Can You Genderswap Cloud Strife? ||
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
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Grace Benfell's article on Uppercut: uppercutcrit.c...
#shorts #finalfantasyvii #finalfantasy
![[TF2] The Russian Bear Trap](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YFNSwz2_rOA/mqdefault.jpg)
The masculine urge to fight a genetically engineered demigod and win
He just like me…
He just like me fr!
The feminine urge to fight a genetically engineered demigod and win.
No need to genderswap cloud he's successful enough at genderswapping himself lmfao
Would a hypothetical (non-trans) genderswapped Cloud need to dress up as a man to infiltrate Don Cornetto's place?
@@timothymclean yes, how else would it be funny.
very true lol
Nailed it, I know, thanks, moving on.
The manliest thing Cloud to do is choose to become his true self. 😊
Appreciate you talking about how dealing problems with masculinity can come from multiple angles.
It’s nice to be in the league community without dealing with the needless hate it can be known for
Very pointy angles
They straight up made bro cross dress I think if he got a gender swap it wouldn’t matter lol.
So often I’ll see people act like “genderswapping a character for no reason would destroy the story” and so often they’ll never elaborate on how or why they think that would happen, but this is one of the first instances I’ve ever seen of someone giving earnest thought to the idea and how it would play out, especially looking at the “masculinity from multiple angles” argument. Incredibly well done.
It falls apart when you realize FF13 is right there and does the same story with Cloud genderswapped to Claire (Lightning)
@@Vanity0666 FF13 and FF7 are nowhere near to being similar. Lightning being a genderswap of Cloud was a starting point for her concept, but is in no way the final stage of what her or the game's story turned into overall. It's doing a disservice to both games to call them the same.
@@Shalakor guy who hasnt played lightning returns
It doesn’t matter what gender cloud is
He can still pull off a dress
And still get chosen over two women who dressed their best.
Damn right
The masculine urge to impress the girl next door
I mean cloud is the only ''''''male'''''' party member in ff tactics able to equip the ribbon.
Rock that ribbon dammit
Probably just a joke about the whole crossdressing Cloud part in FF7 tbh
@@Ahab2710 Maybe, but it still leaves the "Cloud is a trans woman/non-binary person in *heavy* denial" interpretation equally viable, given how the Ribbon was gender locked to "non-male" otherwise.
@@arnowisp6244 That’s a backwards statement. It’s equally ideologically motivated to specifically exclude trans readings of characters just because you might not want to entertain it. Implying otherwise is just incorrect. If you don’t like it then that’s fine, no one’s forcing you to participate. But I mean hell, no Final Fantasy fan should be complaining about “ideology” in games.
@@arnowisp6244 no
So what you’re saying is “estrogen can save her”
"Can you genderswap Cloud"
Oh, you mean Lightning from final fantasy XIII?
came looking for this comment rofl
@@aureateseigneur5317 I don't mind Lightning at all, I think she works fine as the MC.
Over the course of 3 games, she has no arc. Cloud has a full story in 1.
Literally lol
To quote remakes. "Nailed it i know, thank you, moving on"
Actually I think it COULD be cis genderswapped. A woman who is going through a "not like other girls" misogyny complex being able to explore femininity in a healthy way while still retaining her masculine traits. It's not as elegant but it could work.
I love crossdressing Cloud as much as the next person, but I wouldn't read the story outright as a trans allegory. I think the idea is that Cloud has never had the chance to be more in touch with his more feminine side, and his interactions with Aerith and Tifa throughout the story slowly allowed him to become a more well-rounded person, no longer chasing an invinvible masculine ideal but letting himself be more vulnerable, to not get hung up on his expectations and instead accepting reality for what it is.
crossdressing cloud certainly makes the reading of cloud being a trans woman more obvious, but it's not the only angle that you can make that reading from, as evidenced by the fact that aside from the tiny clip at the end skyen doesn't even mention the scene. it doesn't invalidate your reading, either, if cloud is a trans woman
Trans reading != Trans allegory
I personally see the trans reading through the propaganda of military = real man as that is what many trans women go through as they struggle with their identity
Interactions with Barret helped Cloud more than interactions with Aerith or Tifa;
come at me.
