A collection of reasons as to why I believe Melanie King, icon and queen, to be trans. These reasons are outside of the fact that I like her and I headcannon all characters I like as trans. Warning tho- I am drawing quiet a bit from my personal experience as a trans person, as well as experiences I’ve shared with my other (trans) friends.
Firstly there’s the matter of her father being her last connection to any human at all. And I know how cheesy this is but “little moth” could be referencing her changing, into becoming herself. Maybe that’s why it meant so much to her and why her grief still affected her so long after- maybe this was her dads way of reminding her that she was still loved and beautiful. A pal I once had had a step mother call him a prince, and now he’s got it tattooed. So as stupid and small as it is, it makes sense.
In (spoilers) MAG 117 Melanie says “I feel like I’ve always been fighting. No one makes space for people like me. You’ve got to elbow the comfortable idiots out of the way, and then claw your way up with gritted teeth. I’ve had to struggle for everything.” Look me in the eyes and tell me that’s not a trans narrative.
Let’s actually dissect that line by line. First with “I feel like I’ve always been fighting.” Trans people HAVE to fight. Being trans changes everything about your life- from job applications to a lifelong fear of bathrooms. More often than not we have to fight just to be listened to. I feel like I’ve always been fighting too, and I’m a very priveledged individual. (That was projection there)
“No one makes spaces for people like me.” Trans people- ESPECIALLY trans feminine people- are often overlooked and excluded. Trans feminine people are excluded from both trans spaces and women’s spaces. This line also has the implication that the only way you CAN have a space is to build it yourself, and with just a glance at queer history you can probably see that trans people have always had to do that.
“You’ve got to elbow the comfortable idiots out of the way, and then claw your way up with gritted teeth.” The ‘comfortable idiots’ is what jumps out at me. A LOT of transphobia- whether it be microagression or worse- is derived from the fact that we make people uncomfortable. We make people think about what actually makes them secure in themselves and the structures they’ve built. And no one likes thinking about things that makes them uncomfortable- so they suppress the thing. And with suppression comes CLIMBING out of it. I’ve definitely experienced this trans anger before, as I’m sure y’all in the trans tma tag have as well.
“I’ve had to struggle for everything.” I know this could easily be read as other things, but y’all seen what trans pple have to go through for affirmation, to have their voices listened to, to get HEALTHCARE. She’s not just talking about getting a job here- her life has been distinctly marked by her having to fight tooth and nail for every single thing she has.
Also in mag 117- she mentions that “they” (assumedly the other assistants and Jon) don’t understand, implying that she sees a distinct difference between THEM and HER. This is furthered by the quote “people don’t make spaces for people like me”, were shes not only saying that SHE’S different from the rest of the cast, but that she’s part of a GROUP that’s different as well.
The implication that she’s been hurt and traumatized in the way Elias did- with knowledge. This could very easily be interpreted as a dysphoria thing- the knowledge of how long transition takes and the knowledge you exist in your body, permanently embedded in your mind. That’s not to say that you must have dysphoria to be trans, but this can definitely be an interpretation.
When she’s talking about how (spoilers) the bullet affected her, she mentions that the bullet drew on her anger, and didn’t create it. This isn’t a universal trans thing, but there is most certainly a lot of anger that can come from being trans. I definitely connected with it on a personal level.
Why not? That’s my last piece of evidence. Why not have her be trans? There’s nothing saying she’s cis.
That’s it that’s what I’ve got. I hope that (if you make it to the bottom here) you joined my cult of trans Melanie King supremecists. I adore this character and I hope y’all do too. Thank you for reading!!!
