{{Short description|2013 webcomic}} {{Infobox comic strip | title = Trans Girl Next Door | image = Trans Girl Next Door 2-panel strip.png | caption = Wu's character checking her tuck | author = Kylie Summer Wu | current = | url = http://www.transgirlnextdoor.com/ | status = Ongoing | first = [http://www.transgirlnextdoor.com/archive/2013/11 November 2013] | syndicate = | publisher = | genre = Autobiography, LGBT }} '''''Trans Girl Next Door''''' is an autobiographical webcomic by Kylie Summer Wu, documenting her transition as a transgender woman. Wu started her webcomic shortly after starting her transition in 2013 in order to express and process her feelings. ''Trans Girl Next Door'' covers Wu's transition, her love life, and the more mundane parts of her life. Wu was listed in the Trans 100 in 2015 for her webcomic.
==Synopsis== ''Trans Girl Next Door'' is a slice-of-life series of episodic comic strips documenting Wu's life as a young transgender California surfer girl. Besides documenting Wu's gender transition, the webcomic also covers her love life as well as more mundane aspects of life. Though the webcomic deals with topics such as body dysmorphia, anti-transgender bills, discrimination, and body issues, it does so via humor.<ref name=ComicsAlliance>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=http://comicsalliance.com/transgirlnextdoor-readers-guide/|website=ComicsAlliance|title=Surf, Sun, and the California Sea: Should You Be Reading 'TransGirlNextDoor'?|last=Marie|first=Tara|date=2016-06-13}}</ref> Wu doesn't shy away from tragic stories that lack a funny angle; after the death of Leelah Alcorn in 2014, Wu wrote about how devastating she found the situation.<ref name=MTV>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2233600/trans-girl-next-door-rise-of-lgbt-comics/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822113737/http://www.mtv.com/news/2233600/trans-girl-next-door-rise-of-lgbt-comics/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 22, 2015|website=MTV.com|title=How 'Trans Girl Next Door' and Other LGBT Comics are Actually Saving Kids' Lives|last=Joseph|first=Channing|date=2015-08-21}}</ref> Regardless, ''Autostraddle'' described ''Trans Girl Next Door'' as "sugary sweet, almost to the point of being saccharine, but not quite there."<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=https://www.autostraddle.com/drawn-to-comics-meet-the-trans-girl-next-door-250813/|website=Autostraddle|title=Drawn to Comics: Meet the "Trans Girl Next Door!"|author=Mey|date=2014-08-19}}</ref>
==Development== Kylie Wu grew up in China and moved to the Washington D.C. metro area as a teenager, before moving again to West Los Angeles. Here, she went to CalArts and to study Character Animation. Wu stated that the various short comedy webcomics available to her inspired her to create her own, and that her undiagnosed ADHD encourages her to keep her own comic strips short. ''Trans Girl Next Door'' is posted primarily on microblogging website Tumblr, which Wu stated she found easy to use.<ref name=PrideSource>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=http://www.pridesource.com/guidearticle.html?article=68731|website=PrideSource|title='Trans Girl Next Door' Documents Artist's Transition|last=Petkus|first=Shelby Clark|date=2014-10-30}}</ref> Wu began her gender transition shortly before launching her webcomic. In an interview with ''Bustle.com'', Wu stated that after she started her transition, she "naturally gravitated towards drawing comics to have a creative outlet to express myself and process all my feelings."<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/122706-this-comic-strip-is-a-hilarious-peek-into-the-life-of-a-trans-woman|website=Bustle.com|title=This Comic Strip Is A Hilarious Peek Into The Life Of A Trans Woman|last=McGowan|first=Emma|date=2015-11-13}}</ref> After ''Trans Girl Next Door'' launched in late 2013, the webcomic has gained a large fanbase and it has been translated in various languages.<ref name=MTV />
In 2014, Wu stated that she was planning to publish a physical release of her webcomic in the form of a comic book and that she would like to create animated shorts as well, though she noted that the latter would use up a large amount of time and that paying rent came first.<ref name=PrideSource /> Wu is financially supported through Patreon.<ref name=ComicsAlliance />
==Impact== In 2015, Kylie Wu was listed in the Trans 100<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2015/3/30/2015-trans-100-list-announced|website=Out.com|title=2015 Trans 100 List Announced|last=McDonald|first=James|date=2015-03-30}}</ref> and was listed by ''Elite Daily'' as among "prominent millennials making a difference in the transgender community."<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=http://elitedaily.com/news/world/transgender-community/1025793/|website=Elite Daily|title=10 Prominent Millennials Making A Difference In The Transgender Community|last=Isaad|first=Virginia|date=2015-05-14}}</ref> ''Trans Girl Next Door'' was syndicated in ''SF Weekly'' in 2016 as part of Transgender Awareness Month.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-07-04|url=http://www.sfweekly.com/news/notes-from-the-intersection/notes-intersection-celebrating-trans-lives-cartoons/|website=SF Weekly|title=Notes From the Intersection: On Trans Lives (and Cartoons!)|last=Joseph|first=Channing|date=2016-11-03}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.transgirlnextdoor.com/}}
Category:2010s webcomics Category:2010s LGBTQ literature Category:2013 webcomic debuts Category:Autobiographical webcomics Category:LGBTQ-related webcomics Category:Transgender-related comics Category:2013 LGBTQ-related literary works