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Post by SMBBQ on Sept 17, 2012 20:58:11 GMT -5
Not the topic you were expecting, eh? Don't worry, this will *hopefully* stay pretty tame.
Anywhoo, Birdo and Vivian are, at least according to the Japanese canon (which I believe we should follow, but that's another topic), transgender characters. What implications does this have for the series?
Is this common/acceptable in the Mushroom World, or are there terrible social stigmas surrounding it? And what of homosexuality, is that a thing? Sorry for making you think these thoughts.
Basically, what I'm curious about is the culture of the modern-day Mushroom Kingdom + surrounding areas, and how gender/sexuality stuff is interpreted there (guess who spends too much time on tumblr).
SMBBQ: Bringing you pointless topics since '09.
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Post by PDoogan on Sept 19, 2012 9:18:56 GMT -5
Although I know about the Vivian thing, I can't read the Japanese text in order to make a decision on that. But from what I've seen, it looks like it was more joke then a fact, having people continually mistake her for a boy. (I don't know how true that is, but that's how I view it. --- As for birdo, she clearly had a female voice in Super Mario Advance. I'd be curious to know who voiced her in the Japanese release. I think it's a definite fact that she's a boy in Japan, although that leads to some strange implications regarding this piece of official art...  |
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Post by SMBBQ on Sept 19, 2012 21:48:59 GMT -5
Which implications? Homosexuality, or inter-species relationships? 'Cause the latter's way grosser, IMO.
Then again, Bowser has that major crush on Peach, so I guess that's not uncommon in the Mushroom World.
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Post by PDoogan on Sept 20, 2012 11:25:11 GMT -5
I was referring to the homosexual aspect.
I know that sort of thing is more widley accepted in todays society, but Nintendo tends to be reeeally careful when it comes to those sort of topics. Especially in it's localized releases. So I find it odd that they would let something that blatant slip through the cracks.
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Post by Banzai Bill on Sept 20, 2012 17:06:49 GMT -5
Are we even sure sexuality exists in Mario's world? The only evidence of it would be if you consider Conker's Bad Fur Day to be a twisted branch off the Mariology family tree.
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Post by SMBBQ on Sept 21, 2012 17:01:45 GMT -5
Well, I would assume it exists in the Marioverse. Maybe I'm projecting too much real-world stuff in here? Who knows, I don't.
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Post by PDoogan on Sept 21, 2012 19:04:21 GMT -5
I suppose it really doesn't matter in the end. Birdo may be considered different genders in different countries, but they're not changing her personality or anything. So unless they show her doing something that only a girl could do, (like having kids) the label isn't important.
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Post by EpicGyllynn on Nov 4, 2012 12:10:13 GMT -5
Well homosexuality is generally frowned upon in Japan, so I'm not sure whether it would be considered acceptable in the Mushroom World or not (but I seriously doubt it is). As for inter-species relationships... That could be an interesting topic, but I'll need more time to think about it.
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