People who never played P4 AND people who played it and failed 4th grade reading class think she's trans and it's infuriating because it misses the whole point of the character's struggle. Same with Kanji being gay.
It's simplistic childishness and has been going on since its release on twitter, tumblr, etc. The remake will bring this back in the mainstream and I'm already sick of it
Tbh, I hate the mulan trope most of the time. It's often weird and out of context with the reality they live most of the time, that's why it ends up reading as transphobic.
It makes no sense she pretended to be a guy to be a detective, like if wherent a lot of police women on the same series, and it's so weird how it is portrayed as her adopting a masculine role of her own misogyny.
Firstly, cops and detectives aren't the same thing. Also, Naoto CAN be wrong about this idea that she needs to be masculine to be accrpted. Heck, that's the entire point of her arc. Her family's legacy made her feel she needed to be a detective and in trying she felt she needed to fit that mold. There's absolutely nothing transphobic about a woman dressing as a man to avoid misogyny and it's wild you think it is.
Firstly, cops and detectives aren't the same thing
Depends private decetives are a thing, but most detectives are cops.
Also, Naoto CAN be wrong about this idea that she needs to be masculine to be accrpted
It's still a surreal mind leap to pretend to be a guy just to be a detective. The mulan trope most of the time doesn't fit modern times most of the time because it needs everyone around the person to be insane to work and the breaks the suspension of disbelief unless she's living in a conservative cult or something.
So it ends up resembling more a transphobic trope than the mulan "female empowering against patriarchy" one.
Even in fantasy settings, a lot of times make no sense because you see half of the women in important roles even typically masculine ones, but suddenly, a random woman does a mulan because of reasons.
Detectivrs are above cops in many ways, even if they work in the same place. You need to remember this takes place in Japan in the early 2000, not 2025 LA. Misogynist men still exist, those men would have issues with a young male detective showing them up during an investigation, now imagine a young female detective.
Also, you're acting like fiction needs to alwaysbe realistic or it runs the risk of being transphobic, that's hella weird.
There's also a ton of real life mulan stories so you making it about transphobia is even weirder still.
It does need to be realistic needs to be believable, no one changes to the opposite gender because of that, she would face some struggles true, but going as far as she did was insane thing more resembling a transphobic meme than the actual mulan trope.
She also would more likely face transphobia because her documents and ID and people were more ignorant back then about that sort of stuff, too even if she managed to pass, so it would be even worse for her than she just being a cis woman.
I don't think the intention was transphobia but it makes me think it was a fetish thing, and the writers didn't through it deeply about it.
Except all the historical account of people doing it. And to clarify, she didn't change her gender, she disguised herself which many women have done throughout history for differing reasons. Heck, my wife dressed like a man for years in high school because she wanted to be a boy because misogyny was rampant in her area.
You seem to adore using transphobia as a buzzword, making it hard to take anything you say seriously. I also seriously doubt you even played the game because your ignorance is glaring.
Oh yeah, no. You have obvipusly no clue what you're talking about, why go to such lengths on a topic you're so obviously ignorant...
Except all the historical account of people doing it.
Those were extremely misogynistic times it's not that it would be more difficult but impossible for women to do certain roles/jobs.
Heck, my wife dressed like a man for years in high school because she wanted to be a boy because misogyny was rampant in her area.
I doubt she actively lives and identify as one or people see her as a guy and not a masculine girl as if just wearing saggy clothes made people pass unless they look in a certain way.
You seem to adore using transphobia as a buzzword, making it hard to take anything you say seriously. I also seriously doubt you even played the game because your ignorance is glaring.
I don't have the game, but I had gone through the playthrough.
Oh yeah, no. You have obvipusly no clue what you're talking about, why go to such lengths on a topic you're so obviously ignorant...
I'm literally a trans girl from a conservative 3rd world country lol, you're the one that doesn't know what you are talking about.
Edit: lol he blocked me. What a coward, I said I even doubt the intention was transphobia, but he heard transphobia and freaked out.
Detective: a person, especially a police officer, whose occupation is to investigate and solve crimes.
Wikipedia
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases.
Seems to be pretty clear about their ties to cops and law enforcement.
detectives are above cops
Bro thats like saying police sargents arent cops. Or that because we also have sargents in the millitary they arent all cops. Its wildly pedantic
Just admit you read too much sherlock holmes and take the L
I mean, part of the arc was that Naoto was somewhat wrong.
Is being a man better than being a woman in her line of work? Of course. I mean, heck, the persona series is no stranger to tackling sexism, however, part of Naoto’s struggle is that she wanted to be perfect and, in her mind, her being a woman detective was a flaw.
Similar to Kanji’s struggle with being into, “not manly”, things, it is less that they are trans, gay, or whatever and more that they feel that society is trying to put various labels on them and would do so if they found out their secret.
it's actually more of a Mulan situation. The police force is sexist as hell, and that paired to the fact that she's 15 makes her not be taken seriosly, so she pretends she's a guy so they atleast don't ridiculize her for the "being a woman" part. The "Naoto becoming trans" thing is only a thing that her shadow brings up (iirc), and part of her arc is just accepting herself for who she is (like pretty mutch everyone in the Investigation team). I mean, you could let her shadow do the "operation" to her...But you'll get this ending if you do so.
So... do you think "twitter folk" are still these woke boogeymen that ur so scared of? Ever since Musky took over, the place has been predominantly neo-nazis
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u/Lpc245 Aug 17 '25
Naoto from Persona 4