Kade WilsonWRIT 1633: Fans and Fan Writing PracticesProfessor Juli Parrish
CONCEAL, DONT FEEL:A Queer reAding of disneys Frozen
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The first time I saw Frozen, I was unprepared for the effect it would have on me. I went into the theatre disillusioned by all the hype surrounding the movie and the music in it, expecting to
be disappointed when it couldnt live up to the enthused reviews of all my friends. I wasnt. As
a queer woman, I was hit hard by all of the themes in Frozen and their potential to be read as parallel to the struggle of queer individuals (especially queer youth) in society today. I couldnt
stop singing the soundtrack for weeks, blasting Elsas power ballad, Let it Go, at every con-ceivable opportunity. For a brief time, Frozen became an essential part of my self-image; I was Elsa, concealing powers to protect myself from the fear of others, and the world around
me was Arendelle, beautiful but confining.
When I had the opportunity to choose a topic for the final research paper in my WRIT 1633
class focused on fans and fan culture, Frozen immediately sprang to mind. As I began my research, the paper evolved from a discussion of Frozens fans to a discussion of the movie itself. This paper explores the many themes in Frozen that can be connected to the queer community and sheds light on some of the common queer narratives. In my analysis, I con-sider the appeal of Frozen as a queer film and the importance of media to queer audiences, especially queer youth. Delving into different strategies for constructing queer readings of
Disney stories and other fairy tales has been extraordinarily rewarding, both academically
and personally. I hope this paper opens up a dialogue for queer readings to be viewed as an
important and necessary part of our culture, and paves the way for queer readings of other
childrens texts to become acceptable in academia.
INTRODUCTIONDisneys 2013 animated film Frozen was an enor-mous success, grossing over one billion dollars
and ranking as the highest-grossing animated film of all time. Consequently, Frozen has a huge fan following, with many fans buying into what
is called the queer Elsa headcanon, a fan-de-veloped interpretation of the film in which Elsa,
one of the protagonists, is queer. A comprehen-sive queer reading of Frozen sheds light on com-mon queer narratives and creates a lens through
which to view other texts more queerly. This
paper seeks to combine much of the disparate
research into one cohesive reading of a specific
Disney film and then analyze why queer read-ings, and queer readings of this film in particu-lar, are so inviting and important.
WHAT IS A QUEER READING? The first important question to explore is what
queer readings are and how they are constructed.
It is necessary to define what is meant by queer,
62 WRIT LARGE: 2015
Kade is a sophomore at the University of
Denver majoring in German and English
with a concentration in literary studies.
She spends her time as a member of
DUs Queer Student Alliance, Diversity
Committee, and Mock Trial team. She
also laughs hysterically over cat videos or
funny Buzzfeed posts with her roommate
of two years. Kade grew up in Aurora,
Colorado, with her parents, brother, and
feline best friend.
both as a noun and a verb. According to Caitlin
Ryan and Jill Hermann-Wilmarth, queer refers
not only to the community of gender and sexu-ality minorities commonly known as LGBT, but
also to any sexuality, relationship, gender iden-tity, or gender expression that falls outside of
what society has constructed as normal (145).
In their words, Our use of queer theory is not
focused on whether or not people (or characters,
as we will see) are gay, but rather assumes that categories around gender, sexuality, bodies, and
desire are artificially strict to begin with (Ryan
and Hermann-Wilmarth 147). This is to say that
queering a narrative does not entail searching
for some type of hard evidence that a character
is queer, but rather searches for ways in which
the narrative breaks down traditional boundar-ies and leaves room for reading a character or
a situation in a way that doesnt fall within the
dominant hetero-patriarchy.
Once we have defined queer, we can move
onto, more broadly, defining a queer reading.
As Henry Jenkins notes in Textual Poachers, fan audiences in general construct a variety of read-ingsincluding queer readingsof the texts
they read and watch, adapting those texts to meet
their needs and ideas. For Frederik Dhaenens,
Sofie van Bauwel, and Daniel Biltereyst, queer
readings are concerned with repositioning
texts outside the borders of heteronormativity
(335). To put it simply, a queer reading involves
searching a text for themes, ideas, or messages
that seem contradictory to what we are taught is normal. As Dhaenens puts it, the practice of
queer reading should not be interpreted as mak-ing texts queer but rather as trying to understand
how texts might be understood as queer (341).
