Social justice warriors are trying to make Baby Yoda trans

In an article entitled "A Trans/Non-binary Person's Perspective on the Grogu vs. Baby Yoda Debate," first-time author Ace Schwarz at The Mary Sue argued that the embracing of Grogu's mid-series name change has "very clear connections to the transgender community here."

"I don't identify with the gender I was assigned at birth, and I also identify outside the male-female gender binary that is so entrenched in our society. Ace is not the name I was born with, and it's a name that means so much to me. When people started calling me Ace, I had very similar reactions to Grogu. It was this epic moment of recognition and validation that still makes me all warm inside, even though I’ve been using Ace for almost three years now. So, of course, I immediately made the switch to calling him Grogu," Schwarz wrote.

According to the writer's biography, Schwarz uses "they, them and theirs" pronouns. The middle school science teacher from Philadelphia is a social media activist—@TeachingOutsideTheBinary with nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram—who "educate[s] folx about how to create LGBTQ+ inclusive environments.

Those outside the show quickly gave Grogu—the beloved character from the Disney+ original television series—the moniker "Baby Yoda," given his striking physical similarities to the eponymous Jedi Master. Grogu's real name was revealed just weeks ago in "Chapter 13: The Jedi." Prior to that revelation, fans called the character Baby Yoda because the character looked like a baby version of the iconic Star Wars character Yoda.

Schwarz acknowledged that they appreciated how fictional characters Din Djarin and Ahsoka Tano "did a great job modeling what to do when someone gets mis-named."

The latter reminded the former to say "Grogu," and he quickly changed his language without becoming defensive. Schwarz emphasized that "it was nice to hear him respect Grogu’s name, and it clearly meant a lot."

"While these episodes got it right, the rest of the world needs to catch up a bit," Schwarz continued, citing ton of memes about how the majority of the public still ignores Grogu’s name and calls him the well-known epithetic simply because they "like Baby Yoda more."

Schwarz even slammed former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang for comparing the two identities and preferring the year-long nickname.

November 28, 2020

Schwarz admitted that the switch can feel unnatural, especially since fans have developed such a strong bond to the adorable creature over the past year. "At the same time, it’s frustrating to see personal opinions overshadow and dismiss someone’s name," they countered.

"Stop taking this so seriously," Schwarz mimicked critics. "He's an alien from a fictional universe." They moved to push back on this backlash, because "art imitates life" and and there are purportedly "very clear connections to the transgender community here."

They asked, "What message are you sending your trans friends who ask you to use a different name for them?"

Schwarz pressed on. "It’s almost like saying, 'Well I liked Y better so I'm going to call you that.' Not cool, right? How might they react if they hear you dismissing Grogu’s name? That could potentially shatter their trust in you," they positioned the argument.

"As much as I’d like to believe the showrunners saw the parallels, I doubt the connection to the trans community was intentional," Schwarz conceded, then interjected: "However, that doesn’t mean we should ignore it. It's also really important to remember that Baby Yoda is a name that we, as a society, came up with—not the show, the characters, or the actors. Us. So, while we may have opinions, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right in the long run."

Schwarz has been carrying around the Grogu plush from Target since school started and the stuffed toy sits in the front of their class. After the name reveal, Schwarz's students entertained the op-ed conversation about why it’s supposedly important to call him Grogu.

"And they got it. Sure, some of them like 'Baby Yoda' better, but they understood the big picture about the importance of respecting names. A few even asked if his pronouns had changed, which was a lovely addition I was not expecting," Schwarz claimed.

Schwarz concluded: "If 6th and 7th graders can handle this conversation and understand why it matters, I think the rest of us can, too."