Haruka is not trans or non binary

[ChampionOfNuggets]

I saw this coming. Therefore: Naoko said Haruka is a girl (objective fact), but she never said Haruka identifies as a girl. And since subjective self-identification is the only thing that matters (according to some) for differentiating between genders, it's quite possible Haruka is non-binary or even male.

I know you're trying to play 3D chess in your head but in the case of fictional characters who aren't capable of their own autonomous thoughts we have to rely on statements by the author and how the character is presented in the work.

Haruka is not written as someone who identifies as male. She may use a more boyish personal pronoun, engage in more traditionally masculine activities, and often wear clothing associated with men but the story makes it clear she has no problem identifying as or being perceived as a woman.

There's room to suggest Haruka is non-binary or gender fluid but there's no reason to think she's trans.

 

[Maraviollantes]

I know you're trying to play 3D chess in your head but in the case of fictional characters who aren't capable of their own autonomous thoughts we have to rely on statements by the author and how the character is presented in the work.

Haruka is not written as someone who identifies as male. She may use a more boyish personal pronoun, engage in more traditionally masculine activities, and often wear clothing associated with men but the story makes it clear she has no problem identifying as or being perceived as a woman.

There's room to suggest Haruka is non-binary or gender fluid but there's no reason to think she's trans.

How the character is presented or being perceived in the work is absolutely irrelevant, according to your own definition of a woman. Self-identification is the only thing that matters, even if someone doesn't look anything like gender they subscribe to. Which means Haruka can self-identify as a woman, man, transgender, non-binary, and whatever else, and until creators of the series explicitly clarify what gender identity Haruka identifies with, this issue will be always open to further discussion.
No 3D chess here, all of that directly follows from "gender x is anybody who identifies as gender x" argument.

 

[Memento]

The larger issue is that Haruka isn't some random nobody in-universe; she's an apparently extremely popular professional (teen) racecar driver who's been the subject of magazine articles, and yet the public at large seems to think she's a man and she is allowed to wear Mugen Gakuen's boys' uniform. That all lends more validity to reading Haruka as trans/nonbinary in the manga (regardless of Naoko's actual intent)

 

[Masquerade]

The larger issue is that Haruka isn't some random nobody in-universe; she's an apparently extremely popular professional (teen) racecar driver who's been the subject of magazine articles, and yet the public at large seems to think she's a man and she is allowed to wear Mugen Gakuen's boys' uniform. That all lends more validity to reading Haruka as trans/nonbinary in the manga (regardless of Naoko's actual intent)

in the 90s anime, Haruka explictly says "she wants to be true to herself" above everything. She apparently isn't interested on what others think of her presentation (per situations such as her getting sexist slack over her professional racing). In the manga, she says her gender "doesn't matter."
And nonbinary/transgender usually involves people advocating for being recognized and validated over their identities. Haruka does the very opposite of that. She doesn't give a damn to whatever people think of her and even goes far as confusing them on purpose about herself.

 

[NeoJupiter]

Sounds like a pretty accurate definition for "non-binary person" to me.

If a woman chooses to ignore all female gender norms and we say her gender is still female, then what is the definition for "female gender" anyway?

If Naoko or some reboot took that on officially, fine with me. If someone chooses to see Haruka as non-binary....fine with me. I'm gay and don't really conform to gender norms but I don't go by non-binary.

 

[Masquerade]

If Naoko or some reboot took that on officially, fine with me.

I think it's very hard for Naoko to let someone "Knights of the Zodiac" her property. I think new story arcs are more likely.
And on top of that... The only moment Haruka and Michiru had a love song in this reboot was in Crystal III, the full episode season that pandered the most to the 90s anime. She isn't interested on expanding LGBTQ themes and she touching the subject only when some interviewer asks her says a lot.
Her LGBT couples and characters are there and will always be, but I don't see them taking center stage again unless some overseas company offers a Hollywood adaptation worthy enough of her pockets and approval.

 

[Clow]

Her LGBT couples and characters are there and will always be, but I don't see them taking center stage again unless some overseas company offers a Hollywood adaptation worthy enough of her pockets and approval.

Apparently, Disney wanted a film back in the 90s.

 

[Masquerade]

Apparently, Disney wanted a film back in the 90s.

Wasn't that fake news on Buzzfeed?

 

[ChampionOfNuggets]

Wasn't that fake news on Buzzfeed?

Nope
'Magoo' goes stunt-crazy - Variety

Disney, which wanted Tong to create an international franchise with his direction of the “live” “Magoo,” is also in the process of acquiring rights to the Japanese cartoon “Sailor Moon,” also for Tong to direct. The cartoon (English-dubbed) is a favorite of Lynch’s 11-year-old daughter, Shane

Geena Davis in Talks for Sailor Moon - Movie City News

 

[Tsundereshipper]

Takeuchi stated that Haruka has the characteristics of both a woman and a man but is still a woman and when asked on the matter she stated "Haruka is a girl and always will be a girl."

