#and to be clear this isnt praising netflix at all this is squarely on the shoulders of

[pom-seedss]

Just picking up some conversations from the ether but like...

There has been this push back against queer signifiers in media recently and I’m kind of wary of the whole thing. This isn’t just one thing, but I’ll give an example.

Nimona isn’t trans because there is a trans flag in the background when she’s talking to Bal about her shapeshifting or the rainbow in the credits. But to act like queer folks don’t use signifiers to confirm to other queer folks that “yes this is what I mean by this” or “you are included in this” is kind of asinine.

While I understand the pushback against rainbow capitalism and the co-opting of our symbols by corporate interests, or the thought that slapping a pride pin on a character makes them inherently queer in the narrative when it is never actually touched upon, I feel like we are overcorrecting in saying all flags are either coincidental or useless or both.

And in Nimona’s case, it isn’t a trans allegory just because there is a flag in the background, it is the full embodiment of her character, the story and the world that was created around her in the movie. But the trans flag in the background and the pride flag at the end? That’s just confirmation. That’s something queer folks can point to when bigots say ‘it’s not about that’, and while bigots can look passed it, it affirms it for *us*.

It can be trans both because of the story itself resonating a lot with trans, especially genderfluid, folks *and* because there is a trans flag in the background while Nimona is talking about her shifting.

Like, it can be both.