A Trans/Non-binary Person’s Perspective on the Grogu vs. Baby Yoda Debate
Over a year ago, the world fell in love with the tiny green alien found by Din Djarin, a.k.a. Mando. There was so much mystery surrounding him that we didn’t even know his name. But what to call him? Surely, “adorable green alien” would be too much of a mouthful, even though it’s pretty accurate.
Characters in the show, and even the showrunners themselves, referred to him as The Child. All of the toys, Funkos, etc. are labeled as such, too. People outside the show quickly gave him the moniker Baby Yoda because there are definitely physical similarities between him and Yoda, and the popularity of Baby Yoda took over.
A few weeks ago in “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” we learned that his name is actually Grogu. My heart absolutely melted when Din called him Grogu because the reaction to hearing his name was so pure. Grogu’s ears perked up, he smiled, and he made an adorable noise of affirmation.
Until this point, he hasn’t really been able to verbally communicate with Din, so of course he was excited to hear his name from (basically) his father-figure. In “Chapter 14,” Mando sits in the Razor Crest, calling him “Grogu” several times, and we get similar reactions. Our resident Dadalorian clearly sees the value and importance of calling him Grogu.
As a trans/non-binary person, learning Grogu’s name and seeing how other characters embrace it hits differently. 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.
I also really appreciated how Din and Ahsoka did a great job modeling what to do when someone gets mis-named. Ahsoka reminds Din to use “Grogu,” and he quickly changes his language without getting defensive. This doesn’t mean he’ll stop calling Grogu “kid” or “The Child.” We hear them use those throughout the rest of the show, but 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. There are a ton of memes about how people are going to ignore Grogu’s name and continue calling him Baby Yoda because they “like Baby Yoda more.” On the one hand, I get it. After calling him Baby Yoda for over a year, it can feel unnatural to switch, especially since we’ve all developed such a strong bond to this adorable creature. At the same time, it’s frustrating to see personal opinions overshadow and dismiss someone’s name.
Baby Yoda > Grogu
— Andrew Yang🧢🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) November 28, 2020
“Stop taking this so seriously,” you may say. “He’s an alien from a fictional universe.” I want to push back on that because art imitates life, and there are some very clear connections to the transgender community here. Yes, Grogu is a fictional character, but what message are you sending your trans friends who ask you to use a different name for them? Or honestly, any friend who goes by a different name?
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.
As much as I’d like to believe the showrunners saw the parallels, I doubt the connection to the trans community was intentional. 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.
I’m a middle school science teacher by trade, and I’ve been carrying around the Grogu plush from Target since school started. He sits in the front of the class, and the kids absolutely love him, even those who don’t watch The Mandalorian at all. We were learning in person until a few weeks ago, and the kids wanted to know if “Baby Yoda would be learning virtually with us.” Of course, the answer was yes.
When episode 13 came out, we had a conversation about why it’s 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.
If 6th and 7th graders can handle this conversation and understand why it matters, I think the rest of us can, too. Now, excuse me while I go watch “Chapter 16” for the fifth time and cry over my favorite duo.
(image: Disney)
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