hey guys i just finished playing persona 4 golden for the first time and i really liked naoto shirogane! but when i went to look up fan content about her, everyone is calling her transgender. she talks about being cisgender in the game, so why is this such a hot topic for debate?
first of all, i’d like to welcome you to the persona 4 fandom. i’m glad that you enjoyed your playthrough and we’re happy to have you. naoto is generally seen as transgender by the tumblr fandom (and subsequently referred to as he/they) because we– as trans members of the fandom– identify with how his struggles are explored narratively. we’re well aware that there’s a lot of backpedaling in his arc post-shadow fight, considering his swift turnaround to insist he is, in fact, a girl. but we feel that this is less of a moment of self-discovery and more of atlus covering its own ass and lacking sympathy towards transgender individuals.
@lemontoffee put it eloquently: “when transphobic companies believe that trans people are just insecure cis people, they will write their trans characters as such.”
atlus using very obvious references to gender dysphoria are always punctuated with their implicit transphobic bias. for instance, we see this with naoto’s whole shadow centering around being at war with himself about gender-affirming surgeries, but these surgeries are regarded as mutilation, mutation, loss of humanity, etc. it’s just bad and hateful writing.
hey bro, you’re absolutely right. naoto is a product of atlus’ hatred toward transgender people. it is bad and hateful writing, but that makes our reaction to it even more important. by reclaiming naoto’s story and exploring it in a positive, trans-friendly light, we prove to the creators that we refuse to be lay down and be treated like this. atlus made millions of off the persona 4 franchise– that’s millions of dollars literally at the expense of propagating transphobia. it is the least we can do to create a space online where those affected by this can see themselves reflected in a better, and more loving way.
we hope to blossom something genuine and positive out of it by making content in which naoto is free to explore his gender. we owe it not only to the other transgender members of the persona 4 fandom, but to ourselves. here’s the deal: atlus wrote a transgender character and when we believed it, they punished us with their bigotry. the people you see making fan content and calling naoto ‘cisgender’– typically in the context of attacking others for seeing him as trans– are propagating that punishment. they’re doing atlus’ work for them.
bro and king pretty much covered the point here, but i want to add one more thing. trans people should not have to live off of crumbs of representation, but even when we get crumbs, people fight to take them away. this is why sticking to our guns and sometimes being incredibly in-your-face about headcanoning naoto as trans speaks to a bigger cause: the refusal to let cis writers treat us any way they want to. it’s easy to dismiss this as being a drop in the ocean. after all, how much does one character in one game really matter? does it really impact the global struggle against transphobia? not really. but if a single act of solidarity with the transgender community can make even a few people feel happy and seen and loved even in the context of something as disgusting as atlus’ handling of naoto– then it’s worth it.
in the grand scheme of things, whatever you headcanon naoto as doesn’t really matter a whole lot. but we must point out that people only insist on naoto being cis in the context of other people, typically trans people themselves, talking about how they see him as trans. it’s almost always indicative not of someone asserting their “right to free speech”, but as a deliberate “fuck you, you’re not welcome here” (which, of course, impedes the other individual’s free speech). it’s also usually done by people who are attracted to naoto and want “her” to be their waifu. which is incredibly gross in the first place, because naoto is a minor.
the persona 4 fandom has a lot of self-exploration to do, which is ironic considering the game’s themes. people need to ask themselves why seeing naoto as cis matters so much to them. what are you gaining? who are you inadvertently hurting? why are you licking atlus’ boots so hard? anyway, hope this allowed you to make a more informed decision on your own bias towards naoto.
dude, bro, and king– thank you for opening my eyes. i didn’t realize that my perception of naoto was not only indicative of personal bias that needs examining, but is also an opportunity for me to show allyship with the trans community. i see now that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to headcanon naoto. there is only the way that i can very easily, at no cost, show my love for the transgender community here, and the way that shows i care more about preserving bad, prejudiced writing no matter what. i don’t know if i want to make content for naoto as a boy, nonbinary, or some other identity. maybe i can make content for various different headcanons– after all, if i’m having fun and i’m making people smile, what’s the harm? trans rights and happy pride month, everyone.
