Jenovan Gender Studies
Hi, new person here. ^_^ I'm Anime Kitty/Schala-Kitty (either name is fine), general nutty FF7 fan who is not afraid to translate from Japanese books, be a script monger, or compose timelines. I've been in the online fandom from varying degrees since about 1998-99 and am always up for a good, clean debate.
Recently, there has been one issue that I've been trying to wrap my brain around, so I figured that I would present it here as my ice-breaker.
Note - For the purposes of this argument, I will be using the terms gender and sex with separate connotations. Gender will be masculine or feminine nature of the mind, while sex will referred purely to the body being male or female. Also FtM means Female-to-Male in terms of transsexuality.
We know that the “Sephiroth” that we follow throughout the game is in actuality, Jenova’s body forced into Sephiroth’s form. It says so right in Ultimania Omega and whatnot (making fans of the Clone #1 theory a bit dismayed).
However, this brings up an odd classification issue to me and that is, “What is the gender of this Sephiroth?” I’ve broken it down to seven possible answers and will do my best to present the argument for each one.
A. Male - Duh, Sephiroth is a dude
This is the answer presented to us in the game. Sephiroth is the one in control of the now masculine body, he is identified as male both by himself and by others, and is referred to by male pronouns. This also feeds into the idea that Sephiroth is the one with the absolute will who dominates over the more instinctual Jenova. She may be the symbolic matriarch, but he is the one making her wear his pants, so to speak.
B. Female - It's Jenova's body we're chasing
With this version, we take the fact that the body that we are following is, despite appearances, female and thus the entire being is female. Dr. Gast labeled Jenova as female due to her body structure, as we too were labeled by our biological sex. If the body is biologically female, then the whole entity is despite what may be going on in the mind. This is the flip-side to the Male argument, in that this theory is based around the body’s sex while the other is based around the mind’s gender.
Of course, the problem with this theory is that Jenova really isn’t female, she just happens to look like it. She has been referred to as being not only female, but also male (by Ifalna in the original PS translation) and neuter. Thus, with Jenova having no true gender of her own, we are left to take the one assigned to her as female.
C. FtM Transsexual, Pre-Op - A male mind living in a female body
Now we start traveling beyond the sexual binary in search of terms that might better describe the situation than the black and white of male and female. In this version, Jenova’s body is able to retain its designation of being of the female sex, while Sephiroth’s mind is allowed to be gendered male at the same time. It seems to play into the dysphoria inherent within the character. We can see through the dialogue how Sephiroth initially struggles to impose his mind upon this body. (The first two scenes with this Sephiroth in the ship and in the library contain very choppy and stilted sentences in comparison to his later, more eloquent speech.) Eventually, there is a form of acceptance reached between the two and the male mind is allowed to control the female, but masculine-appearing, body.
D. FtM Transsexual, Post-Op - A female body transformed into a male one
This theory relies purely upon what we see, ignoring what gender the dominant mind happens to be. We see Jenova as a female with clearly feminine features in the times that she is shown to us. We then see her later in Sephiroth’s form with very clear masculine features. Thus, we have a female body that has been transformed into a male one - Jenova’s metamorphic powers utilized for what equates to a sex-change operation in our world.
E. Intersex - A mixed sex body that is neither male nor female, but somewhere between the two
This theory of the character as intersex (once referred to as hermaphrodite) actually has its roots back in the Early Scripts which are including in the Ultmania Omega guide. In the materia cave within the Northern Crater, Sephiroth’s mako-encased body has a big difference from the final version -
中心にはエネルギーの結晶（アルティメイトマテリア）、そのなかに新しい生命体。
それは……セフィロスの姿に似ていた。
しかし、その姿は全裸であり、身体の曲線は女性のそれに近かった。
This core is made of crystalized energy (The Ultimate Materia), and within there is a new existence.
This.....resembles Sephiroth's figure.
However, the body is completely naked, and seems to have a woman's curves upon closer inspection.
Now, then exactly what this says about the Sephiroth-Jenova connection is a bit unclear as it is never stated explicitly, but it does lend credence to the idea of the Sephiroth we follow in the game is something that is neither male nor female.
F. Chimeric - Two separate sets of genetic material, one male and one female, sharing the same body
I’m using the term chimera in the genetics sense (and you can read up on this at Wikipedia) in which a singular body contains two distinct sets of genetics. Since in the FF7 world, there are both physical and spiritual forms of genetics, this would be a combination of Sephiroth’s spiritual genetic material and Jenova’s physical genetic material to form one mind and body which takes from both of these sources.
G. Neuter - Jenova has no true gender and Sephiroth is only a spirit at this point so the issue is rendered as null and void
Or the “I wash my hands of this!” answer. There is no gender for the Sephiroth we follow in the game as Jenova has no real gender or sex and the real Sephiroth, who technically only exists as a spirit at this point, lacks a body and thus lacks a sex and as a spirit has only a will, no mind and thus no gender.
All of these answers have varying levels of truth and believability to them and in the end, it is up to the fan to decide which one describes the situation the best. My personal choice is that Sephiroth and Jenova are a Chimeric existence - Two entities merged into a singular one which is more than the sum of its parts.
