Samsalaqueen asked Matt Ruff:

Hi Mark, by now we are (unfortunately) used to gender-swapping when it comes to movie or TV show adaptations of books. Usually it's the bright, smart, funny and/or strong girl/woman that is turned into a boy/man. This time around, Horace has been gender-swapped into Diana. How do you feel about that? What was the thought process behind it and do you think the character suffered or benefited from it?

Matt Ruff I’m fine with it. Horace, the budding young artist, is the character in the novel I identify most strongly with, so with Misha Green taking the central creative role in the series, there’s a nice symmetry in having him become a her. As for Misha’s own reasons for making the change, what she’s told me, and said in interviews, is that she wanted to use the character to explore the dangers that young black women face, which is something that hasn’t been covered as often as threats to young black men.

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