Alysia Yeoh
Gender: Transgender Woman
Orientation: Bisexual
Publisher: DC
Character Type: Secondary
Alignment: Good
Summary: In 2014, Alysia Yeoh made history as "the first major transgender character written in a contemporary context in a mainstream comic book." Gail Simone's treatment of Yeoh has been praised for its authenticity. In Autostraddle, the trans comic journalist Mey writes, "This is no token trans character. She is opinionated, caring, compelling and three dimensional."
Database Links: ComicVine, DC Wiki, Gay League
Important Issues: In Batgirl #19, Alysia Yeoh tells Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) that she is transgender. In Batgirl #45, Alysia marries her girlfriend Jo.
While it’s nice to imagine a magic potion or spell that could change my body, that’s not what my life is actually like. I can’t relate to that. It’s important not just to have characters that challenge ideas about gender and sex, but to also have them in realistic settings (or as realistic a setting you can have in the Batman universe). (Read more)
Mey, "Supergirls like us: Batgirl's Alysia Yeoh is Trans," Autostraddle, April 11, 2013.
The reveal was well accepted and widely reported on at the time as the first major trans character but it didn't change anything in the comic as they kept portraying Alysia as a strong supporting character in Barbara's story she had been before. The story gives us the fact she is trans as an aspect of her personality but doesn't dwell on her past like most narratives do about trans characters, which can be a nice change of pace. (Read more)
Nicole, "A tale of two trans women: Marvel & DC," Kinja.Com, October 30, 2015.
What makes her [Alicia's] coming out process so powerful is that it begins with a conversation: 'There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while. I'm transgender, Barbara.' Babs and Alysia's conversation that is inescapable for every gender variant person: that we must tell someone in our lives that we are not what they might think of as 'normal' or that we may not fit into their potentially limited worldview. It is a gut wrenching decision to make, because no matter how well you think you may know someone, there is always the possibility that they might reject you, possibly even attack you, or at worst kill you. (Read more)
J. Skyler, "The Million Dollar Debut of Alysia Yeoh," Comicosity, April 11, 2013.