Representation matters, but so does allegory - let me explain 🏳️🌈
This could not have been possible without Erika Dapkewicz and Yuval Avrami. Please check out their work!
/ missmakodap
/ yuvalavrami
The "My Body My Choice" tote bag shown at the end is from Pride Off Rimini: / prideoffrimini
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The pieces of media and music featured in this video are quoted for critical and educational purposes. Those looking to completely understand the pieces are encouraged to purchase the original works.
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One-time Paypal Donation: www.paypal.me/jakebellissimo
Follow me on Twitter: / dreamsoundsvid
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MUSIC USED:
"Reflection" by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel (from Disney's "Mulan")
"Poppers and Prosecco" by Kevin MacLeod
"Gymnopedie No. 1" by Erik Satie, performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
"Backbay Lounge" by Kevin MacLeod
"Gymnopedie No. 3" by Erik Satie, performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
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00:00 Introduction
01:58 Mulan's Reflection
04:32 Erika's Insight
10:54 The Importance of Allegory
Do you have a favorite Disney song that has helped you express LGBTQ feelings?🏳️🌈(Please keep in mind that KZhead is still auto removing any comments that say the q word, so please know I'm not censoring any comments!) Also, this could not have been possible without Erika Dapkewicz and Yuval Avrami. Please check out their work! twitter.com/MissMakoDap instagram.com/yuvalavrami/
Apart from Reflection, as a trans man, "I'm still here" from tresure planet always spoke very close to me. "And I want a moment to be real Wanna touch things I don't feel Wanna hold on and feel I belong" "And how can the world want me to change? They're the ones that stay the same They don't know me 'cause I'm not here" "And I wanna tell you who I am Can you help me be a man? They can't break me as long as I know who I am" "They can't tell me who to be 'Cause I'm not what they see" "They can't see me but I'm still here"
"Endless Night" is such a good song! And I'll check out Pushing Daisies, I've been recommended the show before but have never seen it
Treasure Planet!! There will be a video about that on this channel eventually, "I'm Still Here" is a classic
@@DreamsoundsVideo please do check out pushing daisies! its really not disney, but i think its a delightfully campy, sweet show that also happens to be directed by the creator of hannibal and features both kristin chenoweth and my absolutely beloved audrey, ellen greene 💞
“Out There” and “God Help the Outcasts” from “Hunchback of Notre Dame” hold a special place in my heart. All of the music from “Hunchback” is amazing (and its still one of my favorite Disney animated films) but growing up as a person who was not heterosexual and struggling to figure out my sexuality, these songs hit me in a very deep way. Most recently, “Show Yourself” from Frozen 2 has been resonating with me a lot. I really think Elsa has been a meaningful character to a lot of ACE people.
Me: *tries not to cry* Dreamsounds: Sings exactly one note of reflections* Me: *Ugly sobs in trans boy*
bruh same
same- :’)💖
ME TOOOOOO OMG
Same man
Same, I am so glad I live alone
"I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter" hits me pretty hard as a trans woman. Since I was small, I don't think I ever considered myself to be a boy and yet for whatever reason (and now I know why) my parents never let me occupy that space. I could be hyper-feminine, but I couldn't be a girl. And it always hurt a lot. I thought things like love, romance, familial acceptance would be forever out of my reach, but when I started transitioning, it was like I was invoking the image of Mulan to fight for myself and demand to be seen as how I see myself. Things are better with my family, I'm more or less the mom friend in my circles, and now I'm engaged to an amazing guy, and it's because I had this song, this story, and others to guide me.
That's so nice, glad you're happy :)
Your story made me tear up, I’m not joking. I’m happy for you
Go girl!! Im happy for you
I'm really happy for you! I hope to find an amazing partner as well :')
That's awesome! As a Trans guy, I headcanon Disney's Mulan as Trans, but I feel like it could make sense whether Mulan was Trans-Male, or Trans-Female. One of my favorite Disney movies, honestly.
I love the ambiguity of the lyrics. She regrets not being able to live up to her family's expectations but it's kind of unclear whether those are things she doesn't want, or are unable to attain. I can see career women, women who don't want kids, lesbians and trans women and trans men all relating for different reasons. Honestly anyone who's been a "disappointment" can relate. To me Mulan still seems unsure as to what it is SHE wants. What does it mean to be your true self? What does that person look like? It's only after you ditch the guilt and start living your own life that you can find out.
