Trans Characters in Video Games

Continuing my posts exploring the representation of transgender individuals within popular entertainment, I figured I would create a comprehensive list of some of the most interesting trans characters in video games. As we saw with the representation of trans folk within comics and graphic novels, creators often have positive intentions, but come across as more than a little transphobic and misinformed; these characters more often than not end up being throw-away characters that lack the dynamic action and character development of their cis counterparts, and often their bodies and identities are fodder for cheap jokes or tokenization. When it comes to video game representation, this is still the case, although there are a few diamonds in the rough that give me hope for better, more sensitive and educated attempts in the future.

- Birdo/Birdie/Birdette - Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)

It would be entirely foolhardy to begin this list without first acknowledging what is most likely one of the seminal examples of trans identity within a video game. Initially introduced as a villain, Birdo was described as a "boy who thinks he's a girl," as so many of us transwomen callously are. Nonetheless, Birdo eventually adopts the name Birdie/Birdette and dons a pink bow and cosmetics. Like most trans characters, she is highly sexualized through gestures, poses, and expressions. After some reform, Birdette became a hero and cohort of Yoshi in subsequent versions of Mario Bros. In American versions of the game, the gender identity aspect is removed and Birdie is exclusively seen as female.

- Poison - Final Fight/Street Fight - 1989

One of the most interesting transwomen in video games that I have come across so far is certainly Poison. Originally appearing as a powerful female villain within popular fighting games from Japan, there was considerable fear of backlash from the USA regarding the decency of a female character that could be thrashed and abused as drastically as Poison was. Her character therefore remained female in Japan, but was listed as male in America, despite no alterations to her sultry appearance - because, apparently, being trans delegitimizes one's identity by default; the creators thought that "being born male" instantly solved the problem created by American protests. In 2007, Yoshinori Ono (head of Capcom) said of Poison during an interview: "In North America, Poison is officially a post-op transsexual. In Japan, she simply tucks her business away to look like a girl." Considering Japan's fetishization of pre-op transwomen, this is hardly shocking, but Ono later came out in 2011 and tried to retract the statement, saying that Capcom "has no stance" and chooses to keep her biological sex "mysterious, like a Rorschach's test" allowing players to draw their own conclusions. Oddly enough, Poison and her color-swap counterpart, Roxy, were replaced by male thugs Sid/Billy in subsequent American versions of the game. The ambiguous nature of the character remains a topic of intense debate among fans, both from Japan and the USA alike, considering the mixed signals that the creators have given us.

- Flea - Chrono Trigger (1995)

Flea is introduced as a boss in the magical role-playing game Chrono Trigger. While described as a male and having a male gender symbol, the character wears pink hair, a skirt, and can have an item stolen from her called the Flea Bustier, which is a clearly feminine garment. It is unclear if Flea is a transwoman of simply a cross-dresser, though the bridging of the gender binary warrants inclusion in this list regardless. Flea is a powerful magician who often assumes a persona called "Diva Flea." Fellow characters frequently denounce Flea's gender expression, but Flea does succeed in seducing the game's protagonist, Crono, through magic and feminine wiles. Interestingly enough, the name "Flea" is localized only to North America, and is inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Michael Balzary. In Japanese versions, Flea's name is a pun on "mayonnaise." I sadly don't understand the pun though.

Flea happens to have one of the most interesting quotes regarding gender identity and power structures within the game: "Male... female... what does it matter? Power is beautiful. and I've got the power!"

- Bridget - Guilty Gear 3 (2002)

Bridget is another character who becomes very interesting because of the ambiguity of his gender identity within the game. In the game, Bridget is one half of a pair of twin boys born in a village that views such births as bad luck and ill omens. His parents therefore decide to raise him as a girl to avoid a stigma. However, unlike Lord Fanny from The Invisibles who conforms to her given identity and embraces it, Bridget spends the majority of his life trying to prove his masculinity through intense fighting. He wears a nun's habit and uses a massive yo-yo as a weapon, and has been alternately depicted as an androgynous boy in women's clothing and as a much more feminine character that is even sexualized in typical video game fashion. Throughout the game, jokes are made referencing Bridget's name, pronouns, and genitals, but it remains clear that, in spite of his appearance, he identifies strictly as male. This is interesting because it shows that gender is inherent and not something that can be either impressed upon you or caused by external factors. Like Poison, differences exist between US and Japanese gameplay, and disputes rage on, with players often feuding over whether or not Bridget is a male or female character. I'll tell you what: regardless of gender, I'd love to play a character than can kick ass with a yo-yo.

