Sexuality in Mass Effect

[Mother Yeti]

After a couple Mass Effect sessions, I got to thinking about the romance options. I'm sure this has occurred to others, but still.

A female Shepard can romance both sexes. You can roleplay her as straight, gay, or somewhere in between; it's totally up to the player whom she's into. A male Shepard, on the other hand, can only romance women. Even if you WANT to play a gay ManShep, you're simply not allowed.

After Dragon Age, which allowed the PC to fall just about anywhere on the sexuality spectrum, I was sort of hoping that Bioware had come to understand that their audience is not entirely male and not entirely hetero. But no, apparently not. And as a gay girl gamer, I think that really sucks.

What do you think?

Edit: Because my point seems to be flying over the heads of certain people:

I AM NOT PUSHING AN AGENDA. I AM NOT TRYING TO FORCE YOU TO LOVE GAY PEOPLE OR EVEN AGREE WITH ME. I AM NOT ASKING FOR A GAY CHARACTER TO BE SHOEHORNED INTO THE GAME FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF BEING GAY. I AM SIMPLY NOTING THAT WHILE THERE IS A RANGE OF SEXUALITIES POSSIBLE FOR A FEMALE CHARACTER, A MALE CHARACTER CAN ONLY BE HETEROSEXUAL, AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A STEP BACK FOR BIOWARE. I THINK THAT IS INTERESTING! IF YOU DISAGREE, THAT'S FINE, BUT PLEASE REFRAIN FROM BUILDING STRAWMEN! THANKS!

 

[The_ModeRazor]

Meh. I don't much like cutscenes anyway (not true), and I'm not gay either.
Sorry, but homosexuals are still the minority.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Well, I'm guessing they couldn't fit in a bisexual male character. With Zevran, it was easy. He was an assassin, yet he was suave and sexual, easily made to be bisexual. I don't know who the male romance options are in ME2, but I'm betting that not one of them could be easily made bisexual without breaking their character, or turning them into a stereotype.

 

[Omikron009]

I thought you could play as a gay male Shepard. Curious. I guess gay sex would spark more controversy that lesbian "sex"? I don't know.

 

[Sepiida]

I was a little surprised that Bioware didn't have any options for people who wanted to have a gay romance option and agree that it does suck for people who want to do so. It's a little puzzling since they obviously have no problem having homosexual relationships in their games (Dragon's Age) so I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't have one in ME2, especially since they have lesbian relationships.

 

[atalanta]

I've heard that in ME1 Kaidan was supposed to be a romance option for ManShep but got cut thanks to time, so I'm hoping it was just a timing issue. But yeah, it does bug me that ladies makin' out is somehow more acceptable than two dudes getting it on, and I really want Bioware to come to their senses.

That being said, the lesbian option in Bioware games always rubs me the wrong way (inb4 "that's what she said") -- it's the same wide-eyed girl with a heart of gold who swings both ways, although thankfully Kelly Chambers didn't have second sight. I'd have been absurdly happy if FemShep could romance Tali, and I would have been pleased with Jack or Miranda, but c'mon, Bioware, stop making the weakest female character in the game the girl-on-girl option.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

I think it's more of a call back to the old Captain Kirk style of integrating with alien species.

I don't think Bioware are homophobes though, they just know that considering the controversy about the first one, that including the option to be an active homosexual male in that would lead to a total furore, such is the double standards of the knee-jerk crowd in the mainstream media.

Also, I could imagine a situation where they might even face legal action by backwards parents, concerned that their child is playing 'This sick filth' as they would most probably call it.

I think they're just erring on the side of caution, they don't want any more bad rep for the series.

Or this...

If sex is worse than violence, and A LOT of parents(namely overbearing mothers who complain about videogames) hate gays, then gay sex in a videogame would be the trifecta that would send these women on a rampage.

Edit: Also, Michael Atkinson. Probably, he's a homophobe... Just saying, in case you want to start rumors.

 

[atalanta]

Well, I'm guessing they couldn't fit in a bisexual male character. With Zevran, it was easy. He was an assassin, yet he was suave and sexual, easily made to be bisexual. I don't know who the male romance options are in ME2, but I'm betting that not one of them could be easily made bisexual without breaking their character, or turning them into a stereotype.

Wait, how would turning, say, Jacob bisexual break his character? What exactly is it about being bi that makes someone different, besides being willing to kiss more people?

And the male romance options are Garrus, Thane, and Jacob.

 

[Mother Yeti]

Sorry, but homosexuals are still the minority.

Are lesbians not a minority? Why can you create a gay FemShep but not a gay ManShep?

I highly doubt that it was intentionally meant to be discriminatory. Could simply be an oversight, it could have been something they didn't have time to add in, or it could have been a refusal on some of the voice-actors' parts to do the necessary lines. In any case, I don't see it as a big deal since many RPGs, such as Final Fantasy, not only don't allow you to choose your character's sexual orientation, but they don't even let you choose your specific love interest, either.

Voice actors don't make enough money to turn down work because they object to the lines they read.

If Bioware had enough time to record and render a half-dozen romantic scenes (including girl-girl) they could have found the time to add one or two more. It's not like either game was a rush job.

How FF does things is irrelevant since there's practically no character customization or, really, roleplaying in those games. The big selling point of Bioware games is choice. Why is this particular choice off-limits?

I don't think Bioware are homophobes though, they just know that considering the controversy about the first one, that including the option to be an active homosexual male in that would lead to a total furore, such is the double standards of the knee-jerk crowd in the mainstream media.

