Cyberpunk 2077 Gender Options Are... Weird
Added 2020-12-16 13:05:59 +0000 UTCCyberpunk 2077 finally released and beyond all the bugs and workers rights issues... I was also perplexed by how it uses gender. So let's dive in.
Comments
That was an excellent article.
Jessie Earl
2020-12-19 19:35:47 +0000 UTCAfter having read Stacey Henley's great analysis (on Polygon) of CDPR's edge lord tactics, it gets increasingly harder for me to assume "well-meaning but ill-informed" intentions. I guess I'll stay clear, at least for now. Maybe I'll pick it up used some time. Maybe.
Hannah F.
2020-12-18 08:14:14 +0000 UTChaha, ironic but true!
Jessie Earl
2020-12-18 07:18:04 +0000 UTCAll the developers seem to have accomplished by separating these selections is to create a situation where the player can be surprised by their in-game pronouns. They wanted to be gender-inclusive and they made the first game to include mis-gendering!
2020-12-18 05:10:25 +0000 UTCThe thought of a combination of low voice and female body type leading to be forcibly sir'd in the game is very off-putting. Misgendering trans people, especially trans women, or making 'jokes' about them based on their voice is such an old trope. I can't help but think of Lotti in Deponia, for example. I can't stop thinking that maybe the developers knew _exactly_ what they were doing there. CDPR is located in Poland, which is one of the most homophobic/transphobic places in the whole EU, second only to Hungary.
Hannah F.
2020-12-17 12:48:07 +0000 UTCI chose a feminine body and a masculine voice, was expecting to be she/her then was immediately called 'sir' in the game. I put down the controller and paced around a bit. I use they/he pronouns so it's correct to address me as he/sir but it was still a shock. I have a mixed reaction to the game and the whole gender thing; I'm making lemonade with this. and it's giving me another avenue to explore my gender/agender identity.
Wellington Marcus
2020-12-16 19:44:36 +0000 UTC
