How Vergil's (Devil May Cry) story arc reflects that of a trans man

!!!DISCLAIMER!!! This is my own interpretation of Vergil's story, but I am not trying to dampen the original message of his story arc/overlook the original lore at all!!! I feel like his story can have many different interpretations, but I do not want to overshadow the original message. (How Vergil's quest for power was his weakness all along, how to accept a half of yourself that you deem as inferior/weak, etc.) I am simply making my own comparison of his story arc with that of a trans man (Since I saw myself in his story in this way), and you don't have to agree with me at all!!! And I'm not saying Vergil IS a trans man, but his story is similar to SOME trans experiences.

(Also, this may be a bit messy/hard to understand. But I have literally nobody else to talk about this with lol)

With that out of the way... I would mostly like to highlight DMC5, with Vergil separating himself into V and Urizen. While V represents his human side/humanity, and Urizen is his demon half/innate desire for power, these sides of him can also represent his femininity and masculinity. Let's take a look at both sides.

V: His human half, and for the sake of this theory, his feminine half. V, in both appearance and strength, is very frail. He is much smaller than Vergil, and in his general appearance, is much more feminine. He has longer hair, he has less muscle mass, and if you take a closer look at his model without his shirt/leather vest on (For research purposes ofc 👀👀👀), he even has slight dips in his hips. (While cis men CAN have hip dips, the general idea of hip dips is considered feminine/something more common in women.) He speaks in a softer tone than Vergil as well.

Urizen: His demon half, and masculine half. As a manifestation of Vergil's power, he is a large, relentless demon. He will stop at nothing to gain even more power, even though he's one of the strongest beings. There isn't much to say about Urizen that isn't just the opposite of V. Urizen is loud, full of rage, and completely drunk on power/ego. Everything that V isn't, basically.

(Another disclaimer!! I'm not saying that any of these traits are exclusively masculine or feminine. But, these traits are mostly associated with their respective sides via the status quo/how men and women are typically portrayed in our society.)

Vergil's story arc revolving around him splitting himself is actually quite similar to something trans people, specifically trans men in this case, face. There's a lot of trans men who completely reject their feminine side, in exchange to fit in with the status quo created around masculinity. (I see this a lot in transmeds in particular.) It's basically going all or nothing, completely adopting masculine behaviors, abandoning previous "girly"/"clockable" hobbies, dressing in an acceptably masculine way, etc. I myself went through something similar (And was MISERABLE!!) and it can do a lot of damage. Sound familiar?

Vergil is so focused on becoming more powerful, that he sees his human side as his biggest weakness, rather than something he can see as a strength/embrace. He splits himself into two sides, letting his demon/masculine half out of control and hurt those close to him/isolate himself completely. (Similar to how trans man can isolate themselves after doing something similar with their feminine and masculine sides.) Although, once Vergil realizes his humanity isn't something to be ashamed of/reject, he becomes more content. Similar to a trans man accepting the feminine part of himself, instead of casting it out completely.

Vergil learns that he can have both sides of himself, without viewing his humanity as a fault. This is something I personally relate to, as I've learned that the feminine part of myself is still within me in some way, but is nothing to be ashamed of. It's important for Vergil's character development to be in-tune with his humanity and acknowledge, if only a little, like how it's healthy for a trans man to acknowledge his feminine side, even if it's in small bits. Vergil may indulge in poetry after reforming, the most human form of literature. A trans man might wear the occasional hairclip, or have his hair grown out. Vergil may try to form a better bond with his son or his brother, as is human nature, and a trans man might have a friend group composed mostly of girls.

What I'm trying to say is that, both in Vergil's story and in the life of a trans man, accepting the "weaker" parts of yourself can actually give you the strength or confidence you may need. In my personal experience, not long ago, I used to reject any part of me that was too girly, in order to fit in better. But, I lost a lot of passion I used to have, and was even embarrassed about a lot of my interests that may be seen as too girlish. (Fashion, my fav J-Pop idol group, my favorite "girly" shows, etc.) But, once I acknowledged the feminine parts of myself, I felt less ashamed, and more secure in my masculinity.

Am I saying every trans man should follow the route I took/a similar path of Vergil? No. At the end of the day, it's your choice what you do with your life/how you live with your transness. I'm just making a comparison between myself and one of my favorite game characters, honestly. And of course, you don't have to agree with me at all!!! This is just another way I like to view Vergil's story.

(Also, fun fact!! V was actually originally conceptualized to be female, albeit Nero's sister at the same time. I'm not sure how this adds to my theory/interpretation or how to explain it, but I thought it was interesting when I was recalling his story/discovered his original concept through more research!!)