We must destroy the myths, once and for all, shatter them. In a 1978 victory speech on California’s Prop 6, which sought to ban LGBT from teaching in public schools, gay activist and politician Harvey Milk said in part: This is the same phrasing gays and lesbians fought during the ‘70s, and it’s found a new target. A portion of politicians simultaneously use unfounded rhetoric to demonize the community, claiming these individuals are pedophiles looking to corrupt youth. “Bathroom bills” are popping up all over the U.S., seeking to prevent trans individuals from using public restrooms associated with their gender identities. It’s this approach that’s progressing the transgender conversation in a time when the community is politically under fire. Like Pidge, she was presumed to be a boy, but towards the end of the series, her father uses the identifier “she.”
The anime character is a hacker-type who often refers to herself in the third person. Cowboy Bebop offered viewers a similar revelation with Edward. She’s a character who was born a girl and is now one of the guys.
Pidge doesn’t use the word “transgender.” She doesn’t use any verbiage suggesting she’s trapped in the wrong body, nor does she openly identify as a boy.
