This review contains spoilers
reasons why i think cloud strife is a woman:
- the thing most people will think of is the cross-dressing section. this is not what makes me think that cloud is a woman. in the original game here, the section is at best played for laughs with a couple lines that hint at something deeper. this section in remake is maybe one of my favourite changes, in that it is much more complex. cloud is embarrassed by "cross-dressing", but never does cloud explicitly say that they hate it. rather, they avoid the situation entirely, being unable to look aerith in the eye, choosing to refuse to engage in conversation regarding the situation. i believe this is because they cannot admit to themselves that they maybe don't completely hate this entirely?
- the core themes of the original game especially (as this is something that pokes its head more towards the end - i'm very excited to see how this is adapted in the remake series), searching for your true identity, releasing that your assumptions about your own identity aren't true, learning to live as yourself rather than what you think you have to be, these are all things that will be extremely familiar to any trans person.
- sephiroth represents the Masculine Man (even if he's a bit of a pretty boy too) that multiple young boys in the game idolize and aspire to be like, including cloud - supposedly. i think cloud chases the idea of sephiroth so hard in their childhood, up until the nibelheim incident, because they believe they too need to be a Masculine Man.
- cloud's childhood relationship with tifa supports this also. how cloud thinks and acts towards tifa is different to how they think and interact with the boys, despite being an outsider to both. this can be interpreted as (and is likely intended to be) more about cloud having romantic feelings towards tifa, but i think it is a situation of confusing romantic attraction with dysphoric envy (though i also do think there is an attraction in there too - the cloud/aerith/tifa polycule is a delusion i love).
- it is only through the acceptance of their true identity that they are able to move forward, to be more honest, to truly connect with others unlike before. the party members act as cloud's support network. tifa would accept her immediately, maybe she even guessed that cloud's gender was more complex than meets the eye. maybe she even thinks more about her sexuality, having thought she couldn't be a lesbian because she seemingly liked a boy, even if she's never liked a "boy" other than cloud. barret hasn't met a trans person before, but he tries his best. maybe takes some time getting used to cloud's new pronouns, and maybe asks awkward questions, and maybe is just generally awkward at first. but he's always trying his best, and he'll get there in the end. cloud wishes she could have shared this moment with aerith, because she knows aerith would have had a lot of fun with it. doing each others makeup, going clothes shopping - aerith would have been the most affirming by far.
there's probably a dozen or two other more specific examples of text that support this idea that i could dig to get. but these are more the pillars that support this idea for me. i've never really been so convicted in regards to a trans headcanon before - usually it's just a fun idea to think about, how a character intended to be male exploring their gender. in the case of cloud, there is so much, narratively, that i feel supports this idea, that it actively enriches the game's narrative as a whole.
- the thing most people will think of is the cross-dressing section. this is not what makes me think that cloud is a woman. in the original game here, the section is at best played for laughs with a couple lines that hint at something deeper. this section in remake is maybe one of my favourite changes, in that it is much more complex. cloud is embarrassed by "cross-dressing", but never does cloud explicitly say that they hate it. rather, they avoid the situation entirely, being unable to look aerith in the eye, choosing to refuse to engage in conversation regarding the situation. i believe this is because they cannot admit to themselves that they maybe don't completely hate this entirely?
- the core themes of the original game especially (as this is something that pokes its head more towards the end - i'm very excited to see how this is adapted in the remake series), searching for your true identity, releasing that your assumptions about your own identity aren't true, learning to live as yourself rather than what you think you have to be, these are all things that will be extremely familiar to any trans person.
- sephiroth represents the Masculine Man (even if he's a bit of a pretty boy too) that multiple young boys in the game idolize and aspire to be like, including cloud - supposedly. i think cloud chases the idea of sephiroth so hard in their childhood, up until the nibelheim incident, because they believe they too need to be a Masculine Man.
- cloud's childhood relationship with tifa supports this also. how cloud thinks and acts towards tifa is different to how they think and interact with the boys, despite being an outsider to both. this can be interpreted as (and is likely intended to be) more about cloud having romantic feelings towards tifa, but i think it is a situation of confusing romantic attraction with dysphoric envy (though i also do think there is an attraction in there too - the cloud/aerith/tifa polycule is a delusion i love).
- it is only through the acceptance of their true identity that they are able to move forward, to be more honest, to truly connect with others unlike before. the party members act as cloud's support network. tifa would accept her immediately, maybe she even guessed that cloud's gender was more complex than meets the eye. maybe she even thinks more about her sexuality, having thought she couldn't be a lesbian because she seemingly liked a boy, even if she's never liked a "boy" other than cloud. barret hasn't met a trans person before, but he tries his best. maybe takes some time getting used to cloud's new pronouns, and maybe asks awkward questions, and maybe is just generally awkward at first. but he's always trying his best, and he'll get there in the end. cloud wishes she could have shared this moment with aerith, because she knows aerith would have had a lot of fun with it. doing each others makeup, going clothes shopping - aerith would have been the most affirming by far.
there's probably a dozen or two other more specific examples of text that support this idea that i could dig to get. but these are more the pillars that support this idea for me. i've never really been so convicted in regards to a trans headcanon before - usually it's just a fun idea to think about, how a character intended to be male exploring their gender. in the case of cloud, there is so much, narratively, that i feel supports this idea, that it actively enriches the game's narrative as a whole.