LGBTQ+ Representation in Videogames
- theprisminitiative
- Apr 30, 2021
- 9 min read
TW // transphobia, homophobia
LGBTQ+ representation in video games is few and far in between. Often characters are pushed off to the side, rarely ever being one of the protagonists. In the video game industry, there is a constant fear of pushback from parents and conservative players. Due to this fear, very few game studios have attempted to include gay or trans characters. Additionally, since the player usually is in control of the actions of a character, those who are opposed to LGBTQ+ representation are fearful that media can turn their kid gay or trans. Some also believe that if there are gay or trans characters, that it should be warned and the age rating be risen by the ESRB.
Despite these challenges, there have been several games with representation of LGBTQ+ sexualities and genders. The companies that published the games include Sony, Nintendo, among various smaller creators who make visual novels. The genres of these games are diverse, however, not all of the videogame representation leaves a positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community.
Sony Representation
Sony arguably has the most LGBTQ+ representation out of the major game publishers but the amount of games featuring LGBTQ+ characters is still minimal. However, two prominent games positively feature gay couples by treating their stories with care. Both of these games were released recently at the time of this article showing that companies are becoming more accepting and willing to portray gay characters in their games.
The first of these games is Bugsnax, a game that has Pokémon style gameplay where the player collects snack-themed bugs. The game features two gay couples and is different from most since there are fewer straight couples than same-sex couples. These couples are canon and they are neither harassed or bullied by the straight couple. The residents on the island that this game takes place on are accepting of the gay couple. Unlike most games that feature LGBTQ+ characters, this game focuses on characters being gay without the impact of trauma, slurs, and homophobia. The characters being in a gay relationship doesn’t affect the story, focusing on a wholesome relationship free from homophobia, unlike most LGBTQ+ representation.
Bugsnax received backlash from many adults criticizing it for having gay couples in a game seemingly aimed towards children. They often ask for a content warning since the game box and description don’t mention that there are members of the LGBTQ+ community. The game has been pushed to inform the consumer of the gay characters beforehand or to raise the ESRB game rating. This is due to many believing that games such as Bugsnax that are geared towards younger audiences and that LGBTQ+ content isn’t appropriate for this age group. However, LGBTQ+ representation doesn’t turn children gay or trans, nor does it negatively impact them. Having gay characters go about their life without people criticizing them is the representation kids need to see. This would foster understanding and acceptance of others as well as themselves despite differences in orientation or gender.
The second game is a Playstation exclusive titled The Last of Us Part II, which features both trans and gay characters. One character named Lev is a trans man. However, he is constantly misgendered and deadnamed by members of his own clan, telling him that he’s destined to become someone’s wife. Some community members are divided over whether this representation is actually more harmful than good since it unnecessarily misgenders and deadnames a character. On the other hand, some argue that it’s a good representation in the sense that those who misgender him are portrayed as antagonists of the plot rather than protagonists. This emphasizes that the action of misgendering someone is wrong, discouraging the player from doing so to their own trans friends and family.
Additionally, the game features Ellie, a lesbian main character. In most forms of media, LGBTQ+ characters are pushed to the side as background characters. However, this game is a great step forward in terms of representation since Ellie is the focal point of the story and her sexuality is clearly shown. This is most evident when the game features a cutscene where Ellie and her romantic interest, Dina, share a kiss.
However, this game has faced a little bit of backlash for including homophobia as a significant burden on the relationship between Ellie and Dina. While homophobia is a problem most gay couples go through, members of the LGBTQ+ community are looking for a narrative where homophobia doesn’t drown out the importance of a gay relationship.
Nintendo Representation
Nintendo has had a long history of leaving out members of the LGBTQ+ community in hopes of avoiding backlash. One such example was when they took down a custom arena in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. It was created by a player but was taken down after being marked as “inappropriate” for displaying a trans pride flag. This is only the tip of the iceberg for Nintendo’s lack of inclusion.
In addition to deleting a trans pride arena, Nintendo has shown their distaste for trans folks in their character Birdetta. She is often regarded as a trans icon but has a character that represents the trans community in a harmful way. In the game manual, the text next to her picture describes her in a transphobic manner saying, “He thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He’d rather be called ‘Birdetta’” (Nintendo). Nintendo explicitly misgenders Birdetta, using the wrong pronouns, wrong nouns, and wrong names in the game and the description. This happens despite Birdetta stating her name and Nintendo explaining that she knows that she is a girl. The way it's phrased also makes the reader infer that Birdetta’s wrong or confused about her gender identity which are common excuses made by transphobes to justify their behavior.
Birdetta has made appearances in other games as well, such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl where she was a trophy. Her description read, “A pink creature of indeterminate gender that some say would rather be called Birdetta. A big ribbon on its head is its most distinguishing feature.” This followed a trend of misgendering where trans people weren’t seen as men, women, or non-binary, but “other.” For example, trans women were seen as having a separate identity that wasn’t the same as “women.” However, trans women are real women, and trans men are real men. Birdetta may have given trans people a character to look up to but her history is full of transphobia and ill-intent.
Gay representation is almost non-existent in Nintendo games but there’s one game that has minimal representation. The one game that has been credited to have some gay representation is the game Fire Emblem Three Houses. It's a turn-based RPG where the player selects a male or female character to play throughout the game. Towards the end of the game, the player has the choice of marrying one of several different characters, either male or female. While none of the characters are canonically gay, there is gay marriage in the game. It isn’t touched upon much other than this one instance of gay marriage. It goes to show that the effort that has been put towards gay characters by Nintendo is minimal and half-hearted at best.
