The Queer Art of LGBTQ+ Representation in Video
Games
by
Lindsay Cooper

Undergraduate Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Bachelor of Communication
in the
School of Communication

© Lindsay Cooper 2022
CAPILANO UNIVERSITY
2022

Approval
Name:

Lindsay Cooper

Degree:

Bachelor of Communication

Title:

The Queer Art of LGBTQ+ Representation in Video
Games

Examining Committee:

Faculty Supervisor: Kym Stewart
School of Communication

ii

Ethics Statement
The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for
the research described in this work, Human Research Ethics approval from Capilano
University Office of Research Ethics.
A copy of the approval letter is attached

iii

Abstract
In 2014, feminist scholars fight for better female representation in video gaming,
resulting in the vitriolic Gamergate harassment campaign led by right-wing gamers who
felt as though their identities and hobbies were being attacked. In more recent years, we
have seen the discussion surrounding representation in gaming focus on a new subject
of interest – queer identities. Although there is still work to be done, games have begun
to introduce more and more queer themes, characters, and content over the last decade
and have done so in more respectful and nuanced ways than in the past. Some research
has examined queer content in video games, however, there is little research on how
gamers perceive queer content in video games. This paper seeks to analyze the history
of queer representation in gaming, how the gaming industry itself deals with it, and how
indie game developers have begun to pave the way for better representation in AAA
game titles. By conducting a survey of 572 gamers via Reddit and through a
netnographic analysis of gaming subreddits and news article discussions, this research
seeks to examine how gamers react to – and their opinions on – queer representation in
video games.
Keywords:

lgbtq+; queer; video games; gaming; representation; gamergate

iv

Dedication
This paper is dedicated to my parents and older brothers who encouraged and
fostered my interest in video games from a young age. Also, to my partner, Eric, for his
unending support during the research and writing process.

v

Table of Contents
Approval .............................................................................................................. ii
Ethics Statement ................................................................................................ iii
Abstract .............................................................................................................. iv
Dedication ........................................................................................................... v
Table of Contents ............................................................................................... vi
List of Tables ..................................................................................................... vii
List of Figures ....................................................................................................viii
Glossary ............................................................................................................. ix
Chapter 1.

Introduction ..............................................................................................1

Chapter 2.
2.1.
2.2.
2.3.

Literature review ......................................................................................5
The Queer History of Representation ..................................................... 5
The Gaming Industry and Perceived Risks of Representation .............. 11
Indie Games and the Queer Experience .............................................. 14

Chapter 3.

Methods .................................................................................................. 17

Chapter 4.

Data / results .......................................................................................... 23

Chapter 5.
5.1.
5.2.
5.3.
5.4.

Discussion .............................................................................................. 41
Playersexuality and the Choice to See “the Gay” .................................. 41
The Fetishization of Queer Women ...................................................... 43
Breaking the Binaries: Non-Binary and Transgender Representation ... 47
Toxic Gaming Culture, SJWs, and the Far-Right .................................. 51

Chapter 6.

Limitations .............................................................................................. 55

Chapter 7.

Conclusion ............................................................................................. 57

References ...................................................................................................................61
Appendix A. Selection of Video Game Character Gender Identities........................ 68
Appendix B. Selection of Video Game Character Sexualities .................................. 70

vi

List of Tables
Table A. The most mentioned games and their respective non-binary and/or trans
characters. ............................................................................................. 40

vii

List of Figures

Figure 1. Ash, Streets of Rage 3.....................................................................................7
Figure 2. Shablee revealed to be transgender as Larry throws up over the discovery in
Leisure Suit Larry 6. ............................................................................... 10
Figure 3. Vivian from Paper Mario ................................................................................ 12
Figure 4. Madeline, the transgender main protagonist of Celeste ................................. 14
Figure 5. Dorian Pavus from Dragon Age: Inquisition ................................................... 23
Figure 6. Krem from Dragon Age: Inquisition ................................................................ 25
Figure 7. Civil conversation within the "Reaction to Ellie's sexuality" thread on
r/thelastofus. .......................................................................................... 26
Figure 8. Abby and Lev from The Last of Us 2............................................................ 29
Figure 9. Survey Respondents Gender Identity Demographics .................................... 32
Figure 10. Survey Respondents Sexual Orientation Demographics.............................. 33
Figure 11. Survey Respondents and their desire for more queer representation in
gaming ................................................................................................... 38
Figure 12. Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix's protagonist, Hana, and her partner, Rain in an
advertisement for the game .................................................................... 45
Figure 13. Bloodhound from Apex Legends.................................................................. 49

viii

Glossary
AAA Game

A high budget, high profile video game typically produced
by well-known publishers. (AAA [video game industry],
2022).

Asexual

An individual who has little to no sexual feelings or
desires, or who is not sexually attracted to anyone.

Cisgender

When someone identifies with the gender assigned at
birth; an individual whose sense of personal identity and
gender corresponds with their birth sex.

DLC

Short for ‘downloadable content’. A DLC is additional
content created for an already released game and is
distributed through the internet by the game’s developer.
(Downloadable content, 2022).

Dox

When private or identifying information about a particular
individual is leaked online, typically with malicious intent.
(Doxing, 2022).

Gamergate

An online hate campaign started in 2014 that promoted
sexism and anti-progressivism in video game culture and
largely targeted women and feminists. (Gamergate
[harassment campaign], 2022).

Gender Dysphoria

Clinically significant distress, impairment, or discomfort
that might occur in individuals whose gender identity
differs from their assigned sex at birth. (Mayo Clinic, n.d.)

Heterocentrism

The assumption that everyone is heterosexual.

Indie Game

Short for independent game. A game typically created by
smaller development teams without the financial and
technical support of a large game publisher. (Indie Game,
2022).

Intersectionality

An analytical framework to help understand how different
aspects of a person’s social identities (gender, race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.) combine to create
different modes of discrimination and privilege.
(Intersectionality, 2022).

ix

Non-Binary

An umbrella term for gender identities that are neither
male nor female (identities outside of the gender binary);
also known as genderqueer. (Non-binary gender, 2022).

NPC

Acronym for Non-Player-Character. A character not
controlled by the player.

OP

‘Original Poster’. The person who started/created a
thread or post that users comment on.

Pansexuality

The romantic, emotional, and or sexual attraction to
people regardless of their gender. (Pansexuality, 2022).

Steam

A video game digital distribution service founded by game
developer Valve.

SJW

Short for ‘Social Justice Warrior’. A pejorative term used
for an individual who promotes socially progressive, leftwing, and liberal views (Social justice warrior, 2022).

Transgender

Someone whose gender identity or gender expression
differs from the sex they were assigned at birth
(Transgender, 2022).

x

Chapter 1.
Introduction
In 2014, feminist scholars began to discuss how women are portrayed in video
games which resulted in massive backlash from a vocal sector of the gaming community.
This controversy, known as Gamergate, was a harassment campaign that targeted these
feminist scholars who sought out progressive and quality representation within video
games. Gamergate became a movement that specifically targeted women in the video
game industry, initially focusing on developers Zoë Quinn, Brianna Wu, and feminist
media critic Anita Sarkeesian before becoming an all-out culture war. These women and
others who supported them were doxed (the publishing of private and identifying
information with damaging intent), threatened with rape and murder, and relentlessly
harassed for speaking out against the often offensive portrayals of women in video
games. At its core, the Gamergate controversy was generated by right-wing gamers in
their opposition against progressivism in video games lead by feminists (“Gamergate
[harassment campaign]”, 2022). “Gamergaters” were vehemently opposed to
progressivism in their games, labelling anyone or anything vying for better representation
as a “SJW” (social justice warrior) or as touting “SJW” politics. Feminists were fighting
for better female representation and treatment in video games, upsetting many right-wing
gamers who saw this as an attack and invasion on not only their hobby but their identity.
Those on the side of Gamergate (as in, those who opposed and harassed the
feminist critics) felt that women attempting to assert their power in gaming culture meant
that they (the ‘real’ gamers) were going to lose their hegemonic power and be silenced
1

(Evans & Janish, 2015, p. 130). For years, mass market developers themselves reinforced
and fed into the idea of gamer privilege by producing and marketing games that
represented and catered to a hypermasculine audience, providing a sort of invisible
privilege to Gamergaters who claimed that their demographic (i.e. white, cisgendered,
heterosexual men) deserve to have their preferences catered to (Evans & Janish, 2015, p.
135). Because games had long been traditionally marketed to men, by men, the men who
played video games saw the feminist discussion of female representation in gaming as an
attack on their ‘masculine hobby’ and, essentially, on them. Many viewed women as
outsiders of the gaming community despite women making up a rather decent chunk of
the gaming community themselves. In fact, according to a survey conducted by the
Entertainment Software Association in 2014, women in the United States made up 48%
of the gaming audience (Women and Video Games, 2022). At the time of the
controversy, the majority of female characters in games were often nothing more than a
pair of breasts to be ogled at or a sexy body to be saved by the strong male protagonist
(as discussed by Dickerman et al., 2009). Although there were some strong female
protagonists, they were often sexualized by both marketers and gamers. Take for instance
Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series, a physically capable and intelligent treasure hunter
who was turned into a sex object through advertising and who had gamers create cheat
codes in order to have her character model present nude in the game to be gawked at.
Alongside fighting for women’s struggles, feminist scholars (such as Judith
Butler, Audre Lorde, and Sara Ahmed among many more) also often fight for queer
rights as well. As such, discussions regarding queer representation in video games were
also tacked onto the conversation surrounding Gamergate. Many in the movement

2

suggested that there was a need for better queer representation in video games beyond the
typical optional same-sex romance of a side character, the prevalent portrayal of a queer
character as predatory or villainous, or the all-too-common use of offensive stereotypes.
However, since Gamergate, a shift has occurred that has allowed for more inclusion and
sensitivity as society itself has grown more accepting and understanding through the
years. With this steady increase in diversity comes a change in game play — meaning
that the white, hypermasculine, heterosexual, cisgendered men of the gaming community
are now being asked to play as something other than what they see as a reflection of
themselves — a reality all too familiar for gamers who don’t fit that mold.
Video games have begun to open their arms to more forms of queer
representation with more nuanced and respectful portrayals and, as such, it is worth
looking at how the opinions of gamers have changed since Gamergate brought forth the
discussion of representation. As such, in order to better understand how a traditionally
‘masculine’ activity such as video games has grown in its reception of
nonheteronormative content, this paper will examine the characterizations and shifts in
queer characters and themes within popular and AAA video games. As this research will
be examining queer representation in video games, it is fitting to approach such an
analysis with a queer games framework. This framework pulls from queer theory and
provides a concrete foundation to examine the nuances of queer representation in video
games as its name suggests. By looking at the history of LGBTQ+ content in video
games, how indie games have impacted representation, and the gaming industry itself,
this research seeks to better understand how video games and their players have

3

progressed in their openness and acceptance of queerness since the inception of games
and, specifically, since Gamergate.

