CW: Transphobia, maybe
Disclaimer; I’m cis af, and I’m sure trans people have a better grip on this topic than me for obvious reasons. Please feel free to call me out.
Transphobia in Cyberpunk
I thought that the general consensus before it came out, where the ad featuring a hyper specialized mtf model, was that at first glance it can look transphobic (because it is, the ad is insensitive at best), but that it also fit in line with the dystopian, over corporatized world that the cyberpunk genre represents. The game wasn’t glorifying transphobia necessarily, it was presenting the topic in its rawest, most commercialized form, in a satirical way intrinsic to the idea of a cyberpunk future.
Anyway, that’s the take that I saw for the most part, even in leftist spaces, but now all the sudden since the games been out people have gone back to calling it transphobic, and I’m not really sure why? I guess if you can’t be convinced that the transphobic ad’s existence is justified I can buy that I guess. But there’s gotta be more to it than just that one thing right?
Spoilers for the main quest:
I’ve seen the interpretation that the corrupt ripper doc Fingers is trans coded, and can face harsh criticize from the protagonist, with even the option to call him a freak and punch him. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t see that in my play through? You meet Fingers right after discovering that he raped, tortured, and ripped apart and acquaintance, and was so brutal he inflicted intense ptsd unto his victim, eventually leading to her suicide. Now, he’s definitely gay coded, 100%, and calling a gay coded character freak specifically has some...questionable implications, for sure. Transphobia though? If anyone can share their take on why his character is transphobic please be my guest, that’s just what I got out of it.
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Spoiler for a side quest:
The only other trans character is Claire, who is very obviously trans. But she’s just...a regular person? Her gender has nothing to do with her side quest, and it’s not treated as a big deal at all. I thought her quest was fantastic personally, and love that you can own a vehicle with a big obvious trans flag on it. I haven’t seen her talked about in relation to transphobia in the game, but still think she’s worth bringing up.
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Finally, the character creator. It’s...fine. It’s not good, it’s not bad. Tying gender to voice is a weird choice, like why not just let the player choose? Otherwise though it’s unremarkable. Probably the most non-cishet options I’ve seen in a game, but it’s also kinda just the bare minimum, and it could have been way more robust.
That’s the worst thing about it in regards to these social issues, is that it has potential to present really radical and thought provoking questions on personhood in the age of cyber ware, what it means to be human, identity politics cooption by capital... ya know, the things that cyberpunk should do and always has done? So much just falls so flat, not seemingly out of malice, but writers and secs being stretched thin. It would have benefited so much from one or two more years of time in the oven, in almost every way.
Kinda rambly yeah yeah, I just wanted to see what y’all think. Also, it doesn’t hurt to actually play the game before criticizing it for specific elements. (That kinda goes for all media, though)
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these things don't exist in a vacuum. the poster exoticizes her body, ensuring that you, the viewer, are taking the frame of reference of a chaser, not an empathetic position that highlights her discomfort. you the viewer are presumed to be cis, male, and attracted to women while the game simulates an ad - at what point does the game do anything to make you uncomfortable with this depiction, other than because you, the cishet male, are attracted to a trans woman? live on the edge, indeed. moreover, it juxtaposes her with a reference to the manticore - a man-eating beast. this is a tr*p meme, not an anticapitalist critique of commodification.
the company that produced this game has a long history with transphobia.
so I don't buy this at all.
I think it would ring a lot less hollow if there were more social commentary in the game that did take an empathetic position, to serve as an opposing view, e.i. The cynical exploitation of a minority groups vs genuine understanding and empathy. Hell, even just have characters in the game mention how gross some of the ads are or something!
Godamnit this game could have been so much better in the hands of competent and aware developers.
they sell more games if they milk the outrage cycle. the game itself is an amazing meta-commentary on capitalism.
Not context. Just garbage.