Hi all, I am Pax, and one of the more active mods on the sub here. I maintain and update the subreddit's comprehensive Spider-Gwen reading list. I am also a co-host on the Ghost-Spider Groupies Podcast which is, to the best of my knowledge, the longest running and only active podcast focused on Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider of its kind. We've reviewed nearly every single one of her appearances and interviewed a couple of her writers even. I've been involved and active in this community and on twitter since 2020 and want to say I am probably one of the most vocal Spider-Gwen fans on the English-speaking side of the internet.

I say all this to establish my credentials as a dyed-in-the-wool Spider-Gwen fan before I say that I am also a transgender woman. In fact, I only figured this out after getting into Spider-Gwen, and it was partly getting into this community and relating to this character that made me aware of my queer identity.

Within the comics reading spaces, it was not uncommon to find other transfems who were Spider-Gwen stans; it was implicit in Gwen's punk style, long-suffering father-daughter drama, perseverance against a punishing police and prison system, playing DND, the link between her powers and repressed anger, and hoodie wearing, that there was a lot for transfems to latch onto.

So it was a welcome surprise for me that they decided to put the trans flag in her room in Across the Spider-Verse and embrace the punk-rock nature of her character that drew me in initially. It's been great to see so many people see what I saw in this character and get into her comics and the community and stuff.

It has, however, been a stressful past couple of months trying to moderate this subreddit. I have had to read the same tired take that because there is no direct confirmation of Spider-Gwen being trans, that discussion of her of as if she were trans should be completely stifled. There is, however, no confirmation of the opposite, that there's nothing to say that she isn't trans, but this does not seem to cross the mind of those who react negatively to this headcanon.

The other common (arguably more common historically speaking) headcanon in the Spider-Gwen fandom has been the GwenMJ ship. Even though they have never had any explicit romantic interactions, it's generally accepted as the most popular ship from the comics, especially after MJ and Glory were shown in a relationship. While Gwen is never explicitly confirmed to be gay in the comics, this headcanon and ship never saw the backlash that the trans Gwen headcanon has recently received. I have to wonder if that's because Gwen being a trans woman just isn't as titillating for certain people as her being in a relationship with another woman.

To anyone who is looking at this possibility of Gwen being trans and seeking to find ways to disprove it and throwing around terms like "biological" this or that, I see you. A certain level of ignorance with this topic is acceptable of course. I don't want to stop anyone from asking genuine questions or earnestly trying to engage with this community but there have been some posters whose entire comment history has been replying to half the posts on this sub with the clear intent of actively suppressing the trans headcanon discussion, all while conceitedly saying that anyone is entitled to their headcanon. This cannot continue, and as this discourse ages a bit, there will be an expectation that people's responses need to grow up too.

The trans Gwen Stacy headcanon is not going to hurt you, it doesn't change anything about what we have seen of the character so far. Instead of trying to fix what you see as wrong in other people, fix your heart.

Useful Links

Covers: Mark Brooks, Main | Meghan Hetrick | Stephanie Hans, Black Costume | Greg Land, 1:25 | Pablo Villalobos | Pablo Villalobos, 1:50 Virgin | Lesley LI, Retailer Exclusive | Lesley Li, Retailer Exclusive, Virgin

Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider Reading List and Where to Buy Comics | Comixology/Digital Comic Link | Preview Pages

Ghost-Spider Groupies Podcast (where we review your comments and the book for each issue)

Solicit

Written by Stephanie Phillips. Lines by Federica Mancin. Colors by Matt Milla. Letters by VC's Ariana Maher.

Gwen is reunited with PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN and SILK but it isn't the friendly neighborhood welcome you'd expect. Lots of spider-secrets on all sides. Plus: Why is KRAVEN alive?!? And he's not the only classic Spider-foe Gwen will have to face!

Discuss below!