4

Chapter 2.

Literature review

2.1. The Queer History of Representation
So, what exactly is the history of queer representation in video games? Have
video games characters just always been straight? As we know, queer people and
queerness are nothing new; queer individuals have existed just as long as heterosexual
individuals. In video games, queer individuals did exist, albeit, in incredibly small
increments and as offensive stereotypes. The earliest notable representation of a queer
character in a video game dates back to 1985 as a villain, however, quality queer
representation up until the last decade or so has been sparse with most characterizations
falling into stereotypical categories.
As much as video games are a medium for entertainment and art, one of the main
reasons video games are created and constantly churned out is to create sales (Srauy,
2019, p. 487). The way in which certain games are made depends on the publisher(s) that
fund the development cost, thus filtering and constraining the types of games made and
the content they contain (Srauy, 2019, p 488). Of further concern to the developers
bottom line is the audience. The gamer audience has long been constructed as “both
heterosexual and potentially homophobic” which in turn can lead to fears of backlash for
including LGBTQ+ content in games (Shaw, 2009, p. 240). This backlash was very much
prevalent during the Gamergate controversy; although the main focus of Gamergate was
the representation of women in games, the heterosexual and homophobic audience would
similarly lash out at developers for even trying to include queer characters of any kind.
Considering that masculinity is the presumed norm in both the gaming audience and the

5

industry itself, it’s not surprising that video game content follows similar standards
(Shaw, 2009, p. 239). With a product like a video game, and its primarily conservative
market, developers cannot afford to offend their audience by courting queer people
(Shaw, 2009, p. 243). It is also worth noting that the culture surrounding the gaming
community is very heterocentric; words like “gay” and “fag” are not uncommon to be
thrown about in online gaming spaces and forums (Shaw, 2009, p. 237). In her interviews
with industry insiders, Adrienne Shaw found that developers were also on a tight leash
with their investors and advertisers who were concerned about their merchandise being
branded as a “gay product” and potentially alienating their heterosexual consumers
(Shaw, 2009, p. 240) which in turn would mean less sales and thus less profit.
The Queer Cliché
More often than not, many LGBTQ+ characters are minor NPCs (non-player
characters) or supporting side characters. Through their 2016 analysis, Shaw and Friesem
found that from 1985 to 2005, explicitly queer characters were rare in general and 51% of
those characters were indeed relegated to NPCs (p. 1561). When characters are more
implicitly queer coded, their sexualities are often only revealed through dialogue or if
certain in-game conditions are met, making them largely inconsequential to the game’s
progress (Shaw & Friesem, 2016, p. 3880). Most notably in the early history of video
games, however, characters are often identified as homosexual through blatant and
stereotypical signifiers using visual cues such as mannerisms, their dress, and voice

6

(Shaw & Friesem, 2016, p. 3880). One such example
worth acknowledging is the presence of Ash in Sega’s
1994 game Streets of Rage 3. Ash, a mini boss in the first
stage of the Japanese version of the game, was a clear and
offensive stereotype of a gay man. Dressed in leatherdaddy attire with buckled knees, heels, and limp wrists,
Ash “prances around the screen, giggles, and cries when
he’s defeated” (“Ash”, n.d.).
When it comes to homosexuality, it appears as

Figure 1. Ash, Streets of Rage 3. (Sega,
1994). Retrieved from
https://www.giantbomb.com/ash/300514272/

though women’s queerness is often marked by their relationships to other women
whereas men’s querness appears to be marked by stereotypical signifiers (Shaw &
Friesem, 2016, p. 3881). Many female characters are often not acknowledged as queer
unless they say so themselves or if they enter a relationship with another woman: Ellie
and Dina in The Last of Us II (2020), Leona and Diana in League of Legends (2009),
Carol and Greta in Fallout 3 (2008), Tracer and Emily in Overwatch (2016), and Mileena
and Tanya in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) are some such examples. When gay male
characters are present, their homosexuality is represented in a more explicit manner, often
rather mockingly so through stereotypes (as seen in Ash) unlike lesbian characters whose
queerness is represented in a more implicit manner (Shaw et. al, 2019, p. 1557).
It is important to acknowledge that most scholarly discussions surrounding queer
representation in video games focus largely on sexuality, rarely acknowledging
transgender, non-binary, or genderqueer characters up until more recent years. In their
2018 data analysis of Adrienne Shaw’s online LGBTQ Video Game Archive, Utsch et al.
7

found that gay men (specifically white gay men) are the most represented queer identities
in video games, making up about 38% of the representation whereas gender nonconforming, binary trans identities, and non-binary identities were the least represented
with those three totaling up to 21% all together (p. 850). Even though trans representation
in gaming is rather scarce, it is worth noting that there are more trans women in video
games than there are trans men (Thach, 2021, p. 22). Often, trans characters’ gender
identity is treated as a problem to be dealt with or as the butt of a joke (Shaw & Friesem,
2016, p. 3882). Furthermore, trans characters are also dealt with in a problematic way
when it comes to production as well; trans men and women are often voiced by actors
whose gender is opposite to the character. One of the most lauded representations of a
trans character in terms of writing thus far in gaming, Krem in Dragon Age: Inquisition
(2014), was in fact voiced by a cisgender woman. This trend in voice acting seems to be
changing, however; in 2021, the main character of Dotnod Entertainment’s Tell Me Why,
Tyler Ronan, is a trans man, and was voiced by a trans man as well.
In 2021, Thach conducted research using Shaw’s LGBTQ Video Game Archive
to identify and analyze how transgender characters are represented in video games. He
found that trans characters typically fit into one of four “types” or stereotypes that he
identified: dysphoria or physical transition, mentally ill killers, trans shock/reveal, and
ambiguity (Thach, 2021, p. 20). These four categories are visible in many iterations of
transgender characters in video games. Gender dysphoria is described as clinically
significant distress related to a strong desire or identification with another gender whereas
physical transition refers to the changes one may take for their body to reflect their
gender identity. Dysphoria and physical transition are notable in characters such as Angof

8

in Runescape (2001), an elven trans woman who used magic to aid her transition, and
Sya in Guild Wars 2 (2012) who, like Angof, utilized magic to aid in her transition.
An example of a mentally ill killer that Thach explores in their research is Alfred
Ashford from Resident Evil: Code Veronica (2000) who forms an alter ego named Alexia
and wears women’s clothing (Tach, 2021, p. 30). Although not technically a trans
woman, for outside viewers with not much understanding on transgender identities, the
fact that Alfred dresses in women’s clothing and develops the secondary identity of his
sister Alexia (while the real Alexia is in cryosleep) as his mental health begins to
deteriorate appears to link cross-dressing and psychoticism which in turn can paint a
negative image of transness.

In regard to trans shock/reveal, there are two different approaches within this
category: one that is used to literally shock and surprise the audience, and another that is
just simply a reveal. As Thach (2021) notes, Shablee from Leisure Suit Larry 6 (1993) is
a prime example of trans shock. Shablee, a character that the eponymous Larry seeks to
bed, is revealed to be trans when the game “shows an erect penis under her clothes”,
causing Larry to throw up (Thach, 2021, p. 32). The scene that follows implies that
Shablee raped Larry as he seems revolted, regretful, and as though he was nonconsenting after learning of Shablee’s trans identity.

9

Figure 1. Shablee revealed to be transgender as Larry throws up over the discovery in Leisure Suit Larry 6. (Sierra On-Line
1993). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c_U73BagT4

In the case of trans characters, ambiguity refers to instances in which “a
character’s gender is changed in localization or over time, are not explicitly stated, or left
open to interpretation” (Thach, 2021, p. 34). One such example is not necessarily a
particular character but rather a race of characters within the Mass Effect series (2007 –
present). The Asari are a mono-gender humanoid race of aliens who populate the many
worlds within the game. In the first Mass Effect (2007), Asari companion Liara T’Soni
mentions to the player character that “male and female have no real meaning for us”
noting that she herself “is not precisely a woman” (Loveridge, 2017). Despite looking
stereotypically female with breasts and feminine voices, the Asari can mate with any race
10

of any gender. Although present in North American games, ambiguity is a gender trope
most notable in Japanese games. One such example of this is the character of Poison, a
trans woman with differing gender interpretations in the original Japanese version and the
English version, from Capcom’s 1989 game Final Fight.

2.2. The Gaming Industry and Perceived Risks of
Representation
Video games are often targeted toward men with images of stereotypically
“masculine” interests: guns, breasts, war, etc., however, video games are also very
popular with children. Games like Crash Bandicoot (1996), Spyro the Dragon (1998),
Roblox (2006), Minecraft (2011), Super Mario Bros (1985), and Rayman (1995) are all
incredibly popular games and game series among children. These games are targeted at a
large, general audience that welcomes children to participate in their worlds. As such,
when it comes to children and video games, many parents are wary of the activity, not
wanting their children to be exposed to any kind of material that could potentially cause
their children to bring up the subject of sex in any regard (Shaw, 2009, p. 241). Backlash
is a very real fear for many developers and publishers as it can not only impact their
reputation, but their financial situation as well. As Shaw notes, even though cartoon
violence is considered more acceptable for children, any mention of sex can make a game
considered to be mature (Shaw, 2009, p. 241).

