You've seen the movies. You've heard the roar. You might even own the tiny plastic figurines. But if you sit down and really think about it, the question of whether is Godzilla a boy or a girl isn't as simple as checking a box on a form. People have been arguing about this in fan forums and movie theater lobbies for basically seventy years.
He’s a lizard. Or a dinosaur. Or a radioactive metaphor for the atomic bomb.
Does a metaphor even have a gender?
To most people, he’s the "King of the Monsters." That title alone usually settles the debate for the casual fan. If you're a king, you're a guy. Simple, right? Well, sort of. Throughout the decades, various directors, writers, and even the suit actors at Toho Studios have dropped hints that make the whole situation a lot more fluid than you’d expect for a giant reptilian powerhouse.
The Official Stance on Godzilla's Gender
If you ask Toho—the Japanese company that actually owns the character—they’re pretty consistent. Godzilla is a "he." In the original 1954 Japanese script, the characters refer to the monster as Gojira. Japanese pronouns work a bit differently than English ones, but the general consensus among the creators has almost always leaned masculine.
Tomoyuki Tanaka, the man who produced the original film, envisioned a force of nature. Nature doesn't always care about human labels.
However, in the English dubs that flooded the West in the 50s and 60s, "he" became the standard. It stuck. It’s why we don't call the movie Queen of the Monsters. Even so, the "Is Godzilla a boy or a girl" question keeps popping up because of one specific, very weird biological reality: the eggs.
What’s the Deal With the Kids?
We have to talk about Minilla. And Godzooky. And Godzilla Junior.
In Son of Godzilla (1967), we see Godzilla basically adopting a smaller, slightly uglier version of himself. He teaches the kid how to roar and how to use atomic breath. It’s a very "father-son" dynamic. But the movie never shows us where the egg came from. It was just there, buried on Solgell Island.
This sparked a massive wave of fan theories. If Godzilla has a son, does that mean there's a Mrs. Godzilla out there somewhere? Or—and this is where it gets interesting—is Godzilla capable of asexual reproduction?
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Biology is weird.
Some real-world reptiles, like Komodo dragons or New Mexico whiptail lizards, can actually reproduce through parthenogenesis. That’s a fancy way of saying they can have babies without a partner. If Godzilla is a mutated prehistoric creature, it’s not a huge leap to think he might be able to produce an egg on his own. If he can lay eggs, does that make him female? Or is he a biological anomaly that defies the binary?
The 1994 TriStar Controversy
If you want to know when the "Is Godzilla a boy or a girl" debate really turned into a shouting match, look no further than the 1998 American Godzilla directed by Roland Emmerich. You know, the one with Matthew Broderick and the heavy product placement.
In that movie, the monster—often mocked by fans as "Zilla"—actually lays eggs in Madison Square Garden.
The characters in the film explicitly state that the creature is a "very unusual male" that was born pregnant. Honestly, it was a bit of a mess. It tried to have its cake and eat it too by keeping the "he" pronouns while using a female biological trait to create a "ticking clock" plot device.
Fans hated it.
Toho eventually stepped in and basically de-canonized that version of the character. They even featured a fight in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) where the real Japanese Godzilla absolutely destroys the 1998 version in about thirty seconds. It was a statement. It was Toho saying, "That thing isn't our Godzilla."
Translating the Roar
Language is a funny thing. In Japan, Godzilla is often referred to as an "it" (sore) or by name. He’s treated more like a deity or a natural disaster than a person. When Western audiences got a hold of him, we desperately wanted to personify him. We needed him to be a "him."
It makes the monster more relatable. It turns a walking nightmare into a character.
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Why the Gender Debate Still Matters in 2026
You might think this is all just nerds arguing on the internet, but the way we talk about Godzilla’s gender says a lot about how we view power and nature. In the recent MonsterVerse movies (the ones with King Kong), Godzilla is depicted as an ancient alpha predator. He’s the "King." He has a rugged, masculine presence.
But then you look at Shin Godzilla (2016).
In that film, Godzilla is constantly evolving. He’s a weird, bleeding, horrifying mass of cells that changes shape to survive. He’s not a "guy" in a suit anymore; he’s an ever-changing biological nightmare. At the very end of that movie (spoilers!), we see humanoid creatures beginning to sprout from his tail.
It’s asexual reproduction again.
If Godzilla is an entity that can just "create" life from its own body, our human definitions of boy and girl start to look pretty small and irrelevant. He is an ecosystem unto himself. He is the beginning and the end.
The Shobijin and Mothra
We also have to consider the company he keeps. Mothra is almost always referred to as "she." She’s the Queen. She’s divine, elegant, and maternal. By positioning Mothra as the feminine counterpart to Godzilla, the movies lean heavily into the "King and Queen" dynamic.
It creates a balance.
Examining the Evidence
Let's look at the facts we actually have from the films.
- Pronouns: Almost every official piece of media uses "He/Him."
- Titles: "King of the Monsters" is the trademarked moniker.
- Offspring: Godzilla has had several "children" (Minilla, Godzilla Jr.), but they are usually found or adopted, rather than birthed on screen, with the exception of the 1998 American version.
- Biology: As a mutated prehistoric organism, Godzilla likely possesses traits that don't align perfectly with modern vertebrate biology.
Patrick Galvan, a noted tokusatsu historian, has often pointed out that Godzilla’s gender is whatever the specific story needs it to be. If the story is about a father and son, he’s a dad. If the story is about an uncaring god of destruction, the gender doesn't matter at all.
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Is There a "Female" Godzilla?
Technically, yes, but not in the way you think. In some of the expanded universe materials, like comics and novels, there have been mentions of other members of Godzilla’s species. In the 1990s "Godzilla vs." era, there was a lot of talk about how Godzilla was the last of his kind.
The tragedy of the character is often his loneliness.
If there were a "Girl Godzilla," the movies would probably lose some of that melancholy. He’s a king without a kingdom, a father without a mate, a relic of a dead world. That’s what makes him a compelling character instead of just a big lizard that knocks over buildings.
Final Verdict on the King
So, is Godzilla a boy or a girl?
If you’re going by the official word of Toho and 99% of the films ever made: Godzilla is a boy. He is the King. He is a father figure. He is masculine coded in his movements, his aggression, and his titles.
But if you’re a biology nerd or someone who loves the weirder side of sci-fi, there’s plenty of room to argue that he’s something else entirely. He’s a radioactive anomaly. He’s a creature that can reproduce on his own when the world demands it. He’s a reminder that nature doesn't fit into the neat little boxes we build for it.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to dive deeper into the biology of kaiju, start by watching Shin Godzilla. It’s the most "biological" take on the character and really pushes the boundaries of what the monster can be.
Alternatively, go back to the 1960s. Watch Son of Godzilla. Ignore the goofy suits for a second and look at how the movie portrays Godzilla as a parent. It’s surprisingly touching. You’ll see that regardless of what’s going on biologically, the character has the "heart" of a father.
Stop worrying about the "how" and look at the "who." Godzilla is a character defined by his power and his burden. Whether he's a "he," a "she," or an "it," the one thing he'll always be is the undisputed King of the Monsters. That’s the only title that really counts in the end.
Go watch the 1954 original again, too. It reminds you that before he was a "dad" or a "hero," he was a nightmare. And nightmares don't need a gender to scare the life out of you.
Explore the official Toho archives or check out the latest Criterion Collection releases of the Showa era films. They include essays from film historians that break down the cultural context of these movies in ways that make the gender debate feel like just one small part of a much bigger, much more fascinating story.