Kingdom Hearts is a successful video game franchise combining Disney cosmology and Final Fantasy characters in an ongoing saga.

The most recent game 358/2 Days introduced a new main character named Xion.



Xion appears as a cute young girl about the same age as the other main character Roxas. Roxas immediately takes an interest in the new mysterious Xion and they develop a close friendship.

As the game progresses we learn that Xion actually appears to look different to everyone who looks at her. Although we never get to see her as the other characters do (we only see her from Roxas point of view,) we are told that she appears as a puppet as well as a little boy. We can also tell that the other characters seem to act strange around her.

The idea that Xion manifests differently to everyone who sees her is interesting and relevant to the prompt 'Gender and Difference.'

It got me thinking about how we construct images of others in our minds that aren't necessarily a complete or even true representation of that person. Although we can certainly try to be more thoughtful about this process, it is impossible to intimately know every aspect of another human being. We pick and choose what parts of others are relevant to us. That is, in a relationship we focus on the areas our interests and passions coincide with one another (or don't and cause problems between us.)

At one point in the game Xion's face actually starts to morph into someone else and Roxas becomes shocked and frighted upon seeing his friends face change. At this point in the game he has to battle with her to progress in the game.

It's like when we discover something new about someone that contradicts the image we have built of them in our minds. Then we have to integrate this new aspect of them into our world view, and if it does not integrate easily it may cause a 'battle' inside us (or cognitive dissonance.)

Of course, meeting someone very different from ourselves does not always have to cause disharmony. In fact, interaction with different people is generally a good thing, leading to personal growth and development. It can be seen as a necessary part of the path to a broader and more inclusive understanding of the world.