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Ok I wanna talk a little bit about the differences between headcanons and textual interpretation because the distinction has been kind of lost in modern fandom and it’s actually very important for queer theory and LGBTQ fans
(I Am Talking About Trans Cloud)
(I Am Talking About Trans Cloud)
Since yesterday people have been talking a lot about “trans Cloud headcanons.” People are getting steamed at LGBTQ fans for positing that Cloud could be trans or GNC in any way. People fire back with “just let people have their headcanons, they aren’t hurting anyone!”
Which is absolutely true!! But i hate seeing the word “headcanon” mixed up with “interpretation”.
A headcanon is an idea about a character that has little to no basis in canon.
A headcanon is an idea about a character that has little to no basis in canon.
Cloud having a chocobo farm post-game is a popular headcanon. It’s a headcanon because there’s absolutely nothing in the Final Fantasy VII canon that suggests that Cloud established a chocobo farm post-game. But it’s fitting and fun and people like the idea. So it’s a headcanon.
You can have a headcanon that Aerith’s favorite breakfast is oatmeal with blueberries in it. You can have a headcanon that Cloud’s father was a traveling merchant who died in a tragic chocobo stampede. Neither of these ideas have any basis in canon. They’re headcanons.
These are vastly different from interpretations of the text (Final Fantasy VII, the compilation, etc).
An interpretation happens when you look at the text and perceive it in a certain way. We all interpret media every day. We all decide individually what a piece of media is
An interpretation happens when you look at the text and perceive it in a certain way. We all interpret media every day. We all decide individually what a piece of media is
saying. But all of our individual interpretations are based on a the core, canon text.
It is not a headcanon that Dracula was born of rampant xenophobia and homophobia. It is an interpretation of the text. The themes are laid out in the text and many people have recognized
It is not a headcanon that Dracula was born of rampant xenophobia and homophobia. It is an interpretation of the text. The themes are laid out in the text and many people have recognized
these ideas being conveyed in it.
One can interpret Mobey Dick in any number of ways based on the evidence they find in the text. None of them are incorrect, so long as you have textual material to back it up.
One can interpret Mobey Dick in any number of ways based on the evidence they find in the text. None of them are incorrect, so long as you have textual material to back it up.
So anyway, what I really want to say is: trans Cloud is not a headcanon, it’s an interpretation.
The distinction might seem purely semantic, but it’s actually of significant consequence for LGBTQ fans and theorists.
The distinction might seem purely semantic, but it’s actually of significant consequence for LGBTQ fans and theorists.
To keep it as brief as possible: FFVII is a game about identity. It’s about outcasts and weirdos and psychological manipulation and the self you create yourself vs. the self others create for you vs. the self you choose to present to the world.
Under the broad thematic umbrella of “identity,” we find numerous cues and clues in FFVII suggesting, specifically, the creation of queer identity.
Sephiroth changes his pronouns after learning the truth about himself. The identity-melding of Cloud and Zack.
Sephiroth changes his pronouns after learning the truth about himself. The identity-melding of Cloud and Zack.
The “living legacy” concept in general, and the passing of the Buster Sword from hand to hand. All of these ideas have been explicitly founded as tenets of queer experience and theory for decades now.
And of course, the Honey Bee Inn!
And of course, the Honey Bee Inn!
Cloud spends a large portion of the game aspiring to different roles and identities that are patently Not Him. His true strength shines when he’s finally able to shed those facades and embrace his true sense of self.
That narrative is familiar to lots of LGBTQ people.
That narrative is familiar to lots of LGBTQ people.
I’m sure I don’t need to go into depth explaining how the Honey Bee Inn crossdressing scene exemplifies a lot of those themes. Particularly because Cloud is, at his truest, a weird, awkward, VERY non-masculine character. He spends half the game aspiring to concepts of
masculinity that never quite pan out for him, because it isn’t who he is at his core.
Lots of people, including myself, see a trans narrative reflected in that. Whether it’s transfemme, transmasc, purely non-binary, whatever. It’s very easy to read it any of those ways.
Lots of people, including myself, see a trans narrative reflected in that. Whether it’s transfemme, transmasc, purely non-binary, whatever. It’s very easy to read it any of those ways.
In fact, I probably revealed some of my personal interpretation in the way I described Cloud just now!
Anyway. Bringing this full circle now. I hope that this shows how interpretation is different from headcanon. Reading Cloud as trans is an interpretation of themes and ideas
Anyway. Bringing this full circle now. I hope that this shows how interpretation is different from headcanon. Reading Cloud as trans is an interpretation of themes and ideas
established in the FFVII canon. You can disagree if you want, but it is impossible to truthfully say that FFVII does NOT contain those themes, especially as they’re seen by LGBTQ fans.
I think it’s especially important to understand this distinction for LGBTQ fans.
I think it’s especially important to understand this distinction for LGBTQ fans.
When you see your lived experience reflected in a piece of media, it’s a very special thing. It doesn’t matter if it was intentional on the part of the creators or not. If you see your experience in a text, don’t be afraid to say “Hey, that’s mine.”
“That’s my story. That’s how it feels to be gay in a small town. That’s the trans experience. That’s how I look and feel as an autistic person. I see it right there unfolding in front of my eyes through these characters. I’ve seen it for myself. I exist.”
It can be difficult for marginalized people of any kind to assert their existence, whether it’s in real life or in media. It doesn’t feel real. But that’s only because we haven’t established the same canonical mythos that cishets/neurotypicals/whatever have. We’re working on it.
We’ll be working on it for a long time. For now, it can be an act of courage simply to look at a text and acknowledge your existence and reflection in it. That’s the power, I think, in calling that experience an interpretation over a headcanon.
Wow this got really long hoo boy. Anyway I hope that made an ounce of sense. 2020 we are INTERPRETING texts and not relegating our thoughts to easily-denied headcanons. These experiences are real and so are we!!!!
Anyway me n my soon-wife have a podcast called The Ebony Dutch where we talk about this kind of shit A LOT esp in relation to FFVII so give it a listen on Apple or Spotify or something if you want WHOO https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ebony-ditch/id1471590486
Wow this blew up somehow, THANK YOU everyone!! If you happen to be in the Midwest US, my soon-wife and I also host a gaggle of queer theory-oriented panels at anime cons under the name Third Tower Productions! We’ll be at Colossalcon next!
http://Facebook.com/thirdtowerproductions
http://Facebook.com/thirdtowerproductions
P.S. Listen to Sound Horizon [insert Revo fancam here]