I like this take❤
Trans fem here, haven't even started the video yet but am bracing to sob because this was my comfort movie growing up.
I'm probably late, but are you good?
😭I can relate
I saw Mulan again a few months ago because I hated what the live action did to the story. Reflection never hit me as hard as it did as it had rehearing it again. Ohhhhbh my lord, it truly felt like a transgender lament, and I started to sob uncontrollably. I am 33 years old, and I could never figure myself out, especially as to how I fit in society. And to find out what non binary was, it finally clicked and I am starting to actually understand myself! Horray! But the rest of the world is a gray planet ruled by fools who only see black and white. To hear Reflections again in the mind set I am recently made me feel so validated and so unalone, it hit like a brick wall. I still can't listen to it without ugly crying.
Reflection ISvery good and deserves all the praise, BUT I also think that "Make a Man out of you" is a transmasc anthem because masculinity is represented as a bunch of positive qualities during a badass montage where Mulan, an afab person, comes on top from everyone else. Meaning that even someone like Mulan can represent the best of that masculinity
And she worked hard to get there along with her peers which is sorely missing in a lot of "better-than-the-boys girl power" moments from that era. A character that works hard and honestly, and is confident in masculinity without outright rejecting feminity or needing to outmasculine other characters. Edit: I should clarify I'm adding this from a cisfem perspective. Mulan identifies as a woman through the end of the film, thus the comparison to girl-power tropes and how they relate to gender expression in media.
Make a Man Out of You is a huge comfort song lmao
Transmascs are among the best examples of masculinity because they/we put in twice the effort to achieve it and I think that's very awesome of them/us.
Even moreso because I think "make a man out of you" has a very deliberate masculinity about it, because mulan actually tries. So does everyone else in the troop and they all improve too. And this sort of reflects the very deliberate way that we approach gender. It's like, I remember a quote about gomez from the Addams family that really just had it down: "gomez has transmasc energy because he wakes up every day specifically happy to be a man". That about sums it up I'd think
@@cat_clawz9473 This makes a lot of sense, similar to how bioqueen divas like Cher, Madonna, Dolly, Beyoncé, Lana, etc give transfeminine energy because they don't just passively accept their gender, but rather seem to take great care to accentuate and revel in their femininity in a way that is very, as you say, deliberate.
As a trans man, "Reflection" has stuck with me ever since I watched Mulan as a teenager. I think the moment it became more to me though was when I heard Caleb Hyles singing it. I was a fan of his covers from his first year on the platform, so I almost always listen to his covers. The thing is, I have heard so many cover artists change lyrics to not sing wrong pronouns for themselves, (For example, when a man does a cover of a song originally sang by a woman, they might change 'boyfriend' to 'girlfriend' or 'he' to 'she' or vice versa) to make the song feel more "All their own" and by design seem more hetero and binary. Sometimes it works, but other times it misses the integrity of the song as intended by the original artist, especially if they were very personal ballads to the original writer or performer. The thing with Caleb is that he doesn't tend to change lyrics unless adding his own verses or raps to cover what was once a long instrumental pause. This means the lyrics for "Reflection" stayed the same, so lines like "I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter," were being sang by a man. I think he did this on purpose. That broke me a little. I was so used to hearing the original feminine voice, that hearing a male voice... It felt like hearing my subconscious singing the song versus hearing myself out loud. Since then" Reflection" has always been on my dysphoria Spotify playlist; both versions. When I am feeling low, it could pop up out of nowhere and remind me I'm not alone.
For me it was be a man cuz it made me feel gender euphoria
You aren't a real man
@@iamprettydumb8553 Neither are you. Real men are gentlemen.
@@lauravturner Well, considering I'm woman. I'll take that as a compliment.
@@iamprettydumb8553 Nah shut the hell up and take your transphobia somewhere else. You have no clue what us trans people have to go through and live through just to be ourselves. Shut up and take a hike. That's why homophobes or transphobes are just generally ignorant and can't spend 5 minutes to do basic surface level research. It's harder to be mean than to just be accepting and nice. You must be exhausted from how hard you're stretching, huh? Since most trans people are who they are since they're literal children. It isn't like waking up and changing clothes. A cishet woman has no place being transphobic especially since you don't go through what the trans or lgbtq+ community goes through. The door
Y'know, it's a cliche about gay men and musical theater, but I've found that the whole spectrum of lgbt seem to be overrepresented in the arts. Certainly at my community theater our board of directors have always had gay & lez people on it and currently has a trans president/artistic director (moi!). I think there's something about the creative process and imaginary worlds that we create for ourselves in order to deal with the "real" world that resonates with all of us. Love Erika's interview!
aro aces in media might not be
I did not pretend to be a girl for 20 years to Not be good at acting lmao
@@ahhh4117 what does pretend to be girl entail ? forced acting like a sterotype?
