Please stop judging people for calling Pidge “she”.
“But I use he/they because I think of Pidge as a trans boy/nonbinary.”
Okay. You are free to do that. But this interpretation makes me personally, as a nonbinary person, feel uncomfortable for a few reasons:
Pidge outright says, “I am a girl.” At no point does she ever indicate that she actually wants to be seen as a boy, or anything but a girl. When she “comes out” (and yes, I agree the scene is presented as a coming out, more on that later), the others take that opportunity to validate her declaration. Coran even says, “We were supposed to think you were a boy?” Which is a deeply upsetting line if the intent were for her to be a trans boy. In the same vein, “I don’t have to be a man to ‘man up’,” would be a horrific thing to write if Pidge were a trans boy. If Pidge were nonbinary or a trans boy, everyone saying, “Yeah, duh, you don’t pass at all and we totally knew the whole time,” is… really, really awful.
Additionally, for Pidge to say “I am a girl,” and for her friends to switch to “they” instead of “she” without asking her first feels like misgendering. Unless Pidge specifically requests alternative pronouns, there’s no reason for anyone to disregard her identity like that.
“Regardless of canon, I want to think of Pidge as trans! If you use ‘she’ you’re saying she’s cis.”
You know who else uses “she/her” a lot of the time? Trans women! I would never argue that trans girl Pidge is the only correct interpretation which everyone should adhere to, but it’s totally bizarre to me that everyone seems to have forgotten that trans women… exist! I personally feel that her “coming out” scene works a lot better when I think of her as trans. Also, there are plenty of nonbinary people of various identifications who use “she/her”. Pronouns are not always indicative of how someone views a character.
“Only cis people use ‘she’ for Pidge. It’s transphobic not to have any trans headcanons.”
You are 100%, demonstrably incorrect. Nine times out of ten, trans headcanons trigger my dysphoria. I am not alone in this. I can’t comfortably participate in a lot of fandom activities because of this. You know exactly nothing about a person’s politics or how they identify based on how many cartoon headcanons they have. Headcanons are a personal thing. They are important to some people. They are not important to everyone, because not everyone reacts to canon the same way. You have the right not to interact with any person or fanwork you wish, but these judgments are false, harmful, and lead to fighting and harassment. It’s alienating as hell. Be considerate.
