Breaking down borders in video games.
What transgender representation in games?
This post was written by Rachel Walmsley.
Rachel Walmsley (http://rho.dreamwidth.org/) is a 28 year old British woman. She’s a transwoman and a gamer, predominantly enjoying RPGs, strategy and puzzle games.
When I saw that The Border House was looking for new writers, my first thought was “ooh, I must write something for them”. This was then closely followed by my second thought, “but what can I write?”
It isn’t that there’s a shortage of things that I have thoughts or opinions on. The problem is that as well as being a gamer, I’m also a transwoman and I wanted to write something from that perspective. I wrote a piece for the Geek Feminism Blog a few months ago about my experiences as a transwoman and a gamer, and while I could have written something along the same lines, I wanted to write something new and different.
The problem is that writing about transgender characters in games is hard because they just don’t exist. I’ve racked my brain trying to come up with transgender characters and I’m more or less coming up with a blank. There are a few non-human characters that don’t follow traditional gender roles, like Shale from Dragon Age: Origins to name a recent example. There are also a few games which have a male character cross-dress for comic effect. Yes, how utterly hilarious that isn’t.
In terms of People Who Are Like Me, though, I can’t think of anything. I’m not necessarily saying that these games don’t exist, but given that I play a lot of games and can’t think of any, they must be rare at best. I’d love to see a transsexual character in a game. It needn’t even be overt. How about having a seemingly female character who will tell you – if you get close enough – that she’s not comfortable in the female gender role and is planning to transition at some point in the future? Or how about a female character who mentions at some relevant point in conversation that she’s a transwoman?
I don’t doubt that it will happen at some point. I also suspect that the first times we see it will be writers or developers doing it just to prove how edgy they are. I have nightmare visions of a female character who is highly sexualized up until the revelation that she “used to be a man” in which case the male protagonist will be shocked and appalled at the deception and I will go and bang my head against a nearby wall.
Even if we do go through this sort of mis-step, I’m confident that some game will get there eventually. I’m also confident that when it finally does happen, the sky will continue to not fall.
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about 8 months ago
If you check the ‘transgender’ page on TVtropes, there are a (very) few examples listed, most of them non-serious but a few with a bit more depth.
There are a number of so-called “trap” characters in Japanese anime romance games; I don’t believe enough have made it to English translation to discuss whether they count as representations of transgender characters or not. Some are definitely just cross-dressing, some may be more involved, I don’t know. (There is one in an early English hentai game where a male character is playing a female character in cyberspace, but I think that plotline ends with the character fighting for the right to gay marriage.)
I know at least two small indie projects for games entirely based around the theme of transitioning; neither has been completed though.
about 8 months ago
The thought of a game based around transitioning terrifies me slightly. It’s not that I don’t think it could be done well so much as that there are an awful lot of ways of doing it badly and very few ways of doing it well. There are a lot of parts of transition that either are or can potentially be extremely painful, so turning it into something that you play for fun would require a very careful touch, I think.
about 8 months ago
Huh. I should probably go and write something asking Toady One to implement trans characters in Dwarf Fortress – it’s absurdly detailed anyway, with the new version bringing in tracking of hair styles, so it wouldn’t be that out of place to occasionally have a trans dwarf in your fortress. I can’t remember if he has actually implemented lesbian, gay and bi dwarves outside of buggy relationships, but I’m sure I’ve heard it mentioned as something to be added in the future.
about 8 months ago
Well–I admit, this should be something that is explored quite a bit more. It really does not help that censorship removes anybody who does not represent the 1960s Atomic Family from most games, cartoons and movies (with the exceptions of roles of villains like Flea from Chrono Trigger, or roles where the character is suppose to have question ethics, like Car Jacker from Escape from New York (yeah, I feel bad that I need to use her (of all people) as an example of transsexuals in pop culture)).
I mean, this is reminiscent of bad decisions in censored cartoons, with one example of two lesbians having their characters being reworked into cousins when the cartoon was localised to NA. While sexuality based censorship has dropped down, gender based censorship is still quite high.
