Children’s Cartoon Adds a ‘Non-Binary, Gender-Fluid’ Character Voiced by a Transgender Activist (VIDEO)
A highly-popular Netflix children’s cartoon is introducing a character that is being described as non-binary, who can shift genders.
“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” is a reboot of the popular 1980s fantasy cartoon, which was itself a spinoff of the cartoon “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.” In this iteration, a character named Adora uses a magical sword to become “She-Ra,” and fight the forces of evil.
The new version of “She-Ra,” which begins its fourth season on November 4, features themes that are more than just “girl power,” however. It has embraced an aggressive LGBTQ agenda. In fact, queer-activist website Them.us, in an article by Mey Rude, called the cartoon “the magically queer cartoon we need right now.”
Double Trouble
For the new season, “She-Ra” will introduce a new character called Double Trouble. Described as a shape-shifting mercenary, Double Trouble is non-binary, and does not have a set gender. However, the elf-like character exhibits decidedly feminine characteristics, and no masculine qualities.
Jacob Tobia, Genderqueer Activist
Double Trouble is voiced by Jacob Tobia, an LGBTQ activist that identifies himself as “genderqueer” and “non-binary” in an article in Allure. Although born male, Tobia identifies himself using “they” pronouns, saying “they” has “gender….oozing everywhere.”
Tobia retweeted this video from the official She-Ra Twitter account, in which he announces his “non-binary” character.
In addition, “She-Ra’s” creator and showrunner, Noelle Stevenson, self-identifies as “openly queer.” She is not only an activist for queer culture, she has written for a number of Disney animated shows, including “DuckTales,” “Lego Star Wars,” Tangled: The Series,” and “Big Hero Six: The Series.”
As part of Stevenson’s worldview, “She-Ra” features various characters of varying sexualities including an openly lesbian couple. The entire writing staff is female, and the show’s male characters though adventurous, are thoroughly emasculated, and are characterized as “tender” and “in touch with their feelings.” None of the male characters in the cartoon feature the overly-masculine characteristics of the He-Man characters who inspired them.
An LGBTQ Agenda
According to Rude’s article on Them.us, Stevenson “has been telling queer stories for years. Those influences shine through. She-Ra is about girls of different ethnicities, sizes, sexualities, and personalities.”
One of the main characters, a black teenage boy named Bow, is infatuated with another male character. In the second season of the show, it is revealed that Bow has two dads.
Them.us describes how Bow is portrayed in the cartoon.
Bow is absolutely enamored with the only other good guy, Sea Hawk, staring and shrieking in excitement whenever the adventurer does something flashy. When Sea Hawk later rescues him, Bow swoons in his arms in the traditional rescued-damsel pose. None of this seems out of place in the world of She-Ra, where queerness is normalized rather than othered.
In addition, the article asserts that kids shouldn’t be afraid of physical intimacy with kids of other genders. “Adora, Gimmer, and Bow are close friends, and there are times when they cuddle, have sleepovers, and sit in a sauna together,” Rude says. “She-Ra shows us that a variety of physical intimacies are healthy and good for kids of all genders together.”
The same article includes this description depicts how the LGBTQ lifestyle is a main part of the “She-Ra” world.
In one wildly gay episode, Adora, Bow, and Glimmer go to a dance called the Princess Prom; it ends up being one of the queerest scenes in animation history. It’s completely normal for a girl to take another girl to the Princess Prom. In fact, She-Ra creates a world in which it would be weird to see a Princess Prom without a bunch of LGBTQ+ couples and an entire galaxy of gender expressions.
Stevenson Discusses Her Agenda
In this interview, Stevenson discusses portraying LGBTQ characters as “normal” in the world of She-Ra.
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