fukaimetsu

I've always wanted to talk about this for a while, and it really bothers me how A's existence is always revolved around her/their gender. it gets even worse since art books reveals. That A character is just being reduced to her gender identity, make me sad, actually.

I know not everyone agrees with me, and that's fine, but I just want to share my thoughts on this matter. I feel A's gender doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. (I watched Luxin's video, and I feel "A is a woman whose gender is a Monado" describes it much better.) Also, A being a "woman" doesn't erase any queerness in it.

For a heads-up, I think of A as a bigender woman. This also applies to any Ontos instantiation—they are bigender, including Alvis, whom I see as a bigender man. For pronouns, I use she/her just for convenience and sometimes they/them.

Disclaimer: this is just my interpretation & not intended as a fact, This is purely my analysis based on canon material in the game & side-material such as art books.

I have my reasons for why Ontos is bigender, but before we delve into A's gender, we should first talk about Ontos (because it also ties into A & Alvis gender).

Ontos

We know that the Trinity Processor is also based on the Christian Holy Trinity, but it also incorporates Jungian Dualistic Archetypes, namely Anima & Animus. As we know, Anima & Animus are already represented through Pneuma (feminine) & Logos (masculine). This is very consistent with Takahashi's obsession with including Jungian references & theory in his works. Xenogears also has a similar concept named Kadomony, a bio-computer powered by three parts: Anima, Animus & Persona. Kadomony has both female & male components (again, Anima & Animus). You can see that Takahashi also loves the whole Anima & Animus concept, which even extends to Xenosaga & Xenoblade. Alright, that's a bit of information on why the Trinity Processor is the way it is, because the creators love Carl Jung too much.

Back to Ontos—so what does Ontos represent? In Jungian psychology, there's a term called Syzygy. So what is that? According to Carl Jung, Syzygy is a union of opposite forces (Anima & Animus), so it's basically two opposing aspects of transpersonal psychology (because both Anima & Animus are considered part of archetypal psychology & analytical psychology, which fall under the umbrella of Transpersonal Psychology) fusing together as a means of "completeness."

So yeah, Ontos is meant to represent both sides of Logos & Pneuma, and that's why Ontos's role as an arbiter (or mediator) makes so much sense (this also makes sense within Freudian personality model, but I will talk about it later in the future). Ontos is meant to embody both the feminine & masculine sides of the Trinity Processor in order for its role as an arbiter to function properly.

This is where I think Ontos being bigender makes so much sense (genderfluid could work too, I guess, but I feel bigender fits much better due to the circumstances) instead of being an agender/genderless being. Like all of them, Ontos falls under the non-binary umbrella, so Ontos is still enby—just with two genders inside them at the same time. Overall, Ontos is pretty much the "androgynous" entity of the Trinity Processor. You can even see that all of their instantiations, such as Alvis & A, present in an androgynous/gender-neutral manner. Even if they "identify" as a man or woman, there's a sense of GNC & genderqueer elements in them. And that's why even if another Ontos instantiation manifests as either a man or a woman, they are still not like traditional or cisgendered men & women like Pneuma & Logos does.

A's Gender

Now, let's talk about A's gender. Before the art book confirmation, most of us thought A was genderless or that her gender was uncertain because, in the English localization, A wasn’t referred to with any pronouns. On top of that, the revelation of Ontos’s role & what they represent in the Trinity Processor reinforced this idea, which was nice because it meant we had a canon non-binary character in Xenoblade after Juniper (Yuzuriha).

However, there was a lot of discussion, with some people believing A is a woman due to the programming code or because she is the "female" version of Alvis, representing the feminine side of Ontos—both of which are valid interpretations. That said, I wouldn’t put too much stock in programming code because it has been revealed that some NPCs or characters were assigned certain codes that differ from their gender. I just think number codes don’t tell us much, what matters is the actual text in the story & official materials (such as art books, interviews, or other supplementary material that was produced by Monolith Soft), which provide the real information.

After the art book Aionios Moments was released, we got confirmation that A is referred to as a woman using the Japanese word 女性 (josei). Some people were disappointed because this confirmed she wasn’t enby (and even worse, transphobes used it as ammo to be annoying), which I completely disagree with.

