Birdo
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Birdo, known in Japanese as Catherine (キャサリン, Kyasarin, [kʲa.sa.ɾiɴ]) is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. Her first appearance was as a boss character in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987), which was localized for English-language audiences as Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988). Since then, Birdo has been a recurring character in various Mario franchise games making several cameo and playable appearances.
The English manual for Super Mario Bros. 2 describes Birdo as a character who "thinks he is a girl" and would prefer to be called Birdetta. This has led to Birdo being interpreted as transgender by several video game publications, and is seen as one of the earliest transgender characters in video games. Nintendo has generally avoided commenting on Birdo's gender in games released after her debut, though some games, such as Captain Rainbow (2008), do discuss her gender. She has been described as a transgender icon, though the handling of her gender identity in the Mario series has been met with a mixed response. She has made several appearances in other media as well as in promotional material for the series.
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