The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1

Sandman takes several opportunities to explore the fluidity of gender and the choice inherent in gender identity. The clearest example of this is Desire, a genderfluid character who can appear as male, female, or non-binary. Their personality doesn’t change with their gender, and they are always a personification of intense desire. Desire is never questioned for their gender choices but addressed by name or neutral pronouns. The other Endless refer to Desire as “Sister-Brother.” This is an effective narrative choice because it shows that the nature of desire transcends gender. Unlike many non-binary, genderfluid, or transgender characters in literature who are shown at a disadvantage, Desire is empowered by their ability to move freely between gender identities.

Other characters who are defined by their gender identities are Hal and Wanda. Hal is a drag queen who generally identifies as male but dresses as a woman to perform and takes on the name Dolly. In contrast to Desire and Wanda, he accepts two distinctive core identities. Wanda appears later as a transgender woman who has completely thrown off her previous male identity and settled on one truth. She is confident in her self-knowledge; however, lines are drawn between her and the other women when she’s unable to take part in the drawing down the moon ritual with Thessaly and the others.