Opinion: Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Encourages Transgender Ideology By Having Morgana Davies Play Koby
John F. Trent
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Netflix’s One Piece, which has dominated the the streaming service’s viewing charts for the past two weeks, encourages transgender ideology by casting Morgana Davies, a young woman who now claims to be a man, to play Koby.
One Piece. (L to R) Armand Aucamp as Bogard, Morgan Davies as Koby in season 1 of One Piece. Cr. Joe Alblas/Netflix © 2023
Having watched seven of the eight episodes, the series itself through its storylines does not actually push this transgender ideology. Ironically, there’s a scene that makes it very clear that men and women are different.
In a flashback sequence, Shimotsuki Kuina tells Zoro, “You’ll surpass me in size, strength, and speed. Eventually, you’ll surpass me in everything.” When Zoro informs her “that’s dumb,” she retorts, “No, that’s nature. I’m small now and fast. But soon all the boys will get taller and stronger. Their arms will be longer than mine.”
Zoro then questions, “Who cares about that kind of stuff?” Kuina responds, “Don’t you get it? Girls can beat boys, but no woman can beat a man.” While Kuina makes it clear there are distinct physical differences between men and women, Zoro encourages her to make a vow with him that they will continue to push each other until one of them becomes the greatest swordsman.
While the show seemingly acknowledges the difference between men and women, it doesn’t necessarily rebuke transgender ideology, which claims that women can become men and vice versa.
And it’s this ideology that Netflix and the show’s production company Tomorrow Studios embraced with the casting of Davies as Koby.
One Piece. (L to R) Morgan Davies as Koby, Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy in season 1 of One Piece. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2023
Back in 2021, Davies spoke with Vogue revealing she informed her parents that she thought she was a boy at the age of 13. She told the outlet, “At 13 I came out as trans, just to mum and Catherine [her trusted agent and friend Catherine Poulton] and a few close friends.”
She added, “I was going through a lot, thinking: ‘Who the f*** am I and where am I going?’”
In fact, Davies admits she was confused, “I wanted to act again but it’s really hard to put yourself on a screen because as soon as you do people make assumptions about who you are. It’s so public. I wasn’t even ready to leave my room, let alone go on a TV show and be like, ‘Hey, I’m Morgan’. I didn’t even know I was Morgan. I was really confused.”
One Piece. (L to R) Vincent Regan as Vice-Admiral Garp, Morgan Davies as Koby, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo in season 1 of One Piece. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2023
Interestingly, Davies also revealed at around the age of 10 she attended the Cannes Film Festival for her role in The Tree. While at the film festival Davies recounted how she was regularly attending nightclubs.
She said, “I had no idea about the gravity of the festival. I wore Crocs! It was insane, I was going to nightclubs, I was with Kirsten Dunst at 3am, but my main memory of Cannes was getting room service when I got back: mac and cheese.”
One Piece. (L to R) Morgan Davies as Koby, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo in season 1 of One Piece. Cr. Raquel Fernandes/Netflix © 2023
It’s likely Davies would have also used the One Piece show to push transgender ideology onto fans of the series through the show’s promotional tour. She previously pushed the ideology in the interview with Vogue saying, “I think we need more diversification behind the camera–they’re trans stories but not being written or directed or lit by a trans person.”
Davies has also made clear she wants the transgender ideology normalized through acting. While talking about her role in Blaze, she said, “Even though it’s a very small part there was no mention of [gender], I was just playing a dude.”
Commenting on the short film Beautiful They, she described it as a “story that shows a good trans experience.”
One Piece. (L to R) Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Morgan Davies as Koby in season 1 of One Piece. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2023
Fortunately, the SAG-AFTRA strike appears to have prevented any promotion of the series from all the actors involved and thus Davies did not get to spread the transgender ideology to the One Piece viewing audience.
And this ideology is extraordinarily dangerous. Archbishop Alexander Sample explains, “To some. supporting aspects of social transition may seem benign, even humane, such as using someone’s preferred pronouns and actively affirming his or her perceived gender. However, while well-intentioned, this kind of endorsement may help shepherd a young person on a path of unnecessary medicalization.”
Archbishop Sample via Archbishop Sample YouTube
“Social transition if often the first step towards hormones and surgery,” he adds. “A 2020 survey of transgender and nonbinary youth found that 64% of respondents were either already receiving cross-sex hormones or desired to do so. Danish researchers who first used puberty blockers on gender dysphoric children found that social transition increased the likelihood that dysphoria would persist and result in medicalization.”
“Social transition can also include practices such as breast-binding and genital tucking, both of which have been shown to have averse effects on physical health, like testicular torsion and reduced fertility in males, and abnormal lung function and back pain in females. Moreover, a 2020 study on the effects of social transition found that family and peer relations, but not social transition status, predicted psychological functioning,” he asserted.
Archbishop Sample via Archbishop Sample YouTube
What do you make of Netflix and Tomorrow Studios encouraging transgender ideology with the casting of Morgana Davies as Koby?
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