In Netflix’s ‘She-Ra,’ even villains respect nonbinary pronouns
“‘She-Ra’ is built for a generation that doesn’t need that kind of education in the same way anymore,” said Tobia. “Young people in Generation Z know who nonbinary people are, they know what they/them pronouns are. They know that gender is a spectrum, not a binary. They already know this.”
That means everybody in Etheria already knows this too, including the leader of the Evil Horde.
“The thing that was really gratifying in a very surprising way for me is a scene where Hordak talks about Double Trouble and just says ‘they’ effortlessly, with no thought, and just uses gender-neutral pronouns,” said Tobia. “Even the most evil person on the planet doesn’t misgender people, because that would be rude. There’s something really cool about that.
“Also, if Hordak can use they/them pronouns appropriately, I think anyone can. Do you really want to be worse than Hordak by misgendering nonbinary people? No, you don’t.”
They added: “Queer and trans people have been working in animation and have been influencing how kids animation looks and what the worlds of kids animation are for a really, really long time. This is only an extension of all of that work. It’s a next step in a much longer journey.”
While Double Trouble was not created specifically to educate viewers on nonbinary issues, Stevenson recognizes that approach is legitimate (and important) — while pointing out that it can also be limiting, since it often requires characters to be close to perfect.
One way to avoid that dilemma is by creating an inclusive universe like Etheria, where gender isn’t constricted and heteronormativity doesn’t exist. In a sci-fi/fantasy show where magical powers and interdimensional space travel exist, it shouldn’t be a stretch to believe queer and gender nonconforming people do too — whether as protagonists or antagonists.