Fictional Librarian of the Month: Desiree in “Too Loud”

Desiree introduces herself in the episode “Slumber Party!”

Hello everyone! This continues from last month’s first “Fictional Librarian of the Month,” and features one fictional librarian every month, prioritizing those in currently shows, but also covering older shows, using entries from the “List of fictional libraries” from time to time. This month, I’d like to highlight Desiree in Too Loud, the only trans librarian I have ever written about on this blog. [1] Hopefully there are more trans librarians in the future I can write about!

About the librarian

She is one of the protagonists in the series, called by a different name in the series, [2] one which I noted when I wrote about the series earlier this year for I Love Libraries. This, is, except for the episode “Slumber Party” where Desiree is shown as a closeted trans woman. Anyway, Desiree is a protagonist in this series, as a librarian along with their sister, Sara, and later another librarian, Sarah.

Role in the story

In the series, which talks about the importance of friendship, togetherness, and acceptance, Desiree is right at home. She helps in the library every day, with patrons, problems, and other issues, anchoring the show. In the aforementioned episode, their friends are supportive, and has been described as positive representation which will “not only help fight stigma and help kids realise being trans is a positive thing, but also helps transgender kids and teenagers feel seen and supported.”

Does the librarian buck stereotypes?

In a major way since Desiree is talkative while many librarians in animated series are shushing people, smashing that stereotype into thousands of pieces. In another way, Desiree breaks stereotypes by being a trans librarian. In the episode “Slumber Party,” Desiree, saying it feels “really good as a girl,” meaning that she is a trans woman, as Colaleo confirmed. The friends at the party say that she is their friend no matter what, whether as Desiree or their other name. However, since Desiree is still in the closet, she presents as someone else for the majority of the series. [3]

Any similarity with librarians in other shows?

In the sense that Desiree is a White woman, yes, she has similarities with Kaisa in Hilda, the unnamed librarian in Steven Universe, and Francis Clara Censordoll in Moral Orel, to name a few series. However, Desiree is different because she is a trans woman, albeit a closeted one, so that makes Desiree’s character unique.

© 2021 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] There are a dearth of trans characters in animation, the positive ones including Professor Caraway and Snapdragon in High Guardian Spice, a trans woman, Zadie, in the final episode of Danger & Eggs, Jewelstar in one episode of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Natalie in Big Mouth, Marbles, Cha-Cha, Glitter, and Marshmellow in Bob’s Burgers, along with Barney in the upcoming DeadEndia.

[2] The name is Jeffrey but Desiree doesn’t prefer this name. Although pronouns are not known post-transition, I opted to choose she/her  pronouns here, as he/him pronouns are usually chosen in the show. Even though it isn’t completely known if Desiree would choose these after a transition, she/her pronouns are most likely.

[3] This connects with other episodes about the value of friendship, whether at a competition or at a birthday party.