@@RottenHeretic Best bro and best father
I feel like yoy could also take him as trans masc approach, like trying to reach an hyper masculine ideal while struggling to figure himself out. At least, that's something I can relate to
Exactly! This was a pit I fell into and I'm still trying to dig myself out of. Not to the extent of "join the military!" but the point still stands.
The need for that gender affirmation is *high.* And so Cloud could've been trying to dive so deeply into that overpowering idea of masculinity and completely rejecting any 'feminine' traits he may have that it allowed him to be placed in the perfect position for the military. He felt he needed to prove that he's a man, they needed a dog to do their chores. It's a win-win! Right? Wrong!
Cause when the plot picks up, you're friends with the definition of a cis guy ripe for you to compare yourself to AND your bad guy has typically feminine physical traits and is STILL more of a man than you are, you kinda think shit abt yourself. And that's a big oof.
Is this projecting if idk anything about Cloud other than what I've learned in this video and the comments? Or is this just story-crafting?
I feel like it's like Cloud wanting to be a man but also still enjoying being "traditionally fem" on the inside which confuses him and makes him struggle
I agree... a lot of trans men are "tom boys" who felt even more uninvited to the masculine ideal than boys who were already boys. it's not even failing to measure up... it's never being asked to participate in the first place.
and a lot of toxicity can enter into it, when you buy into the idea that becoming more masculine is the only way you can attain value for yourself. in trying to become more and more unquestionably masculine, you can overshoot into a hatred of femininity, and especially a hatred of any femininity you might see within yourself. the drive to prove yourself only gets stronger, the more you expect people to doubt, disbelieve, or exclude you.
so sometimes trans men will have even harsher standards of masculinity for themselves than cis men do, and even when a cis man is like "you know, you could chill out a little" the answer is no. a trans man can't. because if they give themselves even a little bit of a break, that gives every other person on earth an opening to throw their masculine identity away, because there are cracks in it. it isn't unimpeachable anymore.
obviously this is something that a lot of trans men end up having to unlearn over time. there are a lot of ways to be a man, and not all of them have to look like the stereotypical masculine gold standard. in some ways, that ideal can't really be reached by anyone... it only exists to keep men striving in anxiety forever. and every man or masculine person will be happier if they can just let themselves settle where they're really comfortable.
idk if all of this could be applied to Cloud specifically, but it should at least be considered when talking about genderbending a character that interacts heavily with concepts of masculinity.
Well yeah trans men are men. Like Skyen is including y'all under the umbrella of masculinity.
Also leaving down young so they can be a tough soldier obsessed with being a "hero", posturing and being emotionally distant to the point it seems goofy to outsiders, doesnt like talking about their past, and.. makes that whole dress-wearing sequence extra weird now.
And people said Skyen would never say "no".
I honestly thought he would only say no if the character was a woman. Tbh, most male characters in media can be gender swapped without changing much of anything.
Smash.
Next question.
Ohh, the idea of a trans reading of Cloud is very interesting
I mean, you could really make any reading a trans reading since trans people can suffer from the same problems cis people do.
@@mehdisilini7296 Really depends on the context, if its like for example a boy born in a strict military family is made to join the army
The reason he joined the army is because he is a man and was born as one, if he was a girl and later became a man he wouldn't be pushed into the military by his family. Not without altering the story a bunch, like a girl that becomes masculine through the strict military family teaching.
BUT that character could be read as a trans girl! I mean, depending on the story for how much sense it would make.
And suddenly the Honeybee Inn shenanigans take on a whole other meaning...
The Honeybee Inn becomes Twelfth Night as played by actors contemporary to Shakespeare
Almost any character that goes through an identity crisis can be trans allegory. It’s almost like identity is a huge part of being human.
Sure, but not all people have identity crisis' involving their gender
THIS is part of the reasoning I've always argued FF7 has much better stories and characters then people give it credit for, after seeing the Kingdom Hearts and Advent Children characterisation.
Also I'm probably projecting but I've always seen Cloud as being autistic as a 100% valid character reading, given his clearly stated inability to fit in as a child and the ways he painfully obviously tries to be something he's not to his own detriment at times.