I majored in art back when I was still in school and my entire art class was made up to 90% of queer people. It was beautiful... It took so much out of me to come out, since my family wasn't very accepting, but it was funny that in this catholic all girls school, everyone just accepted that there were 4 trans boys in the art class. No one asked any questions outside of "Do you have a new name yet?" or "What pronouns do you use?". It's no secret that people with an artistic stroke often have a tendency to look at societal norms in a different light... I feel like we tend to ponder about our place in the world more often... and that we end up rather being our eccentric selves, than fitting the norm... I don't know why it's the case, but it seems it's always been this way...
@@kaiyodei I think they mean they knew they were trans for a while and had to act to fit that role society forced them in based in their assigned gender (I could be wrong though)
As a twelve year old enby, this movie meant everything to me in a time that I was breaking out of my alt-right brainwashing and self-hatred. Mulan wasn't the perfect woman. Ping wasn't the perfect man. As an enby, I finally had someone I could relate to. So i didn't feel like a freak. Mulan is my favorite disney character, because she helped me realize who i was, even if my whole family rejects me for it. She'll always be there to remind me of my younger days, before my family fell apart.
You're so young... I hope the road becomes easier for you, sending a big pibling hug, you deserve a better world and family.
Hey, nineteen year old enby here, and best of luck to ya, kid. I hope things get easier for you soon, stay strong
The great thing about families is that even as they can break apart, you can gain new members through all sorts of ways. I hope that happens for you, fellow enby, and that you soon have all the found relatives you could desire.
It is individuals like yourself that we try so hard to help this world be more inclusive and understanding. So many of us struggled during youth because of the backlash for simply being ourselves. I am 33 years old. I realized I was non binary when I was 4, I just didn't know there was a word for it. I have seen so much change through society accepting the lgbtq, but I also notice the resistance of acceptance. So many will say "why are you targeting children, pedo?" As if we are going after children to groom them, which is absolutely disgusting. They don't understand that we were children once who went through this exact same thing many kids are going through now. I understand right wingers wanting to protect their children, but they seem to not get how much damage they put on their kids by not wanting to listen. We may be targeting children, but not in the way many think. We are trying our best not just for the children who realize they are gay, trans, and scared, we are also doing this for our own inner child who had to suffer this world and suffer still. Stay strong, little buddy. At age 11, you went through a lot, but you have accepted yourself beautifully. Many adults in this situation haven't gotten this far. Believe me, the struggle will not be for nothing.
You know, I too wrote what would be called transgender fiction, during my senior year of high school (1980) well before the term "transgender" was in use. My scenarios usually involved male characters being reincarnated as female, whether through sci-fi or supernatural means. I actually had the courage to write such a story as an English assignment (thankfully I didn't have to read it in class). Not only was my teacher not shocked, I got an "A" for the story. If only she knew what inspired it....
Mulan definitely made me feel both trans as well as bisexual feelings as a kid, it really was something special
Also, it is interesting how that song Reflection might change depending of each one of us, each trans experience, but we all relate to it and our gender identity. In my own case, sometimes i hear it in male covers while saying "who is that girl i see?" like in I don't recognize myself to that girl since i'm a boy, but when the male covers changes the lyrics to "who is that boy I see?" it becomes the boy i see in myself but no one else is capable of seeing. But yeah, Reflection is my hope to come out someday to my mom, every time that song pops out i stare at her trying to read her mind and make her see me, make others see me.
Reflection or 'Mi Reflejo' the latino version we got was like an anthem for me. Also, growing up I sang Part of Your World wishing I could be free and walk around proudly like I saw other LGBT people walk.
gotta love identifying with mermaids but not being able to go to public pools because of chest dysphoria
Next time i am asked if i want to swim my excuse will be "im a mermaid and i transform (har har) when i touch the water"
As a transmasculine nb person, i have to say this is 200% accurate :'3 Almost all disney songs (renaisance age (little mermaid-tarzan) but also some of the new movies) are relatable to me to my trans experience. But Mulan is the number 1 :'3
Same! Tho im a binary trans man. Im Still Here from treasure planet also hits particularly hard. "I am a question to the world, not an answer to be heard." "And what do you think youd understand? Im a boy, no, I'm a man. You cant take me and throw me away" "I wanna tell you who I am. Can you help me be a man? They cant break me as long as I know who I am". It's just. Such a trans masculine experience. Like the way we're so erased and forgotten and have to fight just to be acknowledged let alone understood for who we are.
