The LGBT Thread

[TransatlanticFoe]

Does it really matter? If you found out the protagonist of a random game you like is gay, it wouldn't stop you from playing it.

Where are those games, then? I can't remember schoolkids discussing any when I was a lad.
Now we 'round here all know about visual novels and such, but those must be still far from something most folks would play in public.

Because society was still getting to grips with the fact that women aren't inherently inferior to men, that's why schoolkids weren't discussing it. Hell, not much progress has even been made... I'd be surprised if there were a deluge of LGBT characters in games when we still can't get over women with unrealistic proportions and male action hero stereotypes (excluding games that are making a point of satirising the status quo).

[Obiwanshinobi]

The games are not out there because they wouldn't sell. The tales remain untold because there's no myth that would help us listen to them.
Without LGBT archetype of at least Lara Croft calibre, I doubt "society" will shell out.

[Moniker]

I'm straight but god forbid you are not straight in my family.

Same. My family are cool with other people being gay, but they would freak if I happened to be gay. It doesn't help that I haven't been in a relationship for the last 7 years, Dad still isn't 100% convinced I'm straight.

I'm sort of in the same boat. Even though I dated one girl for six years, my mom still makes barely-disguised attempts at questioning my sexuality. I'll make a vocal argument in favor of gay marriage, and she'll assume that I'm paving the way for my own 'quasi-legal' union. What kills me most is that she protests that she doesn't really care (X has come out as gay. Who the fuck cares? I don't want to hear about it), and then contends that the acceptance of gays is part of a slippery slope towards pedophilia and/or bestiality.

Don't get me wrong. I love my mum. She gave me a vastly better life than she enjoyed, and I support her on most anything. But she's limited. And I can't fix or change that. It makes me sort of sad, to be honest.

[Skykid]

On gaming, Joel, the barkeep in Ys: Oath in Felghana is a totally subtle/natural gay character. Oh and Donkey Kong is gay. He just wanted the princess for her shoes.

It didn't "get" gay. It was born that way.

[Domino]

I'm straight but god forbid you are not straight in my family.

Same. My family are cool with other people being gay, but they would freak if I happened to be gay. It doesn't help that I haven't been in a relationship for the last 7 years, Dad still isn't 100% convinced I'm straight.

I'm sort of in the same boat. Even though I dated one girl for six years, my mom still makes barely-disguised attempts at questioning my sexuality. I'll make a vocal argument in favor of gay marriage, and she'll assume that I'm paving the way for my own 'quasi-legal' union. What kills me most is that she protests that she doesn't really care (X has come out as gay. Who the fuck cares? I don't want to hear about it), and then contends that the acceptance of gays is part of a slippery slope towards pedophilia and/or bestiality.

Don't get me wrong. I love my mum. She gave me a vastly better life than she enjoyed, and I support her on most anything. But she's limited. And I can't fix or change that. It makes me sort of sad, to be honest.

This semi-reminds me of my friend who just came out as transgender and is starting his transformation into a women (a personal huge shock for me). His family quickly support him but there is this semi-religious person (a good friend of the group) who isn't a biggest supporter of transgender people.

I remember my dad told me once that I would need to find a woman soon doing the common tricks of finding women (bars, etc.). He said if not then I would wind up a homosexual. As a huge introvert in my private life I just have a hard time finding good people in general that interest me. I'm not shy or anything, it's just i'm very introverted. Too bad my dad doesn't fully understand introverts.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I'm not shy or anything, it's just i'm very introverted. Too bad my dad doesn't fully understand introverts.

People in general don't understand introverts, I think.

[Domino]

I'm not shy or anything, it's just i'm very introverted. Too bad my dad doesn't fully understand introverts.

People in general don't understand introverts, I think.

You might be right on that one!

[Cuilan]

The way I see it, if LGBT characters don't seriously make you question your sexuality as a straight person (and I do mean "seriously"), then the characters are either poor depictions and/or merely intended as comic relief.

What's wrong with Ketsui

The problem with Ketsui is that the character designs come off as a rather cynical attempt to appeal to fujoshi, with no serious research done into what most of that particular demographic actually likes. And I'm giving Cave the benefit of the doubt that their intentions were at least somewhat sincere.

[CStarFlare]

The way I see it, if LGBT characters don't seriously make you question your sexuality as a straight person (and I do mean "seriously"), then the characters are either poor depictions and/or merely intended as comic relief.

[Cuilan]

[Ruldra]

The way I see it, if LGBT characters don't seriously make you question your sexuality as a straight person (and I do mean "seriously"), then the characters are either poor depictions and/or merely intended as comic relief.

What's a good depiction of a LGBT character to you? Jun Watarase? Bridget?

[Mortificator]

I don't know if Bridget is supposed to be gay, he just dresses like a girl for silly plot reasons.

King (from Art of Fighting) is another fighting game character that I've seen people assume is homosexual because she wears clothes that are traditionally for the opposite gender, but she definitely likes dick (though she does blush when Yuri hits on her in KOF XIII...).

Along those lines, it's almost disappointing that Benimaru and Zangief seem to be straight, since they'd be cool characters for LGBT representation. A little stereotypical, but not beyond the par for fighting games.

[Krooze L-Roy]

It makes me ashamed to think of the ignorant language I used when I was younger, calling homosexual people "faggot." Now that I'm a grown man, I know better; it's actually "fagot," with only one g. Thanks, Icycalm.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Bridget is a transvestite. See David Duchovny's appearance in Twin Peaks.
I've never tried dressing up like a woman (my physique just not being the type) but have been always merrily wearing working clothing on various jobs, so I can see the appeal. See the Dude's appearance in Gutterballs.

