Is Priya queer in Turning Red? Pixar cinematographer appears to confirm theories

16 March 2022, 13:11

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By Sam Prance

"Priya is the goth, queer brown girl representation I needed when I was younger."

Turning Red fans are convinced that Priya is queer and it looks as though their theories about her are right.

As soon as Turning Red came out on Disney+ last week (Mar 11), viewers all around the world have praised the Pixar film for its queer-coding. While Pixar are yet to explicitly state whether or not any of the Turning Red characters are queer, LGBTQ+ fans are seeing themselves represented in characters like Tyler, Mei, Miriam and Priya.

Given that Pixar staff recently called out Disney for censoring their LGBTQ+ content and cutting "every moment of overtly gay affection" from their movies, it's possible that characters in Turning Red were written as queer. Turning Red director Domee Shi also recently said that "a lot of" Tyler's story was cut from the film.

Now, Pixar cinematographer Andrea Goh has appeared to confirm that Priya is indeed part of the LGBTQ+ community.

READ MORE: Is Tyler gay in Turning Red? Director confirms "a lot of" Tyler's story was cut

Throughout Turning Red, it's made clear that Priya, who is voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, is attracted to boys. She has a crush on Devon and Jesse in 4*Town. However, fans have also spotted that Priya appears to fancy an unnamed goth character too. At Tyler's party, Priya can be seen dancing with Goth Girl and Mei, Miriam and Abby can be seen cheering her on in support.

While we're not shown exactly what happened before, it looks as though Mei, Miriam and Abby know that Priya has a crush on Goth Girl and, in the scene, Priya finally gets the confidence to approach her. Taking into account that Priya is also obsessed with Nightfall (a Twilight-inspired book), it wouldn't be a stretch to think that she would fancy a goth.

One person tweeted: "Y'all saw Priya and that goth girl in #TurningRed right???? That was queer wasn't it????" Another added: "Priya is the goth, queer brown girl representation I needed when I was younger. We love to see it".

READ MORE: Turning Red fans think Mei and Miriam are in love with each other

Now, one of Pixar's cinematographers has appeared to confirm that Priya is indeed queer. In response to a viral tweet about Priya and Goth Girl's party scene, in which someone wrote: "CHERISHING THIS SCENE WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING #TurningRed", Andrea Goh has confirmed that the scene is meant to be a "slice of queer representation".

Andrea explained: "My first Cultural Trust credit: The team already knew what to do since they ARE those characters, so it’s more just tweaks for specificity here and there. I am proud of this moment because as nerve wracking as it was, I asked for a slice of queer representation anyways."

We have no choice but to stan.

Petition for a Priya and Goth Girl Turning Red spinoff now!

Read more about Turning Red here:

• Turning Red director wants the film to help 13-year-olds talk about periods and puberty
• What year is Turning Red set in? Here's when and where the Pixar film is set
• Here’s who voices the characters in Turning Red and what they look like IRL
• Who voices 4*Town in Turning Red? The real singers behind the Pixar boyband
• Turning Red: Why does Mei turn into a red panda? The curse explained