Ryan and Hermann-Wilmarth discuss several
strategies for constructing queer-readings of lit-erature, including page-by-page analysis, holistic
analysis, themed analysis, and gendered analysis
(144). In this paper, I use a themed analysis to
pick out elements of Frozen that defy traditional ideas surrounding gender and sexuality, whether
literally or metaphorically, in order to construct
a comprehensive queer reading of the ways that
Frozen can be queered.
MAGIC OR CURSE: ELSAS POWERS AS QUEERNESSThe film Frozen follows the story of sisters and princesses Anna and Elsa of Arendelle. Elsa has
been confined to her room since childhood be-cause she cannot control her magical powers to
create snow and ice. Elsa is finally allowed out
for her coronation ball, where Anna meets and
falls in love with Prince Hans, who is secretly
Kade Wilson / LP Picard
Queering a narrative does not entail
searching for some type of hard
evidence that a character is queer,
but rather searches for ways in which
the narrative breaks down traditional
boundaries and leaves room for
reading a character or a situation
in a way that doesnt fall within the
dominant hetero-patriarchy.
63VOLUME 4
DisneyLifestylers.com
plotting to marry Anna, then kill Elsa and gain
the throne. During the ball, Elsa inadvertently
reveals her powers and escapes to the mountains.
When later confronted by Anna, she accidentally
shoots ice into Annas heart, to be healed only
by an act of true love. Though Anna originally
believes a kiss from a man she loves will thaw
the ice, it is her attempt to save Elsa that thaws
her heart and teaches Elsa to control her powers.
The first description of Elsas powers comes
from Anna. Anna calls them the magic, and
the ice and snow are shown to be childishly play-ful and fun, with nothing inherently bad about
them. Elsas powers only become negative when
she becomes frightened and scared or when oth-ers react badly to what she can do. For example,
when Elsa and Anna are playing and Anna be-gins to jump too fast, Elsa becomes frightened,
even saying, Wait, slow down! Elsas fear then
causes the mishap where Annas head is struck by
ice. Queer identities are not inherently bad; they
do not inherently harm anyone, and queer love
doesnt have fundamental differences from het-erosexual love. However, the way society frames
queer identities is what makes them negative in
societys eyes. Elsas powers serve as a metaphor
for this framing and for queer identity.
The film establishes early on that Elsas
powers are not a curse. When asked by the troll
leader, the king immediately replies that Elsa
was born with her powers rather than cursed by
them. This definition of Elsas powers parallels
discussions of queer identity, insisting on the
innate nature of sexual orientation and gender
identity rather than due to some sickness of the
mind or spirit. The effects of society on Elsas
powers become apparent early on, as she is slow-ly socialized to believe negative things about her-self. Though she has only ever hurt one person,
and in an accidental, non-malicious way, Elsa has
internalized the connection between her powers
and harming others. She tells her parents that
she doesnt want to hurt them, and her father
responds that getting upset makes it worse,
showing how Elsas perceptions of others and
her beliefs about how they will react to her pow-ers influence how she expresses herself.
These ideas Elsa holds about herself affect
her well into her teenage and young adult years.
In For the First Time in Forever (Reprise), Elsa
distinctly calls her powers a curse, claiming that
she cant control them, as though some external
power is influencing her. The idea that her pow-ers are not an inborn and beautiful thing reflects
how queer identities are painted by society today;
these identities are demonized and described as
the product of some external force, whether that
be improper parenting, skewed media images,
or sin. Elsa has also absorbed this idea, trying
to deny and repress her identity as if it were the
function of a curse rather than embracing the
magical potential that her natural identity holds.
REPRESSION AND PARENTAL INFLUENCEAnna and Elsas parents play a particularly im-portant role in Frozen. Though they die early on in the story, their short presence leaves a lasting
impact on Elsa. Many of Elsas core feelings
about her powers stem from the lessons her par-
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ents (specifically her father) taught her, telling
her to conceal it, dont feel it, dont let it show.