On the other side of the spectrum, Nintendo also removed gay content from games that had already been released to the public. Tomodachi Life, a game similar to The Sims in which the player can control and interact with members of a town, influencing their decisions. One aspect of the game is developing relationships between characters and it may eventually lead to marriage. When the game was initially released, marriage between two male characters was possible. However, once Nintendo was alerted to this, they quickly released an update that claimed it was an error, taking away the player’s ability to have same-sex marriage within the game.
Although there are no confirmed gay couples in Nintendo published games, many people speculate gay relationships between characters, creating their own headcanons. In essence, they create representation for themselves when there is no canonical representation to be found.
One such example is the dynamic between Pearl and Marina, an inkling and an octoling from Splatoon 2. The duo share conversations on the intro screen when loading the game, prompting some to interpret their friendship as something more. The two are extremely close to one another and instances of this can be shown in the DLC for the game, Octo Expansion, showing text messages between Pearl and Marina. The Splatoon fandom has created numerous fan-made stories and fanart displaying these characters in wholesome romantic relationships.
Visual Novels
Visual novels are another type of video game, usually made by a small team with one person taking the charge of writing and art. Visual novels have creative freedom in the sense that the creator isn’t forced to abide by guidelines in order to please conservative or anti-LGBTQ+ consumers. They can write an authentic story with realistic characters who portray the community in a positive light. This is further helped since visual novels are, more often than not, focused on providing the player with an immerse story rather than having an emphasis on gameplay. This allows for more time to develop the personalities of the characters, giving them depth and life.
Butterfly Soup, created by Brianna Lei, is a prime example of a visual novel that has great representation. It represents not only for the LGBTQ+ community but has characters whose ethnicities are from several different Asian countries. Min-seo is a Korean nonbinary lesbian whose romantic interest is Diya, an Indian lesbian. Additionally, there’s Diya’s best friend, Noelle, who is a Taiwanese lesbian. The final character is Akarsha, an Indian bisexual. This takes away the notion that all Asians are the same since it’s common for the media to group all Asians together, blurring the lines between language, culture, and appearance. Occasionally, the characters will teach each other words or short phrases in Korean or Hindi, There was also one instance where they went to an Indian restaurant, talking about the foods available to eat there and their proper pronunciations.
One common excuse for not including more LGBTQ+ characters is that it is “unrealistic” to have more than one character who’s a part of the community. However, Butterfly Soup doesn’t use that excuse since they have non-binary, lesbian, and bi characters. The entire cast being LGBTQ+ doesn’t detract from the story in any way, but, instead, strengthens it.
Moreover, this is a story of romance and friendship, choosing to avoid focusing on homophobia and transphobia. The overall tone of the story is lighthearted and playful, reflecting the personalities of the characters. Min-seo is short-tempered and often chooses violence in her actions but has dedicated her heart to Diya. Diya is socially awkward, usually running laps when she’s nervous. She’s very athletic, dedicated to playing baseball. Noelle is exceptionally intelligent, spending most of her time studying, usually sporting a cold or indifferent demeanor. Akarsha is the most extroverted of the group with her own unique sense of humor. She loves to mess with Noelle and the two constantly get into minor fights with one another.
The author refrained from using stereotypical gay behavior and appearances. The characters all have unique aspects to their personalities without focusing on fitting them into the box of what people assume gay people look like. The author also designed each character's outfit to reflect their personality rather than sexuality.
Butterfly Soup shows that there is no one way or correct way to “look” gay, whether it's regarding race, ethnicity, personality, or clothing. Each character is distinct and provides a positive representation that the player can relate to. The game is well made with the author putting extensive amounts of time and effort to perfect the story and visuals.
In addition to Butterfly Soup, itch.io and Steam have many LGBTQ+ novels to play through such as Contract Demon and Starry Flowers. Visual novels are a great form of media for LGBTQ+ representation since people can take from their personal experiences and focus on stories rather than gameplay. This leaves plenty of room for creativity, powerful storytelling with both visuals and dialogue, as well as inclusivity of people from different communities, such as LGBTQ+ and BIPOC.
The inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in video games is few and far in between, facing barriers such as transphobia and homophobia, being pushed off to the side along with harmful or stereotypical representation. These problems aren’t limited to video games nor the LGBTQ+ community. Movies and tv shows often portray gay people as the “gay best friend,” their sexuality being their only personality trait. The film industry also tends to lack representation of the BIPOC or similarly portraying them in harmful or demeaning stereotypes. This leads LGBTQ+ BIPOC to lack representation in all forms of media. Progress is being made to become more inclusive in diverse in the film industry whereas in the videogame industry there has yet to have the catalyst sparking the inclusion of characters that aren’t straight, white, or heterosexual.
As consumers of video games, we can show our desire for more representation while also calling out harmful representation to encourage major game publishers and developers to share our voices and stories in the form of video games. Seeing characters from our own marginalized communities gives us someone to relate to, making it more impactful when the player can control the character. Lastly, the best way to advocate for more representation is to play games with LGBTQ+ characters, share them with friends, and support the developers. Additionally, supporting smaller games such as Butterfly Soup, Starry Flowers, and Contract Demon raises their popularity and allows other players to experience the game for themselves. In the future, hopefully, this list will grow with positive representation from a vast array of game developers across various video game genres, decreasing homophobia and transphobia as the LGBTQ+ is normalized and accepted.
Sources:
Research/Writing/Script - Bri Newton
Editing - Aditi Patel
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