@@JackTheVulture omg yes!!!! I also identify a lot with that song, I hear it when I’m having dysphoria. Same goes for Hercules’s Distance song and Tarzan’s Son of a Man 🥲😅😊
tha hell is a transmasculine nb person???
Tażan
"Reflection" and "I'm Still Here" make me ugly cry when I hear them. They hit every core of my being, and as a non binary person practically every lyric feels like a line from my journal.
Mulan also, in hindsight, showed me how absolutely clueless I was about gender norms and social norms. As and Ace person with High function Autism who’s a bit tomboyish, I recently rewatched the lake scene in Mulan. I usually took that sene as a time to step out and goto the bathroom because I had absolutely no idea why it was in the movie. It took me until college to realize how tense that scene is Mulan. Maybe if I grew up with brothers or ever had to share a bathroom sooner it would have dawned on me, but seriously. I didn’t pick up on it until college!!
obligatory "afab enby here". mulan has been my favorite disney movie (and just one of my favorite movies in general) since i was a kid, for several reasons but a big one is definitely that desire to remake your identity. i have myself performed "reflection" before too, and it's a song that's always hit different for me. your cover of it is gorgeous. 😭
Erika's polka dotted clothes and the two vinyls in the background lining up with her head, she's Minnie Mouse XD
Your covers of these songs are always so incredible. I instantly start crying.
As a trans man, Mulan had always hit especially hard with me. Especially with “Reflection” which I would blast when having especially terrible dysphoria to comfort me… and your singing just hit deep. I saw this on another comment but I have to agree, it was like my inner conscious was singing to me. Thank you. This entire video is amazing, thank you so much.
Fun fact: Almost every male cast member of Mulan either dressed in drag or played a woman at some point in their career - Harvey Fierstein did it of course, and so did Eddie Murphy, and B.D. Wong (Li Shang) got his first big break playing a Chinese female impersonator in M. Butterfly, and Soon Tek Oh (Mulan's father) and Gedde Wattanabe (Ling) were both in a 1975 musical called Pacific Overtures where they both played women's parts.
The fight to get here, to comfort with myself, to other people being comfortable with me, to seeing lgbtq characters in media, has always been and will always be an important part of my identity. Without the fight I would be a much lesser person. Thank you for this video
Being a queer (albeit cis) woman, something about Reflection actually hits me harder as an adult than it did as a child. It always gets me a little misty.
Because as we age, we realize how simple life really is and how much time we wasted stressing about it and feeling ashamed. Realizing that you’re safe now and it’s okay to pause and take a breath, while simultaneously acknowledging that MANY kids go through these feelings of confusion and shame, and that’s a natural part of development despite it being painful to witness or experience… it’s definitely an emotional moment. ❤
As a trans male, Mulan is one of my favorite princesses. Also I agree with this comment section, Reflection is a perfectly fitting song. It makes me cry sometimes. And make a man out of you is like...the best song for motivation.
Your pfp is nice my guy
I proudly support trans rights. 🏳️⚧️ All y’all are safe with me.
Mulan has always been everything I want to be, and she has everything I've ever wanted to have. She got to be a boy, even if it was temporary. She got to make friends that saw her as a boy. She got to be strong in a masculine way, and save the day, although day-saving isn't something I really want to be doing. She got a man that cared for her, both when she was a man and when she was a woman. Her relationship with him wasn't even hinted at sexual, it was based on mutual respect. All I've ever wanted to be or have is what the basic themes of Mulan's story are.
I love mermaids. I've loved them since I was little. I consider myself queer. I dislike when people see me as my gender rather than who I am.
Reflection has always (more or less) given me queer/"outcast" vibes. Since I didn't really grow up with knowledge of the LGBTQ+ Community's existence (sheltered childhood), I felt I could connect with it on an "I'm a disappointment" level. Now that I've grown older and had more exposure to the world around me, I feel that it has more significance as a transgender anthem, although I still feel a great connection to the song due to my past and my own body dysmorphia.