11

Many popular game series loved by children, such as Mario and Pokémon, were
created in Japan and had to be translated and adapted when brought overseas for North
American audiences. As such, games have to go through the process of localization,
which is the process in which video games are adjusted “technically, linguistically, and
culturally to a given market” so that they can be distributed to territories other than the
country they originated from (O’Hagan, 2015, p. 747). In regard to localization, this issue
of any mention of sexuality or gender identity being scrubbed to “spare the children” can
be seen in the localization of some games. For instance, Pokemon X and Y (2013)
contains a character named Nova, a woman who mentions her medical transition in the
Japanese version of the game, which was excluded in the
North America port — censoring her mention of transition
to a subtle nod to her having been in a different Karate level
that was exclusive to men in the past. Similarly, Vivian, a
trans character in Paper Mario (2004), was described as a
trans woman in the Japanese game but when ported to
English, she was made to be a cis woman. Beyond children,
Figure 2. Vivian from Paper Mario.
(Nintendo, 2000). Retrieved from
https://papermario.fandom.com/wiki/
Vivian

developers have the very real concern of the overall general
gaming audience.
The Constructed Audience

A common form of resistance by those who identified on the side of Gamergate
in the past was the argument that having more representation in games is nothing more
than pandering. In his research and survey conducted in 2016, Talbert found that some
respondents claimed that queer groups are “intentionally ruining games to force a
12

political agenda upon the gaming community” (p. 94) just as Gamergaters once felt about
the feminists fighting for better female representation in games in 2014. Interestingly,
Talbert found that participants who want queer representation and those who were against
it both expressed that they did not want queer characters forced into games simply for
filling some sort of representational quota (p. 96). People who are for queer
representation in games want the characters to be fleshed out and dynamic where their
gender identity or sexual orientation is just part of who they are, not their whole identity;
on the other side, those opposed to such representation feel that such diverse
characterizations will threaten creative freedom (Talbert, 2016, p. 96).
Due to the adult gamer audience having been culturally constructed as both
heterosexual and potentially homophobic, this can lead to fears for developers of
receiving backlash for including queer content (Shaw, 2009, p. 240). Furthermore,
advertisers are concerned that by approaching gay consumers, it may provoke
“retribution from Moral Majority boycotts” (Shaw, 2009, p. 240). In his interview with
Shaw, game designer Kevin Mack notes that one of the main reasons that queer content
engenders outright hostility is the Christian ‘family’ groups that can go after them for
including such content (Shaw, 2009, p. 24). As such, developers have to take their
audience into account and the possible financial impact it may have if a game were to fail
or undersell due to controversy or, in relation to queer representation, cause moral panic.

13

2.3. Indie Games and the Queer Experience
Independent games, or, “indie” games, have long existed within the gaming
world, however, they have become more prominent than ever within the last decade.
Indie games are often made by individuals or small teams without the typical financial
backing of large AAA gaming developers and are typically free (or cheap) to download.
Games like Minecraft (2011), Stardew Valley (2016), Fall Guys (2020), Rocket League
(2015), and Gary’s Mod (2006) all started off as small independently created games that
have now sold over 10 million copies each with Minecraft, in particular, becoming a
major part of the gaming community’s cultural zeitgeist, having sold over 200 million.
There is no denying that indie games have carved out their own respected space within
the gaming community for their innovations in storytelling and gameplay, however, indie
games have also paved the way for increased queer representation.
Within the last few years, queer indie games in particular have risen in popularity
amongst the larger gaming community. We can see the rise in queer indie games like
Celeste (2018), Hades (2020), Dream Daddy (2017), and Night in
the Woods (2017), all of which feature LGBTQ+ main characters
and all of which have received critical acclaim. Scholar and
professor Bonnie Ruberg considers queer indie games part of the
“queer games avant-garde”, which they define as a movement
where game makers are creating both digital and analog games
inspired by their own queer experiences (Ruberg, 2020, p. 1).
According to Ruberg, more than any other area of video game
development, this queer games avant-garde movement “has an
14

Figure 3. Madeline, the transgender
main protagonist of Celeste (Extremely
OK Games, 2018). Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline_
(Celeste)

overwhelming representation of women, non-binary people, and transgender people –
with notable presence of trans women” who create and contribute to these games
(Ruberg, 2020, p. 12). These games go against the grain of typical hegemonic play of
games, challenging the standard heterocentrism of AAA games. As Ruberg notes, video
games are more than an entertainment medium — they react to the society around them
just like all other forms of cultural production (Ruberg, 2020, p. 6). Video games are
“fundamentally political, as is the place of marginalized subjects within them” and offer
opportunities for resistance through storytelling and play (Ruberg & Philips, 2018). As
such, it is no coincidence that “the rise of the queer games avant-garde is taking place
alongside the rise of the alt-right” that was legitimized by a “president who [was]
unapologetic in his racist, sexist, anti-gay, anti-trans agenda.” (Ruberg, 2020, p. 6).
As Cole et al. (2017) speculated in their presentation at the Digital Games
Research Association, it is possible that the rising influence of independent game
developers and the increased access to game development tools may be significant factors
in the increase of games with more queer content (p. 3). The recent wave of “queer indie
game-makers” has pushed the medium “in important new directions, inspiring
marginalized creators of many identities” to create their own games and “encouraging
large-scale development companies” to make their games more inclusive in response
(Ruberg, 2019, p. 779). Rather than saying that queer indie games are paving the way for
a “better” future of LGBTQ+ individuals within the gaming medium “runs the risk of
instrumentalizing queer art in the name of mainstream change” (Ruberg, 2020, p. 28).
Instead, it may be more fitting to suggest that the power these queer indie games have is

15

not to necessarily make mainstream games more inclusive but instead that they can act to
destabilize the notion of a mainstream (Ruberg, 2020, p. 28).
What makes these queer indie games so popular is the authenticity of the queer
characters themselves. Unlike AAA games that often tend to tokenize queer characters,
indie games present these characters as more than their queer identity. These more
genuine forms of representation likely come from “having queer people write their own
stories, and incorporating their queerness in a multidimensional way”, unabashedly
including queer characters in their stories, and exploring “various other themes outside of
coming out and finding romance” (Spencer, 2021). When AAA gaming studies include
queer characters, many times those stories “are plagued by themes of queer pain” which
can be a double-edged sword (Spencer, 2021). Queer pain is a very real experience;
however, it is important to look at who is telling that story and for what purpose
(Spencer, 2021). Indie games that tend to explore queer pain do so in ways that don’t
come across as “cartoonish or heavy-handed”, allowing for the realities of queer people
to be explored with more nuance (Spencer, 2021).

16

Chapter 3.

Methods

Borrowing from Bonnie Ruberg and Adrienne Shaw’s queer games studies
theory, posited in their 2017 book Queer Game Studies, this paper will utilize both
quantitative and qualitative approaches in order to better understand both the current
gaming sphere and players’ opinions on queer representation. Queer game studies focuses
on the study of LGBTQ+ issues in relation to video games, often weaving queer theory
into the analysis of games, and providing a variety of approaches to take in analysis such
as “opportunities for non-normative play”, “queer readings of seemingly ‘straight’ video
games”, the “nuances of player-avatar identification”, and exploring game mechanics,
interfaces, and narratives (Ruberg & Philips, 2018). This framework is often used to
analyze the queerness of video games themselves through the application of queer theory,
however, it can also be used to analyze the actual representation of queer content and
representation within games.
Queer representation has grown within the last decade or so, and more queer
individuals are being included in games. With more queer representation in gaming, I
sought to explore how much the opinions of gamers have changed since Gamergate and if
it is related to the increase in inclusion. Paired with queer game studies, this research will
be conducted using an online survey that will be submitted on various gaming subreddits
(individual forums) on reddit.com. A qualitative netnographic framework will be used to
analyze online forums, news, blogs, and discussion boards.

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Survey
Firstly, an online survey was conducted consisting of both multiple choice and
short answer questions pertaining to queer representation in video games to gauge the
players’ opinions on queer representation in video games. This survey was distributed to
two subreddits on reddit.com: r/truegaming (which is dedicated to meaningful discussion
on all topics gaming) and r/samplesize (which is a dedicated place for individuals to post
their surveys and polls).
I first posted to r/samplesize and received over 475 responses over night; after
posting to r/truegaming, the survey reached 572 responses (although it is hard to say how
much of the over 100 responses after it went live on r/truegaming came from there and
not r/samplesize). The survey was up and open for responses for a total of two weeks.
After 12 days, there were very few responses coming in with only one response within
the last two days of it being up. Due to interest and engagement dying down, the survey
was closed at the two-week mark.
This survey was created using Google Forms as the platform provided useful pie
charts for questions and automatically aggregated all data into an excel sheet for easy
analysis. To provide flexibility and openness, all questions on the survey were optional
(except for participant information), meaning that certain questions could be skipped if
one so wished. Participants were anonymous with no identifying information necessary.
However, participants were asked their age (given in age brackets), gender identity,
sexual orientation, and country of origin — all of which are optional for participants to
answer. By asking for participant age, it may aid in understanding on how different age

18

demographics view queer representation; considering the high number of gamers opposed
to representation Gamergate in 2014, understanding participant age may help in assessing
what opinions and knowledge has stayed with them since. Obtaining information on
participant gender identity and sexual orientation will provide an understanding of
possible homophobia and/or transphobia, and potentially an understanding of how toxic
masculinity ideals may be subsiding or still continuing within the gaming community.
Lastly, obtaining information on participants’ country of origin will be useful in
understanding the potential differences in cultural beliefs. The choice of providing a “do
not wish to answer” option for each of these questions is to respect the comfort of some
respondents; some may not have come to terms with their gender or sexuality and thus
may not feel comfortable answering. As this research is being conducted surrounding
representation and inclusivity, a goal in this survey is to not exclude anyone under the
LGBTQ+ umbrella — including those who are questioning or unsure.