That's an interesting read to me, because as an autistic person myself I've never seen an autistic person who wasn't some kind of nerdy... Which, Cloud seemingly isn't. His interests we learn little about but there's hints at things like motorcycles, maybe snowboarding, maybe chocobo racing, and military life, with the biggest foray into real playfulness being the mostly optional Gold Saucer. In fact, his goofy side is also expressed primarily through optional dialogue iirc...
Special interests of course take all forms. I'm just saying it's different from what I'm used to when considering such things.
@@NeonBlue27Cloud doesn't get much of a chance for special interests given the life he leads
@@NeonBlue27 The nerdiest people I know have those interests/skills/experiences you listed. Nerds predate the internet, video games, and anime, so what do you think they were doing with themselves back then?
Yooooooooooooo! I'd never considered that trans reading of cloud, but honestly that is such a fun and cool interpretation!
As a trans person: there isn't anything "fun" or "cool" about being trans. Still interesting though.
@@A.C_B. yup
@@A.C_B. I don't think they are talking about being trans as something inherently "cool". I think they are talking of the new take itself as being cool... Finding similarities on a character's story and the struggles of a closeted trans woman on a videogame from two decades ago is indeed cool and fun. It gives a new perspective and lets us experience old media on today's world.
@@A.C_B. as another another trans person: being trans is the fuckin' coolest, and it's not our fault if the rest of the world hasn't caught up to that yet
@@cherryblossomdrive-by5797 glad that you are able to see something positive in it.
One point I always thought it was very interesting when it came to the true backstory of Cloud and Sepheroth‘s confrontation at the Mako reactor.
Even though he views himself as a failure of a soldier, he still the one in the end that took down the madman.
He was the one that was run through by that long sword, and then he grabbed the sword by the blade, and used it to lift Sepheroth into the air and then threw him into the lifestream.
And for anybody else that would’ve been a death sentence.
And yet he feels so inadequate about his own accomplishments in his attempt to try and heal from Shinra’s experiments on him he took on the memories of Zack someone he felt, was an actual soldier.
so glad you’re doing final fantasy, my favourite game series🥺
What a tactful video. You handled this very well, thank you
I love this series so much! Literally my fav thing to watch on youtube!
Only recently discovered your channel but I've been enjoying all your shorts. Here's to many more! Also I wasn't really aware just what the premise of FFVII was but now I'm certainly interested.
FFVII is a game that suffers a lot from overexposure. It's worth checking out if you have the time someday :)
@@TBSkyenShortsAuDHD strikes again I’ve been meaning to reply for this for years but anyways I finally am sitting down to play the original after watching your first episode of remake. (I’m impatient and can’t wait for both Remake and Rebirth and I’ve been on a PlayStation Classics TM binge and also I’ve yet to be spoiled somehow)
Me when I got to the honeybee inn in the remake: 👁️👄👁️😳 🥵♥️😏
Ngl always felt cloud was a ftm (as one myself), often times we'd cling onto toxic masculine traits to try and "be more manly" but that was just what was shown to us, when really being a man has nothing to do with any of that. Being comfortable in your own skin and being able to see you are strong without needing to be "manly" is enough
Agree. This is a valid reading as much as mtf trans is. Honestly pursuing such extremes is only ever harmful. Like, most of the important men in our lives are usually anything but the big beefy aggro male stereotypes.
@@ashb712 trans cloud rights
@@ashb712 marry christmas btw
You have a very chronically online view point of both cloud & biological masculinity. What you state cloud & masculinity to be is a forced lgbt representation & ideals that often always fall under indoctrination. Masculinity isn't toxic, the lack of masculinity is. Cloud putting on a dress to literally bypass security (a 90s game btw) has nothing to do with trans, nor will it ever.
as a cis person, sometimes i feel like trans people simply wish for the opposite pronouns.
But can you Genderswap TBSkyen?