I remember wondering as a child why Mulan didn’t want to stay presenting masculine in the end.
Because she's not trans. She still identifies as female, she just doesn't fit into the mold her society made for women. Literally the only reason she passed as a man in the first place is because women weren't allowed in the army and she didn't want her ill father to die fighting in a war. I mean, take what you want from the film, but respect the character are what they are, not what you want them to be.
@@stevenhiggins3055 i think the comments point more was that they couldn't relate to that or fully understand why someone would. I myself also wondered the same thing as a child because i couldn't imagine *anyone* going back to being a woman after (kinda) succesfully being a man. Because i didn't realize at that time that my wanting of being a man was unusal at that time. It's not really *why* the character would not stay as a man, but not being able to image wanting to be a woman. At least for me.
@@stevenhiggins3055 I meant I wanted to pass as male forever and didn’t understand why she didn’t too but go off
Same.
@@shrimplicity4551 isnt the whole point of the original poem is abt how women and men are both the same in strength? Mulan proving herself to be as capable as men, idk
I've listened to "Reflection" so much and its easily one of the most relateable Disney songs for me, but just a few notes into your rendition of it I started tearing up- and I don't cry easily! You've really touched this nonbinary person's heart right here!
Im Cis girl, this movie and both songs are my comfort zone, since I was kid/Teenager(Now Im young adult). I Mostly inpretate "Reflection" as not fit in with social standards as girl with Asperger(Thats was personal). But, I can see, why People who are in Trans umbrella can relate and see themselves in both songs. And for Every person in Trans umbrella: You are Valid and you are worthy of respect💜
Cis female bi aspie & ADHDer here, and I also related to Mulan struggle to meet feminine standards. I love how well made media can be validating for people in different ways.
As a trans guy, “Reflections” really hits hard for me, from childhood into adulthood… “Who is that girl I see staring back back at me?” That line perfectly described my own experience with how I saw myself and saw a complete stranger… essentially feeling like the body I was in wasn’t what I saw in my mind when I looked in the mirror.
another beautiful video... the book on mermaids and q*eerness sounds fascinating!! and kudos on getting such a great chance to interview someone who actually worked on mulan 🙌🏼✨
I’m not trans, but as someone who doesn’t fit the perfect idea of what a woman “should” be and doesn’t want to, I always saw Mulan as empowering. It was always my favorite Disney princess movie besides princess in the frog. I always was so wowed by the absolute strength and simultaneous beauty Mulan had. So this video really reminded me of that feeling. I love your channel btw, and your content never ceases to captivate me!
Wow, I was blown away by seeing Miss Mako in this video. What a blast from the past of my early genderqueer identity exploration on KZhead.
I was in that group the night Erika talks about. I’m so happy to say that she is one of my very best friends. When Mulan came out, I liked the film immensely, but THAT song!!! That was life to me. I still listen to it. To know of another verse that parallels my own childhood of riding into the country to scream, cry, dance…..or just sit with my thoughts. And that’s amazing.
That was such a lovely interview and an incredible video!!
Mulan is a comfort movie for me, and I related to Reflection and Make a Man Out of You before I even realised how or why. And when I've talked about it when I /did/ realise that it resonated with me because I'm a trans man, I was met with "but Mulan isn't trans." No, she isn't, but that doesn't mean this isn't a trans story, because it absolutely is. It's a story about someone finding and trusting themselves through hardship, sacrifice, love, and courage, and that's what being trans is about. So yeah... Mulan is for us.
oh my gosh i had only recently realized why i loved mulan so much as an afab child. it's incredibly hard trying to live up as a man to just be validated by other people's idea of masculinity- even though it's not my own idyllic version of manhood. you really summarized it perfectly here.
Me when I saw Amity and Luz: **squeals in delight because I wasn't expecting it**
“... it was also about saving herself” 🥺YEAH IT WAS😭
I'm a transmasc and Mulan was one of my favorite movies as a kid
I went to the trouble of copying out the book including drawing pictures.
12:32 In the gen 7 games of Pokémon there is water type starter that evolves into a beautiful mermaid no matter what their gender is (they’re called Primarina by the way). I of course picked that stater, even before I knew that I’m genderfluid! Sometimes art knows us better than we know ourselves.
