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====Kirby's gender and pronouns==== | ====Kirby's gender and pronouns==== | ||
Kirby's gender is officially unknown.<ref name=20th>{{Cite book|quote=高さ:20cmくらい 好きな物:トマト 苦手な物:毛虫 性別:不明 出身:不明 (Height: About 20 cm tall, Likes: Tomatoes, Dislikes: Caterpillars, Gender: Unknown, Birthplace: Unknown)|book=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200609004402if_/https://shogakukan.tameshiyo.me/9784091065117?page=4 20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia]|publisher=Shogakukan|page=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite person|quote="カービィの性別は不明です。" ("Kirby's gender is unknown.")|name=Makiko Ohmoto| url=https://twitter.com/Makiko_Ohmoto/status/1214819520918872065|title=Twitter (translated from Japanese)}}</ref> Though this has only been confirmed in Japanese material, it has never been contradicted by international material, as they have never given a statement about Kirby's gender. While early international localizations and marketing material imply that he is male, using male-coded words like "boy" and "guy" to describe him, these terms have notably been phased out in | Kirby's gender is officially unknown.<ref name=20th>{{Cite book|quote=高さ:20cmくらい 好きな物:トマト 苦手な物:毛虫 性別:不明 出身:不明 (Height: About 20 cm tall, Likes: Tomatoes, Dislikes: Caterpillars, Gender: Unknown, Birthplace: Unknown)|book=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200609004402if_/https://shogakukan.tameshiyo.me/9784091065117?page=4 20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia]|publisher=Shogakukan|page=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite person|quote="カービィの性別は不明です。" ("Kirby's gender is unknown.")|name=Makiko Ohmoto| url=https://twitter.com/Makiko_Ohmoto/status/1214819520918872065|title=Twitter (translated from Japanese)}}</ref> Though this has only been confirmed in Japanese material, it has never been contradicted by international material, as they have never given a statement about Kirby's gender. While early international localizations and marketing material imply that he is male, using male-coded words like "boy" and "guy" to describe him, these terms have notably been phased out in terms of more general terms like "hero" and "puffball". Furthermore, official videos from Play Nintendo have used neutral pronouns to refer to Kirby.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta51B9_O7xk "Meet Kirby: A Cute, Pink, and Brave Hero"] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJy5PwPtJaQ "Kirby Quiz for Kids!"] both notably refer to Kirby with [[wikipedia:singular they|singular ''they'']].</ref> The biggest argument for Kirby being male in English and other localizations is the use of masculine pronouns (i.e. "he/him" in English) to refer to him; however, this argument does not hold up, as Kirby also uses similarly masculine pronouns in Japanese. | ||
It is often assumed that Kirby uses gender-neutral pronouns in Japanese to go along with his unknown gender, but this is not true. This misconception stems from misunderstanding how Japanese pronouns work, which is very different from how they work in English. Third-person pronouns are rarely used in Japanese, while there are dozens of first- and second-person pronouns.<ref name=JPFirstPersonPronouns>[https://legendsoflocalization.com/personal-pronouns-in-japanese/ Legends of Localization - Japanese First Person Pronouns] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20191111214634/https://legendsoflocalization.com/personal-pronouns-in-japanese/ Wayback Machine snapshot])</ref> Japanese pronouns may ''reflect'' the speaker's gender (as well as age, social status, and relationship to the listener), but are not strictly tied to it. Kirby consistently uses the first-person pronoun ボク (''boku'') in Japanese media, and when necessary, is referred to by the third-person pronoun かれ (''kare''). These both have masculine connotations, but do not mean that Kirby is male, as they are not tied to his gender. Relatedly, it is commonly said that Kirby was deliberately made gender-neutral in Japan to give him "universal appeal", but there is no source for this claim, and it is only officially stated that his gender is unknown.<ref>[https://kaialone.tumblr.com/post/636742650015481856/ive-read-that-kirbys-gender-is-ambiguous-in Kaialone on Tumblr] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20201217072404/https://kaialone.tumblr.com/post/636742650015481856/ive-read-that-kirbys-gender-is-ambiguous-in Wayback Machine snapshot])</ref> | It is often assumed that Kirby uses gender-neutral pronouns in Japanese to go along with his unknown gender, but this is not true. This misconception stems from misunderstanding how Japanese pronouns work, which is very different from how they work in English. Third-person pronouns are rarely used in Japanese, while there are dozens of first- and second-person pronouns.<ref name=JPFirstPersonPronouns>[https://legendsoflocalization.com/personal-pronouns-in-japanese/ Legends of Localization - Japanese First Person Pronouns] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20191111214634/https://legendsoflocalization.com/personal-pronouns-in-japanese/ Wayback Machine snapshot])</ref> Japanese pronouns may ''reflect'' the speaker's gender (as well as age, social status, and relationship to the listener), but are not strictly tied to it. Kirby consistently uses the first-person pronoun ボク (''boku'') in Japanese media, and when necessary, is referred to by the third-person pronoun かれ (''kare''). These both have masculine connotations, but do not mean that Kirby is male, as they are not tied to his gender. Relatedly, it is commonly said that Kirby was deliberately made gender-neutral in Japan to give him "universal appeal", but there is no source for this claim, and it is only officially stated that his gender is unknown.<ref>[https://kaialone.tumblr.com/post/636742650015481856/ive-read-that-kirbys-gender-is-ambiguous-in Kaialone on Tumblr] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20201217072404/https://kaialone.tumblr.com/post/636742650015481856/ive-read-that-kirbys-gender-is-ambiguous-in Wayback Machine snapshot])</ref> |