Canon Evidence That Mettaton Is A Trans Masculine Character

Canon evidence that Mettaton is a trans masculine character

There’s too much confusion expressed over Mettaton’s gender in places like YouTube comments. (TW: transphobic slur in second image)

Canon makes abundantly clear that he’s male, not only in consistent masculine pronouns (see veialias’ addition), but in the nouns other characters use to refer to him.

Canon clues also indicate clearly – if subtly, and bit by bit – that he is transgender.

Apparently ghosts are usually genderless and are assumed to be so at birth (or however ghosts come into the world…?) Napstablook, Mad Dummy, and the unnamed Dummy in the ruins all use “they” pronouns.

When he lived as a Blook on the snail farm, Blook Acres, Mettaton also was also referred to as “they”.

(Emphasis added, Napstablook in gray, both together in blue, Mettaton in pink)

A character who went by one set of gendered pronouns and later goes by a different set of gendered pronouns is the most basic definition of a transgender character. But Mettaton’s backstory is a transgender narrative in many other aspects.

(1) He changed his name.

(2) He believed he had to make a complete break with his past life. For decades, and until very recently, this was the only type of transition medical gatekeepers would allow – one in which all relationships and ties to pre-transition life were severed.

While the line in Mettaton’s diary, “Sorry, Blooky. My dreams can’t wait for anyone…” might sound cavalier, his expression at hearing Napstablook’s voice again shows that he cares deeply.

Even from a distance he defends Napstablook with ferocity. When he receives indication that Napstablook will accept him in his current form and identity, he rushes back immediately to make good on his earlier promise to Napstablook and Shyren.

(3) He had his body changed, giving a reason for doing so that sounds awfully similar to gender dysphoria.

His diary states that he believes he will “never find the kind of body I’m looking for”, and it’s only after seeing plans for the EX form that he regains hope of becoming corporeal.

In the Genocide route we learn from Mad Dummy’s transformation into Glad Dummy that: (1) Becoming corporal is a goal shared by multiple ghosts. Unnamed Dummy in the ruins is not fused to their body, as Mad Dummy tells us the encounter with Frisk “spooked them right out of their dummy.” Whether they were unable to fuse or did not want to fuse is unknown. (2) Incorporeal ghosts like Napstablook are invulnerable to physical attack; ghosts that have fused with their corporeal body can be killed. (3) Becoming fully corporeal isn’t something that’s fully under the control of the ghost. Mettaton’s diary also hints at this, as he records that Napstablook asked him if he was going to “try” to become corporal. (4) Becoming corporeal took a “moment of unbridled emotion” in the case of Mad Dummy.

We know that Mettaton was able to fuse with the Mettaton EX (and NEO) body because when he’s encountered in the game he can be killed. What allowed him to fuse?

(4) He supported the gender-nonconforming (possibly trans) lion by gifting the dress he wore in the “Undertale: the Musical” (“Oh My Love”) performance.

He also supported a monster who was discriminated against because of their body, by hiring them to work at MTT resort. While that might not seem relevant (maybe all Toby Fox had in mind was another rectangle joke, I wouldn’t blame him, rectangle jokes are great), when seen through the lens of knowing the most recent compiled statistics for the United States found 90% of trans people have experienced harassment, mistreatment or discrimination at work, and 47% have been fired, not hired, or denied a promotion for being trans, it takes on new significance.

So what’s up with the make-up, glitter and high heels? Glam rock!

Remember that the Underground’s view of human culture has come to them in bits and pieces over decades (90’s cultural effluvia must be the reason Flowey thinks it’s a searingly effective insult to say something positive and follow it up with “… Not!)  Mettaton’s design and theatrical performance style scream glam rock. His battle theme’s title, “Death by Glamour”, and MTT resort’s sale of “glamburgers” confirm the resemblance is intentional.

“Glam rock (also known as glitter rock) is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter. The flamboyant costumes and visual styles of glam performers were often camp or androgynous, and have been connected with new views of gender roles.”

(lifted directly from Wikipedia, because hey this is a compilation of internet sources not a scientific paper, and also while I may be significantly older than Toby Fox I’m not old enough to have lived through the 70s.)

Look at these stylish men. Commentary by vintage aficionado and artist Miss Peelpants: “[The Sweet] are the perfect example of how pervasive the glam-look became in the early Seventies. [..] I appreciate that most men wouldn’t have been wandering around in full make-up, seven-inch platform boots and silver lamé. But the fact that proper ‘blokes’ like The Sweet would appear on TV and in magazines dressed as such, must have heavily influenced the general street style. […] This period is possibly the last time men would, somewhat paradoxically unselfconsciously, just dress however they liked. Without fear of mockery or being thought effeminate. Every other street style subculture since then has been rigidly regulated and adhered to, and only by those with enough confidence to try. This lot were just having fun.”

David Bowie is, of course, one of the originators and greatest examples of glam style.

For a modern example, Adam Lambert draws from glam. Check out this video in which he performs with KISS, whose genre can be considered glam metal. Eyeliner, epaulettes, and explosions.

On the statement “Mettaton is a girl ghost in a boy body”…

“Happstablook” loves the color pink, heart motif, dancing, and diaries… all of which describes Mettaton the boy robot. There’s no reason to think “Happstablook” is a girl ghost except for the stereotypes surrounding those characteristics.

(Incidentally, there’s an unquestionably male character in Adventure time who dresses exclusively in pink, decorates in pink with heart motif , has a hobby sometimes considered “girly” (baking), and keeps a diary: Prince Gumball.)

The robot body Alphys built was an inanimate object until the presence of Mettaton’s soul made it _his_ body. When his soul is removed – if you kill him – the body reverts back to being an inanimate object, an “it”.

On his sexual orientation:

There’s a colorful bit of monologue that miiiiight be construed as him implying that he, like bisexual Alphys, “craves the tender embrace of a burly man”… but it’s simpler to assume he’s simply speaking colorfully to entertain the audience and mortify Alphys.

There’s really no canon evidence here, so any headcanon is legit.

(I want to give special thanks to mtt-brand-undertale and hotlegmeme (NSFW) for making an abundance of screencaps and comprehensive masterposts available to the public.)