[RegalSin]

Sigh.................look we all know that is a taboo, and it is wrong. More importantly for us people into fictional works, should not care about this subject. Yes somebody at Disney ( who owns marvel )deserved to be lynched, hanged, and drugged out into the street and shot ( thank you Garfield ), for what they have done to Green Latern, but of course the only thing holding us back is God, because our love and fear of god is what keep the world peaceful, so these, fiends can parade around abusing the rainbow, abusing the color purple, abusing the triangle, and even apparently attempting to abuse the color green, trying to arrest every single heterosexual, or drug us into blindness from the truth, or recommended our children to a physiologist. If non of them had any jobs, nobody would care at all.

This is an old old topic, and we just had over ten years of people dying for no reason.............just let it go........just it go... we do not need this kinda rubbish. Not for us, not for our children, not the next generation, or the generation to come. We got bigger problems on our hands. Stress staring you down a barrel on a piece of paper called eviction, to accomplishing our hopes and dreams.

If anybody or anything is anyway, who cares that is their business.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Henge!

[trap15]

Sigh.................look we all know that is a taboo, and it is wrong. More importantly for us people into fictional works, should not care about this subject. Yes somebody at Disney ( who owns marvel )deserved to be lynched, hanged, and drugged out into the street and shot ( thank you Garfield ), for what they have done to Green Latern, but of course the only thing holding us back is God, because our love and fear of god is what keep the world peaceful, so these, fiends can parade around abusing the rainbow, abusing the color purple, abusing the triangle, and even apparently attempting to abuse the color green, trying to arrest every single heterosexual, or drug us into blindness from the truth, or recommended our children to a physiologist. If non of them had any jobs, nobody would care at all.

This is an old old topic, and we just had over ten years of people dying for no reason.............just let it go........just it go... we do not need this kinda rubbish. Not for us, not for our children, not the next generation, or the generation to come. We got bigger problems on our hands. Stress staring you down a barrel on a piece of paper called eviction, to accomplishing our hopes and dreams.

The fuck is wrong with you man.

[Moniker]

If anybody or anything is anyway, who cares that is their business.

I won't even begin trying to understand how Regal's mind works, but his form has a sort of mad poetry to it, you have to admit.

[Xyga]

Bath salts.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

If anybody or anything is anyway, who cares that is their business.

I won't even begin trying to understand how Regal's mind works, but his form has a sort of mad poetry to it, you have to admit.

It's the literary equivalent of rainbow coloured diarhea. Insane, disgusting and fascinating.

[Specineff]

Aww, no sendoff party for RegalSin?

[GaijinPunch]

I would totally blow Idris Elba. Just sayin'.

Win. And I think you'd need a very large mouth/head/throat. I'm sure he's packin' a coke can.

I might have to dig up more of my tutu pics.

[Cuilan]

What's a good depiction of a LGBT character to you? Jun Watarase? Bridget?

Honestly, I can't think of very many true LGBT characters that I would consider "good". There are many that I personally really like, but pretty much all of them have some flaws in their execution (Jun Watarase) or are only meant to be vaguely LGBT (Bridget). The very best representation that I've found so far would have to be the characters from Hourou Musuko/Wandering Son.

[GaijinPunch]

Does it count if they were a women in a past life and re-incarnated as a man? Are they gay? Transextentialgender? Of course talking about Please Save My Earth.

[Skykid]

The way I see it, if LGBT characters don't seriously make you question your sexuality as a straight person (and I do mean "seriously"), then the characters are either poor depictions and/or merely intended as comic relief.

That's a weird thing to say. I find LGBT characters (or real people) reinforce my being straight, and not the other way around.

Do straight characters/people make gay people seriously question their sexuality?

Also, RIP Regal, I was enjoying your insanity.

[Cuilan]

That's a weird thing to say.

That was kind of the point. It was meant to be a half serious comment wrapped in humorous hyperbole.

Do straight characters/people make gay people seriously question their sexuality?

I think it's definitely possible.

Speaking for myself, I'm a bisexual who prefers the female physique, but sometimes I'll be playing games like DOA or KOF and when I look at some of the really handsome male characters, I'll sometimes be thinking stuff like "damn, that guy is kinda hot. I'd probably be really into him if I were gay".

[neorocker]

A well-written gay character won't make you question anything, because there's a 99% chance them being gay will have nothing to do with the plot. However, if a character's sexuality, regardless of what it is, IS a central plot point, it should be well-written and insightful enough to provoke thoughts one way or the other. That's how I see it. In most cases, however, "gay" "trans" etc are all just crappy "reveals" that have no real effect other than shock.

[GaijinPunch]

If anyone here hasn't seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch, get on that shit.

[Ed Oscuro]

This just in: "Gay" and its logical compliment "Not Gay Enough" are trying to enforce a status quo, which is fine if you are SuperGay, but probably not so good if you are just a (probabilistically average) normal person who is somewhere on the Kinsey scale. Political power, how the fuck does it work?!

@ GP: I haven't Will it hurt?

[GaijinPunch]

@ GP: I haven't Will it hurt?

Depends. It's a rock 'n roll musical, adapted from off Broadway. Great tunes. Very gender-bending story.

Trailer
EDIT: Noticed that John Michael Cameron is in Girls. I need to catch up on that shit.