If Laurie is male, then Father Christmas's rationale for him not fighting in the battle must be different from his rationale for Lucy not fighting. And that passage always made me spitting mad anyway, so I was quite happy to make Father Christmas not be a sexist jerk. :-) Also, I think the reasoning behind the bow -- that Stephen stands behind his family instead of fighting in the front lines -- is a personality assessment that fits Susan equally well.

For me, Mary choosing a typically male role is... Hmm. How to put this? Okay, forgive me for what I am sure will be bad phrasing.

The thing is, Mary is choosing an archetypal male role, but she's still female. She doesn't become a boy just because she can fight, or even because she likes to fight (for good causes). And that, right there, is interesting to me. Because how much of the role of "noble protector" is male because it is male, and how much is male just because we are conditioned to expect it to be acted out by men instead of women?

Actually, to bring your comment on "How Does Your Garden Grow?" into the mix, I think that is why I never considered the possibility of Mary being (or identifying as) trans. The point of this universe is that she's female and has Peter's personality and role anyway. It would be fascinating if she were trans, but that would take the story in a direction that negates half of what I'm trying to do. I want Mary and Edith to be strong and female, whatever roles they choose to express that strength, and I want them to succeed magnificently. I want Stephen to be gentle and male, and have that be okay. I want Laurie to be open and loving and male and have that be okay too.

I choose to think Aslan and Father Christmas would support that, whatever Lewis might have thought. :-)