There's your amazing singing voice 🤗
I've not told anyone but I think I'm trans masculine
You would know. I see your courage and encourage you to validate this. Like the song says all you need to be a man is to be Swift, strong and mysterious!
Good luck on your gender journey
I hope you can do the self discovery and figure it out when you are ready :)
Thank you for telling us, and good luck on your discovery journey!
From a trans man, blaze on. Look into yourself. Good luck.
as a genderfluid person, growing up I always felt a sort of unexplainable connection with Reflection, I always thought I was just "oh yeah im different from other girls" but now looking back the connection was totally "I dont really even know who I am"
Same… though I am also disabled and people have always had distorted expectations of me. Still do.
As a trans man I never thought Mulan was trans and didn't notice any similarities between her journey and mine until I heard her Reflection song later into my transition and the lyrics really sounded like someone mourning that they would never be their traditional parent's perfect child because of inherently who they were, and the "when will my reflection show who I am inside" really touched me. I don't like how a lot of people think Mulan has gender dysphoria because as someone who has it, I don't recognise anything she does besides that song as being accurate to someone with dysphoria and it perpetuates the "if you are gender nonconforming then you have gender dysphoria" misconception the right wing has decided all trans people and allies believe, as well as confusing tomboys and feminine boys into thinking maybe their nonconformity to gender stereotypes could mean they would be happier if they transitioned. My Disney "Queer Inspiration Character" was Hercules, the I Can Go the Distance song was my anthem to keep going during the horrors of puberty before I came out and was able to medically transition.
I don't know why, but I always was so enthralled by mulan becoming ping. I was almost disappointed when she revealed herself, it hurt for some reason. Years later, I know why now. Im a trans man.
I’ve always really loved that movie, and the song reflection has always been one of my favorites, but after this video I feel like if I watch the movie again I’m going to cry when reflection comes on
your singing is beautiful
this song kept me going as a kid, before i even realised i was trans it was special to me
I had a huge phase when I was really little where everything revolved around mermaids. I had two fin fun tails, a giant sea turtle plush, and mountains of ocean aesthetic whatevers…. Now I’ve come out as nonbinary and have socially transitioned at school! Hearing that excerpt from that book gave me an indescribable feeling of just “I’ve always been this way” Also the part where she talks about creating her own worlds and stories to escape to.. I’m doing that right at this moment. Wow.. For once in my life I can see a promising future for myself.
Love your video essays. This was excellent. Well researched and thoughtful, authentic and full of heart.
This is maybe out of left field, but I would love if you could do a reaction on the Discworld book Monstrous Regiment. The reason is that it looks at gender roles cross-dressing.
I'm sorry, this channel is specifically about Disney music, but I will check out that Discworld book - thanks for the recommendation!
Oh damn, they got me with the mermaid thing. We never really watched Mulan much when I was a kid so I always kind of feel left out of that trans experience when others talk about it, but yes I connected to mermaids because they have no genitals. So I'm not the only one. Huh. It IS a more common nonbinary experience.
I’m gay and I’ve always gravitated towards Mulan. I’ve never felt like the version of a man that my family wanted. Seeing that feeling on the big screen made me feel seen and not alone.
Transman here, I grew up LOVING Mulan and the song 'Reflection' STILL hits hard
I absolutely love hearing Jake’s covers of Disney songs in these videos, their voice is so incredible!
Wow! Lovely video. Also I love your version of reflection!
Reflection was one of the songs that i resonated with heavily. The whole song just sounded like my personal experience
Late to the party but still caught the show. 💞 It always makes me happy to see your wedding band and hear positive stories of all 🏳️🌈 people coming out and/or transitioning. You do amazing work. Thanks for sharing it with us.
rewatched mulan a little while ago and i tried not to cry bc it was part of a medical thingy but man,, your previous video abt it just made me love the movie even more
For so much of my life, I struggled with my femininity and my relationship with gender roles. I got frustrated as a child with not being labeled a tomboy, and I wanted to be seen as extremely masculine, even though I loved glitter, the color pink, and dressing up. And so as a child, I told myself I liked the movie because Mushu was funny. I said I liked it because I liked the Chinese culture in it. But I loved it because I wanted to fight like that. I wanted to dress up and hide like that, and change my name to something like that. I wanted to find a man like Shang who would look at me the same as Milan and Ping. I’ve been out as trans for almost five years, and every year on the day I came out, I sing a new cover of reflections. Because Mulan was not trans. Mulan has never been trans. But she would be okay with us seeing this song as queer. She’d love it.
a beautiful video! thank you for sharing this perspective, it is so clear through your explanation but i did not see before
When I was younger, I listened to this film in french and there was a line in the song "Reflexion" that I always thought was actually "où mon âme c'est gars"(grammatically not correct but meaning "where my soul is boy") I latter learned it was "où mon âme s'égare" ("where my soul is lost")... I resonated wholeheartedly with the first version I heard, even though now I know that I heard only what I wanted to hear. But at least here I am, a few years later and a transmasc nonby, out and proud. I still can't listen to this song without crying.