Netnography
Going hand-in-hand with the survey, a netnographic analysis of online forums
will be conducted to further examine other areas of the gaming sphere and their reception
of queer characters in AAA game titles. This method values a cultural approach to
“understanding what happens on the internet, and, particularly, what happens through
interactive media such as social media” (Kozinets, 2015). Moreover, a netnography
allows for the use of various search engines and websites to collect data to answer the
research question without the need to be focused on one particular website (Kozinets,

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2015). Articles and discussions from 2013 to 2015 during the height of Gamergate will
be looked at to see what the general consensus was surrounding representation at the time
and compared to more recent forums and websites such as Kotaku (a gaming news site),
GameSpot, and various gaming subreddits (r/thelastofus, r/thelastofus2,
r/subredditdrama, and r/truegaming). Kotaku and Gamespot were particularly chosen to
examine as both gaming websites have popular news sections and allow their users to
comment on articles. Similarly, Reddit was chosen as a main source of information for
this netnography as the website is one of the largest social platforms in the world. Two of
the particular subreddits chosen (r/thelastofus and r/thelastofus2) were done so as they
focus on a particular game series of interest to this research. The other gaming-focused
subreddit, r/truegaming, was chosen as the subreddit focuses on discussions surrounding
gaming and topics within gaming. Lastly, a particular thread on r/subredditdrama was
selected as it provided opinions of gamers outside of typical gaming subreddits (which,
any topic-focused forum can sometimes become an echo chamber) and communities.
During my analysis of online discussions surrounding queer content in video
games, I focused on two particular time periods: 2013-2015 and 2019-2022. I chose to
examine these two time periods for a few reasons. In 2014, queer inclusivity in gaming
was not as discussed in the gaming community as other forms of inclusion – however,
with the anti-SJW rhetoric that was so prevalent during this period, I wanted to examine
how gamers were discussing seemingly “SJW” topics. I wanted to compare and contrast
the opinions of gamers during this time with the current ones expressed online within
similar communities. The 2019-20222 time period was selected for analysis as this is the
most recent era of gaming; the initial plan was to examine 2019-2021, however, research

20

and writing moved into 2022 and I wanted to keep the timeline open in case any
interesting new discussions were to arise.
I largely focused on reddit posts and the comment sections under gaming news
stories on websites such as Kotaku and GameSpot. Gaming forums have continued to fall
off in terms of popularity within the last decade, and as such, it was easiest to find
discussions on these topics through reddit and news sites. Although searches were done
for general queer content through these websites, I aimed my focus on particular
instances of queer content in games from AAA developers that were more widely
discussed online. For information from 2013-2015, I largely looked at gamers’ reactions
to the inclusion of Dorian Pavus (a romanceable gay male companion) and Krem (a trans
man) in Dragon Age: Inquisition which came out at the height of Gamergate in 2014.
Dragon Age: Inquisition was chosen in particular as the game was created by a wellknown AAA developer, BioWare, and because the game included a cast of queer side
characters. Comments for analysis were selected as they either echoed many other
commenters in a more direct way or because they were outliers amongst the rest.
Dragon Age: Inquisition was the third installment of the Dragon Age series by
AAA developer BioWare, who, as a company, are often targeted by conservative gamers
for their more progressive approach in queer inclusion and representation. Although
Inquisition included another queer character, the lesbian elf Sera, and pansexual as well
as bisexual characters, it appears as though Dorian (a gay mage and person of colour) and
Krem (a white trans man) received the brunt of criticism from gamers online.

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For information from 2019-2022, I focused on Naughty Dog’s 2020 game The
Last of Us 2 and gamer’s reactions to Lev, a young trans boy, and Abby, a cis woman
who received intense vitriol from gamers for her masculine frame and muscles. The first
game in The Last of Us series was released in 2013, however, one of the main characters,
Ellie, and her identity as a lesbian was not known until the release of the 2014 DLC The
Last of Us: Left Behind which also caused upset from some conservative gamers. Most of
the netnographic research for this time period focuses on reddit as the website is one of
the biggest social media sites today and has become a sort of replacement for gaming
forums of the past with multiple subreddits dedicated to different games, genres, gaming
companies, and groups. As such, most research for this section analyzes r/thelastofus2
— a subreddit focused on the eponymous game — and r/subredditdrama and
r/truegaming to see how other gamers outside of The Last of Us 2 fandom react to queer
content and characters in games.

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Chapter 4.

Data / results
Netnography

2013 - 2015
In the 2014 Kotaku article “Bioware’s First Gay Male
Party Member Debuts in Dragon Age: Inquisition” by Mike
Fahey, commenters were rather split in their opinions on the
game’s gay companion, Dorian. Many expressed their
discomfort with having a queer male companion in their
squad. User rtkamb commented: “And another game I’m
going to have to pass on because I can’t agree with this. Stop
trying to force your gay propaganda on us. *sigh*”. In another
article on Dorian, this time written by Eddie Makuch for
GameSpot in 2014, entitled “Dragon Age: Inquisition’s
Dorian Character is ‘Legitimately Gay,’ Bioware Says”

Figure 4. Dorian Pavus from Dragon Age:
Inquisition (BioWare, 2014). Retrieved from
https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Dorian_Pavus

commenter tgwolf replies, “I knew there was a reason I didn’t like this game… C’mon
people, homosexuality is both unnatural and DISTURBING! What in the world…”
Another commenter under the same article, MihaiHornet, comments, “I don’t really give
a rat’s… ahem ass. A hot ‘Legitimately Lesbian’ on the other hand…” Comments under
Makuch’s (2014) article were mixed like previous articles with many commenters
expressing their displeasure with having a gay character in the game, stating that they
saw Dorian’s inclusion in the game as “pandering to SJWs”. On the flip side, however,
multiple other commenters on Makuch’s (2014) article expressed their support in

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Dorian’s creation and inclusion in the game as well as their interest in who he is as a
character. For example, user KainsDaughter commented,
…Though I have to say that I am amazed how many people are so amazingly
offended by Bioware including a romances for everyone, not just hetero males. I
am pointing this one out, since I have seen so many 'romances' or indicators in
games, that were clearly designed for hetero male gamers - as if nobody else
would play these games and I, as a female gamer, really didn't want to see or
couldn't care less about them - yet I had no alternative. Bioware is approaching
to serve everyone - and for crying out loud - if this romance option doesn't
interest you, just don't follow up on it. I am sure there's something that will float
your boat. So instead of complaining and bashing it, people should look forward
to what will interest them and for once accept, that this game is a bit less
discriminating than the majority of games and people.
Dragon Age: Inquisition also had another monumental queer inclusion in their
game — the transgender, tertiary character, Krem. Krem, a trans man, became a topic of
discussion on online news websites and Reddit upon the game’s release in 2014. With
Krem being a side character, however, little attention was given to him in the literature of
the game. One article which did look at this character was the 2014 Kotaku article
“BioWare Put A Lot Of Hard Work Into Dragon Age’s Trans Character” by Kirk
Hamilton. This article discussed how BioWare went about creating Krem by speaking
with individuals in the genderqueer community for feedback and critique in order to write

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a genuine and non-exploitative trans character.
Commenters were generally positive toward Krem’s
inclusion, praising BioWare for his characterization.
User DoraDoraBoBora comments, “Awesome. Way to
go Bioware. I’m sure seeing a character like this in
such a high profile game has got to feel pretty like a
pretty great step in the direction for trans players.”
Figure 5. Krem from Dragon Age: Inquisition
(BioWare, 2014). Retrieved from
https://whatculture.com/gaming/10-mostinfluential-lgbt-characters-in-videogames?page=5

Another commenter, Kyote37, expressed their pride
and appreciation in BioWare for Krem’s creation:

Awesome that they did this. Imagine growing up trans and having no heroes [to]
look up to and barely anyone to even explain to you why you feel as you do.
Before the internet, it must’ve been among the loneliest ways to live. And really,
how is having a trans person in a game ‘shoving it in your face’, guys? Really?
BEING trans is not the same as shoving your sexuality in someone’s faces.
Writing a trans character into the game as a well written character who happens
to be trans is how it should be done, so big kudos to Bioware.
One of the difficult tasks that comes with queer representation is the
misunderstandings, misreading, and misinterpretations of the characters by the audience.
On the subreddit for The Last of Us, r/thelastofus, user derridadaist posted a thread in
2014 entitled “The reaction to Ellie’s sexuality” in which they express their surprise at
many fans of the game who they felt were “trying to find ways to argue that Ellie might
actually not be gay.” Although not a huge post on the subreddit that gained a lot of
attention, derridadaist’s post received 146 comments and 75 upvotes (likes). Other users
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in the comments reinforce OP’s (the original poster of the thread) beliefs, finding ways to
skirt around admitting that Ellie is a lesbian, instead positing that Ellie and her friend
from the DLC that she shared a kiss with, Riley, were just: gay only for each other,
experimenting, or that they “couldn’t know/understand” their sexualities at their ages
(which was about 14 years old). However, some commenters do chime in to challenge
these opinions, noting that if Riley were a male character that Ellie had kissed, they
would not be questioning her sexuality as anything other than straight.

Figure 6. Civil conversation within the "Reaction to Ellie's sexuality" thread on r/thelastofus.

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Looking back at this discussion on reddit from 2014, the conversation seemed
quite civil when compared to the flurry of vitriol that erupted in 2020 with the release of
the game’s sequel, The Last Of Us 2. When we do shift to look at content from 20192022 — particularly when looking at The Last of Us 2 — the toxicity within the gaming
community began to run rampant with the sequel, making headlines.

2019 - 2022
It is important to note that The Last of Us is considered one of the greatest games
ever made (“List of video games considered the best”, 2020). As such, its fanbase is very
large (with the first game being the third best-selling PS3 games of all time) and many
were excitedly anticipating its sequel. When The Last of Us 2 was released in 2020, it
was met with praise and acclaim from professional critics and reviewers, receiving a
10/10 on IGN, a 93/100 on Metacritic, and an 8/10 on GameSpot, respectively. The
audience response, however, was abysmal. Gamers review-bombed the game (leaving
scathing reviews and low ratings en masse) on various websites, resulting in a very low
audience rating across the board. Many who went on to negatively review the game in
this collective review attack criticized the characters and the plot, whereas others
complained that the game was pandering to SJWs and their politics due to the inclusion
of queer characters like a young transgender boy, Lev. There are genuine criticisms of the
game to be made — and many do discuss them online — however, those were
overshadowed by the vocal subsect of gamers who felt the game had gone “too left”.

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Adding to online fanbase reviews were forums like reddit and the subreddit
r/TheLastOfUs2 which became a hotspot of criticism and vitriol upon the game’s release.
Instead of becoming a subreddit for those to engage in genuine criticism, discussions on
the game and plot, tips and tricks, funny memes, etc. like many other game-focused
subreddits, it became a place for people to gather, spread hate, and blame SJW’s for how
the whole game was constructed. Certain users in the community even went on to harass
a youtuber, Girlfriend Reviews, for her positive review of the game. One user of the
subreddit claimed to have received death threats from Girlfriend Reviews for leaving a
negative comment on her video only to be exposed as posing as her in attempt to destroy
her reputation.
One of the side characters in The Last of Us 2, Lev, is a young transgender boy.
Although many would be quick to assume Lev as the main target of attack by toxic
gamers due to his transgender identity, most users on the r/TheLastOfUs2 subreddit seem
to be neutral towards his inclusion whilst also having legitimate criticisms of his
character. However, this was not the case upon Lev’s initial announcement. A day before
the game’s release, user lcne321 created a post on r/TheLastOfUs2 subreddit entitled
“Turns out lev is a chick with gender identity issues and the reason she ran away from her
community is because she shaved her head to look like a boy, and they wanted her to be a
wife to one of the elders.” The thread, its title, and the commenters, are full of people
misgendering Lev.

