OH YES! I'd freaking love to hear you rambling more about that stuff actually~ as another transformation appreciator, this subject makes my brain go "OOOOOO"~

(and as you've seen on my page before, transhumanism is something that also picked my interest uwu).

(“Beauty and the Beast” situation. Look, he was turned into a huge monster! What a tragedy!
My man… You’re a huge fucking monster? Make use of that shit!" - yeah exactly, me hating this movie when I was a teen because I was disappointed he turns back into a human >.>)

"Oh no but you lose YOUR HUMANITY" is always seen as something terrible

A sacrifice.
A wrong

JOJO I REJECT MY HUMANITY but portrayed as something JOYOUS, good, why someone would want to shed it

Ugh.
Happy, desired, affirming, empowering.
That is something to be thought of.

based post, not only are huge insects cool they are also hot and swag and great in most other ways, i would be a huge insect's best friend if i found one and they were nice to me

HELL YES GIVE US THAT THEMATIC THEORY JUICE

I'm reminded of a video I saw recently covering the classic Pinnochio Plotline and how that trope has evolved from its original source material of "You should always want to be the most human you can be even if society disagrees that you being yourself is a human uwu" to "Hey that original take is actually really fucked up, how about we instead learn to accept that Pinnochio IS a real boy as he already is and help him learn how to be himself more comfortably?"

I think that both of these ideas have a lot to do with the idea that, in much older literature, being physically human is a metaphor for conforming with social ideals, whereas modern storytelling is much more open to both (A) the concept of transhumanism and (B) confronting the traditions and systems that we as humans have taken for granted in our upbringing.

"To me, transformation was always so much more about self-realization, about attaining that ideal form or finally living the life you want to live."

This is it, right here! This is why I keep coming back to transformation stories and keep seeking them out. The joyous euphoria of becoming. Of finding yourself as more than you were after the transformation rather than less. It is empowering too, in a specifically queer way, to find value in the forms and shapes that society has told us over and over again are repulsive and monstrous. To strut in unabashed confidence with our fangs, scales, antenna, and fur!

I've also encountered the various versions of the "transformation is punishment" even from sections of the TF community. And while I can understand the appeal, it has never been the burning white core of what has drawn me to the exploration of transformation. Wonderful essay, thanks for writing!

This is extremely funny to me while also being a very good piece of writing
Thumbs up from a gal who loves TF both for personal reasons and as a literary device (and wishes she saw more positive incarnations)

Not to read one sentence and not process the rest but the "I felt betrayed" bit reminded me of how badly I felt betrayed by H.G. Wells Time Machine.

...Kafka's Metamorphosis actually came up once when I was discussing something else with my family and I actually tried to make a similar point.
It wasn't even that long ago now.

I won't say "smart minds think alike" because I don't actually like myself very much, but I will say "small world" and "you're pretty cool."

Ohh I’d love to read this bug tf story! In general we do need more positive TF stories around, while they’re not few they still feel sporadic? Hoping for a bigger wealth of stories in the future 🥺