Let me explain you a thing about Grell Sutcliff. 

I noticed that one of my friends (I won’t put the spotlight on them, because they have enough drama right now, wtf) is struggling with raging fans of the Kuro fandom, and I felt the need to explain why so many people might be outraged by the use of the wrong gender when referring to her. And also, why there isn’t a need to send hate to people that don’t understand or respect it. 

Let me start off by telling you how I fit in to the issue: 

I’m gender-neutral, but fairly silent about it. Biologically, female. And a fan of Kuro like many of my followers. I also happen to bunk with one of the biggest Grell fangirls of all time. I’ve been bopped on the head a few times when mistakenly calling Grell ‘he’.

I know that a lot of people feel that Grell is a representation of the trans community within the Kuroshitsuji universe. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Yana created her to do just that, however, I would argue that for a lot of people in the trans community, it’s a big step in the way of acceptance. 

After all, how many major, trans characters can you think of in mainstream media? Well? I can’t name many at all. Especially those that are written believably. 

Take this segment written and drawn by Yana for her fans and reader to understand exactly how Grell identifies. 

She’s a woman. No denying it. Inside her heart (despite what hangs between her legs), she is a woman. She even uses feminine speech when she talks. Really feminine pronouns like あたし (a-ta-shi). 

But she’s just a fictional character, right? What does it matter if she’s assigned the wrong gender by her peers, or her fans? 

That’s simple: the people that are offended by those that don’t use Grell’s proper pronouns aren’t just thinking about Grell. They’re thinking about every trans person they’ve ever known. They’re thinking about all of the people that don’t identify as their biological sex. Maybe their sister, brother, cousin, best friend or parent. The thing is, when you refer to a person as their bio sex and not their identified gender, you’re making a huge faux-pas that’s near impossible to recover from if you’re just refusing to acknowledge that person’s feelings. 

Think about it this way: 

Everyone has some sort of idol. Think of yours. For me, it’s hide (Hideto Matsumoto). Think about why you admire them. Do you have something in common with them? Do they make you feel like something about you isn’t so bad? Maybe they give you the strength to pull forward? 

For some people, that person is fictional. 

And for some, that person happens to be Grell Sutcliffe. 

And for an even smaller group, it is solely because she is trans, willing to come out and say it during one of the most difficult times to be trans, and never lets it stop her. She’s a strong role model for those that are going through a gender identity struggle. 

So long as they don’t go Jack the Ripper on us, what’s the harm? 

Understand that if someone gets angry with you for using the wrong pronouns for Grell, it’s probably not just about the character. It probably goes a little deeper than that. 

And if you think about it really hard, maybe you’ll grow to understand that it’s a really easy change to make (using the right pronoun, I mean). And it’s just easier for everyone involved if you just understand the character how she is written – as a woman. 

Also, please let’s not tangle the issues of sexuality and gender identity. 

They are not the same thing. 

That’s all. <3