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Is Elphaba trans or intersex? Wicked author Gregory Maguire addresses theories

11 December 2024, 17:23

By Sam Prance

Here's what Wicked author Gregory Maguire has said about Elphaba's gender identity in the book.

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If you have read the Wicked book and thought that Elphaba is trans or intersex, you may actually be onto something.

Fans of Wicked will already know that there are several major differences between the book and the musical. Due to time constraints, the musical simplifies a lot of what happens in Gregory Maguire's original tale. As a result, Jon M. Chu's Wicked movie and its upcoming sequel add elements from the books to the musical for extra context.

One long-held theory from the book that is that Elphaba is trans or intersex. When Elphaba is born, it's implied that she has male genitalia and there are several scenes throughout the book that suggest that Elphaba might not be cisgender. This isn't explored in the musical in any depth but trans fans have long identified with Elphaba.

Now, Wicked author Gregory Maguire has addressed the ongoing theories about Elphaba's true gender identity.

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Addressing the theories in a new interview with Them, Gregory said: "I do sow seeds of possibility there. I wanted this book to be an examination about how we think of people as the end result of trauma, and that in fact, we are all larger than our traumas." Like trans people and other minorities, Elphaba is subject to prejudice throughout Wicked.

Gregory added: "So, I put right at the very beginning the moment she's born, there's a question, does she have both sex organs? Maybe that was just a trick of the light? You could wonder for the rest of her life and yours whether she did or not. But whether she did or not would not change the path that she had to go on."

He went on to explain: "We are all larger than the sum of the things that happen to us biologically, biochemically, emotionally, experientially, culturally; we are all larger than that. That's what survival is.

"Discovering the breadth and scope of your own soul, despite and because of what happens to you."