I personally have no experience at all when it comes to anything related to trans stuff, so I'll avoid talking about things I have no experience in and avoid making an ass of myself. Personally Cloud's story cant be genderswapped, he wouldn't be even allowed into SOLDIER to begin with since they (apparently) accept no women in their ranks (I've yet so see a Female SOLDIER in FF7) So no superhuman strength, no Sephiroth, no Zack... No reason for Tifa's dad to berate Cloud for being a weak man either who couldn't protect his daughter, so no gender roles imposed here (let's all remember Cloud has no dad, so he literally has no male role model in his life other than a terrorist with anger issues, a verbally abusive washed-out pilot, a gunman on a moody revenge quest, a coyote creature with daddy issues and a deceitful Shinra employee) In my imagination FemCloud would join Tifa's martial arts school to both be with her and learn how to protect her, going maybe for a more rough fighting style where she would take the blows for her. With regards to the crossdressing scene, for me it has always been 2 things : Nomura admitting some of his artstyle may be somewhat effeminate (this game is from the 90s and all) and also a hint at Cloud's actual personality/identity issues : he had no trouble or issue putting on another mask to save the one he cared about, just like him adopting the Zack persona throughout the entire game to become the type of man he believes is capable of protecting Tifa.
Deepground has female SOLDIERs
@@KaeEbonrai @KaeEbonrai Yup , Deepground does have female combatants , both in the rank and file and the Tsviets unit , but I personally attribute that to the narrative philosophy and writing team changing from the OG FF7 to Dirge of Cerberus.Deepground wasn't a thing in the OG . I still maintain that Cloud's personal issues cannot be genderswapped because the root of the problem stems from traditional male expectations Cloud is being criticized for not meeting (Tifa's dad berating him for not protecting her and not being strong enough) and Cloud deciding that the way to achieve that is joining the equivalent of the Military (a place that has always been very traditionally masculine , only relatively recently-historically speaking- added women in their ranks.
@@aureateseigneur5317 Compared to yourself average dude , Cloud , despite his discomfort with the idea, takes almost no effort convincing him to agree to the plan and also pull it off very effectively, fooling everyone except Leslie in the remake
@@LordZemusit’s also anime
This actually fits as an allegory since the US military (I can’t speak to other militaries) has a disproportionately large amount of trans women for essentially the same reasons Cloud does
estrogen would of saved cloud
The Ending is a nice touch
I'm gonna disagree, purely from the view that being a hero isn't, in my opinion, tied to being masculine, and Clouds ultimate goal was to be like Sephiroth, a hero. I think you could swap the gender of almost any character in FF7 and you would have the same story. Barret fight for the future of the planet but ultimately does so for his daughter. Aerith wants to fill Midgard with flowers, and while flowers and gardening and flowers are seen a feminine, there isn't anything a man can't work toward the same goal. Yuffie, Vincent, hell even Sephiroth all have goals that aren't strictly tied to any one gender.
underrated comment
I've been stuck on the Draven short until I realised why - the idea of a female wrestler who rocks facial hair actually already exists in this one gorgeous fighting game called Granblue Fantasy Versus. Her name is Ladivia and she's awesome. I think you'd have a lot of fun analysing the animation in that and other games by ArcSys like Guilty Gear Strive. And since they're fighting games that rely on brief impressions you wouldn't need a deep dive into the lore to talk about them.
I looked this character up and experienced a flavour of bisexual panic I'd never known before.
Like, on the one hand, HUGE BEARD AND MUSCLES and on the other, TITS
Cis or trans, Cloud's decision to join SOLDIER (at least in the original game) was so focused on a desire to feel noticed by Tifa that there's absolutely room for her to be a lesbian who convinces herself that she needs to be a man for her crush to reciprocate her feelings.
I laughed at the end when you put the Cloudia scene
This is a GREAT take I never thought about! Great short, thsnks!
I really like the idea of reading Cloud as a trans character. The desperate need to conform to the masculine ideal, joining military makes the struggle more intense in a different way when it's a feeling Cloud doesn't even resonate with, but feels forced to conform to, which in and of itself is something I can sort of resonate with personally.
Also the part with Cloud in a dress would hit differently as Cloud would possibly feel a sense of relief and comfort that didn't occur from being a soldier.
