Gwen stacy from spider-man across the spider verse emitting pink and blue glow.

Gwen Stacy Is Trans Theory

Part of a series on Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. [View Related Entries]

Updated Jun 07, 2023 at 12:36PM EDT by Zach.

Added Jun 07, 2023 at 06:59AM EDT by Philipp.

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About

Gwen Stacy Is Trans Theory is a fan theory that the character Gwen Stacy (Spider-Woman / Ghost-Spider) from the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its 2023 sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is transgender or that her story is an allegory for struggles trans people face. The theory became a subject of viral discussions on social media following the premiere of the second film in early June 2023.

Origin

On June 2nd, 2023, the animated superhero film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiered in the United States.[1] In the film, the character Gwen Stacy has a transgender pride flag in her room while her father wears a trans flag pin on his jacket. Additionally, the scene of her father accepting her identity as Spider-Man is highlighted with a white, blue and pink palette, which some argued can be perceived as an allegory for a father accepting his daughter's gender identity.[2]


TRANS PROTECT AL ME PROTECT TRANS

On June 2nd, 2023, Twitter[3] user @Treblebaps posted a thread in which they argued that the film explicitly implies that Gwen Stacy is a transgender woman, mentioning the scene and the trans pride symbols (shown below, left and right). The first post in the thread accumulated over 390 retweets and 2,500 likes prior to the account going private.


Trouble @Treblebaps Spiderverse Spoilers!! After watching the movie, I'd like to talk about Gwen and the significance of the movie's pro-trans message. The symbolism between her and her dad's conflict, and how they tell a story of a dad accepting his daughter as his daughter. Yª PROTECT TRANS CIAL ME Rap Trouble @Treblebaps. 5h Gwen is blatantly a trans woman in this movie, it's never outright spoken but the implication is unavoidable. If the "protect trans kids" sign above her door wasn't enough for you, her entire story as Spiderwoman centers around her dad accepting her identity. O 1 611 ↑ 18 Trouble @Treblebaps. 5h Whenever Gwen is struggling with her identity as Spiderwoman, especially in regards to "coming out" about it to her father, the colours of the movie become pink, blue, and white. As in her colour palette, and the palette of the background, change entirely to the trans flag. 9 2 1 17 20 ♡ 558 Trouble @Treblebaps. 5h Her and her father's relationship is one that starts with disownment, and ends in acceptance. Her personal struggle with her identity as Spiderwoman, and her dad's perception of her, is a direct trans metaphor. 27 12 ♡ 445 Trouble @Treblebaps. 5h And although I cannot directly quote the movie by memory, the dialog is so distinctly drawn from things that might be said when coming out or arguing with a parent. Replace "Spiderwoman" with "woman" and divorce it from the context of the story, and it hits very close to home. O 1 22 11 15 405 Trouble @Treblebaps. 5h Gwen is a trans woman. Both literally, and metaphorically. O 4 ↑ 428 ↑ ↑ Trouble @Treblebaps 1h Thought I may have just been seeing things while watching the film. But no, her dad is wearing a trans flag on his police jacket as well. The sign above Gwen's door isn't her just being supportive, she IS trans and her dad is supportive OF her in that regard.

Spread

In early June 2023, additional users on Twitter and other sites made similar posts sharing their belief that Gwen Stacy is a transgender woman in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. For example, on June 3rd, 2023, Twitter[4] user @spacekatsubunny tweeted "Gwen Stacy is the first trans Spider-Person in the Spiderverse 🫶🏾🏳️‍⚧️," with the tweet gaining over 2,200 retweets and 20,700 likes in four days (shown below, left). On June 4th, Twitter[5] user @FemK_Ultra made two tweets about the theory, the first of which garnered over 2,300 retweets and 28,900 likes in three days (shown below, right).


Lexxie || @spacekatsubunny Gwen Stacy is the first trans Spider-Person in the Spiderverse 12:55 PM. Jun 3, 2023 637.8K Views Thi .O Ava @FemK_Ultra - Jun 4 The fact that gwen has a trans pride pin on her jacket, a trans pride flag on her wall, her dad has a trans pride flag on his uniform, and that during the pivotal scene where her dad accepts her as spider-woman, the colour palette uses white, pastel blue and pink, and people will t 2,379 28.8K Ava 67 @FemK_Ultra ₁499.7K still say we are reading too much into it has convinced me that comics nerds are too dumb for 'show dont tell' to apply to them. 11:14 AM Jun 4, 2023 61.4K Views

The theory inspired viral debates and fan art on social media in early June 2023. Some users argued that Gwen Stacy is not transgender, but is rather a trans ally, while others said that the subject of Gwen's identity was free to the viewer's own interpretation (examples[6][7] shown below, left and center). Multiple artworks depicting Gwen Stacy as a supporter of transgender rights went viral during that period. For example, on June 5th, 2023, artist @spookynest tweeted[8] an artwork that gained over 2,400 retweets and 19,500 likes in two days (shown below, right).


Fable @Axew22 BTW Gwen isn't Trans I need more people to read this book pls that's were the lighting comes from on earth 65. Literally the entire run is like this RADIOACTIVE ER - GWEN #1 CALL 1-555-FOR-PETER MARVEL LATOUR SI RODRIGUEZ RENZI 3:27 PM Jun 4, 2023 1.3M Views STOP THE SPIDER-WOMEN 1-555-FOR-PETER The Green Kasey @RawbertBeef Trans (and even cis) fans have every right to say Gwen Stacy is trans, even if the movies never outright confirm it. You can't deny that it's been hinted at. thi The fact is- if she can make somebody feel represented, who are you to tell them they're wrong? II GIF ALT 1381 10:15 PM - Jun 4, 2023 4.3M Views : #SpiderVerse PROTECT TRANS KIDS

The fan theory and viral discussions surrounding it were covered by Kotaku,[9] Decider[10] and other news publications.

Various Examples


Like GROVEL, HUMANS! It's ZOE!!! @Blankzilla They made her HAIR the FLAG This art team are braver than the troops for getting this in there GROVEL, HUMANS! It's ZOE!!! @Blankzilla. Jun 4 I truly thought the "Gwen is trans" stuff in ATSV was just Twitter doing its usual thing but no it's AGGRESSIVELY loud about it Being draped in the trans colors while giving a speech about having to hide half of yourself from the people you love is as subtle as a brick Show this thread 12:15 AM. Jun 5, 2023 8.3M Views : Victoria @Euphori Tori why are people trying to clock spider gwen ratchel @girlmeat5557 · 20h . no offense but look at her shoulders and chest 69 230 16 ratchel @girlmeat5557.20h shes one of them anorexic transes that never grows t--- cus she too afraid of some tummy (and girl? me too) 1150 947 il₁ 208K 6:58 AM Jun 5, 2023 223K Views 368 il₁28.5K Jay Exci @JayExci It doesn't matter if Gwen is "actually" trans. If some trans people see themselves in her, or find trans allegory in the story, it doesn't matter whether that was intended by the filmmakers or not. It's still a totally valid thing to take away from the work either way. 8:51 AM Jun 6, 2023 108.5K Views .
Lor HELLO my name دی سری ster t m ww ast sha Lorein CYBERNETIC SON David @PovreDavid "No, Gwen Stacy cannot be trans. Otherwise,she wouldn't turn me on" 6:22 PM Jun 4, 2023 3,490 Views :

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