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The subreddit, and many gamers who played the game, particularly targeted one
character in particular: Abby. When Abby (the antagonist turned protagonist) was first
revealed to the public before the game’s release, many accused her of being trans due to
her muscular body. Even after it was later clarified that she was not trans, some people
still touted her as trans simply to mock her. This is interesting as the actual trans
character in the game, Lev, was not on the receiving end of transphobic hate as much as
Abby, a cisgender woman.

Figure 7. Abby (left) and Lev (right) from The Last of Us 2 (Naughty Dog, 2020). Retrieved from
https://gamerant.com/the-last-of-us-3-abby-lev-story-continue/

In a post on r/TheLastOfUs2 made in 2020, user AsheFromTheMoon created a
thread entitled “Can we please stop calling Abby Trans?” in which they state that since
everyone knows she’s not trans, they should stop referring to her as such. Commenters
disagreed. User ay3j responds, “little too buff to be a woman altogether tho.” The OP
replies stating that women can get that buff, however, ay3j opposes that idea, saying,
“woman can be that buffed, only with steroids…. Not to mention when you inject that

29

much testosterone to get THAT buffed, you’re basically a man.” Commenters seemed to
side with ay3j with their first response earning 9 upvotes and their second receiving 8.
The OP’s had been downvoted to 0. Another commenter, RyanTiu209 responds to the
same post: “At this point we are only calling her trans for satire and humor. Really shows
how little we care and respect her character even tho we haven’t given her a chance.”
They received 18 upvotes — the same amount as the actual thread itself. It appears that
despite the strides that have been made to progress trans character acceptance in AAA
video games within the last decade, there are still those who feel emboldened enough to
use the term “transgender” as an insult or as synonymous with not deserving respect.
Other gaming-focused subreddits, such as r/truegaming, have become the
modern-day equivalent to the gaming forums of the 90s in which the community can get
together to discuss more nuanced topics within gaming. In one thread posted by
u/gamefreac in 2019 entitled “how do you feel about LGBT representation in video
games?”, u/Manofchalk responds noting that although they are not an LGBT person
themselves and therefore cannot attest as to whether the representation is good, they reply
to the post saying,
…I will say a problematic aspect is that games put uneven prominence on lesbian
relationships when compared to gay male relationships, it’s the ‘safe’ way to
represent homosexuality as straight guys, the dominant audience, aren’t exactly
going to complain if girls kiss compared to if two dudes kiss. Which is its own
issue that’s more about the straight people than the gay people, but games do this
to a lesser degree than other mediums so they get some credit.

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In a 2020 thread on r/SubredditDrama (in which redditors gathered to discuss
drama taking place in various subreddits) discussing how r/PCGaming reacted to Steam,
a digital game distribution service, hosting a platform-wide sale that promoted games
made by queer creators and/or included queer characters. In this thread, users discuss the
ethics of queer pandering. One redditor, whose account has since been deleted, comments
To the people in the threat pointing out how large corps use pride as a sort of
marketing event: you’re right, but I’d rather be seen as a marketable
demographic than shunned from wider society. I’ll take steam pride sales over the
anti-gay culture of the 80s, 90s, and 00s any day.
Other comments in the r/SubredditDrama thread tear apart commenters in the
original thread on r/PCGaming who were complaining about queer games getting a
spotlight on Steam when “straight games” weren’t. User Dain42 quotes a commenter
from the r/PCGaming thread who said, “There aren’t really a lot of games where being
straight is prominently featured” and responds, saying:
That’s a real galaxy-brain take, there, what with all the hetero couples,
relationships, romantic tension, and such that sooooooo many games are just
filled with. Of course, I’m sure those don’t count as straightness being
“prominently featured” for reasons. When will these dipshits get it through their
heads that the reason that, while tokenized queer representation definitely
happens, as the player, they often play a big role in tokenizing queer characters
by becoming focus on and distracted by the character’s difference, thus ignoring
other characterization efforts.

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Survey
Of the 572 survey respondents, most were under 32 years of age. 38.5% reported
being aged 21-26, 28% were aged 15-20, and 22% were aged 27-32. In regard to
respondents’ continent of residence, 57.9% reported living in North America, 30.8% in
Europe, and 4.9% in Australia. The majority of respondents were male, followed by
female, and then non-binary individuals. 79.7% identified as cisgender, whereas 13.6%
identified as transgender; another 6.6% did not wish to answer (see Figure 9).

Figure 8. Survey Respondents Gender Identity Demographics

The three most prominent sexual orientations were reported as: straight (47.4%),
bisexual (21.9%), and asexual (those who experience little to no sexual attraction) (8.4%)
(see Figure 10). Interestingly, the next most reported sexual orientation was pansexual
(the attraction to people regardless of sex or gender) (6.8%) which was then followed by
gay (5.1%) and lesbian (4.7%). Although straight and bisexual were expected to make the
top three reported sexual orientations, asexuality was not as it is rarely represented or
discussed in media; similarly, pansexuality was not expected to be fourth place as the
orientation is rather new in terms of its labelling and name. This could be because

32

bisexuality and pansexuality are relatively similar in that they both are attracted to men
and women, however, pansexuality is considered a more open and inclusive orientation
than bisexuality as it includes attraction to non-binary and other gender individuals. This
is not to say that bisexuality excludes non-binary and other gender identities, however,
the prefix of “bi” implies two — two binary genders. As such, we have seen more and
more people over the last few years move toward the label of pansexuality in its place.
For example, major celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, Demi Lovato, and
Bella Thorne, have all come out as pansexual, bringing more awareness to the sexuality
itself.

Figure 9. Survey Respondents Sexual Orientation Demographics

Despite a large majority of respondents identifying as straight, 67.2% of
respondents answered yes to the question “Have you ever intentionally pursued an
optional queer romance in a video game?” It is unknown whether these optional queer
romances took place between two male or two female characters, however, the fact that

33

even straight audiences intentionally opt to select queer romances is of particular interest.
This indicates that it is not only queer audiences who are interested in engaging in and
with queer romances, suggesting that the marketability of queerness extends beyond its
own community.
When asked if those who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community feel their
identity is accurately represented in video games, nearly all answers were a resounding
no. This question received a total of 239 responses, many of which were long paragraphs
in which respondents expressed their disappointment in either the lack of representation
in general or just poor representation overall. Those who identified as part of the
community interspliced their thoughts and opinions on representation throughout the
survey in other short-answer questions. Most common gripes noted were the lack of
asexual and non-binary representation, the fetishization of lesbian/queer female
relationships, and the misrepresentation of bisexuality.
Participant 123, who identified themselves as asexual, notes that:
In the subject of the nuances of asexuality, there is much work that could be done
(but I get that media doesn't want to be Intro to Queers 101), such as that asexual
=/= aromantic, asexuals can have/enjoy sex/libido, they often still fall in love, can
have kids yadda yadda yadda. We're not all sex-averse, prudes or innocence
wholesome sweeties (or heaven forbid incels???) Not to mention lots of messages
in media are pretty allo/amatonormative (i.e. Sex is always good and the best
show of love, everyone wants sex/sexual stuff, or for romanticism, that romantic
relationships are inherently the most important or necessary for fulfilment, or that

34

(romantic) love is the answer to many problems (and that this romantic love is
only valid if it's also sexual).
When considering how many respondents identified themselves as asexual, it is
interesting to note the lack of asexual representation in video games. The only explicitly
asexual character from a AAA game within the last 5 years is Parvarti Holcomb, a
biromantic asexual (romantically attracted to both men and women but experiences little
to no sexual desire for them) companion, from Obsidian Entertainment’s 2020 game The
Outer Worlds. Although The Outer Worlds is a AAA game and Parvati’s inclusion was a
big deal in queer gaming spaces, she received few mentions in the survey. So little, in
fact, that only five individuals mentioned the game and only one mentioned her by name.
Overall, many asexual identifying respondents felt as though their sexual orientation’s
representation was lacking, with Participant 274 noting that they “can’t name a single
explicitly [asexual] character in games and I play a lot of them, so…”
In discussing how female relationships are often fetishized or sexualized in games
to pander to male audiences, Participant 34, a bisexual female, noted:
Biased representation is worse than no representation imo [in my opinion], and
that’s all we have. Like, lesbians are okay because they’re basically pandering to
the kinds of disgusting straight guys that fetishize it, but gay men are not allowed
to exist. Titles with lesbian romance like LiS [Life is Strange] are a hit, but name
one AAA title with a even major supporting male character who’s gay?

35

Participant 449 expands upon this, explaining that bisexual women and lesbian
characters are not unusual, however, their representation is hyper-sexualized especially
when compared to the small number or bisexual men in video games.
I feel like currently queer representation is, by and large, lesbians, bisexual
women with raging nymphomania, or bisexual men who don't ever actually act
that way towards men but it's there to make them look exotic. They can do better
than this, by far.
There is a notable lack of bisexual male characters in video games — particularly
in AAA games. One of the few notable explicitly bisexual men from a video game within
the last 10 years is Trevor Philips from Grand Theft Auto V (2013), who is notable for
being considered one of the most controversial characters is video game history (“Trevor
Philips”, 2022). Trevor, as a character, is known for his outlandish and over-the-top
personality; although he does show care for those close to him, he is violent and
aggressive — both physically and sexually (at one point claiming to have raped men in
prison). The Grand Theft Auto series has always been heavy with satire, and this game is
no different. However, despite this, it is still worth acknowledging the most prominent
portrayal of an explicitly bisexual man from the last 10 years is one who is sexually
aggressive and violent.
Other respondents, such as Participant 346, express discomfort with how bisexual
characters are portrayed, saying, “Bisexuality still has this stigma of being either ‘easy’
or unfaithful. Not only in video games, mind, but media in general.” Another respondent,

36

Participant 152, brings up the point that bisexuality is decently represented in numbers,
however, the approach to representation leaves much to be desired.
…games tend to follow the trend of "bisexuality doesn't exist" or "we will say this
character is bisexual but they just happen to always be in a hetero relationship
and they never indicate any same sex attraction or mention it... except when it's
convenient for the company developing the game to show how inclusive and rad
and progressive they are!”
Throughout the survey, many respondents note that indie games tend to have
better, more fair, and respectful representation of queer identities than AAA games.
Participants acknowledge the difference not only in the amount of diversity, but in variety
as well, with Participant 564 explaining that, “Indie games have a plethora of diversity,
modern mainstream games still struggle with representation beyond muscular white men
and overly sexualized white women.” Many who comment on indie games having better
representation typically tended to mention that they play indie games more than AAA
games as well.
I do think representation is much better now than it has been but I also think that
as a queer person I consciously and subconsciously seek out games with queer
characters. I play more indie than AAA games and I think if it was the other way
around I would have a much more negative view of the current state of
representation. (Participant 59)

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Most respondents wished for more queer representation in video games (see
Figure 11). Those who responded “yes” or “neutral” tended to express the desire to see
more queer representation but they wanted to see it done well. Many respondents seemed
to agree that they want to see more queer representation, however, they did not want that
representation to be just to meet a “diversity quota” of sorts; they want to see real
characters who happen to be queer – not a queer character who only exists to be queer.

