Transgender advocates annoyed as trailer hits for series about plague that kills every mammal with Y chromosome — except one man

The first trailer was released this week for a TV adaptation of a popular comic book series titled, "Y: The Last Man" — and it's raising the ire of transgender advocates.

Why?

As you might already be able to tell, the series title itself might be cause for anger with the transgender community — but it's even deeper than that.

The premise is that a plague kills every mammal on Earth with a Y chromosome, Rolling Stone reported.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

That is, except for one human named Yorick and his pet monkey Ampersand, the magazine added.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

And the only others left are the non-Y folk:

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Getting the picture, now?

In other words, what about transgender men — i.e., biological women who identify as men and would have survived the plague?

And perhaps more importantly to trans peeps and their allies: What about transgender women — i.e., biological men who identify as women, and whose rallying cry has always been "transgender women are women!" even though they wouldn't have survived the plague?

Trans male character reportedly written in

Slash Film reported back in 2019 that there was a casting call for a transgender male character for the screen adaptation of "Y: The Last Man," even though there were no transgender characters in the comic book series that ran from 2002 to 2008 — several years before transgender issues became a cultural touchstone.

Slash Film said it reached out to FX — which is taking on the series — for comment on the reported transgender male character but didn't receive a response.

But what about transgender women?

Even if there is a transgender male character in the series, it would seem "Y: The Last Man" still might face a problem with the trans community as there's no way transgender women could survive since they have Y chromosomes.

How are folks reacting?

As you might guess, a number of Twitter users are sounding off about the issue:

• "Wait isn't the specific premise of Y THE LAST MAN that the man-killing virus is actually one that targets people with Y chromosomes?" one commenter wondered. "If that's the case then they're not allowed to say 'a world without cisgender men' unless they also say 'or trans women.' I demand honesty."
• "Maybe a better title would be 'Y: the last man except for all the trans men who are doing just fine thank you very much, so maybe the last cis man but genetics are complicated,'" another user quipped.
• "I've heard they at one point had a transgender man in the cast (as trans men survive because they don't have a Y chromosome)," one commenter said. "But like….. still called 'The Last Man,' and you are basically saying trans men aren't men."
• "Y The Last Man is extremely dated and brings up a lot of uncomfortable questions about trans people that cannot be answered in a short form piece of fiction that isn't specifically about answering those questions," another user wrote. "It's going to be a mess."

Here's the trailer for the series, which premieres Sept. 13 and will stream on FX on Hulu:

Y: The Last Man | Official Trailer - Season 1 | FXyoutu.be