, French | Serious Trans Vibes is a compilation of short comics that follow Stephie and her friends. It includes major development for characters like Ciel and Frank, and gives a bit more backstory on the characters and why they are the way they are. | N/A | color | |
Nice Gender! Did Your Mom Pick it Out for You? | comic book | English, French | color | |||
Trans-Lucid: A Netfiix Drama | comic book | English, French | color | |||
A Girl Like Any Other | children's book | English, French | ||||
Add Your Own Colors to the Rainbow! | coloring book | English, French, German | black and white | |||
The Genderiffic Colouring Book | coloring book | English, French, German | black and white | |||
Ciel | novel | French, English | Ciel is a gender non-conforming high-school student, who with her friend Sophie, a trans girl, is trying to navigate the political and social dynamic of being a queer teen. | 186 | 2020 |
References
- ^ Labelle, Sophie (22 April 2019). "Guess what! April 22nd is my birthday. Next week I'm also moving in with my fiance, so I added a bunch of kitchen and art stuff on my Amazon wish list in case you wanted to help out 😊 🥰😘". Retrieved 8 January 2021 – via Facebook.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Ennis, Dawn (16 January 2016). "Is This Golden Globes Comic in the L.A. Times Transphobic?". The Advocate. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ a b c McGillis, Ian (7 April 2017). "Quebec comics artist Sophie Labelle draws attention to trans issues". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ Caragay-Cook, Jonathan (21 March 2017). "One Comic At a Time". The Link. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Interview with Assigned Male creator: Sophie Labelle". Gay Central Valley. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ Hodgins, Jenna (13 October 2015). "Being transgender, web comics and mini-muffins: a chat with cartoonist Sophie Labelle". Student Independent News. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ Smith, Sue (3 June 2014). "New transgender camp in Quebec". CBC Radio One. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ Yates, Jeff (6 March 2015). "Sophie Labelle: "Ce n'est pas parce qu'on est en 2015 que c'est réglé"". Métro (in Canadian French). Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "8 Comics That Remind Us to Throw Out the Gender Binary". Everyday Feminism. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ Chase, Suzi (12 March 2016). "Tracy Morgan's transphobic Oscar spoof". Washington Blade. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "Gender-neutral coloring book helps kids understand stereotypes". Gay Star News. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Author: Sophie Labelle". Michael C. Weidemann LGBT Library Catalog. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ Wolf, Tikva (2016). Ask Me About Polyamory: The Best of Kimchi Cuddles. Thorntree Press LLC. ISBN 9780996460125.
- ^ "Trans-Centered Sex Ed". Trans Student Educational Resources. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ d'Entremont, Yvette (18 May 2017). "Trans cartoonist forced to cancel Halifax book launch 'overwhelmed' by community support". Toronto Metro. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ Colley, Sherri Borden (19 May 2017). "Threats force cancellation of trans cartoonist's Halifax book launch". CBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- ^ Beaumont, Hilary (19 May 2017). "This Canadian cartoonist is just the latest target of anti-transgender trolls". Vice. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
External links
- 1988 births
- Artists from Montreal
- Canadian cartoonists
- Canadian women cartoonists
- Canadian feminists
- Canadian webcomic creators
- 21st-century Canadian women writers
- Canadian female comics artists
- Female comics writers
- LGBT comics creators
- LGBT rights activists from Canada
- Living people
- Transfeminists
- Transgender rights activists
- Transgender and transsexual artists
- Transgender and transsexual women
- Transgender and transsexual writers
- Writers from Montreal
- LGBT writers from Canada
- Canadian comics writers