Figure 10. Survey Respondents and their desire for more queer representation in gaming.

Although the vast majority of responses were respectful and thoughtful, there
were a small handful of respondents who were vocal in their distaste for queer
representation. Take, for instance, Participant 227, a straight cisgendered male aged 45 –
50, who expressed negative opinions on every written question. When asked “Do you
wish to see more queer representation in video games?”, they answered no and followed
up in the next question that asked them to explain the answer, saying, “Faggots and
trannies are disgusting degenerates. I want a break from that.” In another follow up to the
question “How do you feel about the current state of queer character representation in
video games?”, they replied, “I don’t know what you mean by negative/positive in this
38

case. Any representation is a negative. If they are represented, they should be enemies
that suffer and die in agony.” It is clear that from answers such as these, no matter how
“well-done” or subtle queer representation is, there will be individuals who oppose and
disapprove of it.
The final question on the survey asked participants to name any characters or
games that they are aware of that have transgender or non-binary characters. Out of the
total 572 participants, 372 responded to this particular question. Although AAA games
were the most referenced, interestingly, the game with the most mentions was the 2018
indie game Celeste (see Table A), and the most mentioned character was that game’s
main protagonist, a young transgender girl named Madeline. Other more well-known
indie games made the list such as Undertale (2015) and Deltarune (2018) (which were
created by the same developer), as well as Hades (which won various game of the year
awards from different media outlets in 2020).

39

Game Name

Game Mentions Character Name Character Mentions Game Type

Celeste

70

Madeline

44

Indie

The Last of Us 2

37

Lev

20

AAA

Dragon Age: Inquisition

37

Krem

17

AAA

Cyberpunk 2077

34

Claire

8

AAA

Undertale

33

Frisk

19

Indie

Mario (series)

28

Birdo

21

AAA

Mario (series)

28

Vivian

10

AAA

Apex Legends

25

Bloodhound

24

AAA

Tell Me Why

22

Tyler

12

AAA

Deltarune

21

Kris

18

Indie

Hades

17

Chaos

11

Indie

Borderlands 3

10

FL4K

10

AAA

Rainbow Six Siege

10

Osa

9

AAA

Dream Daddy

8

Damien

5

Indie

Table A. The most mentioned games (and their respective non-binary and/or trans characters) by survey
respondents.

40

Chapter 5.

Discussion

5.1. Playersexuality and the Choice to See “the Gay”
I didn’t know I felt this way about other girls… until I met you.
(Abigail, Stardew Valley [Concerned Ape, 2016])

One of the many ways that the gaming industry has approached queer inclusion is
through the implementation of ‘playersexuality’. Playersexuality is used to “describe
romances within games where all romanceable characters will be interested in the playercharacter, regardless of their gender” and has become a common form of inclusion in
gaming within the last 10 years (Cole, 2018, p.10). For instance, a character will be
romantically interested in the player character regardless of whether player character is
male or female. Playersexuality simultaneously includes, yet also erases, bisexuality as it
allows the player to pursue queer relationships, however, the romanceable characters
themselves do not self-identify with any particular sexuality. The character isn’t bisexual,
gay, or straight – they aren’t sexually attracted to any particular, or all, genders — they’re
playersexual.
Some respondents in the survey explicitly mention playersexuality and their
mixed feelings on it. A few expressed how it minimized bisexuality whereas others felt as
though it was a double-edged sword in that it allows players to represent their sexuality
by pursuing who they wish yet it also makes the representation feel relatively hollow.
This representation comes across as hollow because it doesn’t fully commit to

41

bisexuality; it makes it so that the romantic interest is either gay or straight for your
character depending on the player character’s gender. This erases the character’s
bisexuality as the player won’t see the potential of the character as bisexual because their
backstory is ‘blank’. Although for some, polysexuality might be progressive in that it lets
players enter same-gender relationships, it also allows for homophobes to go the entirety
of the game without ever encountering a queer individual (Tierney, 2020); as
homophobes wouldn’t intentionally attempt to seek out queer romances with characters,
they would never know that the character could be queer — let alone queer for their
character. Participant 317, who identifies themselves as a non-binary lesbian expressed,
“I feel like most of the LGBT rep these days is in the form of playersexual NPCs (nonplayer character), which isn't a bad thing but I'd rather have explicitly lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender characters, you know?” Participant 75, who identifies as a
bisexual female, felt that playersexuality can act as a form of erasure:
While there are increasing amounts of games, especially among indie developers,
with queer representation, it is still often sidelined or sequestered to optional side
quests or, often at best, "playersexual" romantic options that erase bisexual
characters or minimize the significance of queer identity. Having more characters
with explicit queer sexualities helps to expand what people think queerness can
be, for both queer and non-queer people.
Playersexuality is reminiscent of “the gay button”, a mechanic that gives players
the option to either see or avoid queer content in video games (Adams, 2015, p. 43). Like
playersexuality, “the gay button” requires the players to take the initiative to interact with
the button in order to see the queer content; any player who is unaware of or does not
42

engage with the button will then continue to “consume heteronormative dominated texts”
(Shaw, 2013, as cited in Adams, 2015). In essence, both playersexuality and “the gay
button” place the burden of representation and diversity onto the player.
There has not been much research on the concept of playersexuality as both the
term and the mechanic are rather new to gaming, having slowly gained popularity over
the last 10 to 15 years or so. Most writing on the topic comes from gaming websites,
gaming forums, and blogs; any mention of playersexuality in academic writing is
typically a sentence or two in passing. The nuances of playersexuality should be
examined further and expanded upon in future research and academic writing as the
mechanic has becoming increasingly popular in video games.

5.2. The Fetishization of Queer Women
"You and Lonnie are just GOOD FRIENDS," "you just haven't met the right
BOY..." "It's a PHASE." That's what I didn't see coming. That they wouldn't even respect
me enough... to BELIEVE me. Well. Joke's on them. Because they are in for one VERY
long phase.
(Samantha, Gone Home [The Fullbright Company, 2013])

Stereotypes of queer men have long existed in media and have often been the
object of ridicule or mockery; the portrayal of queer women, however, is a bit different.
Although stereotypes of queer women do exist, there isn’t necessarily as much of a
common thread in stereotypical signifiers for queer women in media as there is for queer
men. In many video games, queer women tend to be more often represented through their
43

relationships with other women — possibly as a form of fetishization. As video games
are typically considered an activity for straight, cisgendered men by not only marketers
and developers but by general North American society, it is possible that the idea of
seeing two women together is likely much more palatable and interesting than two men.
As Dym (2019) notes,
Queer love becomes secondary to the experiences of the heterosexual male
gamer, with the sexuality of women more malleable solely for the purpose of
titillating the straight male player, and the queerness of men all but erased from
the games. (p. 31)
Furthermore, it appears as though the idea of queer women being more
marketable to the wider gaming audience is something that gamers have picked up on as
well. As Participant 464 states,
I also suspect that lesbian characters are more common than gay male characters
- I don't know if this is because companies think a lesbian would be more socially
acceptable or marketable, or if it's due to development teams being predominantly
male and lesbian characters seeming more acceptable to the developers.
In a heterosexual male dominated area such as gaming, it seems to be less
controversial for a game to advertise two sexy queer women with each other than two
sexy queer men. As such, queer female relationships are typically highlighted more in
video games and in their advertising. In 2001, Kronos Digital Entertainment released
Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix, a sequel its predecessor released a year earlier, Fear Effect.
Both game’s main protagonist, Hana Tsu-Vachel, is a bisexual woman. In the first game,
44

her love interest is a male mercenary; in
the second game, her love interest is her
friend, Rain Qin. Prior to Fear Effect 2’s
release, Hana and Rain’s relationship was
heavily advertised with the two often in
sexually suggestive situations or poses
together (see Figure 12). Interestingly,
however, although the game advertised the
two characters in such sexually suggestive
Figure 11. Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix's protagonist, Hana (bottom), and
her partner, Rain (top) in an advertisement for the game. (Kronos Digital
Entertainment, 2001). Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hana_Tsu-Vachel

ways, the game contained only one scene
that matched the sexualized advertising of

the two women. In the scene, the Hana and Rain undress and embrace specifically to
distract male guards who were watching them on a security camera (“Hana Tsu-Vachel”,
2021). Furthering the idea that men tend to fetishize female relationships, this scene
showcases presumed straight men (the guards) ogling the sexual relationship of two
women.
As mentioned by Participant 300, “sapphic relationships feel fetishized or follow
heteronormative ideas” with the two women in the relationship often fitting the
stereotypical gendered ideals of beauty. Participant 364 echoes this idea, explaining,
“most of the time lesbians in video games are only used to appeal to male fantasies and
not to actual sapphic women.” In the case of Fear Effect 2, Hana is a traditionally
beautiful half-Asian woman (which may potentially tie to another form of fetishization as
Asian women typically tend to be sexualized in western media as well [see Matsumoto,

45

2020 and “Orientalism”, 2022]) with larger breasts and fit body, and her partner, Rain, is
a similarly fit and beautiful white blonde woman.
More often than not, in media, when a beautiful woman is attracted to other
women, her and her relationships are presented as highly sexualized in nature (as
discussed by Annati & Ramsey, 2022). On the other side, however, when a queer woman
is considered unattractive by societal norms, the character is sometimes portrayed as
predatory, evil, or grotesque – potentially all three. Take for instance the character of Jo
Slade, a minor boss, from Capcom’s 2006 game, Dead Rising. Jo’s character is
overweight and somewhat butch in presentation with her deeper voice and sexually
aggressive attitude. In the game, Jo captures four women with the intent to sexually
assault them; it is further implied that she captures and kills others who attempt to save
the women.
Women, in general, have had a tumultuous relationship with representation in
AAA video games – that was the main thing feminist scholars were fighting for during
Gamergate in 2014, after all. Considering how sexualized women have been in games, it
is, unfortunately, no surprise that queer women are further fetishized for presumably
straight men to ogle at. Participant 52 noted that the only time they feel their identity is
fairly or accurately represented in games are “only in games made by queer creators.
Otherwise I am usually tokenized, fetishized, or erased.”