Do you have a link to this interview? Or are you just assuming this because of Naoko’s statement that only women can be Senshi? (Which in itself contradicts Naoko saying Haruka has the heart of both a man and a woman but I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she just meant this in the feminine and masculine way, not like that Haruka is literally a non-binary/hermaphrodite/intersex/androgynous/genderfluid etc)

The thing is… in the first few chapters Haruka appears in she does look very androgynous and has a male build, hell Naoko even has her in a Tuxedo Mask-esque costume. Now maybe this is all because Naoko still wasn’t entirely decided on Haruka’s gender in the beginning but still… That whole “Haruka has the characteristics of both male and female” line makes me think otherwise.

Again it only serves to remove the homosexuality from the relationship as according to modern day wokeism non binary people are neither male nor female but a different sex outside of masculinity or femininity so if Haruka is non binary that makes her and Michiru's relationship a heterosexual one as it is between people of 2 different genders not 2 women.

That’s not how it works…. A heterosexual relationship doesn’t just mean two people of different genders but rather the exact opposite gender. A regular man or woman in a relationship with an intersex person is not a straight relationship and it’s not considered to be by society either.

Also non-binary is just another word for intersex/androgynous/hermaphrodite/androgynous/genderfluid someone who’s both sexes at the same time - half male and half female, not neither. Their gender is ambiguous and you can’t tell whether they’re a woman or a man because they biologically look like and have traits of both.

And indeed relationships with hermaphrodites are automatically considered to be queer by the LGBT community.

Like for instance if non binary were the gender version of say hermaphrodites as a sex

That is what it is yes, I always interpreted it just to be the modern term for hermaphrodite/androgynous.

She's both femme AND butch in the manga.

I wish Naoko had just used the terms feminine and masculine if that was what she really meant rather than man and woman, I think that’s where my and a lot of the fandom’s confusion on Manga Haruka’s gender comes from, the terminology.

Or maybe she did and all the translations of Michiru’s line there + the interview f*cked up.

I think gender fluid is a better descriptor of Haruka in the manga

Isn’t genderfluid just another synonym for non-binary/androgynous?

Also trans and non binary are not the same trans is a person who the brain sex of the opposite gender who hopefully can transition to be the opposite sex.

I agree it’s not inherently the same thing as trans (since you can be physically born non-binary) but there are people who transition to androgyny/hermaphroditism specifically. These are usually people who only transition half-way into the opposite sex and try to achieve a certain androgynous look rather than transition fully.

but it's very unlikely a Japanese woman in her 50s busy with kids and business is well aware of what "nonbinary" is

Everyone knows what an intersex/androgynous/hermaphrodite is. While extremely rare, that is something that biologically occurs, and so has been seen and observed in every country in the world at least some point in time, they just didn’t have the “non-binary” term for it yet.

Also some non binary people even go beyond just saying they are androgynous or outside of masculinity and femininity and say that they are weird genders like graygender, ramgendered, godgendered etc that just make no sense.

…You do know those likely aren’t actual non-binaries and are just dumb zoomie kids being dumb zoomie kids right? Don’t take them so seriously, kids can be dumb.

but I also think she still sees people's biological sex as absolute.

What makes you think this? Because of her distaste for the Starlights gender-bending in the anime? How do we even know for certain this is the reason she hated the Starlights sex change because according to her “only cis women can be Senshi?” (when she’s flat out said Mamoru is technically the Senshi of Earth) Maybe she only disliked it because she saw it as “straightwashing” Usagi and Seiya’s relationship in a way.

then what is the definition for "female gender" anyway?

That’s easy, a female is both someone who identifies that way and takes/has/wants to take female hormones.

I never understood why this was such a difficult question for anyone to answer? It should be pretty obvious, duh!

And since subjective self-identification is the only thing that matters (according to some)

No that’s not all that matters, you have to actually be on or want to take HRT to be considered trans.

If someone is saying otherwise then they’re either fake-ass trenders or misunderstanding the term. (If they mean they’re either feminine or masculine then that’s not being trans, that’s just not following gender roles.)

 

[Clow]

Wasn't that fake news on Buzzfeed?

A YouTubber from Mexico talked about this a while ago… he apparently worked for TOEI, this is his channel (sorry I could not locate the specific video).

