In 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power,' True Strength Is In Being Yourself (2024)

In the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, the rebellion faces an invasion from Horde Prime and his alien clone army. DreamWorks/Netflix hide caption

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DreamWorks/Netflix

In 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power,' True Strength Is In Being Yourself (2)

In the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, the rebellion faces an invasion from Horde Prime and his alien clone army.

DreamWorks/Netflix

Editor's Note: Since this story published, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power showrunner Noelle Stevenson has come out as bigender. Bigender is a nonbinary gender identity that describes someone who has two genders. These genders can be, but are not always, male and female. Stevenson uses all pronouns to refer to themselves: she/her/hers, he/him/his and they/them/theirs. The digital story has been updated to reflect Stevenson's public identity change. The audio version of this story is archived in its original form.

Showrunner Noelle Stevenson has always been a fan of science fiction and fantasy. As a kid, they loved it all: the epic space battles, the magic, the quests that seemed larger than life.

But there was a problem with his favorite childhood stories, like Star Wars and The Lord of The Rings series. "I never quite saw myself reflected in them," Stevenson says, "certainly not at the heart of the story."

These were stories with lots of cisgender dudes.

So when they started writing stories of their own, Stevenson made sure kids like her felt seen, in more ways than one.

"I know I'm not the only one that my first-ever crush on a female character was Velma from Scooby Doo," Stevenson says. "I think it's important to know that this is an OK way to be. You don't have to hide."

Stevenson began her career as a comic writer and illustrator. In 2015, their graphic novel Nimona was a National Book Awards finalist and his series Lumberjanes won two Eisner Awards.

When Netflix and DreamWorks wanted to reboot She-Ra: Princess of Power — an epic showdown between magical princesses and an evil alien invader — Stevenson was all in.

They kept much of the original show's action and adventure — like the original, the reboot takes place on the planet Etheria, and one of the princesses who is trying to stop the evil Horde army from taking over is named Adora.

Adora grew up behind enemy lines, taken from her home by the Horde and raised as a soldier. But eventually, Adora realizes the atrocities the Horde has committed against the Etherians and leaves to join the rebellion — and she quickly finds a magical sword that transforms her into a giant warrior princess named She-Ra.

Stevenson did make one small but important change to the show: Its name. The Netflix and DreamWorks version is She-Ra and the PRINCESSES of Power. All the princesses are important.

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He also gathered an all-female writing staff to update this team of powerful women. In the original show, the princesses are white, skinny and presumably straight. The new rebellion includes women of color. They're women in all different shapes and sizes. And there are women who love other women.

Princess Weekes is an assistant editor at The Mary Sue, a website that covers the intersection of women and fandom. She's been writing about the She-Ra reboot since the beginning.

Weekes says that because the team behind She-Ra is made up of LGBTQ people, the stories on the show give genuine representation of queer life for kids.

"You allow queerness for young kids to be just normalized in general," Weekes says. "What I think Noelle Stevenson and the entire She-Ra team has done is create a society and place where characters can exist, but their biggest problem isn't that they're gay."

One of the many LGBTQ artists on the She-Ra team is Jacob Tobia. They're the voice of She-Ra's non-binary character, Double Trouble.

Double Trouble is a non-binary, shape-shifting mercenary, who is voiced by actor Jacob Tobia. DreamWorks/Netflix hide caption

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DreamWorks/Netflix

In 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power,' True Strength Is In Being Yourself (5)

Double Trouble is a non-binary, shape-shifting mercenary, who is voiced by actor Jacob Tobia.

DreamWorks/Netflix

Double Trouble uses their power of shapeshifting to transform into any character on the show, and they cause chaos on both sides — the Horde and the rebellion. Tobia says Double Trouble's ability to create conflict without squarely fitting into a box of good or evil shows how dynamic the character is.

"They inhabit a complicated moral tapestry," Tobia says. "That's what having access to full personhood looks like, is being able to play characters that aren't just there to be the moral of the story, but are there to advance the story, to escalate conflict and just cause trouble."

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is far from the first children's show with LGBTQ representation. There's decades of history with queer characters and story lines present. But for a long time, it had to be subtle.

"It's not accidental that every gay person I know loved Sailor Moon growing up," Tobia says. "It's because there was embedded in the story a transformation narrative for each of the characters. You went from the clothes you had to wear to school, to then getting your magical uniform that gave you your special powers that was shiny, and sparkly and cute."

Tobia says as a gender nonconforming kid, shows like Sailor Moon and now She-Ra tell children that they're most powerful being their true selves.