I mean, there are a few cases where there are well known transsexual characters in games, but usually their attributes are edited quite a bit in North America, such as Vivian from Paper Mario or Bridget in Guilty Gear (which I admit, is one of two characters that I can actually use in the Guilty Gear series). There still are huge numbers of people who do not believe that either Bridget or Vivian are biologically male. I mean, I still feel sad that Birdo, from the Mario series is only MtF (transgender IIRC) these days, as well, that allows them to have Yoshi as being female (so it was really, a cross dresser vs the idea of constant MPreg)
But well–there are plenty of people starting to suggest this sort of thing needs to appear in games I mean, even various major web comic artists like Dan Shive: http://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/?date=2009-11-26
about 8 months ago
The cartoon you referred to with two lesbians being reworked into cousins when it came to North Amerca, are you referring to Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune from Sailor Moon? They were my favorite characters. I wish I could have seen the Japanese version of Sailor Moon. I hear it is much better and more mature than the U.S. version.
about 8 months ago
Well you still always can. *shifty eyes*
And it’s tragically amusing when I look back at it now but back then it confused me to absolutely no end. I mean, the edits had them saying they were cousins but the reactions of the other characters and how their behaviour towards one another was just boggling until something finally clicked in my head and gave me an “ooOOOOOOOOooooh, they’re really lesbians” moment near the end of the series.
And I didn’t realize games like Streets of Rage and Final Fight were edited until now when an author a few articles back mentioned it.
And though I’ve always considered Yoshi as male even with him laying eggs never labeled him as transgendered–mainly because I was young and never (until now I guess) thought about it. Something to chew on now. Though I do think about the whole Barnyard cartoon movie & series with male cows in less of a transgender matter and more of a boggles the mind fashion.
*smh*
about 8 months ago
Well, this is a particularly screwed up area of Nintendo History. With a lot of revisions by Nintendo for the most part.
In the original Manual of Super Mario Brothers 2 for the NES, the character profile for Birdo listed him as male. He just likes to wear bows and refer to himself as a female.
Keep in mind, that this game came out in the 1980s, so the stigma in the manual reflects the thoughts of the time (much like “Negro” appears in a lot of Victorian Fiction).
Nintendo, realising that they had slipped a transgendered into one of their games, made a recall on the manuals, and started referring to Birdo as female, and denying and transgendered tendencies.
Eventually, somehow, Birdo and Yoshi ended up as a couple. They realised that they had a choice, female Birdo, and male pregnant Yoshi or transgendered Birdo.and female Yoshi.
They decided to retcon Birdo as hir transgendered state.
about 8 months ago
Yes, you got it.
It irritates me, that in localising a lot of stuff, they remove various culture elements because they decided that “we will not understand”. In some cases, I would agree, due to large amounts of connotation/tone issues involved in the wording that may be difficult to translate over.
Most cases, North American audiences will not understand because many of us are not exposed to it. Creating a rather horrible Catch-22.
about 8 months ago
“I wish I could have seen the Japanese version of Sailor Moon. I hear it is much better and more mature than the U.S. version.”
Not by much. It’s severely changed from the manga, too (in many places, much more than the dub was changed from the anime)…
about 8 months ago
I’ve never played Guilty Gear, and am completely blanking on Paper Mario (which I have played, but not for years) so I can’t really comment on them properly, but I’d presume that if there are a lot of people who see them as cisgender then any transgender inference about them must be pretty small. It would be nice to see a game where a character was unabashedly and unashamedly transsexual, and was still fleshed out fully as a character as well.
about 8 months ago
Well, before various localisation revisions, the character “Vivian” from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year, was noted as “iologically” male. I am not certain, but I think all the Sirens were male. They became “The Siren Sisters” when moved to NA.
His lines were pretty much the same as in the NA version. Generally flirting with a lot of people, kissing Mario, and even the ending which involves a situation between him, Mario and Peach (not going any further here, BTW) was not much change in the translation to NA.
Generally, in the Japanese version, there really was no reason for his transgendered/trranssexual state to be really made a big deal about in the plot. I mean, we are talking about the Mushroom Kingdom here–a series of games, that resemble a bad drug trip at the best of times–a cisgendered character likely is going to seem very normal in comparison to anything else in there.
However, when brought outside of Japan, they decided that the audiences would not like that in the least, and Vivian was now Female.
about 8 months ago
Oh BTW–screw up on my part here. Car Jacker is from Escape from LA… not Escape from New York. I cannot remember her new name in this movie.
However, a large amount of the movie contains Snake Pliskin having more than a few issues accepting her transition as Snake knew her during their issues in Cleveland. I am not entirely certain if this is because Snake does not accept this sort of stuff–or if Car Jacker’s transition really was not that sincere as Snake seems to suggest here.
I must admit, I am more than a little ticked that in the new translations of Chrono Trigger that Flea’s gender is not as female. I loved the fact that on the SNES that nobody had any clue of this, unless you went on the Ozzie’s Fortress Side Quest later, with Magus and Marle in your party (cannot remember the third member).
