How Anakin Skywalker Coined The Term 'Transgender' In Star Wars
It’s Pride Month, making it the perfect time to delve into Star Wars’ LGBTQ+ history. The franchise has a complicated history regarding LGBTQ+ representation, which is fairly absent in the film series. However, it has resonated with audiences nonetheless, with figures from Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) to Darth Maul (Ray Park) becoming unlikely queer icons. Additionally, canon media, including novels, comic books, and video games, have become a hidden treasure trove of representation. In fact, transgenderism canonically exists in the Star Wars universe, and the term “transgender” was coined by none other than Anakin Skywalker in canon.
Anakin Skywalker Is An Ally In Star Wars
Anakin Skywalker coined the term “transgender” in Star Wars in the canon novel Queen’s Hope. Queen’s Hope is a young adult novel by E.K. Johnston that provides deeper insight into Padmé Amidala. It follows Padmé as she carries the secret of her marriage to Anakin, and grapples with the atrocities of the Clone Wars as a young, pacifist Senator. Anakin also struggles with his feelings about marriage, though he finds himself thriving as a wartime Jedi. During the war, Anakin fights alongside a clone trooper who is quite different from most clone troopers.
In Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) discovers that the Republic has built a clone army based on the genetic template of Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison). Since the clone troopers are genetic clones of Jango Fett, almost all of them are biologically male. However, in Queen’s Hope, Anakin meets a clone trooper who identifies as a woman. When he inquires about her name, it sparks a discussion on gender identity.
She tells him her name is Sister, explaining, “It’s how my brothers tell everyone I belong.” The clone troopers not only accepted Sister’s identity, but also gave the clone trooper her name to affirm her identity. Although her brothers accepted her, Sister admits to Anakin that she was worried about how the Jedi would react to “unusual clones” and whether they would understand her. Anakin puts her mind at ease, remarking, “The Jedi are all about transcending things. I don’t think we can complain if you’ve transcended gender.”
Sister tries out the term, “Transcended gender,” stating, “We’ll work on it, but I like where it’s heading.” Transcended gender, of course, is the Jedi equivalent of transgender. Not only does Anakin accept Sister and suggest that the Jedi should follow suit, but he’s also responsible for coining a term for transgederism in the Star Wars universe.
The Significance Of Sister’s ‘Transcended Gender'
Anakin Skywalker gives a name to transgenderism with his “transcended gender” remark. However, Star Wars had established the fluidity of gender long before Queen’s Hope. The Hutts, introduced in Return of the Jedi (1983) and considered a staple of the Star Wars universe, are biologically hermaphroditic. They produce asexually and essentially choose which gender to identify as.
Alien species’ unique biology has repeatedly opened the door for gender fluidity and gender identity in Star Wars. The Dianoga, first introduced as the trash monsters lurking beneath the Death Star in Star Wars (1977), are also hermaphroditic. The Baptist by Nnedi Okorafor reveals that the Dianoga change their gender at will. Much like the Hutts, they decide for themselves which gender to present as, regardless of biology. Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray, also introduces the Chalhuddans, another species that redefines our understanding of gender. The Chalhuddans have five distinct genders, and their native language includes distinct accompanying pronouns for each gender.
In Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig, the canon novel introduces the first non-binary character, Eleodie Maracavanya, the leader of a pirate gang in Wild Space, who uses the pronouns zhe/zher. The High Republic comic book series would go on to introduce three more non-binary characters: Kantam Sy, Terec, and Ceret.
While the pool of non-binary and gender-fluid characters in Star Wars has been growing for years, Sister’s “transcended gender” is significant in that it gives a name and affirmation to the characters in this pool. Her story is especially intriguing given that she hails from a group of people who weren’t given a choice of their biology. They were all created male and identical to one another. In their midst, though, is one who dared to construct her own gender identity and establish her individualism. Sister would’ve been “Sister” regardless of Anakin’s approval, but his affirmation means that the Jedi canonically accept and understand this transcendence of gender.