46

5.3. Breaking the Binaries: Non-Binary and Transgender
Representation

Male… Female… What’s the difference? Power is beautiful, and I’ve got
power!
(Flea, Chrono Trigger [Square, 1995])

It is possible that the recent increase in more respectful approaches to transgender
and non-binary characters is due to the popularity of indie games, many of which are
created by queer individuals who have an understanding of queer perspective and nuance.
Although trans representation is beginning to improve in its presentation — particularly
in indie games — there is still work to be done. Homophobia and transphobia still exist
within the gaming community and this can understandably be difficult for AAA
developers to maneuver around. As we saw with Abby from The Last of Us 2, not even
cisgendered characters who don’t fit typical gendered beauty standards are safe from
transphobic rhetoric. When examining games of the past, as exemplified earlier with
Shablee from Leisure Suit Larry and Alfred Ashford from Resident Evil: Code Veronica,
trans characters in video games have often been characterized using harmful stereotypes.
As Participant 109 noted in the survey,
Either a trans woman in a game is a caricature that [perpetuates] harmful
stereotypes or is a normal person living [their] lives. I feel like there is rarely an
in-between and I never see a game handle the struggles of being trans except in
very rare cases.

47

Krem from Dragon Age: Inquisition was a wonderful step in the right direction,
however, there were still a few missteps with the character. For one, Krem was voiced by
a cisgendered woman. According to BioWare writer Patrick Weekes, Krem’s voice actor,
Jennifer Hale, did attempt to masculinize her voice, developing the voice for the
character “in a world without access to transitional procedures” (Brown, 2014). In a way,
this is a thoughtful approach, however, it is still worth acknowledging that having a
cisgender actor/voice actor portray a trans person does indeed muddle up the authenticity
of the representation.
Another survey respondent, Participant 117, noted the lack of non-binary
representation in video games, saying,
Well, I have very rarely if ever seen a canonically nonbinary character in a main
stream video game. If they are, it is usually left vague or unclear or they are a
robot or alien instead of a nonbinary human.
This quote is of particular note as this is the case for many games; non-binary
characters in video games are often portrayed as non-human, typically being represented
as robots (like FL4k from Borderlands 3) or as aliens (like Liara and the Asari race from
the Mass Effect series). As non-binary identities fall out of the typical binary “normal”
gender identities, it’s not hard to understand why some would portray non-binary
characters as non-human. For many, it is hard to understand how an individual does not
“fit in” or identify with either of the “normal” binary gender identities (those being male
and female), and thus, it is easier to make them something “foreign” – something alien. It
is easier for someone to understand an alien from an alien world with a different, unusual

48

culture to be portrayed as neither male or
female than it is to see a human who doesn’t
fit into the gendered binary our society has
established. However, this representation of
non-binary individuals as aliens or robots
erases their humanity – they are not often
being portrayed as humans, after all.
Although non-binary characters are
particularly rare in video games, non-binary
(human) representation seems to be
Figure 12. Bloodhound from Apex Legends
(Respawn Entertainment, 2019). Retrieved from
https://apex-legendsuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Bloodhound

improving, increasing in numbers as seen in
characters such as Frisk from Undertale

(2015), Kris from Deltarune (2018), and Bloodhound from Apex Legends (2019), all of
whom were mentioned by numerous survey participants.
One of the many ways in which players tend to identify with their characters more
personally is through character creation (which, although not in every game, is a common
addition in games – particularly in role playing games [RPGs]). Furthermore, in giving
players the ability to create their characters (especially with more flexible appearance
modification systems), it allows for those who otherwise do not/have not felt represented
to see themselves or someone like them in their game. As Participant 223, a trans woman,
noted, “… the only way I [can] see myself represented [is] in Sims 4.”
The Sims series has had a significant impact not only in the general gaming
industry but also in queer representation in video games. In 1999, game developer Maxis
49

released a trailer for their upcoming life simulation game, The Sims, which included a gay
couple kissing. Initially, the inclusion of queer couples was an accident; same-sex
couples were initially cut from the game, however, were accidentally re-added due to an
old design document being worked off of. Despite same-sex couples being initially an
accidental inclusion, Maxis ran with it and have continued to be at the forefront of queer
inclusion in simulation games. In 2014, the fourth installment of the series, appropriately
titled The Sims 4, received an update that allowed users to dictate their sim’s (their
character’s) physical frame (masculine/feminine), clothing preference
(masculine/feminine), pregnancy abilities (can get pregnant/can get others pregnant), and
toilet usage (standing up/sitting down). This allowed players to create characters of
varying identities – a female sim with a masculine frame who prefers feminine clothing,
pees standing up, and can get others pregnant, for example. These distinct customizable
options give players the chance to create whomever, however they want. Furthermore, in
2022, Maxis announced a new update that would allow for players to customize their
sim’s pronouns.

50

5.4. Toxic Gaming Culture, SJWs, and the Far-Right
I was mainly unaware [of Gamergate] at 15 years old, but now am well versed in how
disgustingly sexist it was. I'm very political now, so it's interesting to see its connection to
the more general alt right pipeline on the internet.
(Participant 438)

One of the questions in the survey asked participants whether they knew of
Gamergate and if their opinions had changed since. 61.1% of respondents indicated that
they were aware of Gamergate and 300 individuals responded to the short answer follow
up question. Most responses were divided into one of two sides: those who knew about
Gamergate and disagreed with it then just as they do now, and those who knew about it
and were on the side of Gamergate at the time but whose opinions have now changed in
favour of progressivism. As Participant 449 explains,
…until 2018ish I was pretty swept up by the online far-right / alt-right movements
and considered anything left-wing to basically be worthy of mockery and derision.
I was a lonely kid who found kinship online with these people and after branching
out, meeting those I considered 'enemy', I've come to realise that... no they aren't
the demon, they aren't evil, they're just other people trying to live their life and
their existence is no threat to me at all. That was a long way of saying that my
entire worldview has changed since then and my views on representation in
gaming with it, yes; I'm now fully supportive so long as it's proper representation.
Participant 415 echoes their sentiment, saying,

51

In 2014 I was unfortunately sucked down the alt-right pipeline so I viewed
feminism as bad. When Gamergate happened, I was led to believe that it was just
women overreacting and being sensitive. Since then, I see how the women of
Gamergate were harassed endlessly and were treated incredibly unfairly.
In 2014 when Gamergate took place, President Barack Obama was nearing the
end of his second term in office and was soon to be replaced by the conservative and farright thinking President Donald Trump in 2017. Although Gamergate was an intense
period in gaming history and public conversations on representation were strained, a
different, more vitriolic kind of hatred came to the forefront upon Donald Trump’s
election. This kind of hate existed before Trump’s inauguration, however, his election
seemed to legitimize it, giving a platform and the “okay” to take it to the next level.
Many believed that Trump fanned the flames of far-right thinkers, encouraging and
legitimizing their opinions and beliefs, emboldening them to fight back against
progressivism yet again. Although the focus was not directly on video games, the impact
of the far-right seemingly having their opinions validated by then President Trump set a
precedent that could have given his voters confidence to attack any progressivism Obama
had attempted to establish.
We can see this attack on progressivism in the response to The Last of Us 2
discussion of the netnography and the immense amount of hate the game received from
gamers. There were legitimate critiques to make against the game, just like with any other
game, however, these individuals took it a step further, grabbing at any other straw they
could to attack the game – including the queer female protagonist (Ellie), a young trans
character (Lev), and a muscular cisgender woman whom they attacked with transphobic
52

slurs (Abby). Furthermore, Abby’s voice actress, Laura Bailey – who had previously
been a respected voice actor in gaming – became the target of intense death threats.
Common themes prevalent in both time periods examined in the netnography
were ideas of “wokeness”, SJW’s and the ever-so commonly complained about “gay
agenda” — all three of which tend to be interchangeable in some way, shape, or form by
many conservative gamers as they have become rather synonymous with more leftist and
progressive social views. These topics tend to be common discourse amongst most
conservative minded people in the gaming community who are against progressive and
liberal ideas to varying degrees. These themes still exist in discussions today, however, at
varying degrees depending on the online space. Most online spaces that discuss LGBTQ+
related issues as they connect to video games tend to be more open minded and
supportive of queer representation than in the past. However, certain more focused online
areas — such as r/thelastofus2, for example — can act as a breeding ground for toxicity
as they can act as an echo-chamber for likeminded individuals. Anti-woke sentiments are,
overall, relatively unpopular among younger generations and it appears as though those
who tout anti-SJW rhetoric tend to find their own niche spots to speak their minds
without pushback as those who don’t share their views may not visit the same spaces.
That is not to say that these echo-chambers do not exist in their own ways on other, more
liberal and progressive spaces, however.
Although there is still a rather vocal subsect of the gaming community that is in
opposition to representation, the general consensus of gamers from the survey seems to
be skewed more positively and thoughtfully regarding queer representation. It appears as
though commenters on a variety of places online tend to be more aware of what
53

constitutes as “good” vs. “bad” representation — that is, shoehorned and/or stereotypical
portrayals vs. nuanced characterizations — and how the industry handles it. Many
respondents in the survey mentioned that they wish to see proper queer representation
and not just representation for the sake of meeting a diversity quota for the game. Over
all, it appears from both the netnographic research and the survey that most gamers tend
to be more open minded and interested in seeing quality queer representation in games;
although there is still those in the gaming community who oppose such representation in
an aggressive manner, such opinions seem to be less popular and accepted by other
gamers.

54

Chapter 6.