@SmartCreeper okay? No one said cloud "has" to be trans, just that it's in interesting way of of reading the characters
every single boy in midgar wanted to be just like sephiroth, a hero, he began doubting himself when he couldn't save his childhood friend tifa which causes him to feel ashamed that he was weak and couldn't save her, furthered by the fact that sephoroth destroyed his village and killed his mother right in front of him which psychologically destroyed his confidence and caused him to close up emotionally he always wanted to be a soldier to be like his role model sephiroth and protect the people he doesn't feel like hes a woman, or accepting a feminine side The whole point of cloud story arc is him finally accepting that he is indeed strong and opening up yourself emotionally doesn't mean you're weak he goes to the stereotypical cold, loaner boy, anime protagonist, to the I fight for my friends and they give me strength anime protagonist, He's a straight male as he is obviously in love with tifa and possibly started developing feelings towards arieth.
why don't you use periods at all?
@@eevee4 because people can still understand my point
@@Jeremiahkilday02 that doesn't really answer my question. it makes it legitimately hard to read. even more confusing that you use commas but not periods. genuine question btw. do you not have a period key or something?
This actually a super thoughtful response. Absolutely solid writing
I fucking love this channel, you always look for what actually is the most interesting thing about a story and it works so well
Yes actually you can gender swap Cloud Strife shes called aya brea and the game is called Parasite Eve one
What? Caring about childhood friends and striving to attain something and prove yourself is a masculine trait now?
I mean it always was think of rocky strivkngnti attain a championship and prove yourself to the boxing scenes which he did and at that time the rocky creator was broke only had 20 dollars and a apartment he basically put his experiences as a broke director in the movie and he himself is rocky he played the character the struggles he had were real in a way yeah duh it’s masculine in me the three ps provide protect procreate
cloud had the balls to put on a dress to save his (girl) friend. is it his fault he passed so well. he can't help that he took after his mother so much.
My mother showed me and my sister independently a picture of me when I was young,
And we both said that it wasn't me, but my sister.
Turns out we were correct, I just had an identical picture in a different shirt.
But to say I looked feminine is an understatement.
When we saw the side by side my sister and I just kinda broke,
Since we genuinely looked like identical twins,
Despite the fact that the pictures were taken years apart.
Edit: I had been called a girl both on accident and maliciously since early primary school,
But to see myself that way was weird,
Because even in pictures where I dressed to look feminine I've always seen myself as masculine.
Maybe you can’t genderswap Cloud into a Cis woman, but he still pulls off a dress wonderfully
Halfway through I was thinking the same thing, this struggle to live up to external and self-imposed expectations of what it means to be a tough, masculine hero at the expense of your own personality does sound like it would fit the archetypal conflict a trans person would experience.
I'm personally totally fine with reading Cloud as a cis character, the story works perfectly fine, but I can see that other perspective as a reasonable alternative.
they already gender swapped cloud. her name is lightning.
according to DON Corneo, cloud is already best girl. so i think you can :P
Halfway through the video I was about to comment "Oh so he's basically me before I figured out I was a girl okay-" and then you kept talking and I was like WOAH.
cloud would make a rad butch though
Reminds me of that tweet where it says "seeing cloud in swim trunks feels wrong like girl but your top back on"
Damn…. Never even thought about that aspect of it.
Square alredy gender swaped cloud her name is lightning
Okay, wonderful analysis, but also, I really did not need to be attacked like that. That maybe hit a little too close to home.
He dosnt need to change gender for me to be severely attracted to him .
Being attractive is really the point of transitioning
Cloud has been my favorite 'dude' video game character since I was a kid and means very much to me on a lot of levels. This was a very interesting analysis and I really enjoyed your interpretation since I never really considered the masculinity angle to his character very much. But I've been trying to accept the trans part of myself more openly recently and I really like what you added in at the end. I can imagine it's probably a similar feeling in the realm of being not good enough or not 'manly' enough to some degree from a personal perspective. Definitely something I'll think more on
Always good to be reminded of how deeply I love FFVII. 💙
Cloud Strife is my transfem icon 💜
Extremely clever spin on the struggle! Good on Grace for putting it together and thanks for passing it on
From that perspective of dealing masculinity, finding yourself and all that it does quite literally make cloud cross dressing an extremely crucial aspect of the story
love this! i saw a tumblr post recently that got me, "cloud strife is like that shy boy you had a small protective crush on in school who one day comes up to you and says he has to tell you a secret and you're absolutely certian he's going to tell you he's trans, but instead he tells you he joined the military and you have to pretend to be supportive of this choice" (paraphrased because it's been a bit since i saw it lmao)
dude genuinely deeply interesting! first good yt short!
