#The thing that historically put me off this headcanon (and why I still tread lightly) was running into fans who used it in a gatekeepy way

[threewaysdivided]

How do you feel about the trans Danny headcanon? Not in terms of Deathly Weapons, just in general.

As a headcanon itself? I don’t personally go for it but I can see where it comes from, and I’m glad it brings people joy.

Like I mentioned in my DP & Asexuality meta-post, Danny’s half-ghost status can read as broad allegory for a bunch of potential experiences including various flavours of LGBT+ and neurodiversity. Add to that DP/FOP’s somewhat iffy tendency to use male femininity and emasculation as both punchline and source of character embarrassment for “comedy” such as it is and it’s not really surprising that both shows sometimes go tripping tail-over-teakettle right across the line into accidental-queer-coding.

That’s about as much as I can say on this one, since it isn’t a headcanon I tend to actively seek out. Baby 3WD had the misfortune to stumble into the Phandom at a time when some of the most popular circulating posts on the topic were people insisting that the interpretation “is canon” (with a very loud subtext that anyone who disagreed even slightly was an evil terrible transphobe), heavily cherry-picking the show to “prove” it, and seemingly taking glee in the idea that the headcanon would “ruin cis people’s childhoods” or make them uncomfortable, which just… seemed like a vaguely gatekeep-y, kind of mean, sort of disingenuous attitude towards fandom that I didn’t and still don’t particularly vibe with.

But, as it turns out, that's not representative of the headcanon at all! I’ve since met some really lovely users, seen some great meta-analysis about trans/queer readings of canon, and there some fantastic stories exploring the trans experience and the way being trans would alter Danny’s character and relationships. It’s kind of a universal law of the internet that even the most chill and non-toxic fandoms must be at least 5% tyre-fire by volume... and it’s just unfortunate that I happened to land right in the middle of a tyre-fire whose first impression has left me leery of wading too deep into that particular pool.

As for my own writing… I’m an asexual cis-woman whose interests lean more towards character psychology, self-esteem/self-love, platonic relationships and dealing with loss. I almost never have strong feelings or headcanons about the sexuality or gender identity (or even shipping) of characters - I kind of prefer to just take them at their word based on what they say/ show us in the story. (The only time it gets my back up is when I feel like a paid official creator is being exploitative/ dishonest/ disrespectful with their representation.)

In canon Danny identifies as male and is identified by the rest of the cast as male (even if sometimes he seems to struggle with feeling like he doesn’t live up to the “ideal of manliness” which honestly is a load of toxic bunk anyway) so I write him as a cis-guy.

Would I personally write a trans-headcanon story? Probably not. Like I said, I’m cis and - while I can listen to and sympathise with the experiences of trans people - I don’t feel like that would be my story to tell and (while I would do my best to research and be respectful if handed a canonically trans character) I wouldn’t feel confident enough in my ability to respectfully handle it to voluntarily take on that task. Especially since - when it comes to these kinds of transformative headcanons - I would personally want a story to explore how that change changes the character(s).

If someone else wants to write fic/ meta or otherwise make the case that a particular relationship or a specific queer/ cultural/ religious interpretation or reading of the text would be narratively compelling or offer interesting insights then I’m happy to hear them out. But honestly it’s just not something that I actively go looking for.

Basically, so long as people are being kind and respectful to others and doing what makes them happy then go forth and prosper with my blessing.