Bilbo is a girl!

[Svrtnsse]

Someone just linked me this article. I found it rather interesting:
One Weird Old Trick to Undermine the Patriarchy : The Last Word On Nothing

Specifically this part, which I feel sums up a whole lot of things at once:

Bilbo, it turns out, makes a terrific heroine. She’s tough, resourceful, humble, funny, and uses her wits to make off with a spectacular piece of jewelry. Perhaps most importantly, she never makes an issue of her gender–and neither does anyone else.

 

[Ireth]

That is an interesting article. I wonder if the author is aware that, in the original Westron as Tolkien devised it, Bilbo's first name is actually Bilba (-a being a masculine suffix)? And Frodo, interestingly, is Maura.

 

[CupofJoe]

I have heard [ and it was well argued at the time] that Mr BB would make a very good LGBT role model. That was done to prove the point that there is no evidence within the story that Bilbo is heterosexual and that we all make assumptions based on our own standpoint of what is normal.
So I guess a five year old girl will see the female Bilbo clearer than I would [as I'm not a girl and haven't been five years old for several decades...].
I see nothing wrong with that... good luck to her seeing differently in to the stories that I do.
I have several copies of The Hobbit and I'm now tempted to convert one to a female Bilbo...