Did a trans rights poster get “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” banned in the U.A.E.?

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the latest animated film to be banned in the United Arab Emirates, likely due to a “Protect Trans Lives” poster that’s visible in one scene.

Variety reports that Sony Pictures’ critically acclaimed sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse failed to pass the U.A.E.’s censorship requirements. Sources tell the trade magazine that a scene in which a poster featuring the Trans Pride flag and the words “Protect Trans Lives” can be seen in the background was one of the reasons why the film’s release was not approved in the Muslim-majority nation – where homosexuality is illegal and citizens can be prosecuted for “cross-dressing” under public decency laws.

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was set to premiere in the U.A.E. on June 22, but as Variety notes, the country’s censorship board frequently bans the release of films featuring LGBTQ+ content. The U.A.E., along with 14 other nations including Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, previously banned Disney’s Lightyear in 2022. The Toy Story spin-off featured a brief moment in which two lesbian characters shared a chaste kiss.

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While Saudi Arabia’s censorship requirements are similar to the U.A.E.’s, it remains unclear whether Across the Spider-Verse will be shown in the country.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., one character in the latest animated Spider-Man film is being interpreted as a trans-coded hero. While Gwen Stacy (voiced by cis actor Hailee Steinfeld in both Spider-Verse films) is canonically a cisgender woman, fans point to multiple clues in the new film suggesting that the character is trans. As CNN notes, the “Protect Trans Lives” poster appears in Gwen’s bedroom, while in another scene her father wears a trans Pride pin.

Trans (and even cis) fans have every right to say Gwen Stacy is trans, even if the movies never outright confirm it. You can’t deny that it’s been hinted at.

The fact is— if she can make somebody feel represented, who are you to tell them they’re wrong? pic.twitter.com/5QCuHIbTQR

— The Green Kasey (@RawbertBeef) June 5, 2023

The character’s “Spider-Gwen” costume also incorporates the colors of the Trans Pride flag, and fans have noted that those same colors are featured prominently in many of the scenes in which the character appears. And while the character is never explicitly identified as trans in Across the Spider-Verse, her storyline, in which she negotiates her secret identity and fears being rejected by her father, has been read as a trans allegory.

thinking about Trans Gwen Stacy and her entire plot being about centered around her father's struggle to believe her and accept her identity 🥺 pic.twitter.com/evHdVhulMa

— tori !! (@tori_af) June 3, 2023

I truly thought the "Gwen is trans" stuff in ATSV was just Twitter doing its usual thing but no it's AGGRESSIVELY loud about it

Being draped in the trans colors while giving a speech about having to hide half of yourself from the people you love is as subtle as a brick

— GROVEL, HUMANS! It's ZOE!!! (@Blankzilla) June 5, 2023

“The people telling this story presented hers in a way that was clearly intended to resonate and support with many of our lives, both thematically and symbolically using the pride color palette,” comic book writer Zoe Tunnell told CNN. “I don’t think a character played by a cis woman being trans is nearly as important as a children’s movie telling trans kids and adult viewers that they’re not alone in their struggles and are seen and supported.”

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