If memory doesn’t fail me, he said:

1. Disney owned DIC and DIC could do whatever it wanted to the “Sailor Moon” anime, but Disney wanted its own ”Sailor Moon” film.
2. Disney pitched an idea and sent it to Naoko via fax.
3. Because Disney is very “family-oriented,” the alleged script could not mention death or reincarnation. No Silver Millennium.
4. Disney also secured Geena Davis to play Queen Beryl. Disney’s Queen Beryl was described as a very silly woman, una mujer muy tonta.
5. Naoko apparently felt horrified (maybe traumatized?) and said “NO.”
6. Naoko did confirm that a Hollywood studio offered her a movie deal (read her ROLa Magazine interview).

 

[MsImagination]

in the 90s anime, Haruka explictly says "she wants to be true to herself" above everything. She apparently isn't interested on what others think of her presentation (per situations such as her getting sexist slack over her professional racing). In the manga, she says her gender "doesn't matter."
And nonbinary/transgender usually involves people advocating for being recognized and validated over their identities. Haruka does the very opposite of that. She doesn't give a damn to whatever people think of her and even goes far as confusing them on purpose about herself.

Yah Haruka really does not care what anyone thinks.

 

[Neo King Rose]

Yah Haruka really does not care what anyone thinks.

yup Haruka is Haruka end of story

 

[Venusgirl]

I am sick of how the wokeists are trying to do the whole Prince Uranus thing from the 90s. Haruka is a girl Naoko Takeuchi stated that Haruka has the characteristics of both a woman and a man but is still a woman and when asked on the matter she stated "Haruka is a girl and always will be a girl." Again it only serves to remove the homosexuality from the relationship as according to modern day wokeism non binary people are neither male nor female but a different sex outside of masculinity or femininity so if Haruka is non binary that makes her and Michiru's relationship a heterosexual one as it is between people of 2 different genders not 2 women.

I 100 percent agree. I'm really sick of how homophobic it is to say you can identify as gay. I remember being really upset with the cloverway dub pulling the cousin thing and now ppl are doing it again. It's incredibly disturbing. A woman is an adult human female and a female produces eggs. I don't care if you identify as whatever but the reality is it's incredibly disturbing to erase lesbians for your own narcissism. Ugh. She's not non binary she's a woman. The having male and female strength was simply the reveal Haruka was actually female.

 

[Venusgirl]

I saw this coming. Therefore: Naoko said Haruka is a girl (objective fact), but she never said Haruka identifies as a girl. And since subjective self-identification is the only thing that matters (according to some) for differentiating between genders, it's quite possible Haruka is non-binary or even male.

A male produces sperm. A female produces eggs.

Naoko Takeuchi definitely said she created this series to empower girls. You're ridiculous and if you think she's male you're homophobic

 

[Tsundereshipper]

. A woman is an adult human female and a female produces eggs

No a woman is also someone who has the brain of a female and wants/takes estrogen.

Hormones are more important in determining sex than gametes, genitals or chromosomes.

 

[Maraviollantes]

No that’s not all that matters, you have to actually be on or want to take HRT to be considered trans.

A lot of transgender people never look for any hormone therapy and most certainly would disagree with your definition. Are you saying you know better if they are transgender or not?

No a woman is also someone who has the brain of a female and wants/takes estrogen.

Naoko never revealed what kind of hormones Haruka wants/takes. So...

Naoko Takeuchi definitely said she created this series to empower girls.

Depending on Naoko's definition of a "girl" (which we don't know), this may include biological girls who identify as male or non-binary, and/or biological males who identify as girls.

Yah Haruka really does not care what anyone thinks.

Sounds like a very non-binary attitude to me.

 

[Maraviollantes]

in the 90s anime, Haruka explictly says "she wants to be true to herself" above everything. She apparently isn't interested on what others think of her presentation (per situations such as her getting sexist slack over her professional racing). In the manga, she says her gender "doesn't matter."
And nonbinary/transgender usually involves people advocating for being recognized and validated over their identities. Haruka does the very opposite of that. She doesn't give a damn to whatever people think of her and even goes far as confusing them on purpose about herself.

Actually, if somebody confused me for a woman, I would have no problems clarifying to them that I'm male. Because I know who I am and there is nothing ambiguous about it. I fail to see how acting intentionally ambiguous and confusing people is a proof that Haruka identifies as a girl. More like, it's proof she has doubts about her own gender identity and isn't ready to reveal it to other people.

 

[Tsundereshipper]

A lot of transgender people never look for any hormone therapy and most certainly would disagree with your definition. Are you saying you know better if they are transgender or not?

Yes. What makes them trans then if they don’t want to y’know, transition?

 

[Masquerade]

Yes. What makes them trans then if they don’t want to y’know, transition?

Ouch.
You're advocating for something you haven't studied enough, buddy.
As weird as the concept of trans people uninterested in looking passable may sound, those people exist and are considered part of the transgender community.