I mean, growing up, the idea that character that had transitioned that well (keep in mind, I was fifteen at the time I played the SNES) was one that blew my mind, and generally made me a lot more open to these ideas.
about 8 months ago
I was under the impression Flea was just a really good crossdresser…
about 7 months ago
Well–this is where two issues come into play:
1) The translations of Chrono Trigger.
2) The definitions of gender.
I generally go by the following ideas for clarfication here:
1) Transvestite–not really applicable to this discussion. This is just somebody who has a kink or a fetish for wearing gender inappropriate clothing.
2) Transsexual — somebody either undergoing the therapy/surgery process or complete it.
3) Transgender — somebody who has taken on the other gender identity without the surgery. They are understood as the member of their non-biological identity–but unlike transsexuals, they have not undergone the therapy… many do not eally want to.
4) Androgenous — somebody who takes the role of neither gender.
5) Drag Queen — not really a member of this category. These people just dress up for show and shock value to a certain degree.
6) Gender Queer — I really have no definition for this one… I have heard the word here.
In my memories of the SNES version of the translation (still leerily playing the NDS translation… mostly because I really do not want to see the changes to Flea that I have heard about), I generally regarded Flea as either Transgendered or Transsexual. I mean, even Marle was convinced that Flea was a girl–I think that is a pretty impressive.
about 7 months ago
“However, a large amount of the movie contains Snake Pliskin having more than a few issues accepting her transition as Snake knew her during their issues in Cleveland. I am not entirely certain if this is because Snake does not accept this sort of stuff–or if Car Jacker’s transition really was not that sincere as Snake seems to suggest here.”
I don’t know if it was intended, but re-viewing the movie recently, I had the impression that Hershe Las Palmas is kept being called “Carjack” by Snake echoed the “- Plissken – Call me Snake” stuff.
And damn, I didn’t know about the side quest with Flea.
about 8 months ago
Does getting turned into an asexual Super Mutant count? If so, then I’ll nominate Fawkes from Fallout 3.
Also, the player can choose to be one in Baldur’s Gate if one equips the Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity.
about 8 months ago
Hirvox, spoiler warnings next time please!
about 8 months ago
I don’t count any non-human characters, because they’re a bit of a cop out at best. They seem to say “oh yes, these wacky gender shenanigans can happen to aliens, golems and mutants, but we all know they don’t apply to us humans, right?”
about 8 months ago
Some recent games have at least begun to play with this a bit. I would also add Xion from the most recent Kingdom Hearts game (358/2 Days). I don’t recommend the game, and to spare you the experience (i.e. here is a spoiler) I’ll note that Xion is character whose gender changes based on who’s perceiving her. In her primary relationship (friendship with two males) she takes on a female appearance, but other members of her organization view her as male. Late in the game she transitions completely to a male appearance (keeping her voice). It’s a Disney game, so her physical sex is indefinite to the player, and the gender issues are of course unexplored. Nonetheless, a reasonably creative person could explore some interesting angles with such a character, if so inclined.
Also, there is a potion available in Fable II that (IIRC) allows the player to switch genders exactly once. I’m not sure if it’s available before the post-game content, but at least this offers the opportunity for your character to play out a trans storyline if desired.
about 8 months ago
Oh, that is interesting. Not a game I’m particularly likely to ever play, but it is good to know that there are things like that out there. I mean, it still isn’t exactly a transgender character, but it’s a start.
about 8 months ago
*potential spoiler*
What I find particularly interesting in the Fable II instance is the way NPCs, including your spouse and children, treat you following the use of the potion. I won’t go into details here to avoid spoilers (more than I’ve already offered anyway).
about 8 months ago
Have you heard of NieR? I keep hearing that one of the main characters of PS3 exclusive “NieR Replicant” is a transwoman named Kainé.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nier_Replicant
about 8 months ago
According to the Wikipedia article, she’s described thus: “A female warrior and partner of Nier, she was part-possessed in a demonic attack, and became a hermaphrodite (futanari).”
I don’t think I’d count someone who became a hermaphrodite due to demonic possession.
about 8 months ago
This brought me a warm smile. I’d love to see it done too, but the pessimistic side to me still believes games have a way to go before they can mature into that interactive narrative platform we need. Still, it’ll definitely happen so long as someone wants to and can wedge a design doc. into this competitive field.
I expect that half the challenge is finding the sort of game in which a transgender storyline will fit rightly. I’d hate for efforts to amount to throwaway references or worse, a ‘gender quest’ crowbarred in.