Honestly 'boutta binge all your videos
Already loving this video!
As a trans man whose favourite Disney movie has always been Mulan, thank you for this video. Beautiful watch, I really really enjoyed it.
My favorite Disney song growing up.
Thank you for this. I've been looking for some resources to send my grandma to introduce her to these topics.
I juat want you to know, every time I see one of your videos I usually tear up at some point, You have a beautiful way of speaking and of explaining things, you have helped me understand both myself and others and for that I wi'll always be greatful you exist, Thank You
This was a very concise, balanced, and well written essay! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
this video made me v emotional - like omg my young trans self loved mulan and ariel.
I’m just a guy who supports all the lgbt community I’m there official guard dog and also recognized that this guy has a great singing voice pre and post transition
Your voice is so beautiful, hearing you sing is a blessing
Growing up, I couldn't stand listening to "Reflection". At first I thought it was just because it was a slow song and not very exciting, but as I got older I realized the song just hit too close to home. It described every depressed thought I'd had as a disabled kid struggling to make friends and have self-worth. I think I was also scared because it was touching on the dysphoria I wasn't aware I was experiencing. "Make a Man Out of You" and the Paint "After Ever After" Mulan parody were the things I really latched onto as a kid (although I had no clue what the parody was talking about).
I always felt a strong way about Mulan’s reflection song as a kid. I felt sad and lost but loved the music. I really related to Mulan in many ways and wanted to be like her. It came to a point where when I looked at myself in the mirror as I grew up I didn’t recognize myself. I didn’t know who I was. I just felt lost. I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way about the song. And the other song/characters. Hercules song I can go the distance to this day makes me cry. As a kid I would cry when that song played and didn’t understand why I felt that way. I also loved Arielle as a kid (still do) I always imagined myself as a mer-person whenever I went swimming in the pool or ocean. I just felt so free in that state of mind. Learning mer-folk mermaid, merman can represent queer, non-binary and trans warms my heart ❤️ and makes so much sense now why I connected to these characters so much as a kid.
Are we just gonna ignore the vocals in the intro!? You slayed it!
I love your video's, always give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
I always thought it made more sense for trans masc folks (being trans masc and hhahaha, mulan was my favorite princess) but after watching this, I can see this could easily be seen as something to relate to as a trans woman too. Or just, anyone trans really. I would see it as if, "Even if I wanted to be this 'girl' that everyone saw, I'll not pass, I'll always be an outlier". It also could be my neurodivergence effecting that perspective, as even if I was cis, I'd still be a bit odd in most spaces, hetero or no.
aro ppl handshake trans ppl: i will never pass as a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter (also you have such a nice voice!!)
I think the first big disney mention of nonbinary identity in my memory was lloyd in space. The episode where they were trying to figure out whether the new kid was a girl or a boy and the kid answered they're neither. It stuck with me all these years and I didn't realize until about a year ago why that was. Because I've never fully identified with womanhood but lacked the vocabulary and understanding of non-binary identities until now.
Yaaazz!! I love the cover of the song❤️🥺💆
I think you have a nice singing voice and you are able to give a new perspective about history and movies, which feels refreshing.
I love your singing voice. It’s so beautiful!
