He, She, Singular They, Ze, Zhe, Yo

Upper left bubble:

that thing

Grell

Grell-san

Grell Sutcliff

Grell Sutcliff-san

Sutcliff-senpai

that trash officer of yours

“anata” (used exclusively by one Mr William T. Spears)

Before you read, I want to point out that, while there is very obviously more text under the “Male Pronouns” heading, this is because I wanted to be very thorough in citing my sources because it was not as simple as pulling examples from the character interview. Both sets have five bulleted points each. Please also note that my pronoun use for Grell changes in accordance to what point is being made.

In Support of the Use of Female Pronouns:

Grell refers to herself with female pronouns and titles, such as actress, maiden, and lady, in all canons and the oft-cited interview in the Kuroshitsuji Character Guide (both Japanese and English versions of relevant pages can be found in this post).

Grell and Madame Red’s bond began out of empathy for her inability to bear children (source; this is also mentioned in both the anime and manga).

In the above-mentioned interview, Grell expresses feeling depressed when she was not able to present herself as female.

She also states that her biggest complaint is that she was not born a woman and the thing she wants most is a sex change.

Ignoring the above points is a disrespect to the character and the transgender community.

In Support of the Use of Male Pronouns:

The author of Kuroshitsuji and the Kuroshitsuji Character Guide, Yana Toboso, refers to Grell with neutral or male pronouns (彼) and as オカマhere and here respectively, to give only two examples [these links do not work for me, so an duplicate of her blog post in which she uses オカマ is here]. This word, okama, is generally used to refer to a (usually quite flamboyant) gay man or male cross-dresser.

Other Kuroshitsuji characters, written by Yana Toboso, also refer to Grell with male pronouns. refer to Grell with neutral or no pronouns. Grell is usually referred to by their name or, by William, as “that thing.” This supports use of neutral or mixed pronouns.

Grell himself uses the word okama in reference to himself in artwork (the image is about 2/3 of the way down the page) [alt. link] posted to Yana’s blog. A translation can be found here, but this specific word is used in this context: それにねえ オカマにだって人（?）権 , saying “even okama have human (?) rights”. (Note: okama is translated to transsexual in the link. I am unsure of the reasoning for this. The question mark following “human” is most likely there because Grell is technically not human, but a Reaper.)

In the Story of Will the Reaper OVA, Grell says, “Between man and woman, love is a kind of warfare! No, love is man and man in a tragic dream play!” In the dub, this becomes “All the world’s a stage and I am a player, navigating the brutal, bloody battlefield that is love. Yes, man and man together in a tragic play!” meaning Grell is referring to himself.

Grell’s use of female pronouns and titles could be attributed to オネエ言葉. Onee-kotoba, literally “older sister speech” is the exaggerated, effeminate speech used by Japanese drag performers. Two books that discuss onee-kotoba can be read online here and here, and a simple search of this word in either English or Japanese will also bring up many informative results.

Gender and sexual minorities are misrepresented in media world-wide, Japan being no exception. In this video, which discusses Japanese attitudes toward and portrayals of homosexuality and trans identities, the comments and views expressed are those of followers of the channel who live in Japan. According to these accounts, Japanese media often blurs the distinctions between transgender women and homosexual men, placing them all in the category of  オネエ, creating and reinforcing stereotypes which have wide-spread cultural influence and likely affect Yana Toboso’s characterization of Grell.

In Support of the Use of Mixed or Neutral Pronouns and Individual Interpretation:

In the Ciel in Wonderland OVA, Grell says they are “a creature of halves (*and in-betweens). Who can say if I’m woman or man?” in the subtitled version (*in some translations). This line was translated to “Male or female? … No one can say” in the dub. Either is supportive of Grell’s gender not fitting neatly into the gender binary.

The interview in the Kuroshitsuji Character Guide is not a perfect translation. Panels in the interview and throughout the rest of the guide have meanings that are lost in English. The panel in which Grell is asked “You usually use female speech?” says “普段からオネエ言葉なのですか?” The “オネエ言葉“ here is literally “onee-kotoba.” Because onee-kotoba is often intentionally crude and mocking of typical women’s speech, Grell’s response of “it’s not very ladylike or cute to use harsh words” is ironic. Grell is also a character canonically treated as comic relief, especially in the anime. It is highly probable none of this is meant to be taken seriously, let alone literally. The interview as a whole should therefore be approached with some level of skepticism as to its seriousness and intention.

On a similar note, there is a panel on page 43 of the guide where a question mark is used following the pronoun 女. This was taken out in the English fan translation, but, had it been kept, it would have been written “A woman (?) has many faces in life…”

Yana Toboso’s personal use of male or neutral pronouns, Grell’s use of female pronouns, and their both using the word okama, in combination with the treatment of the LGBT+ community in Japanese media could indicate that Grell’s gender either cannot be defined strictly by male and female terms or is left intentionally ambiguous.

Conclusion:

Grell is referred to inconsistently by both their creator and themself, the tone of their Character Guide interview is questionable, and there are cultural attitudes and language barriers to take into consideration. For these reasons, Grell’s gender is up for discussion and interpretation.

Grell could be an effeminate cisgender homosexual man, a bisexual transwoman, a pansexual androgene. None of these characterizations is wrong and there are many other equally legitimate combinations of sexual orientation and gender identity that do not inarguably contradict canon in any way, shape, or form.

This does not mean that there are not issues in regard to this matter, however.