Hmm. Now you’ve got me scheming.
about 8 months ago
I’m glad it made you smile.
In some ways, I almost think I wouldn’t mind a throw-away reference, if it was done right. In some ways it’s nice to see a game (or book, movie, whatever) saying, “well yes it’s there and that’s cool but it’s really not that big a deal”. In other ways I want it to be a big deal because that’s what’s going to be needed to bring it home to some people that it is there.
What are you scheming? I’m curious!
about 8 months ago
Well, certainly through the course of these comments I have had my opinions about throwaways revised.
I was just thinking through a few interactive metaphors for my own journey. Perhaps a game in which a character’s growingly cold and alien world is flipped and begins developing colour, opened up to new abilities and posibilities the moment their identity is affirmed. Perhaps we guide that character as a companion to our own avatar so as not to try and force the player’s hand. Or something.
But I agree – it would be enough not to have a game make a huge song and dance of such a plot point!
about 8 months ago
eh–I must admit, I consider myself as a Game Designer–I hope to get in a few games out this year (Independent), and well, one of the things I want to stress in most of these games, that unless the world the game takes place in has some issues with this, gender identity and sexual orientation should not really be a big deal. All genders and sexualities would be present–but they would just be there and not an important plot point.
In some games where this sort of thing is a big deal due to how the world building is concerned, these characters will appear–though, I still have no idea how I will handle it. Though, even then, it would not be a major plot point as much as a die plot (think the gay/lesbian sub plots in V for Vendetta).
about 8 months ago
On Fawkes? The term Super Mutant itself suggests that they were something else at first, and I didn’t say anything else about Fawkes. It’s not as if he/she/it is the first named Super Mutant in the Fallout ‘verse or anything.
about 8 months ago
I actually haven’t played Fallout 3 yet, so I wouldn’t know, but my friend who read your comment told me it spoiled something. Thanks for clearing that up though.
about 8 months ago
While not trans, Kuja, the antagonist in Final Fantasy 9, changed gender during translation.
In the original Japanese version Kuja is female, but in the English and German version (maybe every other as well, but I can only speak of these two) Kuja is male.
about 8 months ago
I need to see a source on this.
If anything it was the reverse, since Japan likes effeminate men a lot more than America does…
about 8 months ago
Poison is a post-op transexual in the english translations of games she appears in, Bridget is a boy/young man who identifies as female but is still biologically male. Wiki has some info on the topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_characters_in_video_games#Transgender_characters_in_video_games_1985_-_1994
about 8 months ago
I can’t believe I didn’t think of Poison. Final Fight in the arcade was one of my favourite games back when it was first out, when I was 8 or 9. Of course, she’s horribly stereotyped and cliched and in no way a particularly praiseworthy example (especially since she was only described that way in the first place due to concerns of violence against women) but I still can’t believe I didn’t remember her.
I’d never heard of Bridget before, but from what Wikipedia has to say about her, it reminds me a lot of the case of David Reimer and makes me cringe a little as a result.
about 8 months ago
I never thought of that, and as a result she’s still my pick for cutest Guilty Gear character (strong competition from May and Dizzy there).
about 8 months ago
While it’s great that people are able to think of a few representations of trans gender characters in games, it’s still painfully clear that many of those examples are flawed, stereotyped, or negative representations. Let’s broaden this discussion to include the points that Rachel touched on:
“How about having a seemingly female character who will tell you – if you get close enough – that she’s not comfortable in the female gender role and is planning to transition at some point in the future?” <— This seems to be an obvious discussion point. What are positive ways in which a trans gender character can be portrayed?
“I have nightmare visions of a female character who is highly sexualized up until the revelation that she “used to be a man” in which case the male protagonist will be shocked and appalled at the deception and I will go and bang my head against a nearby wall.” <— This is another discussion point, which touches on the ways that trans gender characters, owing to the transphobia of society at large, could be portrayed problematically.
about 8 months ago
The two somewhat-more-serious examples on the tropes page I mentioned earlier, as best I understand them (spoilers for Persona 4 and Cute Knight Kingdom, also pardon my pronouns and any mistakes):
Both are characters initially presented to the player as male.
One apparently decided to become male because e didn’t feel e would ever be successful or taken seriously in eir chosen profession as a woman, and has therefore been passing as a man. E has a male ‘spiritual self’, is uncomfortable with eir female attributes (very unhappy about wearing a swimsuit), and hints about having surgery. On the other hand, e also apparently decides later that e doesn’t really want to be a man, and can be romanced by the (male) PC and potentially wear a dress for him.