I am genderfluid and mulan rlly makes me feel represented. Shes not a perfect women, but also not a perfect men, shes both but nothing at the same time, shes jsut herself trying to understand herself, her feelings and what she is wich is sth I can relate to so hard. I'll never be the perfect man, I'll never be the perfect women, sometimes I'll be both and sometimes none of it, its sth that is ever so confusing and rlly hurts because everytime u look in the mirror u could see someone else in front of u, jsut how she didnt see herself at first until the end, when she found herself and accepted that she may not fit in, but still accepted herself. Reflection also makes me tear up everytime I lsiten to it, because the lyrics felt so relatable. I dont know what the exact englsih lyrics r, but I remember the german ones word for word, and at the end she says:" wann zeigt mir mein spiegelbild, wer ich wirklich bin" wich directly translates to: " when does my reflection show me who I really am" wich is sth I struggled with a lot, since when I had a male phase It felt liek i was looking at a weird random person, but when I had a female phase I felt like I wasnt female enough, it's as if I look in the mirror and I see many different ppl and not me, and it took me so long to accept who I rlly am from thinking i am the gender i was assigned at birth, to goign into different phases (mulan when she traiend to be a soldier) to at the end accept who I am and finally being able to see my self in my reflection.
As a nonbinary woman, hearing Dreamsounds sing at the beginning sent chills up my spine. Reflections resonates with me and I can see in the comments, a lot of other people. If you're sobbing to Reflections, you are seen, you are valid, and you are loved. Be brave, warrior ❤️
Reflection resonated with me for my entire childhood. The DVD version had a "music video" of the song that I would just listen to over and over, dancing and singing in my living room. As a nonbinary person, my identity and the way it impacts me is so complex, but there was something about this song that struck a chord in me. Even if I didn't know what it was at the time
Mulan was my favorite Disney princess when I was growing up. I know I'm non-binary now, but back then I didn't have that kind of language to help me navigate . I was called a tomboy, which suited me just fine. I wanted to be able to do what the boys did, but kept disappointing/angering my mom each time. (ie: Rolling down a hill in a dress and tights because it was fun, thereby ruining the tights in the process) Mulan spoke to me because she felt like, well, me. Someone who was labeled a tomboy. She was someone who failed at what she was 'expected' to do, even though she tried her best, and felt more at home knowing how to kick butt than she had serving tea. Reflection spoke to me, because I didn't know who I was just like Mulan didn't seem to know who she was either. Tomboy seemed to fit, but when I looked at myself, I couldn't figure out why I felt "off". Before I even knew the word trans I was asking if I would be happier as a guy, but that didn't seem to fit quite right in my head either. It was after finding the word 'non-binary', (and realizing that not everyone else had such a 'meh' response to pronouns they're called on the internet) that helped me realize myself. "I'm still here", aka "Jim's Theme" from Treasure Planet also stuck with me for similar reasons, and is my favorite Disney movie overall. (Probably helps that there's no 'love at first sight' storyline for my demi-aroace self to be disgruntled over)
Trans dude here, and I can say that I watched Milan and Hercules ALOT as a kid and even now because I always felt like I related to me more than others
Beautiful video!!
Me when I was 10: Mulan is my favorite princess. Me now: I'm Trans now. The end. Based on a true story
Dude, as a trans man with a difficult relationship with my family, this video made me cry ugly like a baby. Thank you. PD. Mulan was always my favourite movie when I was super young, and I always wish to become a man. I think I'm going to watch Mulan again tonight (after years) with this new perspective of my identity :D
Mulan came out my birth year ive always been really close to the movie and now that i know who i am i feel an even stronger connection to mulan. It was a family favprite Reflection is my power ballad
I remember when I saw Mulan I felt so understand, and after this, every time they'll ask me what I would like to become when I grow up I will answer that I wanted to be like Mulan, I will also answer Mulan when they ask me how I was feeling. Now I do now why. And I'm proud of it🏳️⚧️✌️
“Our first taste of euphoria was dressing up as Mulan for Halloween” *remember how happy I was that I got to dress up as Keith Kogane from Voltron one year for Halloween* “I looked so stupid cause it was a costume made last minute but, man I was so happy” *smiles at the memory then proceeds to start crying at how I can’t look like that again and how my mom is super attached to my long hair*............. fuck
tbh as an aro/ace person, Brave really inspired me and helped me see just who I am
2 minutes In and I already want to cry 🥺
You sounded so perfect singing reflection!! I just had to tell you!! :D
To be honest, I personally don’t think Mulan is trans. I just think she’s a tomboy. She dressed up as a man to fight in the war, because she didn’t want her dad getting hurt. She did it out of care for her family and necessity, not because she purposely wanted to explore her gender identity.
yea the video wasn't saying Mulan was trans, but that her character or parts of it could be read as allegory for the trans experience, and that the trans people in the generation growing up with the original film were able to identify with her and start to realize their own identities
I don't even think she's a tomboy, really. She just doesn't fit her society's image of a "perfect woman"