How Y: The Last Man subverted familiar trans stories

Polygon

For her TV adaptation, showrunner Eliza Clark wanted to address the comic’s simplistic view of gender. “I wanted to make it clear early and often that Yorick is not the last man on earth, and that what sets him apart is his Y chromosome, not his maleness,” she says. That's why Y: The Last Man introduces other trans men, mostly minor characters Yorick meets on the road. Where Yorick has to remain masked or hidden in the comic, because the slightest glimpse of him pushes women into rage, lust, or a desire to exploit him, people on the show generally just shrug and assume he’s trans. “I think it’s a fascinating reversal of the types of stories we usually see,” says Clark, “with Yorick being questioned about his identity in ways he never has before.”