The other apparently ran away from home because eir parents wanted em to wear dresses, which the character did not feel comfortable with. To reach this character’s ending, e does have to wear a dress briefly as part of a scheme to rob the royal treasury, but e then runs off happily to become a pirate (in masculine attire, and potentially romancing the female PC)
At what point does a character “count” as transgendered?
What particular pitfalls (other than the ‘DECEIVED! RAGE!’) are likely to cause problems for the appreciation of any such storyline?
about 8 months ago
For me, the “oh wait, I changed my mind; it was all just a phase I was going through!” aspect of the first one would make me roll my eyes and sigh a little.
Other things that would count as no-nos for me would include “it’s all about the clothes” or “it’s all about the sex”, the idea that a transwoman should become a highly feminised barbie stereotype or that a transman should become a highly butch macho stereotype, having the character’s change of gender or gender role be something forced on them by external influence rather than something they chose for him or herself, having the character’s transgender status be the only or main defining character trait rather than having a fully fleshed-out person, having the character be non-human, and so on. There are probably lots of other ways this could be done wrong, but those are just a few of the ones that come to mind.
Not having played either of the two games you mention, I can’t really comment on how well they pull it off . I am tempted to seek out Cute Knight Kingdom now, though not Person 4 since I don’t own a PS2.
I’ll also say that even with some of these problems, I could still consider a game an excellent step forward and worthy of praise. It would stop me seeing it as the shining light to point at as “how to do this properly” though.
about 8 months ago
I personally liked the transgender character in Persona 4 (the scenario described by WhineAboutGames above). I connected with zir deeply.
There’s no neat and tidy resolution in zir gender identity. Ze doesn’t transition and live happily ever after, nor does ze “see the light” and end up happily cisgendered. It’s more complex and ambiguous than that, which I think reflects reality (or at least my own gender identity.)
The one area where I cry foul is the fact that ze can wear a dress for the male PC in one scene when ze clearly dislikes female dress. Boo. No.
Otherwise, I see no problem with zir being a potential love interest for the male protagonist. If anything, I think it’s GOOD that a cisgendered protagonist is allowed to be attracted to a TG character in-game. Although the character Yosuke is consistently homo/transphobic in his comments, the protagonist has options to play the part of a female in a face-to-face dating sim, cross dress, and say he likes men throughout the game. The PC is such a blank slate, it would be entirely up to the player whether these gender role-bending behaviors are genuine interests or ‘just being silly.’ I chose to play it as a genderqueer coming-of-age story.
As for the TG character, I think it’s unhelpfully restrictive to define what “counts” as TG. The character is obviously genderqueer and more comfortable in male clothing and presenting as male. At the same time, ze doesn’t seem bothered by people using the female pronoun to refer to zir, nor does ze think ze MUST transition surgically to express zirself.
In this character, I found myself. I related to zir hurt and frustration over not being taken seriously because of my physical sex. Like zir, I prefer to be perceived as male, but I choose not to transition physically and I’m not bothered by the female pronoun being applied to me.
I think it’s important that gamers don’t lock down the requirements of what a character must do or be to be “really” TG. A TG or genderqueer character should be allowed to transition or not, to use whatever pronoun ze wants, and still be a valid entry.
I think the Persona 4 character is an interesting addition to the trans gamer’s libarary. Zir story isn’t simple and neatly resolved, but that’s realistic for the journey of any genderqueer individual.
about 8 months ago
“How about having a seemingly female character who will tell you – if you get close enough – that she’s not comfortable in the female gender role and is planning to transition at some point in the future?” <— This seems to be an obvious discussion point. What are positive ways in which a trans gender character can be portrayed?
One way to give it a more positive tone would be to meet the character again after the transition, and the character telling you e feels more comfortable now.
Or meeting a character who tells you e had a transition in the past.
The most extreme variant would be the character not being unconfortable but suicidal, and the protagonist having to save them. Maybe they are already dead and the protagonist has to find out why and then travel back in time to save them.
I am aware that this is macabre at best and can backfire in the worst ways. But it can also be done well.
“I have nightmare visions of a female character who is highly sexualized up until the revelation that she “used to be a man” in which case the male protagonist will be shocked and appalled at the deception and I will go and bang my head against a nearby wall.” <— This is another discussion point, which touches on the ways that trans gender characters, owing to the transphobia of society at large, could be portrayed problematically.
