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SpoilerNonbinary character in Our Flag Means Death (HBO)
Posted March 13, 2022 by silly-serpent in Television

On HBO Max’s new pirate-themed comedy series Our Flag Means Death, Ortiz, a nonbinary actor last seen in Mindy Kaling’s teen dramedy The Sex Lives of College Girls, plays a gender nonconforming swashbuckler who isn’t afraid to stand their ground.

Their character, credited as both Jim and Bonifacia, is part of a motley crew of lovable outcasts who have cast their lots with Captain Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), a jaded aristocrat turned clumsy pirate struggling to learn the ropes of maritime adventure. Via Zoom, Ortiz tells them. that their character — who is undercover as Jim — speaks to the fact that “queer people also existed in the 1700s,” even (and perhaps especially) on the high seas, where people “made their own rules.”

(https://www.them.us/story/vico-ortiz-our-flag-means-death-q-and-a)

Another show gets ruined for me because of forced wokeness. I just watched the first episode and the reveal is that "Jim" takes off his facial hair and a nose prosthetic to reveal that "he" is hiding his true identity from the rest of the crew. It's pretty obvious that it was a woman. Until I googled this actor and found that "Vico Ortiz (They/Them) is a proud Latine/x non-binary/gender fluid actor/activist". I'm so tired. This character could have easily been a woman forced to crossdress as a man to survive which there are countless examples of in pirate history (Anne Bonny, Mary Read).

edit: Vico's voice is also obviously like a woman. How do you make your voice non-binary? You can't.

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