As dictated to her by her parents, Elsa needing to
learn control over her powers turns into a need
to repress her powers and attempt not to feel.
This idea is easily accessible for a queer audience,
as much of the modern discourse surrounding
queer sexualities and gender identities is to re-press and hide rather than to embrace and love.
An essential part of the narrative of many
queer youth is an attempt to not feel their
sexuality, often as dictated to them by their re-ligion, community, or family. Elsas uphill bat-tle to keep her powers hidden is a clear parallel
to this all-too-common situation. However, the
harder Elsa tries to not feel her powers, the more
she cannot control them. During For the First
Time in Forever, Elsa is shown singing about
repressing her powers (Dont let them in, dont
let them see) while standing directly underneath
an intimidating portrait of her father. The visual
parallel between her fathers coronation and hers
is made clear when Elsa imitates his pose and
then breaks it as ice begins to cover the objects she is holding. Her fathers advice still has power
over her even long after his death, and Elsa is
still striving toward his ideals.
In many Disney princess films, the conflict
between father and daughter parallels the state of
the kingdom, and the plot is effectively resolved
through the courtship and eventual marriage of
the princess (Do Rozario). Though this trope
applies to Frozen, significant parts are changed. Elsas relationship with her father and his advice
does fall in line with the state of Arendelle. When
Elsas powers are finally revealed during the ball,
she runs away to escape to the North Mountain,
where she has the ultimate conflict with her fa-thers advice. When Elsa runs away, she freezes
over Arendelle completely, demonstrating how
negative her powers can be when she feels scared
or threatened, in this case by both her potential
betrayal of her fathers advice and the immediate
reactions of the people around her. Once she has
escaped that environment, she can think more
clearly, and, as her ballad Let it Go demon-strates, she can reject her fathers ideals. During
the song, she throws away her gloves, cloak, and
tiara. The gloves and cloak, used physically to
cover Elsa and repress her powers, symbolize the
conceal, dont feel mentality championed by
Elsas father. By literally letting these objects go,
Elsa obtains freedom from the physical, mental,
and emotional constraints of her fathers ideol-ogy. Because parental ideologies are established
as normal, by releasing these symbols Elsa is
queering the established rules set forth by her par-ents. Elsa sings, The fears that once controlled
me cant get to me at all, further demonstrating
her rejection of her fathers normative ideas.
Additionally, Elsas continual emphasis of
the phrase good girl (in Let it Go, she sings,
That perfect girl is gone) leaves room for a
queering of Elsas gender identity. Though Elsas
rejection of her fathers idea of the good girl
could be a way of becoming a bad girl, this
also could be read as a rejection of the idea of be-ing a girl altogether. Elsas rejection of the ide-ology that was forced upon her from childhood
opens many opportunities to queer her narrative.
As she sings, Elsa builds a beautiful ice pal-ace. In contrast to the dark state of Arendelle,
which Elsa froze while still under the influence
of her fathers repressive ideology, the palace she
builds while freeing herself is beautiful, show-ing what she can accomplish when free from the
limitations others place upon her. Rebecca-Anne
DoRozario argues that the tension between fa-ther and daughter in princess movies is typically
resolved through courtship; however, in Frozen, it is resolved through Elsa accepting herself and
Annas act of true love to save her at the films
end. This rejection of heterosexual courtship,
along with Elsas relationship with her parents,
allows for Elsas character to be queered.
In contrast to the dark state of
Arendelle, which Elsa froze while still
under the influence of her fathers
repressive ideology, the palace she
builds while freeing herself is beautiful,
showing what she can accomplish when
free from the limitations others place
upon her.
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ELSA AS A MONSTROSITYThe first words spoken by Elsa and Annas par-ents in the film are, Elsa, what have you done?
From Frozens beginning, Elsa is set up as the bad guy by those around her. Even from that
very first line, other characters in the story frame
Elsa as evil. This idea becomes essential for a
queer reading of the film. The outsider as a mon-ster is a potent trope in queer readings and dates
back to queer interpretations of the Disney film
Beauty and the Beast. As Sean Griffin discusses in his book Tinker Belles and Fairy Queens, the Beast was often said to represent an AIDS victim, due
to how he is misunderstood and constructed as a monster by those surrounding him. Griffin also
describes how society teaches that queer individ-uals are bad objects, a concept crucial to un-derstanding how Elsas construction as a mon-ster can be read queerly (68).