Genuinely homophobic and transphobic behaviors and slurs do exist within the Kuroshitsuji fandom. Queer erasure by both cis Grell and trans Grell proponents is also problematic and needs to be addressed from all sides. Finally, fetishization and transmysogyny are especially common among Grell fans. These are the topics we need to worry about. None of these things are acceptable and they should not be tolerated at any level.

But neither should bullying and harassment. Regardless of how you or your fellow fans view Grell, Grell does not have a canonical gender. Hatred has no place in fandom.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions? If you feel I’ve missed something or should go into greater detail on a specific topic, please let me know! I want everyone in this fandom to have access to all the information they require to come to their own conclusions.

[2] 3. The line in the Ciel in Wonderland OVA varies by translation. In the sub, it’s “I am already constrained because I’m a ‘halfway’ existence that doesn’t know if it is a man or a woman.” In the dub, they say, “I am a creature of halves and in-betweens.” This isn’t them speaking about others’ impression of them, but a statement of self.

Also that character interview is mistranslated garbage. The line translated as “You usually use female speech?” literally says Grell uses onee-kotoba, and Grell’s response is thus a joke, as onee-kotoba is deliberately crude and a mockery of the way a woman would speak. The entire interview is a joke made around the misconception that gay men in Japan have a desire to be women. It’s a trope and very specific character type and you cannot apply Western views of gender to it.

/spins around in rolling chair

I’m not touching this with a 10 ft poll since I know barely anything about Japanese pronouns. The only thing I will say is that I fully believe Grell is a trans female.

Yes, but she has confirmed Grelle to be a trans woman, so referring to her as “kare” & “okama” is misgendering her own character. Again, some authors misgender their characters. It happens. 

“ The entire interview is a joke made around the misconception that gay men in Japan have a desire to be women.”

Grelle is not exclusively attracted to men. She was in love with Madam Red. She is biromantic. Also, body dysphoria isn’t something people, who experience it “joke” about. Grelle feels like she’s trapped in her own body. If you’ve read the Jack the Ripper arc, you know she’s being serious about this, since that was where she first discussed her body dysphoria, not her confessional. Her statements about her dysphoria in her confessional are not a joke.

Honestly, I’m just not going to bother with this anon & their transmisogynist bullshit, anymore, because I am 100% convinced that they’re never going to change. 

Two words: Fuck you.

Grelle IS a canon trans woman.

grelldoesnothaveacanonicalgender is wrong. 

Just because her author misgenders her, she uses onee-kotaba, which is also used by gay man & drag queens, as well as trans women doesn’t make Grelle being a trans woman any less valid.

None of the other things that the admin of the “Grelle Does Not Have a Canonical” blog claims makes Grelle’s gender a matter of opinion actually makes her gender a matter of opinion.

Also, you do know that the entire reason why that blog was created was because the admin was pissed that Grelle’s a trans woman & not the gender they want her to be, right? You know that blog was created for a transmisogynist reason, right? 

Fuck you for actually falling for the bullshit a blog dedicated to the erasure of trans women’s representation posts.

People i’ve seen a lot of trouble over Grell’s gender and im wrinting this to try to help you people and try to ends this fight.

Grell is a male, a he, he have a dick on is pants and not a pussy! So its a male people. But he thinks is a female ,in hes head and he calls himself a lady and i deal with that and i understand.

Actually the persons that dont understant simple fact dont deserve our attention and we have to ignore that but thats not the reason why im wirnting this, the reason  its the opposite. I’ve seen people who post things like “It discuss me people who call Grell a he.” And it disturbs me because im one of these “discusting” people.

 All i want to say and to make you understant is that we have to respect other people opcions and deal that we can call Grell he or she, that is our personal opcion and nobody have to question it or insult it just have to respect our opinion.

 If you want to know why i call him a he its because i felt seriosally in love with him and i can stand the fact that he hes a pure gay male, i believe he is a bisexual and i got myself in a serios search about it and i found many things that prove that he can love girls too, including the fact that he said “I felt in love with a women.” Refering to Madam Red. I can’t say that if its true or not but i found many things that make sence and i keep beliving that hes bi.

This is stupid i know being in love with a character, but its true love…sometimes i cry because i will never meet him.

I just want this problem be fix.

I hope i made you guys think about it and thanks for the attention. ^^

First of all, gender and sex are completely separate. This is so important. GENDER ≠ SEX. Regardless of Grell's genitalia, [their] gender is not determined by their physical form. Saying otherwise is transphobic. Canonically, Grell's sex is male, Grell's personal pronoun use is predominantly feminine, and Grell's gender is indeterminate.

People who use female pronouns feel that Grell's personal pronoun use and the comment about desiring a gender-affirming operation in the Character Interview are what matter most. They are not wrong for this and their being disgusted by people who disagree is just as valid as the opinions of those who use male or neutral pronouns.

As for Grell's sexuality, an interpretation of [their] relationship with Madame Red as romantic is great and backed by canon. There are no issues with this whatsoever.

However, viewing Grell as cisgender male and bisexual solely because you want [them] to be real and are in love with [them], and getting upset with anyone who feels differently (or even reblogging posts you disagree with only to argue), is going to cause you unnecessary trouble. Viewing Grell the way you do isn't the problem, but your reasoning is unsound. 

In addition, your comment, "i can['t] stand the fact that he hes a pure gay male" (correct me if I misinterpreted this) seems homophobic. This isn't an accusation, I'm simply pointing out how this statement reads.

isn’t Grell trans/isn’t Grell gay?

what’s an okama?

what’s a molly?

TLDR; There is no right or wrong answer. ‘He’, ‘she’, ‘they’, ‘ze’; all acceptable pronouns for Grell. Trans, gay, genderqueer; all acceptable headcanons for Grell.