None Binary Left Beef · 12:59am Nov 19th, 2020
So, it has been announced today on Twitter that MLP has its first canonically nonbinary character.
Their name is Dust Devil, and they seem to be... fast? Very fast. I haven't kept up on the comics, but I may have to dive into them again just for this. I am thrilled. Many other people are not, but this ain't about them. This is about me, and people like me, and I'm going to take a moment to explore what this means and how I feel.
I am nonbinary (he/him or they/them). Nonbinary people... don't get a hell of a lot of media representation. Most of what we do get are usually robots and aliens and other deeply nonhuman characters. Which is, on the one hand, pretty tight, because robots and aliens and suchlike kick so much ass. One of the reasons why I love the Doctor so much is that it is very much possible to read them as a nonbinary character, as well as an asexual one; they are one of the few times when I can see certain aspects of myself reflected in media. However, this also has a kind of dehumanizing effect. If all that can be seen of my gender in media is Data from Star Trek, then it's a little harder for other people to reconcile me and my experiences with their own. Even I tend to fall into patterns of vaguely removing myself from the bulk of the human experience, because it just isn't shown like that. We are none of us immune to propaganda, as Garfield so eloquently puts it.
The fact that Dust Devil is just, you know, this guy -- just one abada of many, just Zecora's childhood friend -- feels liberating in a way I'm not sure I can express. They're just another person, just like me and just like you. I feel seen in a way that I haven't before, and maybe that's just me projecting onto a character I know next to nothing about, but I don't care. It's a step forward, and all I can say is, from the bottom of my heart, thank you IDW, for making this happen.
-6&7
I admit, I'm in the "Oh. Huh. That's nice" camp here, but I'm thrilled that you're thrilled.
That’s awesome. I’m a cis dude, but I have tons of trans friends (and my boyfriend is trans and my girlfriend is slightly trans (demigirl, but mostly cis)) , and I hope as non binary characters start to get more representation, they can also shrug off the stereotype of always being witchy svelt waif-like androgynous AFAB folks, though to be fair a lot of enbies I know do fit that description.
You should watch She-Ra and the Princess of Power on Netflix anyway, because it’s super good and super gay and has tons of themes and characters similar to those of MLP, but which a much more cohesive story arch, but also because the last few seasons feature an excellent enby character, to my knowledge the first such representation in a cartoon.
Anyway, I’m happy you’re happy and I really should get back into the comics.
Glad non-binary is getting more mainstream representation!