Giving the protagonist the choice how to react on the relevation, and later confronting them with the consequences of their decision, be they good or bad, when they meet the character again or hear from her could be a way. The possiblities of consequences and plots are endless.
Would be best built in when it affects the karma or alingnment of the protagonist.
An alternate route would be the damsel in distress scenario. And the protagonist not saving her or even tossing her back in after finding out she was a guy (or still is biologically (and maybe comfortable with that herself) or is both) would earn the protagonist a hell of karmic consequences and/or revenge/loss of support.
Dialogue revealing the protagonist’s opinion aside from generally saving people in distress and the consequences thereof can still be dealt with.
about 8 months ago
Heh, I will note, that a fair amount of the Pokemon games have transgendered stuff to them. Though, it seems mostly accidental in nature.
Some pokemon, that their gender identity is somewhat questionable:
* Kirlia/Gardevior. Wears an overly female outfit no matter the gender of the pokemon. Enough, that some communities tended to give Gardeviour the “Reveal Penis Ability” as a form of (very) off colour joke.
* Mawile : generally called “the Awwwwright Pokemon” by the same sorts of communities that make fun of Gardevior in the fashion mentioned above. Generally, most people seee Mawile as looking like a little girl–but the gender of this one can be male or female.
* Roselia/Roserade : another overly effeminate pokemon that does not necessarily have a set gender.
There are more than a few other examples of, what seems to be unintentional gender identity mess ups. Most of them appear to be Gen 3 Pokemon–the ones typically native to the Hoenn Region (note to self, vacation in the part of the world that the Hoenn Region in Pokemon is based on XD ). Though, these seem to follow under Transgendered stuffs, rather than transsexual..
Though, androgynous characters have been in this game since the start.
about 8 months ago
Avoiding spoilers, there’s an optional quest in Baldur’s Gate 2 that results in an NPC party member having their sex changed temporarily. It’s played for laughs at the character’s expense, and the character’s ‘where are they now?’ bit after the adventure describes them as having been stripped of power, made to permanently assume a female sex, and forced into an unhappy life as a barmaid. It’s clearly much more about castration anxiety than providing a thought-provoking transgender theme, but I thought it was worth bringing up.
about 8 months ago
Back in about 1991, when I was about 16 years old, I played a game called “Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender”, where the entire game centred on gender-related themes and you had to switch genders a few times (using the machine named in the title) to get through the game. Not saying it wasn’t highly problematic, but it was a trans-themed game in at least some way.
about 8 months ago
Huh, 1992, apparently: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Nebular_and_the_Cosmic_Gender_Bender
about 8 months ago
Yeah!!!
There’s been a long-standing movement in the Sims player community to remove the gender specificity in clothing, so that female Sims can wear “male” clothing and vice versa. Although the Sims has always been progressive with regards to gender stuff, they still won’t let a female Sim wear “male” sneakers! So annoying.
Several mod groups have released custom content non-gendered clothing, but it’s often put forth by groups that specialize in fetish stuff. Which makes me sad. But at least it exists?
about 8 months ago
Bridget’s not transsexual at all, he repeatedly refers to himself as being male…
about 7 months ago
Hmmm–I am going to have to feint ignorance on this matter. As I still find people out there that have no clue that Bridget was born male. I dunno–maybe the people confused on the matter have been playing different games in the series. More than likely, older episodes in said series.
about 7 months ago
IIRC, Bridget was born male (in that he was assigned male at birth) and has always considered himself male, but the story goes that he was born into a society that considered the birth of male twins to be very unlucky, so Bridget’s parents pretended that he was a girl and raised his twin brother as a boy. So I think Ginsu Shark is correct that Bridget is not trans because he considers himself male (and finds it odd that other people don’t see him as male) but I think he qualifies as a qenderqueer character of sorts.
about 8 months ago
The character Chris, from the eroge Princess Waltz, is arguably a FTM transsexual; born biologically female, she has been living as a man all her life and seeks to “become a real prince”.
about 7 months ago
Can we add “transmen” to the tags on this post? The only TG characters I can think of are FtM, not MtF.
about 7 months ago
Bridget’s first appearance is in Guilty Gear XX, so he’s a relatively new character as far as the series ‘verse goes.
Personally, I think it’s more to do with the assumptions. People (including the players) assume that Bridget is female. Bridget himself is completely comfortable with his gender, seeing it as a non-issue and not worth even mentioning unless someone else brings the subject up first. And the subject really doesn’t come up if you just see an image of him on the Internet (sans captions) or even play a few rounds of the game with him.