Why? Because even if A is a woman, it doesn’t contradict anything, and it still doesn’t erase any queer elements. Remember, A is an instantiation of Ontos, and Ontos as a concept is inherently genderqueer—it basically embodies both genders within itself. You also need to pay attention to how Shulk refers to A. This is actually PRETTY goddamn important for A’s identity because, throughout the entire game, Shulk always sees A as Alvis—the same male Alvis from Xenoblade 1. It’s funny how transphobes never try to deny this or even bring it up because this interpretation leans heavily into a transgender reading.

"Wait, how is that transgender?" It’s simple. The reason A became feminine is because of Pneuma’s power during the scene where Ghondor released his power (which contained Pneuma’s power, and Pneuma is the female of the Trinity Processor). Based on this, we can assume that when Na’el was possessed by Alpha, Alvis’s consciousness was still there.

So technically, A’s "soul," consciousness, and mind are still very much the male Alvis we know, but he instead manifests—or maybe "incarnates"—in a female body while his (male) consciousness & soul remain. Even A ''herself'' doesn’t deny this. I’m sure you guys understand where I’m going with this, especially if you’re familiar with transgender identity or concepts. A is transgender, but not in the way we understand transgender identities in our world—rather, from a different perspective, but still conceptually transgender.

This is why I say that even if A is a woman, it still doesn’t erase the queerness! A and Alvis are still pretty much genderfucked due to their connection with Ontos, another genderfucked computer.

In the grand scheme of things, A’s "gender" doesn’t matter much because, at the end of the day, she or he is Alvis—the same Alvis we met in XB1. And A never denies it. Even when Shulk refers to "her" as Alvis, "she" just nods, confirming that "she" is Alvis.

People forget that even if A and Alvis are a man or a woman, as I said above, they are not—how should I put it?—"traditional" men & women in the same way that Logos & Pneuma are. They’re still genderqueer, even if they identify as a man or woman, because their gender doesn’t matter. It just means that Ontos is more flexible, unlike Pneuma & Logos, and can manifest as any gender. Like, come on, they're still presenting as androgynous.

Closure

I think that sums up my analysis on A & Ontos's gender! I know some people might disagree, but this is my interpretation. Despite A being a woman, she is still pretty much queer-coded—she's not even portrayed as a traditionally feminine woman, and her circumstances also lean into a transgender concept.

If I were to give an example, A is very similar to Kite from Hunter x Hunter. Kite was a man, but after what happened in the Chimera Ant arc (you can go watch/read it, I won’t spoil much), he was basically reborn as a girl while still retaining the same consciousness of the adult male Kite, and some characters still refer to Kite as a man. A is EXACTLY like that, with a similar circumstance, Alvis reborn as a woman but still retaining the consciousness of the male Alvis.

Either way, you shouldn't care too much about A's gender, her gender is Monado, basically. I really don't care how people interpret her gender because the way I perceive it is different from others, and that's fine! If you want to think A is genderless, agender, a woman, a man, or use other pronouns, that's fine—just go with it.

What I don’t like is how people on both sides become so extreme and hostile toward different interpretations. Takahashi never intended this as some sort of representation, nor did he "chicken out" or whatever. A’s existence is simply there to show us that " Hey, Ontos can manifest as a woman too, but btw, the woman aspect of Ontos still retains the male consciousness of the other instantiation & she also does not care how others perceive her identity." It really sucks that her existence has now become some sort of debate about which interpretation is right or wrong when Takahashi intentionally left room for interpretation and purposely made her gender ambiguous.

I just wish people could be more open-minded ,or, if they disagree with other interpretations, for the love of god, just block instead of trying to start debates or fights, because I’m sure people who use certain pronouns for A or interpret her differently won’t change their minds. It really sucks to see such a good and unique character like A being reduced to this, especially since A as a character is great because they gives Alvis even more characterization, considering they are the same person.

Hopefully, people will be more chill in the future, and we can have more discussions on A’s character instead of just arguing over labels.