Gina Carano gained a new legion of fans after her performance as shock trooper-turned-mercenary Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, but it’s safe to say she’s now lost more than a fair few of them after making a joke about pronouns on Twitter that’s being perceived as transphobic.
You may have noticed a trend for people stating their gender identity and preferred pronoun as part of their Twitter bio, declaring “he/him,” “she/her,” “they/them,” or whichever combination they feel is most applicable to them. If you’re unfamiliar with the practice, its intent is to normalize such statements, so when trans, non-binary, intersex and genderflud people feel comfortable revealing themselves to be so, stating how they would like to be referred to can be seen as something standard and not aberrant or confusing.
Carano, however, has instead added “boop/bop/beep” after her name on Twitter, which is being perceived as mocking the practice and, understandably, has resulted in people calling her out on it. You can check out just some of the reactions down below.
So, Gina Carano spoke to Pedro Pascal who explained pronouns and why people have them in their names and Gina decided to mock that. She really is trash. 🗑 pic.twitter.com/giQ9agx8Oq
— Shitty Star Wars Posts (@SW_takes) September 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/GothicEzra/status/1305077559357390848
Weeeeelp turns out Gina Carano is pretty ignorant.
— Only Tim will tell (@NrdofAllTrades) September 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/Enemies_Allies/status/1305048028315676679
https://twitter.com/Thw1p/status/1305147929477275648
https://twitter.com/bradwhipple/status/1305147038900858882
https://twitter.com/johnnwicc/status/1305197123021893633
https://twitter.com/CarliTetla/status/1305172908940161024
https://twitter.com/MrDQJ/status/1305508000266948609
https://twitter.com/skywalkerguy19/status/1305510213097848834
Carano has since doubled down on the choice she made, issuing the following statement on Twitter:
Beep/bop/boop has zero to do with mocking trans people 🤍& 💯 to do with exposing the bullying mentality of the mob that has taken over the voices of many genuine causes.
I want people to know you can take hate with a smile. So BOOP you for misunderstanding. 😊 #AllLoveNoHate pic.twitter.com/Qe48AiZyOL
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) September 14, 2020
Exactly how co-opting an inclusive practice for a weak joke exposes anything is not made clear, nor exactly what the “bullying mentality” she refers to actually is, although it’s probably a safe bet that it’s to do with cis people feeling personally attacked when it’s suggested to them ways that they can make small modifications to their speech and behavior to allow trans people to feel less marginalized and threatened every minute of their lives.
Of course, with Twitter being the roiling hellscape that it is, Carano has doubtless received more direct abuse for her choice, but that doesn’t change the validity of what people hope to achieve with the additions that her actions give the impression of attempting to undermine.
Even if Gina Carano’s joke wasn’t meant to offend, it doesn’t change how it’s being perceived. If a trans person tells you that something you’re doing makes them uncomfortable, it’s not your place to tell them that they’re wrong, regardless of whether your intent was benevolent.