Gender

In the Japanese version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Vivian was biologically male. That is explicitly stated in Vivian's character description, which is roughly translated as "One of the shadow group, Vivian appears to be a girl but is really a boy." Additionally, Goombella's Tattle reads: "That's Vivian. Of the shadow group, she's the youngest sister... er, brother."[1]

While Beldam uses the term "majotachi" (meaning a group of sorceresses) to refer to her, Marilyn and Vivian as a collective, she also calls Vivian "Man" (as an insult). Female pronouns such as "her" and "she" are used when referring to Vivian, though this may be because it is considered proper to refer to transgendered persons by the gender they identify themselves with.[2] Vivian has also been described as a bishounen - a male possessing feminine characteristics. In The Thousand-Year Door, several characters actually mistake Vivian for a girl because of her effeminate appearance.

Since Vivian kisses Mario in one scene, the North American version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was censored and Vivian was changed to a female character.[citation needed] All instances where attention was drawn to Vivian's gender were also removed, such as replacing Beldam's "Man" insults with "Plug-Ugly" in the English versions. The Australian version retained these changes, though some translations in the PAL region (such as the Spanish version) maintained the Japanese plot and portrayed Vivian as a male who wished to be female.