In Frozen, Elsas character is made to be a monstrosity in several ways. When the troll lead-er is showing Elsa her future, he states that fear
will be her enemy. This line could be taken to
mean that Elsas fear is her own enemy, which is
later demonstrated in the film through her pow-ers becoming unmanageable when she gets up-set. However, the image the troll leader actually
displays is one of red figures attacking Elsa, not
of her own fear damaging her. The fear of others
is the most dangerous part of Elsas powers and
not her own control of them and her emotions.
This is a familiar queer narrative. Even though
there is nothing inherently harmful or bad about
queer sexualities (or sexuality in general), the re-actions of others, especially those motivated by
fear, can be potentially dangerous to queer indi-viduals, and Elsa illustrates this struggle.
When Elsas power is first revealed to the
public at the coronation ball, it is framed in
a dangerous way. She shoots out spikes of ice
around her, which could potentially harm those
in the surrounding area. However, Elsa doesnt
actually harm anyone throughout the entire
movie. She often threatens others with her pow-ers, but it is always a form of self-protection.
For example, when the Duke of Weseltons men
attack her, she shoves one of them against the
wall with ice, a scene that, to those just entering
the room, makes her appear to be the aggressor.
However, Elsas behavior is motivated by self-de-fense against physical and emotional threat. De-spite this, the immediate reactions to her powers
are fear and anger, with the Duke calling her a
monster immediately afterwards. These reac-tions then serve to foster more fear and anger
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Anna here functions as a clear representative of the
real world where people function properly in society
through conventions like heterosexual marriage, making
this literal outing of Elsas hand, the vehicle of her
powers, even more dramatic.
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in Elsa herself, which results in a negative cycle
where only the dangerous parts of her powers
are shown.
Negative reactions from others are, unfortu-nately, an intrinsic and painful part of the lives
of queer individuals, and these reactions under-standably create adverse feelings in the queer
community. Expression of these feelings by the
queer community only feeds more unfavorable
ideas and stereotypes about queer individuals,
increasing the antagonistic reaction to them, creating a cycle much like the one in which Elsa
is trapped. This cycle is emphasized in a literal
way when Elsa fashions a monster out of snow
in order to protect herself from the emotional
confrontation instigated by Anna. Elsas creation
of a monster with her powers can serve as a di-rect analog for the anger and pain many queer
individuals feel. And the fact that she used her
powers, which can also be used for beauty and
good, to make a monster can be read as queer.
Elsas construction as a monster is further
realized in the film when Prince Hans (who has
been against Elsa from the films onset), in re-sponse to seeing Elsa pinning a man up against
the wall, calls out to her, Dont be the mon-ster they fear you are! His statement results
in Elsas distraction, which is enough time for
the pinned man to shoot the chandelier on the
ceiling. The chandelier then falls and traps Elsa,
ultimately allowing Prince Hans to imprison
her. Hans comment not only allows the viewer
to see how others in the film have constructed
Elsa as a monster, it also causes Elsa to pause
for a moment to ask: Have I become a mon-
Everyone deserves to see their identity represented in their
media, and childrens media in particular is lacking in positive
portrayal of queer characters.
ster? The idea of being called a negative thing
so many times that one starts to become it is also a very queer narrative. Through different
means of socializationsuch as religion, school,
the media, and familymany queer individuals
are taught that non-heterosexual sexualities are
somehow wrong, immoral, or sinful. Elsas sud-den and forced reflection on whether her powers
are monstrous is a painful reflection of a social
reality many individuals face, and it further con-structs her as a monstrosity. The fact that she has
been told to conceal her powers as if they were
a negative thing (despite her parents clear state-ment that she was not cursed but rather born with the magic) has made her internalize ideas
about the inherent negativity of her so-called
curse, as Elsa sings in For the First Time in
Forever (Reprise): I cant control the curse.
Because of the constant construction of Elsa as
a monster by other characters in the film and her
own internalized negativity, when she is con-fronted by Hans statement, she actually has to
consider whether she is a monster, resulting in a
moment painful for even non-queer viewers to
experience.
