In the anime, they can change genders. So what are they in actuality?  If they're really female, that makes the idea of Usagi and Seiya a yuri pairing, right?  Just curious what people think. Sorry if there's already been a thread like this one.

In the anime they're male. But in the manga, they're supposed to be female.  I haven't finished the manga but I've heard that they're supposedly female. I don't think Usagi/Seiya is supposed to be a yuri pairing because technically Usagi never dated Seiya.

In the anime, its assumed they changed genders. We had a debate thread somewhere a long time ago about this, trying to decide on whether or not they biologically changed all the way or just like facial structure and the gender change was more a cosmetic thing rather than actual physical biological changing.  I think the intention was that on Earth they were transformed into male forms, but they are still female. Once they leave earth, they most likely stay in their female forms permanently.

In the manga (and assumedly in the musicals), they just dress as males, but are 100% female 100% of the time.

So even though Usagi/Seiya isn't canon, if they were to be a pair, I would consider them a lesbian pairing.

In the manga they were female. In fact, Naoko Takeuchi was very upset with the fact that they made them guys that transform into women in the anime version. She said something about how only women could transform into sailor senshi, not men.

I know they weren't ever really a couple, but they are popular in non-canon fiction.
Thanks for the insights.

I personally always quite liked the idea of the Starlights being gender fluid in the anime.  I felt like that does a better job of hiding their identities, particularly if they're a mega superstar boy band, and I also always like the inclusion of gender fluid characters in anime and I wish there was more.  I always felt like Naoko's criticism of the anime's decision was too fixated on an out-dated binary understanding of gender.  If we go by Naoko's definition of who can be a Senshi, what does that mean for trans women?

I agree with Neon Genesis.  I see them as genderfluid, genderqueer, bigender, somewhere in that nebulous ballpark of gender identification.  As long as someone identifies as a woman in a way that is significant to them, then they can be a senshi.  The soul is the more important thing.

I really loved that Starlights became male while on Earth in Stars. If you think about it their posing as a boy band. They are going to be followed by crazy fans and the paparazzi. They were pretty smart to use magic to turn themselves into males. It makes getting around easier without the fear of being found out. 

In my thought process they are 100% female. Like I said they used some kind of magic to take on male forms.So if they ever returned to Earth they might come back 100% female. They have no need to become males anymore. It's kind of like Ranma 1/2. Ranma is 100% male, but because of the hot spring cruse he becomes a female when splashed with cold water. 

So my answer! I say SeyiaxUsagi is a yuri pairing, but you could call it something else if you wanted to.

In the manga, they were female. In the anime, they were boys that transformed into girls. 

I think their either genderfluid or agender, to be honest. They're from a different planet, why should they need to conform to earth gender standards?

Either way they're all hot as hell.

Cosmos-Hime wrote:

I think their either genderfluid or agender, to be honest. They're from a different planet, why should they need to conform to earth gender standards?

Either way they're all hot as hell.

Seconded on both points!

I always assumed they were female in the anime. I thought they only posed as male to attract or get the attention of the Princess somehow.

Wasn't it in the anime they are female, but pretend to be guys?

Jaawsshhh wrote:

I always assumed they were female in the anime. I thought they only posed as male to attract or get the attention of the Princess somehow.

Same

alexheberling wrote:

I agree with Neon Genesis.  I see them as genderfluid, genderqueer, bigender, somewhere in that nebulous ballpark of gender identification.  As long as someone identifies as a woman in a way that is significant to them, then they can be a senshi.  The soul is the more important thing.

It also seems rather contradictory of Naoko when she did pretty much the same thing with Haruka in the manga

I was actually just about to say that. Uranus, or rather Haruka tends to dress in male clothing and her personality is flirtacious so I think in some ways shes not really confined to the role of masculine or feminine but thats another topic. I kind of saw the Starlights in the same way. They dress up as guys but they act as them in civilian form as a disguise rather than be female.

I think what Naoko meant with Uranus she embraces both femininity and masculinity. But that's a whole other topic. ^^

Goddess Yami wrote:

I think what Naoko meant with Uranus she embraces both femininity and masculinity. But that's a whole other topic. ^^

I think that's what she was doing with the starlights as well, but also using the male versions of them as earth disguises. 

You could also make an argument, especially in the 90s, that males have more access to various places than females do so disguises yourself as a male would be more logical in order to search for something.

Oh yeah which I mentioned in my first post. Boy bands were all the rage in the 90s.

It's not just that boy bands were all the rage in the 90s. It's a simple statement. Women even in today's society are limited in social power and where they are able to go in jobs due to the glass ceiling. 

I'm not sure if she was aware of any of this when she was writing xD

Well, I assume Japan has similar limitations in the work field, so maybe that was part of the reason she had the Starlights disguise themselves as men. They'd get more social leniency that way, something aliens would need to try and fit in with the people.

I wasn't talking about that.

You may not have been but it was something I was bringing up, it's what I was getting on at in a general sense and Japan is no exception to that. JTC just furthered my thoughts xD