#gdn reply

This is an issue that’s been fought over for years. How active people are in debating it seems to ebb and flow regardless of what is going on in the manga.

We are currently on Chapter 107 and Grell appeared briefly in 105 for the first time since the Campania arc. The only thing I recall that could be taken as a mention of [their] gender is [their] use of the phrase “紅一点” which translates to “the only girl in a group.” Literally, it means “red point,” so this is also a play on words. Other than this, there’s been no new information. 

Neither! This blog is only run by one person and I'm a pretty busy person. More than that, though, the drama surrounding the topic has really died down recently. I post more when more controversial posts pop up in the tags or arguments get intense. Right now there seems to be a bit of a lull in that kind of activity, which is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned! 

I think trans women should absolutely be able to claim characters they identify with, whether they’re canonically trans or their gender identities are interpreted several different ways. I would also love if there were more characters who were, without question or debate, transgender.

The issue with Grell is, Grell isn’t straight-cut. Grell refers to [them]self as an okama and is confirmed to use speech patterns that parody women’s speech rather than genuinely emulate it. And while these things are not evident to people who do not speak or read Japanese or who view the translations as literal and perfect, they do complicate Grell’s character. There is absolutely nothing wrong with viewing Grell as a trans woman and I really do encourage it. But there’s also nothing wrong with looking at the translation critically, taking cultural factors into consideration, and interpreting Grell as a caricature of the effeminate gay stereotype in Japan. Just as there are trans women who identify with Grell, there are gay men who do, as well. Neither is more right than the other.

I do not want to discourage anyone from viewing Grell one way or the other, I simply want to make sure all information is out there and given equal respect. This blog exists to support all fans and their views and was created because people were being attacked without just cause. And that brings me to your next statement.

A blog doesn’t exist for any of the (assumed) cis characters because people are not attacked for having headcanon about these characters’ gender identities. And of course not, because nobody should be attacked for having such headcanon. If you want to view Finnian as a trans boy, go for it. If you want to view Elizabeth as intersex, trying so hard to be cute and girlish when her body itself isn’t the “perfect” image of femininity in a time when motherhood and domesticity were so often equated to a woman’s self-worth, please, please do. And if you want to view Grell as a trans woman, nobody has any right to stop you. At the same time, nobody has any right to attack those who view these characters as cisgender, dyadic, or otherwise, respectively.

This blog really is mostly concerned with the controversy surrounding Grell’s gender, so I’m going to direct you over to this post, which discusses conflicting canon concerning it. 

But I’m also happy to talk about Grell’s sexual orientation. From a reply to an ask I received which mentioned this topic in the context of bisexual erasure: 

As for Grell’s relationship with Madame Red, that’s also unclear. Was their relationship sexual, romantic, platonic? Though the word “love” is used in the English translation, I believe this translates from the original Japanese more closely to “fondness”. Personally, though, I do see Grell as bisexual, and the dismissal of the fact that some relationship did exist between them is a problem this fandom has.

Honestly, I don’t have much to add to that. Though Grell certainly shows a preference for men, both through [their] behavior and with statements like “Between man and woman, love is a kind of warfare! No, love is man and man in a tragic dream play!” in The Tale of Will the Reaper OVA, it’s absolutely plausible, arguably probable, that Grell is bisexual and/or biromantic based on [their] relationship with Madame Red. You, seeing Grell as having been romantically, but not sexually, attracted to her, would define [them] not as bisexual, but as biromantic and homosexual. That’s a perfectly valid interpretation.

Moving on to your “proof” that Grell is a man, you’re plucking one statement out of canon and ignoring the rest. More than that, however, I think the real issue is that you’re conflating sex and gender. They are not the same. Grell’s physical sex is male. Grell’s gender identity is indeterminate. There are many ways to interpret Grell’s gender given what the author and character have said and taking cultural (and possibly historical) influences into consideration, but if you believe that Grell legitimately wants a sex change (since you did bring this up), then a cisgender (in alignment with [their] physical sex, male) interpretation is disrespectful.

I’m sorry this took a couple days to reply to. I wanted to see if I could find anything new. Unfortunately, there’s not much published work out there that’s readily available!

Just to make this a sort of masterpost, here’s what I’ve cited previously:

The translation note in Kuroshitsuji Volume II

Linguistic Creativity in Japanese Discourse: Exploring the Multiplicity of Self, Perspective, and Voice - Senko K. Maynard

Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology: Cultural Models and Real People - Shigeko Okamoto & Janet S. Shibamoto Smith

Japanese Final Particles and Self-Expressions in Japanese Gay Males - Masataka Murakami [this paper is no longer available]

I also found:

AsiaPacifiQueer: Rethinking Genders and Sexualities - Multiple Authors

I will continue looking and let you know if I update this post with new sources.