However, Elsa, as one of the films two main
protagonists, cannot remain constructed as a
monster through the films end, and the disman-tling of this construction is accomplished in an
inherently queer way. After Elsa creates a giant
snowstorm to free herself from captivity (anoth-er act of self-defense), the winds only stop after
Hans falsely reports that Anna is dead because
Elsa struck her in the heart with ice. Elsa is still
constructed as a monster by Hans here, but the
information is obviously false to the viewer, who
now understands that Elsa cannot be the antag-onist of the story. Hans lie constructs him (in
the viewers eyes) as the monster and removes
this burden from Elsa. Once he lies to Elsa about
Annas death, the snowstorm stops entirely, and
Elsa doesnt even try to fight back when Hans
draws his sword in preparation to kill her. Quite
simply, Elsa has given up and doesnt even have
the will to repress her power anymore.
Elsa has become the victim of anothers con-struction of her, a plot point that is queer in its
nature, as many queer people, especially queer
youth, are either killed or take their own lives
due to the false and highly damaging perceptions
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of others. Elsa has accepted her fate and is will-ing to die because she has internalized the idea of
herself as a monster, making her a tragic hero that
is willing to punish herself with death for a crime
she didnt actually commit. Elsas acceptance en-tirely reverses her construction as a monster for
both the audience and for Anna, who steps in at
the last moment to save her sister, thus sacrific-ing herself. This act of true love serves as the
turning point that allows Elsa to see clearly and
bring back summer in Arendelle, and it shows
how Hans and the Duke of Weselton, not Elsa,
are the real monsters of the story.
DUALITY AND FANTASY WORLDS IN FROZENFrozens opening scene has the viewer looking out into the world from underwater. From this
moment on, the idea of inside and outside
worlds is repeatedly demonstrated in the film.
As Ryan and Hermann-Wilmarth discuss, queer
identity as shown through queer readings of
popular texts is often about creating a queered
hybrid world, where aspects of traditional soci-ety and queer society can coexist (154). A good
example of this is Laura Sells discussion of The Little Mermaid. Sells says, In this dualistic and hierarchical construction, the human world can
be aligned with the white male system and the
water world situated outside [the patriarchy]
(177). Rather than existing underwater and on
land as in The Little Mermaid, these two worlds exist in the case of Frozen as the so-called mag-ic and reality worlds that are constructed
around Elsa and her powers, with reality repre-
senting the hetero-patriarchy and magic becom-ing representative of anyone outside the norm.
This division of worlds manifests in a con-crete way when Elsa is locked in her room and,
in a larger sense, when both sisters are locked in
the palace. Anna has the entire palace to roam,
but she longs for both the outside world (repre-sentative of reality) and entrance to Elsas room
(the mini-world that has been created around
Elsa to maintain her powers). Elsa is trapped
in a small world inundated with her magic, and
despite how she may long to enter the reality of
normal society, she must remain where her
parents and society have placed her, supposedly
for the good of both Elsa and those around her.
Even once the gates to the palace are opened and
Elsa must come out of her room, she has a clear
conflict between her desires and what she be-lieves is necessary. In response to Annas probing
about why the gates cant be open all the time,
Elsa merely responds, [They] just cant, never
providing a clearer explanation. Here, the viewer
can distinctly see how Elsa is seeking to combine
her real and magical worlds. She enjoys being in
the reality world of the castle with open gates;
however, she believes the only place she can exist
is in her room, the magical world of ice that
has been built around her, teaching her to feel
shame about her powers.
When Elsa escapes to the North Mountain
later in the film, she literally creates her own
world, a palace made of ice. This castle, in con-trast to the one in Arendelle, is made from and
by her ice powers, creating another magic
world that she uses to escape the pressures of the
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hetero-patriarchy. However, Elsa cannot exist in
an isolated state and is confronted again with re-ality when Anna comes looking for her. In For
the First Time in Forever (Reprise), Elsa pleads
with Anna, trying to convince her to return to
Arendelle. Elsa sings, You mean well, but leave
me be/Yes, Im alone but Im alone and free/
Just stay away and youll be safe from me. The
song demonstrates both Elsas desire for a world
of her own and her recognition of the problems
of living an isolated life. Though she wants to
have a meaningful relationship with Anna, she
still maintains that her loneliness is justified be-cause she is free to use her powers as she wishes,
without harming anyone else or being harmed
by society. The solution to this problem would
be the combination of Elsas reality and magic
worlds, resulting in a place where she can have
love and acceptance but also feel free to express
her identity without judgment or anger from
those around her.
