Fans are speculating that Gwen a.k.a. Spider-Woman, who is voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, is transgender as they point out details in the film that may hint at the character's gender identity.
- Jun 7, 2023
AceShowbiz - Is Gwen Stacy in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" transgender? Fans have been buzzing on the Internet with speculation that Gwen a.k.a. Spider-Woman is trans after watching the animated film, which serves as a sequel to "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" (2018).
Social media users have been pointing out several details in the film that could hint at Gwen's gender identity, such as "Protect Trans Kids" sticker on the wall of her bedroom. She also wears a trans flag on her jacket at one point, which could indicate she's part of the LGBTQ+ community or she's an ally.
It's also worth noting that the colors in Gwen's dimension are the colors of the trans flag. Each dimension has its own base color scheme and Earth-42, a dimension where Miles Morales has become the villain The Prowler, is suffused in the purple of The Prowler's costume, whereas the colors in Earth-65, where Gwen exists, default to the trans flag colors.
Another strong hint is Gwen's arc, which has her "coming out" to her father, him rejecting her, her running away and then finally accepting her identity. Her father, who is a cop, is later seen having a trans flag on his jacket.
Seeing these, a fan wrote on Twitter, "Mfs be like 'gwen stacy isn't trans' and then they have a four minute sequence in the movie where she's just the trans flag colors." Another argued, "Gwen Stacy is Trans. Her whole arc is a trans allegory. The colors are the trans flag. But most telling. HER WHITE COP DAD WEARS THE TRANS COLORS ON HIS UNIFORM. NO F**K1NG COP IS THAT MUCH OF AN ALLY UNLESS THEY HAVE A TRANS FAMILY MEMBER!"
Agreeing, someone opined, "Like They made her HAIR the FLAG. This art team are braver than the troops for getting this in there." Another user weighed in, "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."
While many praised the movie for the supposed trans representation, neither Sony nor the cast or crew has addressed the speculation about Gwen being transgender.
The movie has hit theaters across the nation since June 2.
