Turning Red Theory Explained : Does Miriam Actually Like Mei?

The friendship between Mei and Miriam, Abby, and Priya was a key component of Turning Red, and there may have been more between the two of them as Miriam may have had feelings for Mei. With at least one film released each year, Pixar continues to rule the animation industry. Turning Red, which was directed by Domee Shi, is the first of two Pixar films that will be released in 2022.

Turning Red, a 2002 film set in Toronto, Canada, following Meilin “Mei” Lee (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl who one day learns that she can transform into a gigantic red panda anytime she feels overexcited or stressed out, but only if she becomes calm. This metamorphosis is a family curse that can be stopped by carrying out a special ritual on one particular night, but that night also happens to be the night of Mei’s favourite boy band’s concert, which makes it much more difficult for her to handle (Sandra Oh). Mei is fortunate to have the help of her closest friends, Miriam (Ava Morse), Abby (Hyein Park), and Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), who encourage her to embrace her panda and discover her true self.

Mei’s friends are her rock; in fact, just thinking about them helped her maintain her composure and manage her temper. In the end, Miriam, Abby, and Priya were crucial in helping Mei discover and embrace her true self. Although they all had a close relationship, Turning Red put more emphasis on Mei and Miriam’s friendship, leading viewers to believe that the two were more than just friends. This led viewers to believe that Miriam was secretly in love with Mei, but the issue is much more complicated than just Miriam having a crush on one of her closest friends.

The argument, which was posted on Reddit, contends that Miriam is in love with Mei and that she is “claiming not to be queer” by pretending to be obsessed with boys. However, it is also possible that she was simply bonding with her pals during this time. Since Miriam is the group’s “tomboy” and looked to care more for Mei, many viewers have commented on how much they could identify with Miriam and her potential attempts to conceal her queerness. The idea is bolstered by the fact that Mei’s mother considers Miriam to be “strange” among Mei’s peers, which some believe is similar to how Mei’s grandmother felt about Mei’s dad. Being queer would be a perfect fit for Turning Red and the central themes of the story, which are accepting your true self and discovering who you are. Since Priya is already a more outspokenly queer character, Miriam would be another way to depict the internal struggle of accepting yourself for who you are.

Turning Red wouldn’t suffer if Miriam was gay and in love with Mei; on the contrary, it would make the character and the narrative more relevant to a larger audience and would be a step toward better representation of the LGBTQ+ population in family-friendly films. Priya celebrates her queerness and dances with Goth Girl at Tyler’s party, but Miriam also lives her queerness in a way that is just as valid as Priya’s and anybody else’s. Miriam may still be figuring this aspect of herself out. In the end, Turning Red is about accepting who you truly are, and until Shi or another member of the production team acknowledges or denies that Miriam was in love with Mei, the viewer will have to make up their own minds about this relationship.