Cloud wanted to join soldier to impress Tifa and get her to notices him. He literally tells her that in the lifesteam when Tifa and him fall in it.
No. must insert current politic
"at least if it's a change from cis to cis"
before he said this my mind was screaming "that is such a transfem thing to do"
I would argue that you can gender swap him without changing the story.
Just because he would be a girl would not mean she would not want to be more masculine and would not be swayed by the propaganda.
You could also very easily make Cloud a trans man and have all the "Be a real man, go join the army" stuff be Cloud desperately trying to find his masculinity and going straight for the most extreme ideal of masculinity, but that's not what this series is for
Oh snap, VI next?
.....
Terra would be way too easy to genderswap tho. Half esper super soldier lady who turns into a mother figure for a village of children orphaned by the end of the world being a father or big brother figure would work just as well.
Don't do her, do... Well, Celes would arguably be significantly easier as a male character...
Edgar or Sabin would only be negatives if you assume that they wouldn't really have claim to the throne if not for them being male. Though I guess an older sister Edgar essentially stealing the throne from her brother to let him follow his own life's ambitions would be interesting...
Do Edgar.
And then do Delita.
Why gender swap Cloud? He is already best girl
I didn't realize until now the link between Cloud and Luca Milda from Tales of Innocence.
Luca Milda even looks amazing in robes
Cloud: "Fine, I'll do it myself"
SKYDEN! This is why I enjoy you, giving the two perspectives of cis to cis doesn't work but trans it could.
I'm the #1 proponent of cloud being transfemme and I'm SO happy that you brought that up. That is the reason that FFVII resonated so much with me, and I've never heard any non trans people bring that up before, so thank you for this so much
Thanks now i want to write a story inspired by cloud's character arc about a closeted trans woman
Yes, her name's Aya Brea.
It really is about the masculinity that was advertised huh.
Yeah hi trans woman here LFGGGG
Hey, got anything to say about how Lightning, from what I read back in the day, was designed (visually, at least) with the instructions of "draw Cloud Strife, but female"? (To my knowledge, the tale of that happening was given by one of the devs.)
A nice and surprisingly angled video as usual, btw Skyen. In my current state I may never have thought to read Cloud as trans, and this kind of eye opening and possibility exploration is something I love about your videos. I grow as a consumer, creator, and person when I watch your stuff.
That's what I was thinking too, she pretty much looks and acts like he would in the same setting
Cloud has Autism, I always thought that was obvious as a kid, Cloud could not spend an hour with any psychologist in the world without walking out with an ASD diagnosis, it becomes even more clear in the Remake/Rebirth
As you were describing I realized he was a good story for a trans man as well with no genderswapping, but yeah absolutely Cloud the egg!! For them it can make a lot of sense and your description really shows that
The most important point I would like to argue with you and the game is the unobtainable part
There exist a very big substantial and meaningful hero that can be created by becoming a soldier
Becoming a soldier was never created by the military complex but it is something that has been taken advantage of by the military complex
Being a soldier a fighter strong man a good man and a hero are qualities that have exist in human nature in its pure form
The love triangle of cloud tifa and aerith is a HUGE part of the plot too, pretty hard to ignore
I would just like to say that a great part of Cloud’s story in both the original and the remake is that his real backstory is more cool and badass than the fake one he manufactures for himself out of trauma and brain damage.
Man gets stabbed by the No. 1 super soldier and then lifts him up by the weapon he’s being stabbed with and throws him into a pit
Cloud is very pretty in the crossdressing scene of the remake
Can you Genderswap Solid Snake?
Ok yeah that answer is obviously no
You can, and it's even was done in the game, sort of. The Boss is more or less the female version of Shakes. Or, well, the other way around, technically. EVA too.