Also, I could imagine a situation where they might even face legal action by backwards parents, concerned that their child is playing 'This sick filth' as they would most probably call it.

I think they're just erring on the side of caution, they don't want any more bad rep for the series.

All of which is fine and dandy until you remember that Dragon Age allows for straight and gay sexual relationships. You can have sex with a transgender prostitute. You can have sex with characters as a means to an end. The desire demons are basically nude, have pierced nipples and rub their breasts as they speak. You can engage in a three-way. There's even a scene of implied bestiality. The gay sex scene with Zevran was posted to YouTube and quickly made the blog rounds. The outcry that resulted from this? Absolutely nothing.

This is America. You can't sue someone because you're offended by their artistic product. (Well, you can, but you'll be laughed out of court.)

So yeah, I think this is a very conscious decision on Bioware's part.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Damn, and here I was planning on banging everything that moved.

I guess I'll have to play female.

 

[Mr. Gency]

Well dur! Don't you realize that in the future, the gays were tired of people discriminating on them so they moved to a different universe?

I can't believe you didn't know that, come on

 

[Mother Yeti]

Eh who cares. So they decided not to make a gay option. Good for them. Trying to cram one character into a gay role is worse than just doing without.
Sure Zevran's character could go both ways but he was also a annoying fuck so I never used him.
Bioware has already sacrificed enough dignity by giving the fans Tali. Cramming in a stereotypical gay character would just be too far.
Besides, Bioware is quickly learning that fans will never be fucking happy. I have heard girls whine about only having one lesbian option. They seem to think that all female characters should be lez.

Your homophobia is showing. How is it fan service to simply acknowledge that non-hetero men exist? Who's asking anyone to "cram" a gay character in? Who's asking for a "stereotypical" gay character? Why couldn't Thane or Garrus also be an option for the dudes? It's weird enough that these aliens are sexually attracted to humans.

 

[Mother Yeti]

I highly doubt that it was intentionally meant to be discriminatory. Could simply be an oversight, it could have been something they didn't have time to add in, or it could have been a refusal on some of the voice-actors' parts to do the necessary lines. In any case, I don't see it as a big deal since many RPGs, such as Final Fantasy, not only don't allow you to choose your character's sexual orientation, but they don't even let you choose your specific love interest, either.

Voice actors don't make enough money to turn down work because they object to the lines they read.

If Bioware had enough time to record and render a half-dozen romantic scenes (including girl-girl) they could have found the time to add one or two more. It's not like either game was a rush job.

How FF does things is irrelevant since there's practically no character customization or, really, roleplaying in those games. The big selling point of Bioware games is choice. Why is this particular choice off-limits?

Err...there are some pretty big names voicing characters in the Mass Effect series, I'm sure most of them can choose to reject whatever they want.

Bioware, like any other developer creating any other game, was on a timeline for Mass Effect 2. Investors expect the game to be done by a certain time as specified before development begins. It's very possible that Bioware thought they had given themselves enough time to complete everything, but near the end of development found that some things had to be cut in order to meet the deadline.

Finally: sure, Bioware RPGs are known for a wide variety of choice, but you still can't do EVERYTHING in them, now can you? I'm sure they'd love to create a game in which absolutely every scenario was doable, but that's rather unrealistic, isn't it? The bottom line is that Bioware themselves have choices they have to make during development, and for one reason or another, homosexual interactions were cut or never included. It could be for any of the reasons I listed previously, or another I haven't thought of. But again, I highly doubt that it was for purposeful discriminatory reasons.

Just like Resident Evil 5 wasn't (purposefully) racist.

Just drop the voice actor thing, it's a reach and you're intelligent enough to know it.

I'm not saying that EVERYTHING is possible in a Bioware RPG, don't be ridiculous, and it's not like I don't get the concept of a production schedule. But: A gay option IS available for female characters, and the lack of a symmetrical option on the male side is glaring.

 

[Tarkand]

And the male romance options are Garrus, Thane, and Jacob.

Garrus really? That's kinda... hmm, I don't know. Do girl actually find him attractive? He kinds looks bad ass, but he looks more like something that'd bite your head off than kiss you. Not to mention that his skin looks like it's sand paper. I don't know.

Yet, I'm strangely intrigued. May very well have my female shepard have a go at him.


But on to the OT...

Heh, funny, not knowing if a gay male relationship was possible in ME (I assumed it was, after playing DA) I always have been a bit cold toward Jacob... is over friendliness toward my male Shepard made me think he may be the gay interest. I didn't feel like getting manhandled by Jacob >_>... I mean did you look at him? He's build like a freaking fridge, no way he's a bottom.

Zevran created some pretty akward (if funny) situation too, I didn't want to turn him down because I didn't want to hurt his feeling, so my male character ended up leading him on during the entire game. I'm such a tease.

To me, it's actually silly that they are homosexual relation in those games: from my understanding, homosexual are like 10% (or less) of the population, so the odds of two homosexual being in a group of 5-9 people are pretty damn low. Doubly so that they'd fall in love anyway.

But I guess it's a game, so why not give your players what they want. If they're going to put a lesy option... why not a gay one? No big deal.

Than again, the 'gay' characters have always been bisexual. They never made a truly gay character so far... so it's really more of a cope out I guess.

 

[dogmeat-the-stray]

Agreed with the OP. I was terribly disappointed about that. I mean, jesus, 7 (8 if you count Madame Deadly Vagina) new romance options and not one queer male possibility? Pretty weak, right there.