If I have over-looked a possible answer, please feel free to present it. I’d love to see other ideas on this topic. ^_^
Recently, there has been one issue that I've been trying to wrap my brain around, so I figured that I would present it here as my ice-breaker.
Note - For the purposes of this argument, I will be using the terms gender and sex with separate connotations. Gender will be masculine or feminine nature of the mind, while sex will referred purely to the body being male or female. Also FtM means Female-to-Male in terms of transsexuality.
We know that the “Sephiroth” that we follow throughout the game is in actuality, Jenova’s body forced into Sephiroth’s form. It says so right in Ultimania Omega and whatnot (making fans of the Clone #1 theory a bit dismayed).
However, this brings up an odd classification issue to me and that is, “What is the gender of this Sephiroth?” I’ve broken it down to seven possible answers and will do my best to present the argument for each one.
A. Male - Duh, Sephiroth is a dude
This is the answer presented to us in the game. Sephiroth is the one in control of the now masculine body, he is identified as male both by himself and by others, and is referred to by male pronouns. This also feeds into the idea that Sephiroth is the one with the absolute will who dominates over the more instinctual Jenova. She may be the symbolic matriarch, but he is the one making her wear his pants, so to speak.
B. Female - It's Jenova's body we're chasing
With this version, we take the fact that the body that we are following is, despite appearances, female and thus the entire being is female. Dr. Gast labeled Jenova as female due to her body structure, as we too were labeled by our biological sex. If the body is biologically female, then the whole entity is despite what may be going on in the mind. This is the flip-side to the Male argument, in that this theory is based around the body’s sex while the other is based around the mind’s gender.
Of course, the problem with this theory is that Jenova really isn’t female, she just happens to look like it. She has been referred to as being not only female, but also male (by Ifalna in the original PS translation) and neuter. Thus, with Jenova having no true gender of her own, we are left to take the one assigned to her as female.
C. FtM Transsexual, Pre-Op - A male mind living in a female body
Now we start traveling beyond the sexual binary in search of terms that might better describe the situation than the black and white of male and female. In this version, Jenova’s body is able to retain its designation of being of the female sex, while Sephiroth’s mind is allowed to be gendered male at the same time. It seems to play into the dysphoria inherent within the character. We can see through the dialogue how Sephiroth initially struggles to impose his mind upon this body. (The first two scenes with this Sephiroth in the ship and in the library contain very choppy and stilted sentences in comparison to his later, more eloquent speech.) Eventually, there is a form of acceptance reached between the two and the male mind is allowed to control the female, but masculine-appearing, body.
D. FtM Transsexual, Post-Op - A female body transformed into a male one
This theory relies purely upon what we see, ignoring what gender the dominant mind happens to be. We see Jenova as a female with clearly feminine features in the times that she is shown to us. We then see her later in Sephiroth’s form with very clear masculine features. Thus, we have a female body that has been transformed into a male one - Jenova’s metamorphic powers utilized for what equates to a sex-change operation in our world.
E. Intersex - A mixed sex body that is neither male nor female, but somewhere between the two
This theory of the character as intersex (once referred to as hermaphrodite) actually has its roots back in the Early Scripts which are including in the Ultmania Omega guide. In the materia cave within the Northern Crater, Sephiroth’s mako-encased body has a big difference from the final version -
中心にはエネルギーの結晶（アルティメイトマテリア）、そのなかに新しい生命体。
それは……セフィロスの姿に似ていた。
しかし、その姿は全裸であり、身体の曲線は女性のそれに近かった。
This core is made of crystalized energy (The Ultimate Materia), and within there is a new existence.
This.....resembles Sephiroth's figure.
However, the body is completely naked, and seems to have a woman's curves upon closer inspection.
Now, then exactly what this says about the Sephiroth-Jenova connection is a bit unclear as it is never stated explicitly, but it does lend credence to the idea of the Sephiroth we follow in the game is something that is neither male nor female.
F. Chimeric - Two separate sets of genetic material, one male and one female, sharing the same body
I’m using the term chimera in the genetics sense (and you can read up on this at Wikipedia) in which a singular body contains two distinct sets of genetics. Since in the FF7 world, there are both physical and spiritual forms of genetics, this would be a combination of Sephiroth’s spiritual genetic material and Jenova’s physical genetic material to form one mind and body which takes from both of these sources.
G. Neuter - Jenova has no true gender and Sephiroth is only a spirit at this point so the issue is rendered as null and void
Or the “I wash my hands of this!” answer. There is no gender for the Sephiroth we follow in the game as Jenova has no real gender or sex and the real Sephiroth, who technically only exists as a spirit at this point, lacks a body and thus lacks a sex and as a spirit has only a will, no mind and thus no gender.
All of these answers have varying levels of truth and believability to them and in the end, it is up to the fan to decide which one describes the situation the best. My personal choice is that Sephiroth and Jenova are a Chimeric existence - Two entities merged into a singular one which is more than the sum of its parts.
If I have over-looked a possible answer, please feel free to present it. I’d love to see other ideas on this topic. ^_^