A lot of WCRPers and fans like to retcon and play GNC characters based on the anglo gender binary, but this tag got me thinking about how like...while that binary was definitely the basis for the canonical worldbuilding, it doesn't super make a lot of sense imo?

Not to say it's bad to do GNC AUs obviously hdkdbnf I have loads of WC OCs that fall under that and it's an important part of the commentary on the cultural context around the many many problems with Warriors worldbuilding, BUT I also enjoy chewing on changing the base of Clan/cat gender roles. So

For cats in WC, gender just isn't so important? Parents don't hope for a specific sex for their kits outside of the especially maternal/paternal types who want to help their babies have babies someday, and socially-speaking what part someone plays in procreation is basically like....the only distinction really. Which is something I like to play with

Cats do have secondary sex characteristics, with toms generally having an easier time laying down muscle and of course the big boy jowls (tm), and the books regularly reference being able to sex another cat by scent, but the thing with the Clans is that they have a HUGE range of varied phenotypes due to mixing genetics with purebreds

(And then often interbreeding in ways that perpetuate certain purebred phenotypes within each Clan, like WindClan having predominantly more Siamese genetics or ThunderClan having more Maine Coon and NFC)

So those secondary sex characteristics would realistically be harder to figure out, especially when dealing with strangers from other Clans/populations.

But like, even with this in mind there's no clear norm as far as gender roles go anyway. If you're able to bear kittens, you might, but plenty never do and it's no big deal. And if you do bear kittens, the nature of their parentage isn't always nuclear or otherwise so heteronormative. Sometimes you sire your friend's kits.

And ofc like...there's not really a socially-enforced trend in terms of gender and social power either. Because again, the diversity of phenotypes outside of secondary sex characteristics means a she-cat could be twice as big as a tom, and vice versa, and Clan politics are very much affected by physical strength.

(Though historically most leaders are not the biggest of the big anyway, because there are a ton of other skills that make someone suited to the role that have nothing to do with physical traits)

And like. Cats don't wear clothes, and in Clans especially they live in a setting where just about everyone shares equally in the responsibilities of supporting the community, save for the healers which, again, is not a role dictated by gender at all.

So basically this infodump is to say that tom =/= man and she-cat =/= woman, if we're taking the whole of gender roles, presentation, and identity into account. It really I think just comes down to who has balls and who doesn't.

(Intersex cats also exist and don't face prejudice for that; Sol is a calico tom and while he is ostracized it has nothing to do with his physical traits and everything to do with his attitude, history, and philosophy. He apparently smells weird but it's much more a first impression thing that doesn't have any real consequences attached.)

So like...thinking about that, gender identity is honestly not very big I think for the Clans in general. Especially if you account for the fanon that cat language is derived from complex body language moreso than spoken words and that it likely lacks sentence structures, being more about expression of intent than anything else.

You tell a cat that you're not male or female and they'll probably go "huh! interesting, what should I call you then?" and move on. Unless they want to bang, I guess, in which case you'd obviously discuss how the baby-making is going to work, but that's already a case-by-case thing anyway. Cats don't really have sex ed like...at all, lol.

Anyway I just think it's neat. The more important thing in this thread to Crookedkit is less about the validity or social logistics of nonbinary gender and more about the fact that huh??? you can just change your name without asking anyone?? isn't that a sin or something?

(though CR with gnc characters that might lead Crookedkit to declare himself as nonbinary because men and women aren't a thing for cats would be very very cool)

Also basically: cats either have one gender or like fifty, there's no in between

cats have gender like my cats have the treats they're not supposed to eat: they weasel their way into the cupboard and knock things over and that's theirs now

This is really neat. I play a kobold that is essentially non-binary, for much the same reasons as you're sussing out for Crookedkit! kobolds only see sex as important as far as reproduction, and don't even raise their own eggs! The eggs are put into a creche with all the other eggs, and raised by an appointed caretaker.

so they're okay with just about anything in a "?? why not? Big people sure are weird" way. So people have referred to them as "little guy" and "dude" and as a girl child and a pest. Okay they objected to the last one, but as much because the asshole tried to kick them while saying that as being called a pest. (said asshole is now on several shit lists)

trilies exactly

someone introduces a cat to the concept of playing with gender and all bets are off

which is to say they hoard genders/pronouns and/or rapidly switch things up because poor object permanence

Naturalcyber YES i love stuff like this so much

Realistically I think Clan cats in particular likely divide their gender identities based on their community roles, though reproductive identity doesn't always line up with the role StarClan/your leader/your mentor chooses for you

Realistically I think Clan cats in particular likely divide their gender identities based on their community roles, though reproductive identity doesn't always line up with the role StarClan/your leader/your mentor chooses for you

Like...since the only social expectations cats (at least loners and Clan cats; kittypets I imagine are absolute wizards of gender-y by comparison) have based on physical sex are all focused around the conception and raising of offspring, I imagine that gender and sexual identity are more or less one and the same to them

Like, theoretically, on a spectrum across multiple axes including (siring <-> bearing) <-> not conceiving and (raising <-> protecting) <-> not involved, to think up something off the cuff

And since there are roles and destinies at play in Clans that restrict how one might be able to involve themself with that process, there are of course lots of instances of cats whose lot in life/social expectation differs from what they feel/who they are (Bluestar being a chief example), but that experience isn't linked to assigned sex at all

And of course there's no external stigma here regarding falling outside of the majority, barring instances in which duty restricts one's options or cases of individual prejudice (which is reasonably met with "hey, why are you being such a dick about this" by the community)

Crookedstar still falls more into something fairly close to male wrt being a tom inclined to sire and protect kits, but a lot of that stems from the expectations of a leader, which is a role he expects to play from a very young age

BUT in VR Crookedkit can't be a leader or anything similar really, so I want him to have way more opportunity to experiment and consider other options, especially if Mapleshade isn't breathing down his neck telling him to be forever alone (tm)

also related to this, i 100% choose to read how the Erins write dialogue as a "translation" of how hyper-intelligent cats might communicate ideas through natural feline means of communication, ie without speaking unless a vocalization is required to add tone/intent

which means when i write him speaking while not humanized, i imagine he isn't necessarily saying the words with his mouth but rather through whatever given translation aid, whoever he's speaking to/near is able to intuit his meaning with the same clarity another cat would

(and while humanized i figure he still gesticulates and shifts tone constantly, but he also reflexively/innately knows how to convey his meaning by speaking in [insert common setting language here])

also also microexpressions are so so so important for him

even without fur and ears and tail and whiskers, lol

which is important because it eschews a need for gendered pronouns. if cats have pronouns i figure its much more important to have them based on more recognizable characteristics like allegiance/scent or pelt

blind cats like jayfeather presumably struggle more with language, and his rep as a cranky cat may have more to do with the fact that for the most part (but less than for blind cats without cheat codes) he has to communicate vocally a lot more, and vocalizations read more as aggression and distress than anything else