Here's Why Fans Think Gwen Stacy Is Trans in Across The Spider-Verse

Gwen Stacy’s Spider-Woman has long been a queer icon, with many fans headcanoning her as queer due to her undercut, her membership in an all-girl punk band, her lesbian vibe, and being voiced by Hailee Steinfeld (famous for her portrayals of queer characters like Emily Dickinson in Dickinson and Vi in Arcane).

But now, fans are starting to flock to a new queer headcanon about the character in the new movie Across The Spider-Verse: that she’s trans.

The first piece of evidence fans found was an image of Gwen in her room where she has a large trans flag that says “Protect Trans Kids” on it above her door. When the image came out before the film was released, fans were already quick to call Stacy a trans icon.

Now that the movie is out, the evidence just keeps on piling up.

Fans have also pointed to another pivotal scene where Gwen talks about her struggles revealing her identity as Spider-Woman to her dad all while being awash in the trans pride colors (as she is for the entire movie). It’s an easy metaphor.

Fans also point to the fact that Gwen’s dad, who is a cop, wears a trans pride flag pin above his badge.

“Her white cop dad wears the trans colors on his uniform,” Twitter user DC Lady wrote. “No fuck1ng cop is that much of an ally unless they have a trans family member!”

Many fans are praising the movie for featuring a potentially trans character at a time when trans teens are being so violently attacked in America. And people across the internet are reminding viewers that if they want Gwen to be trans, she’s trans. There’s nothing stopping you from believing that.

Still, others aren’t so sure about this representation. While some are questioning the idea of a cop being a trans ally (historically, and currently, cops have been one of the trans community’s worst attackers), others are tired of not-really-there representation.

Whether or not Gwen is trans in Across the Spider-Verse doesn’t really matter in the end. All that matters is that trans people are enjoying themselves when they watch.