Yeah, I know, making this video is basically akin to committing Task Force X,
but it really needs to be said. Naoto Shirogane is not trans. Now put down
the pitchfork and actually listen as I explain why.
Naoto's story is that she's a young detective, who isn't taken seriously because of her age (sixteen)
and her gender (female). That she is female isn't revealed until months after her introduction,
when her Shadow reveals that she is female and intends to turn her other self male.
Some people take this to mean that Naoto desires to be male. This is, in fact,
not the case. She thinks that being male would make her job easier, being a woman in
a male-dominated field as she is. It's why she pretends to be male up until her real gender is
revealed and spreads through the town. Yes, she continues using male honorifics and clothing,
but crossdressers aren't necessarily trans. Would you describe a drag queen as trans if
they didn't outright identify as such? I bloody well hope not. And Naoto identifies as female.
She says as much when she accepts her Shadow, and at the conclusion of her Social Link.
Yukiko asks if she doesn't like being a girl and she explains that she thought she needed
to be male to be treated fairly at work. She hid that she is female to avoid her sex being used
against her the way her age is. She never once expresses a genuine desire to go through gender
reassignment. I felt that the game was quite clear on this. But a lot of people still insist
that Naoto genuinely desires to be male, when there is nothing in the game to support that.
Having headcanon is fine. I personally don't care for headcanons that actively defy the
canonical text, but it's generally harmless, so whatever. But when you get angry that people don't
subscribe to your headcanon, especially if they don't because the work itself goes against it,
and even more especially if you then attack people over it and throw out serious accusations such
as "transphobe", you are scum. You are scum. The game flat-out tells you you're wrong, and again,
if you like to think Naoto is trans and write fanfiction along those lines, that is okay. But
you need to accept that the game not only does not support your headcanon, it actively opposes it.
At least with Kanji, I get how someone can interpret him as being bisexual, even though
I personally don't. I mean, he's into Naoto so he certainly isn't gay. But what I personally
took away was that his Shadow represents: his fear that people will think he's gay because of
his traditionally feminine hobby, fear that he is gay because that's "not manly" by his warped
understanding of the concept, or that people already think he's gay since the Midnight Channel
is established as showing what people want/expect to see via the Namatame scene. I believe Kanji
when he says he's not into dudes, having now accepted that being a feminine man doesn't
make him gay just because that's the stereotype. I also think there is genuinely more of a case to
be made for Yosuke being into guys, based on cut content and how hard he projects around Kanji.
But still, I think there is enough room for interpretation there to where someone can
come away from the game and think Kanji is into dudes. Hell, even Troy Baker once said
that's how he viewed the matter, and he voiced the character in multiple games.
There's a reason Naoto and Kanji make such a cute couple. It's not just because he's adorable when
he's crushing on her, or "brains and brawn", or that aesthetic of a huge guy with a tiny girl.
Both struggle with expectations of their gender. Kanji struggles to accept that he
likes traditionally feminine hobbies and that that's okay, while Naoto struggles with wanting
to enter a male-dominated field where she is likely to not be taken seriously due to her sex.
Their struggles are about coming to terms with their respective "feminine" sides and
accepting them as part of who they are. And the prospect that the struggles they can both relate
to can enable them to help each other through them is what makes them such a good pairing.
But the game outright tells you that Naoto is not trans,
and it is not transphobic for the game to say this, nor for someone else to.
I mean, even putting aside what she fucking tells you herself,
you can see it from her Persona evolution, going from one that looks like a young boy, to an adult,
to a very similar adult with long, flowing hair. This reflects her arc as she matures from her
childish notions of what a detective is supposed to be, and then comes to accept and embrace her
gender. If she was supposed to be trans and thus viewed her true gender as male, then why would her
final Persona be more feminine? If she was meant to be trans, this would be a big fucking problem.
But, as is, this Persona progression symbolizes her no longer letting society choose what she has
to be. She forced herself to pretend to be male because she thought, "that's what a detective
needs to be," but thanks to her new friends, she realizes that she doesn't need to be anything but
herself. This is then reflected by her appearances in the Golden Epilogue and Dancing All Night,
where she is dressed in a more feminine manner; particularly with her dancing outfit,
which is basically a more feminine take on her summer casual clothes.
So, in a way, Naoto actually does work as a trans metaphor... but for trans women, not trans men.
Naoto is actually representation for an even less represented group: people who think transitioning
is what they need when it really isn't. Now I've had enough experience talking about controversial
topics to know that people don't actually pay attention and throw out accusations that
are beyond baseless and, in fact, debunked by the argument itself, so pay close attention when I say
that yes, there are people who are much happier after they transition. Transitioning is okay.
However, it is disgusting and hypocritical to refuse to acknowledge that there are people who
think that transitioning is the solution to their problems, go through with it,
and then come to regret it later. Naoto would fall into this camp if she did transition to male.
I consulted a friend about this, actually. She is trans herself, so she seemed a good source to
make sure I was on the right track with all this. I won't be naming this person because... well, you
know what this video about. From premise alone, you can pick out two or three different groups
that might opt for some unwarranted harassment and I refuse to give those cunts a target.
Now, my friend made an interesting observation about Naoto. She said that Naoto isn't a character
who represents the struggles of trans people. She actually represents sexism in the workplace.
She is so deathly afraid of being treated unfairly because of her gender, that it
might ruin her prospects of pursuing her dream career, that she forces herself to be something
she's not for the sake of others. In that way, her struggle does reflect that of trans people,
who don't feel like the sex they were born with, but might go on suppressing that side
of themselves and present themselves as cis just to please a society that they're afraid of. The
whole Naoto conversation not only actively ignores the text, but is also pushing Naoto into a gender
she clearly doesn't identify with. Now, what might we call that in today's society, I wonder?
If you try to force Naoto into being male, a gender she does not identify as,
is that not just as bad as trying to force someone into being their
birth sex when they don't identify as such? Do you see the hypocrisy here?
And fuck it, while I'm here, let me also say that if you hate trans people,
just fuck off. Any time I mention Stephanie Brownback in a video, you get these shithead
commenters coming in and calling her a man or saying that she's mentally ill and just
pretending to be a woman, and there's absolutely no need. For one, even if that were true,
they're not hurting anybody by doing that, so why do you care? And second, if you're going
to say shit like that while criticising someone's work, you're just giving them an excuse to write
off any valid criticism you may have, like that Stephanie's explanation for why she likes the
Twindel retcon is kinda stupid, and just chalk it up to a bunch of transphobes being mad at a
trans person. You're only hurting your own side, so fucking leave it out, you massive wank stain.
And with that said, I look forward to the dozens of comments that are going
to ignore everything I've said and just call me a transphobe, because the human race fucking sucks.
If you liked this video, why not subscribe and
support me on Patreon like these fine people here? If not, then I'm sorry,
but this is just what the game tells you and you're objectively wrong if you disagree.
Today's recommended video is A.B.I.torial: Misunderstanding Yukiko by A.B.I. from
SugarPunch. Yukiko's another P4 character who is often misunderstood, just not quite to the
point where I'd consider the discourse to be completely vile as it is with Naoto and Kanji.