Limitations

Finding a place to post the survey was one of the first hurdles encountered in this
research. Originally, the goal was to post the survey to two specific gaming subreddits:
r/gaming and r/games, however, neither place allows for surveys to be posted due to
“frequent misuse and other concerns”. In each of these subreddits community rules page,
r/samplesize was recommended as the place to post surveys instead. Before posting to
r/samplesize, I searched for any other gaming-focused subreddit that I could post the
survey to, however, very few allowed it. The ones that did allow it required approval
from the subreddit moderators in order to post. I stumbled upon r/truegaming in my
search for subreddits and it immediately piqued my interest as a place to post due to it
being a place for meaningful discussions surrounding video games. I messaged the
moderators explaining the situation and my research and received a response two days
later. Their response reiterated their rules and warned me to guard my expectations
considering video game discussion areas are prone to trolling, noting that their subreddit
is no exception and after some back and forth with each other, they allowed me to post.
Interestingly, r/samplesize provided me with more responses than r/truegaming. I further
sought out other dedicated online gaming forum websites (such as Giantbomb, Neogaf,
and VGR) however, the audience populations were considerably smaller and less active
than the ones on reddit and their rules regarding surveys were very restrictive as well.
As many gaming communities had strict rules regarding the posting of surveys,
r/samplesize was the next best space I could find to post. Although the survey explicitly
indicated that it was targeted toward gamers (in both the post title and post body), it is

55

possible that some respondents were not gamers and took the survey out of interest and/or
curiosity. Furthermore, the sample size for the survey was considerably small compared
to how many gamers there are in the world.
Another limitation to this study was time. Given more time, additional research
and in-depth discussion pertaining to certain topics could have been completed;
moreover, other topics (such as asexuality, for example) could have been given more
attention in discussion.
The sexualization of queer women in video games is something that should be
examined in further research. The fetishization of female relationships has been analyzed
in regard to other media forms such as film, however, there is little academic research on
the topic as it pertains to video games. Considering how large of an entertainment
medium video games are, further analysis of the portrayals and fetishization of queer
women in games should continue to be investigated. Furthermore, research regarding
queer representation in video games should examine the intersectionality of queer
characters of colour and how they are portrayed. Shaw et al.’s 2019 study, Counting
Queerness in Games, did discuss the instances of queer characters of colour, however, the
portrayal of those characters were not specifically analyzed.

56

Chapter 7.

Conclusion

Since Gamergate, the opinions of gamers in the general gaming community seem
to have become more obviously and clearly split — the grey area of opinion isn’t as grey
as it once was. People typically tend to be for or against queer representation with both
sides tending to be more staunch than before. Opinions are a bit more divided than they
once were as the topic of queer representation wasn’t the main focus of Gamergate at the
time it took place. Gamers appear to lean more toward pro-representation, however, there
are still others who disapprove or disagree with it. It also appears that more gamers seem
to be increasingly open and welcoming to the inclusion of queer characters regardless of
the gamer’s own sexual orientation. Furthermore, it seems as though developers and
publishers in the gaming industry have put further effort into creating more complex and
respectful portrayals of queer characters within the last decade in particular. This may be
because of the rise in popularity of indie games and the queer individuals who work on
making those games more representative of queer experiences.
During Gamergate, gamers tended to show little care or interest toward queer
characters. Online discussions were generally mixed when the topic of queer characters
and queer representation was examined. Some gamers were outspoken about their
distaste or support, however, in general, there wasn’t nearly as much discussion on the
topic as there is today. As Gamergate largely focused on the representation of women in
games, queer representation was not given much of the spotlight in discussions at the
time. However, since Gamergate, the conversation surrounding queer representation has
continued to gain an increasing amount of traction. This is in part because of how society

57

itself has come to acknowledge and examine queer issues and, possibly, partly because of
the rise of indie games.
The gaming industry is, at the end of the day, a profit based business and AAA
developers and publishers often go with what they know will sell. For a long time, when
it came to queer characters, it was popular for them to be the subject of mockery and
stereotypes, however, this trend seems to be slowly changing. Although there are still
some issues within queer representation that the industry needs to work on, it has been
improving. With indie games gaining so much steam and popularity, it is no surprise that
AAA developers and publishers have taken note of their approach to representation in
gaming and tried to tie it into their own games.
Gamers appear to be interested in seeing characters beyond the typical buff,
straight, white man and his sexy arm-candy; they want diversity and they want to see new
stories from different perspectives. Regardless of the gamer’s own sexual orientation,
they expressed interest in seeing and exploring identities other than straight. There’s only
so many new stories that can be told through the lens of a straight, cisgender, white male.
There are a plethora of different kinds of people and gamers out there, so why are their
stories not being shared? As Participant 280 puts it,
Does it make sense to color with only 3 crayons when there’s a whole 50 color
box on the table? Yes there are great pieces of work that can do with 3 crayons,
but there’s a much wider range of possibilities with the 50 crayon box. Video
games are an incredible story telling medium and it benefits from flexibility and
it’s mirroring of and extension of real life. Video games can benefit from all

58

diversity and can have really interesting takes and moments to reach an audience
about something if it expands on itself.
The gaming industry has made great strides in its effort to rectify its portrayals of
queer characters, however, there is still a ways to go. Playersexuality is a very popular
mechanic in many games (particularly in RPGs) and its relationship with bisexual
representation needs to be examined further. Moreover, although lesbian romances have
become less sexualized in modern games, there is still an inherent sexualization of female
characters and their relationships with other female characters that is obvious to many
gamers. Beyond that, transgender and non-binary representation needs further
improvement. Although Lev from The Last of Us 2 was an important stride in trans
representation in gaming, the developer, Naughty Dog, did fumble with his representation
by including his deadname (his birthname/name before his transition) in the game. Nonbinary representation needs improvement as well; many non-binary characters are
represented as non-human beings rather than as people. Again, however, this does appear
to be shifting slowly. Lastly, the fervent distaste for queer representation still exists
within the community which can make it difficult for AAA developers to push the
boundary further than they already have.
Aside from the things that still need to be worked on, it is important to
acknowledge that progress toward better queer representation in games is improving.
Although queer representation may not yet be perfect (and it likely never will be
considering how complex identity is in general), it appears as though the gaming industry
has finally begun to get on the right track. More developers are employing queer writers
and consulting with queer individuals to write their LGBTQ+ characters better and with
59

more respect. Again, considering many indie games are written and created by queer
individuals — and how well received the portrayals in those games are — hiring queer
talent when including a queer character in a AAA game is absolutely a step in the right
direction to get representation right.
Ultimately, this paper and research is about representation and the nuances of it.
Representation is incredibly important; to see oneself represented in a form of media,
particularly one you have deep admiration for, can mean the world. To know that you are
not alone and that you have someone or something to resonate with and relate to can
deeply impact one’s understanding of self and self-worth. Gaming, like other media
mediums, explores the creativity and multifaceted nature of humans and the human
imagination. The real world is so diverse with so many people of different shapes, sizes,
genders, sexual orientations, colours, lifestyles, opinions, and interests. Sometimes video
games can act as a way to remove oneself from the discriminations they face or the
difficulties of life by engrossing themselves in a different world and story. The world —
and the gaming audience — is more than just straight white men, and that deserves to be
reflected in games as well.
Everybody deserves to have a piece of media that they can identify with.
Videogames are art, and art is perhaps *the* essential tool used to not only
intimately reveal the hearts and minds of society, but sway them as well. The
pathway to true empathy between different groups of people is, and always has
been, art. (Participant 293)

60

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Appendix A. Selection of Video Game Character
Gender Identities
Game

Character

Type

Apex Legends
(2019)

Bloodhound
(non-binary)

Optional Playable

Assassins Creed: Syndicate
(2015)

Ned Wynert
(trans man)

Side Character

Borderlands 3
(2019)

FL4K
(non-binary)

Optional Main Character

Catherine
(2011)

Erica
(trans woman)

Side Character

Celeste
(2018)

Madeline
(trans girl)

Main Character

Chrono Trigger
(1995)

Flea
(genderqueer)

Villain

Dragon Age: Inquisition
(2014)

Krem
(trans man)

Side Character

Final Fight
(1989)

Poison
(trans woman)

First as an enemy,
Optional character in Street
Fighter crossovers

The House of Fata Morgana
(2012)

Michel
(Intersex trans man)

Main Character

68

The Last of Us 2
(2020)

Lev
(trans boy)

Side Character

Mario series
(1985 - present)

Birdo & Vivian
(trans women)

Birdo: Optional
Vivian: Side Character

Asari race
(mono-gender)

Side Characters, NPCs

Mass Effect series
(2007 – present)

Hainly Abrams
(trans woman)

Side Character

The Missing J.J. Macfield & The
Island of Memories
(2018)

J.J. Macfield
(trans woman)

Main Character

Rainbow Six Siege
(2015)

Osa
(trans woman)

Optional Playable

Tell Me Why
(2020)

Tyler Ronan
(trans man)

Main Character

Watchdogs 2
(2016)

Miranda Comay
(trans woman)

Side Character

69

Appendix B. Selection of Video Game Character Sexualities

Game

Character

Type

Apex Legends
(2019)

Fuse (pansexual), Makoa
Gibraltar (gay), Loba (bisexual),
Valkyrie (Lesbian)

Optional playable

Borderlands 2
(2012)

Maya (asexual),
Tiny Tina (lesbian)
Sir Hammerlock (gay)

Maya: Optional Main
Tiny Tina: Side
Sir Hammerlock: Side

Borderlands 3
(2019)

Zane
(pansexual)

Optional Main Character

Bully
(2006)

Jimmy Hopkins
(bisexual)

Main Character

Dragon Age: Inquisition
(2014)

Iron Bull (pansexual), Dorian
Pavus (gay), Sera (lesbian),
Josephine (bisexual), Liliana
(bisexual)

Companions/Side
Characters

Fallout 3
(2007)

Greta & Carol
(lesbian)

NPCs

Grand Theft Auto 5
(2013)

Trevor Phillips
(bisexual)

1 of 3 Main Characters

Last of Us 2
(2020)

Ellie & Dina
(lesbian)

Ellie: Main Character
Dina: Side Character

Life is Strange
(2015)

Max Caulfield (bisexual),
Chloe Price (lesbian)

Max: Main Character
Chloe: Side Character

70

League of Legends
(2009)

Neeko, Diana, Leona
(lesbian)

Optional Playable

Outer Worlds
(2019)

Parvati Holcomb
(asexual, biromantic)

Companion/Side Character

Overwatch
(2016)

Tracer (lesbian),
Soldier 76 (gay)

Optional Playable

71