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It’s been a decade since Gravity Falls aired its final episode, but the Disney animated series is just as relevant as ever. Discussion surrounding the cartoon hasn’t died down, with fans sharing theories, finding Easter eggs, and speculating on what might have been.

One of the more popular fan theories centers around Dipper being trans. There are numerous moments in the series where Dipper seems to struggle with his gender identity, such as the episode ‘Dipper vs. Manliness.’ The fact that he avoids using his real name Mason has also been seen as a metaphor for deadnaming.

Alex Hirsch, who created the series for Disney Channel, is aware of the theories, and while they aren’t what he had in mind when he wrote the character, he believes they are valid if they mean something to the viewer.

“Dipper and Mabel are inspired by me and my twin sister Ariel,” Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch says during a panel at Emerald City Comic Con 2026. “The show largely comes from our lives. I am not trans. However, I am a person who experienced the mystery of trying to figure out how to deal with gender questions growing up. I feel like the ‘90s when I grew up, you watched TV, and it would be like, ‘[Tough guy voice] Be a man! Eat Slim Jims! Kill someone!’ And I was like, ‘Is that what it means to be a man? How do I do this right?’”

“I was raised in a home with a mom and a sister, and they were sort of my model for what it looks like in a house, so I put my questions on how does this all work into Dipper. People of all different parts of all different spectrums have said to me, ‘I relate to this character.’ I think in fiction the only thing I know how to do as a writer is you put your personal experience into it, you get as specific as you can, and the specific can become universal. So, when someone says to me, ‘This character spoke to my life,’ I’m so grateful that I got to be a part of somebody’s childhood, and somebody found comfort in my characters.”

“I really encourage people to - any headcanon, any fiction, anyway they want to dress up, you do it. Dipper is yours. However you want to write him, however you want to dress as him, however you want to invent him, please. Because it starts as my creation and I share it with all of you.”

You can watch the full Gravity Falls panel from Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con 2026 here:

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