The film goes on, however, to reveal that
Elsa isnt yet ready to gain her power within An-nas system (the very system that oppressed her),
and the sudden confrontation between the real
and magical worlds is distressing, resulting in her
shooting Anna in the heart with ice. The con-flict between reality and magic is also demon-strated when Elsas confrontation with Anna
during the ball escalates, culminating in Anna
pulling off Elsas glove. Anna here functions as
a clear representative of the real world where
people function properly in society through con-ventions like heterosexual marriage, making this
literal outing of Elsas hand, the vehicle of her
powers, even more dramatic. The removal of El-sas glove creates the tension that causes her to
shoot ice spikes in a circle around her, further
revealing her powers to everyone. Being out-ed creates the turning point where Elsa can no
longer pass as non-magical (or straight) and so is
no longer safe inside the hetero-patriarchy. Her
various outbursts show the tension between re-ality and the magic world Elsa constructs (or has
constructed around her), demonstrating a queer
narrative where rejection from mainstream soci-ety necessitates the building of ones own exter-nal fantasy world.
By the end of the film, Elsas magic and real
worlds have finally become one. She resides in the
Arendelle palace, where the gates have opened,
rejecting the isolation that characterized earlier
moments in the movie. Additionally, Elsas pow-ers are widely known and, as far as the audience
sees, widely accepted. Annas role as the vehicle
of reality has also diminished, with the notion
of marriage (earlier shown to create the tension
that facilitated Elsas outburst) abandoned. Ad-ditionally, Anna is talked into skating on the ice
that Elsa created. Even Olaf, a snowman brought
to life by Elsa, has a place in Arendelle. Though
summer, and thus normality, has been restored,
Elsa creates a snow cloud to follow Olaf around,
ensuring he doesnt melt. These examples of the
magic and real worlds blending together demon-strate the perfect conclusion of a queer narrative:
the comforts of mainstream society intertwined
with the magical aspects that have served as the
vehicle for Elsas queerness throughout the film.
Sells writes that in The Little Mermaid, Ariels
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ascent into the human world is sanitized by
Disney, changing her desire for knowledge and
power with desire for love (180). In this way,
Ariel is stripped of her autonomy, and the film
sends the message that she has succeeded with-in the white patriarchy by mutilating her body
and losing her voice. However, Frozen eschews this sanitization. Elsas desire to be accepted for
who she is isnt diluted by a love interest. She
wants acceptance from her friends, subjects, and
family, particularly Anna. Elsas achievement of
this goal on her own terms sends a dramatically
different message than The Little Mermaid. Rather than succeeding within the realm of heteronor-mativity, Elsa queers the system and makes her
individuality an inherent part of Arendelle. She
isnt content with living outside society, but she
also isnt content with giving up a part of herself
to live in it, as Ariel does. To resolve this, she
combines the two worlds, creating an ideal fan-tasy for many queer individualsa world where
they can live a normal life but also have their
queerness be visible and accepted.
CONCLUSIONFrozen is important to read queerly because of its high visibility and popularity, in addition to
its unique plot devices and subversion of many
norms of its genre. Queer readings such as this
one, particularly of popular Disney films and
childrens films, serve an important cultural
role. They generate important conversations,
as they illuminate identities and ideas that are
often obscured by mainstream media. Every-one deserves to see their identity represented in
their media, and childrens media in particular
are lacking in positive portrayal of queer char-acters. Though queer readings of texts such as
this one are a strong beginning, they cannot be the end. Representations of openly queer char-acters in childrens media need to exist as role
models and guides for children struggling with
their identities in a world that is often uninviting
and intimidating. But for now, Frozen fans of all ages can look to Elsa and see something beyond
a side character or a one-dimensional stereotype.
Elsa is a queen: powerful, beautiful, and queer.
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