Why Are People Thrilled 'Paper Mario' Character Vivian Is Transgender? The History Of The 'Thousand-Year Door' Character Explained

Nintendo's 2024 remake of 2004's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door releases this week, and while it's reviewing very well, the aspect of the game that's generating the most headlines has to do with a side character: Vivian, a witch who goes from foe to villain on Mario's journey. This is because the remake confirms that Vivian is transgender.

Typically, when an adaptation changes something about a character such as their race or identity, it leads to a familiar backlash cycle. However, in the case of Vivian, many are celebrating the change, because for two decades, it's been something of an open secret that Vivian was a trans character all along.

What Is The History Of Vivian?

In 2004's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Vivian is a character Mario meets early on in the game when she is part of the villainous Three Shadows trio, along with her sisters Beldam and Marilyn. Her sisters bully her and she eventually joins Mario as an ally.

In the Japanese version of the game, Vivian appears to be bullied due to her gender identity. Her sisters imply she is a biological man, or at the very least a cross-dresser. When the game was localized into English, the translators did away with that plotline and changed it so that Vivian's sisters bullied her by insulting her looks. However, some localizations kept the original spirit of Vivian's plot intact. For example, the Italian translation of the game has Vivian say, "That’s true, you are two sisters… But I am a woman too now, and I’m proud to have turned into a woman!"

This led Vivian to become analyzed from a queer perspective in later years, as in the 2010s and early 2020s, numerous articles were written that discussed Vivian as a queer character.

Ahead of the Thousand-Year Door remake, some fans believed that Nintendo would canonize Vivian's gender identity. It seems that came to fruition, as the remake features Vivian saying, "Truth is, it took me a while to realize I was their sister… not their brother. Now their usual bullying feels heavier."

What Has Been The Reaction To Vivian Being Confirmed As Trans?

Many have celebrated Nintendo confirming what had been basically canon for decades, understanding that a 2004 western audience probably would not have received a trans character as well as a 2024 audience. Trans users in particular have celebrated the moment, with some expressing that they felt connected to Vivian before transitioning.

Of course, not everyone was thrilled to see the change, and have voiced familiar outraged arguments about Nintendo going woke, etc. This has given rise to a new meme called Beldam Posting.

In the game, Beldam's bullying of Vivian leads her on her arc to be proud of who she is. Thus, when some on social media argue that Vivian isn't trans, others have parodied them with speech bubble parodies, as though they are Beldam voicing their takes.

For the full history of Vivian, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.