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Beldam Posting
Part of a series on Vivian (Paper Mario). [View Related Entries]
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About
Beldam Posting refers to memes and jokes about Beldam, a character in Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door (TTYD) that some online have labeled as transphobic. Memes about Beldam grew frequent online in the months leading up to the release of the TTYD remake, with many fans anticipating that the new version would confirm Vivian's identity as a transgender woman. Beldam's transphobic attitude toward her sister became the subject of memes, especially in May 2024, with internet users posting speech bubbling and Copium memes featuring Beldam to respond to criticism levied against the new English localization.
Overview
The original Japanese version of the game saw Vivian describing the Shadow Sirens as the "The three shadow sisters!" only to be reproached by her sister Beldam who calls her a man. Vivian's identity as a trans woman was clearly stated in the Italian localization of the game, in which Vivian says, "That’s true, you are two sisters… But I am a woman too now, and I’m proud to have turned into a woman!"[1] However, the American localization removed all references to Vivian's possible trans identity, instead having Beldam simply call her ugly.
A remake of Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch was announced in September 2023, with images from the game released on May 21st, 2024, confirming that Vivian, a defecting Shadow Siren, is a transgender woman in the English localization of the game.[2]
On September 26th, 2023, X[3] user @LubbaSMG2 responded to another user writing, "Not reading that but Vivian's a guy, hope this helps," with a speech bubbling meme depicting him as Beldam. The post gathered over 1,700 likes in nine months (seen below).
Spread
The weeks leading up to the release of Paper Mario: TTYD saw some speculation about Vivian's identity, often analyzed through the lens of her sister Beldam's transphobia. X[4] user @LubbaSMG2 made a post about how some Paper Mario fans love to make memes about Beldam, gathering over 1,000 likes in four days (seen below, left).
On May 21st, 2024, X[5] user @Reecee_yt posted a copium meme featuring Beldam alongside a caption that read, "Made a new Beldam reaction image for people in denial about the recent news, feel free to use it." The post gathered over 5,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).
Also on May 21st, X[6] user @jsketch12 made a post depicting Beldam as the internet users complaining about Vivian in the new TTYD remake, gathering over 11,000 likes in a day (seen below).
the most annoying people in the world coming online to complain about how they localized vivian in the paper mario remake: pic.twitter.com/wq8xXurays
— Juno 🚂 (@jsketch12) May 21, 2024
Also on May 21st, 2024, X[8] user @LuigiSidekick posted a video showing multiple users responding to a tweet denying Vivian's trans identity with the Beldam Speech Bubbing meme, gathering over 9,000 likes in a day (seen below).
https://t.co/l2C57v2A4J pic.twitter.com/MwRxx64u9v
— Luigi’s Sidekick (TTYD arc) (@LuigiSidekick) May 21, 2024
Search Interest
External References
[1] Internet Archive – University of Perugia
[2] MyNintendoNews – Paper Mario: TTYD
[8] X – LuigiSidekick