Furthermore, while you could swap Solid Snake, there are two more characters based off of Solid Snake (that is, John as Big Boss and Raiden), and then they all have very male actions and male problems (for example, Big Boss’s issue was that he was used but that he also had to kill The Boss who was like a mother so it invokes a mother/son relationship that cannot work genderswapped with either just Big Boss or with The Boss as well, and while Raiden’s issues are far less directly masculine, he is empowered to tap into his violence and bred as a soldier and him being contrasted against Armstrong does not work as well if Raiden was female because they are masculine forces of power being contrasted that women never show in Metal Gear because unfortunately in Metal Gear women never do as much soldier work as men save The Boss and EVA).
Furthermore, Snake killed Big Boss, and then Big Boss returned and regarded him as a comrade. That can be done woman-to-woman, but the loneliness they both felt when trudging through whatever they did works better as men simply because men fail to make connections as much as women, even given being veterans.
Finally, Snake is a riff off of a male action hero. There can be a female action hero (even one who has plenty of masculine traits), but what they do with Snake in the Solid series only makes sense if he remains male - especially because his want not to let a woman die stems from him seeing Gustava Heffner die, with whom he built a relationship in a stereotypical “charismatic man chats up the woman next to him” manner.
Youd simply have to genderswap Zack too.
"Can you gender swap Cloud Strife?"
NO, and this is why....
Meanwhile: Lightning Exists...
IDK about all that, I genderbent him pretty easily with a mod lol
I love these interesting takes i never would have even thought to wonder about. Very cool
I think any reading of struggles with masculinity are valid when it comes to cloud, and all angles of it are very relatable. It's weird how masculinity is this thing so many people idealize and yet so many people feel chained to it in different ways. In reality, how many important men and masc people in your life are actually anywhere close to that idealized, muscly beefball dudebro version of masculinity anyway?
@@colinnixon7739 "I didnt watch the video and just feel uncomfortable with other people finding new interpretations of a story's themes that I dont like."
I feel like you could read it as trans man too, the same "i dont feel like a man enough, etc etc" way you would read it as cis man, but with more flavor
It kind of gives the cross dressing scene a new light, Cloud is struggling with his masculinity in more ways than one.
Lightning Farron.
But what if-Cloud but trans man struggling with learning what masculine really means for him! I as a trans man struggled with the idea of what masculinity really means and if I can’t live up to those standards, can I be considered an actual man? Maybe I’m projecting, but I like it anyway
"Gender is what is in your pants"
Cloud: "Guess my gender is Buster Sword"
I'd love to see you take on Terra from FFVI next
Cloud sounds way more interesting than I remember him
Interesting thoughts and points for one of my favorites games of all time
It can also be trans-men coded as well; like if Cloud thinks he's missing something as a man if he wasn't born male. That would add a whole lot more dysphoria undertones to the cross-dress section where he has to grapple with feeling male regardless of how he presents clothing-wise.
From the title, I thought this would be about Lightning.
Love that you entertained the possibility of the story working if it incorporated the possibly of cloud being trans. Wasn’t expecting it and I appreciate you for including that😊
Love this series. Please keep going. Only really commeting for the algorithm.
i kinda think of him as a trans guy (yes i’m projecting but just listen) the entire being pressured to join into SOLDIER kinda felt like trying to fit in with all the other boys in his hometown who were also joining. in the og game when tifa goes into clouds mind and shows him the real truth ab his memories and stuff you see that he was shunned by all the other kids and there was never rly a clear reason to why, +even as a polygon he had a ponytail which could just be unrelated but it seemed weird to me considering none of the other boys had one. in crisis core especially you can see how cloud is shorter than all the other infantrymen and sticks out. i haven’t played the remake but in the og during the ordeal with don corneo he seems *extremely* “let’s just get this over with” and out of place. (which doesn’t just have to mean that he’s trans it could just also mean he’s a cis dude who didn’t like wearing a dress.) another thing is how he idolized sephiroth (as seen in the flashback with tifa at the well) and zack throughout crisis core, regardless of where you stand on the argument there’s no doubt that before the amnesia cloud looked up to zack because he was the only one who gave him a chance, zack seems like the kinda guy to notice that about cloud and try to help him fit in. just an interpretation but there are a lot of loose ends that could point to it.
oh my god i didn’t mean to write that much😭