What's important now is that She-Ra and the Princesses of Power — as well as shows like Steven Universe and Craig of the Creek — can take these same LGBTQ stories and put them out in the open, showing kids that being queer is an option.

Mey Rude is a journalist and a consultant for writing transgender characters in entertainment. She worked with Stevenson, in fact, on the coming-out story of a trans character in the comic series Lumberjanes.

"It's like 'Oh, I can be this,' " Rude says. "I didn't know before that I could act this way — that I could love this way, that I could dress this way — and have a loving family and friends. Shows like She-Ra show you that you can be."

This story was edited for radio by Ted Robbins and adapted for the web by Victoria Whitley-Berry and Petra Mayer

In 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power,' True Strength Is In Being Yourself (2024)

FAQs

What was the famous line from She-Ra? ›

This is Spirit, my beloved steed. Fabulous secrets were revealed to me the day I held aloft my sword and said "For the honor of Greyskull!". I am She-Ra!

Is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power LGBT? ›

The large variety of gender identities and sexualities makes the show easy to relate to for most LGBTQ+ kids and teens watching it. She-Ra includes multiple trans, lesbian and bi characters, including Adora, the main character, who is a lesbian.

What is She-Ra's catchphrase? ›

Ready, set, WHIP!

What is the theme of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power? ›

In addition, the series addresses such themes as abusive relationships and overcoming trauma, prejudice, isolationism (as exemplified, initially, by the princesses), colonization, imperialism, and genocide (a result of Hordak's planetary-scale warfare).

What is the message of She-Ra? ›

She-Ra says pretty much the same thing through animation. In fact, the show is very clear that relationships that focus on power and control are the ones that become toxic and harmful, and that letting go of control and trusting other people is how you build a healthy, happy life.

Is Entrapta autistic? ›

Showrunner ND Stevenson later confirmed that Entrapta was written as autistic. Entrapta is portrayed in the series as a skilled but reckless inventor and princess of Dryl.

Was Mara in love with Light Hope? ›

Light Hope has O I O O I kind of patterns on her chest, possibly binary code. ND Stevenson confirmed Light Hope and Mara were in love in a tweet.

Who kisses Catra? ›

Catra and Adora in their first kiss. In Season Five, Catra finds herself yearning for Adora while trapped on Horde Prime's ship, and even bonds with Glimmer over their shared memories of her.

Who is the real villain in She-Ra? ›

Hordak is the main antagonist of the She-Ra: Princess of Power animated series, in which he is the archenemy of She-Ra, He-Man's twin sister. In this series, he rules the planet of Etheria with an army of Horde Troopers, most of whom wear a red bat symbol on their chests to convey their allegiance.

What was She-Ra's real name? ›

In the original animated series, She-Ra's real name is Princess Adora, the long lost twin sister of Prince Adam, a.k.a He-Man. She was kidnapped as a baby by Hordak of the Evil Horde and taken to the planet Etheria, where she was mind-controlled into serving as a Force Captain of the Horde.

What race is Catra? ›

Conversation. Catra is absolutely a WOC, but you're correct in why I've been hesitant to canonize her ethnicity. Fwiw, we considered her Latina, but I love the Persian headcanons! But it's not stated explicitly in the show so it doesn't feel right to take credit for it.

Is She-Ra appropriate? ›

Violence & Scariness

Characters face perilous situations. Weapons are used, and characters are ensnared in ropes and traps. There are deaths, and characters are sometimes injured, but blood and gore aren't shown. Shadow Weaver, a maternal figure to She-Ra and Catra, can be cruel and manipulative toward the young girls.

Who is the baddie in the She-Ra? ›

While on Etheria, He-Man discovers that he has a long lost twin sister, Princess Adora, who was abducted from Eternia as an infant by the evil warlock/warlord Hordak and his then apprentice Skeletor.

What was Catra's famous quote? ›

Catra: You can't give up. You have never given up on anything in your life. Not even on me. So don't you dare start now!

What is the tagline of She-Ra? ›

For the honor of Grayskull, SHE-RA has the power!

How many times did Catra say Hey Adora? ›

ᴠᴀʟᴇᴊᴀᴍ 🐥 on X: "The number of times Catra said "Hey Adora" IS 16 from S1E01 to S5E13 https://t.co/85Hvop5Qmr" / X.

Who is the autistic girl in She-Ra? ›

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018–2020)

Showrunner ND Stevenson later confirmed that Entrapta was written as autistic. Entrapta is portrayed in the series as a skilled but reckless inventor and princess of Dryl.

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