- Leo Kliesen - Tekken 6 (2007)

Leo has a convoluted history within the Tekken universe, which is made all the more complicated by the curiosities surrounding his/her gender identity. Namco has openly stated that the gender of Leo has been kept ambiguous, never being revealed so that there can be a playable character "that players will love regardless of gender." Within character selection, Leo is included in the male category, but has female-exclusive hair customizations - Leo wears traditional male clothing, but is often referred to by female pronouns and is given the birth name of Eleonor. While it was revealed in 2011 that Leo was assigned female at birth, players continue to enjoy the character because of both the ambiguity and the possibility that Leo may be a transgender male, which is very rare in most video games - especially fighting games that usually seek to objectify the bodies of their characters for the voyeuristic gaze of the male players.

- Naoto Shirogane - Persona 4 (2008)

Possibly one of the most tragic video game characters that I have come across tho could fit under the transgender umbrella is Naoto Shirogane. Naoto is typically presented as an androgynous character decked out in stylish shades of blue and gray that befit their occupation as a detective, but also heavily mask the fact that Naoto is physically female. Throughout the game, in fact, Naoto is referred to with male pronouns - right up until the moment that she is outted by her fellow characters, at which point the rest of the game genders her as female. It is unclear exactly what Naoto's gender identity is; she drops her voice to sound more masculine, dresses in a wardrobe reminiscent of other men within the game, and frequently expresses misery at having been born a woman: "Why couldn't I have been born male... It would have been much easier for me." While that may make it clear that Naoto is a transman, further exploration into the game reveals that a major source of her frustration is that her fellow detectives do not take her seriously because of her young age and the fact that she is a woman. It becomes clear that she is incredibly insecure because of how sexist the task force is, and as the game continues and she begins to prove herself, this negative treatment she experiences - and negative attitude that she projects toward herself - begins to diminish. She begins to wear less overtly-masculine clothing, stops dropping her voice, and even ends the game with a proclamation of self-acceptance regarding her gender: "I think I can finally accept myself. That I am a woman." Whether those are her true sentiments, or if she simply gives up her pursuit of self-actualization, who knows. Since characters are not real people, we can only go by what the game gives us and assume that she has comes to terms with herself.

- Erica Anderson - Catherine (2011)

In the puzzle platform horror game Catherine, amid succubi and nightmare-induced real-world deaths, there is an interesting slice of life in the form of Erica Anderson, a flirtacious and gossip-loving waitress at the Stray Sheep diner that many of the male customers constantly fawn over and lust after. Throughout the game, Erica hints at being trans numerous times, and is often tokenized - her identity is something that other characters find intriguing, comedic, and sensational. She is naturally not treated like a "regular" female character - a running theme throughout the game is the horrific nightmares that the male characters have. Eventually, Erica begins to have these nightmares, which drives home the point that she is "not a real girl" that these game developers seem to love to shock the players with. When the main character has sex with Erica, he describes it as "strange" and "weird" - despite her being post-op. Since she is unable to have children, this becomes a point of regret and contention for Erica that delves her deeper into the world of nightmares and death. It is revealed that her birth name was Eric during the "Katherine True Ending." In spite of how fascinating her character is, the other characters within the game frequently invalidate and challenge Erica's gender: when she expresses interest in being a female wrestler, one of the men says that she wouldn't qualify. Others flat out tell her that she is not a woman, and mock her identity. However, regardless of the way she is treated by other characters, she stands out as one of the most interesting within the game because of her strength, courage, and wit.

- Pokemon Trainer - Pokemon X/Y (2013)

Aside from Poison, one of the most popular trans characters in a game within the past few years has got to be the ambiguous transgender opponent at the "Battle Maison" within Pokemon X & Y. Actually, not that ambiguous in the Japanese release; when you meet the character, in the Japanese version, she says: "I was a Karate King just half a year ago; the power of medical science is awesome, wouldn't you say?" This clearly implies that she was presenting as male "just half a year ago." This is supported by the term "Karate King." In Japanese language, the word for "king" does not necessarily have a gendered basis - it can refer to rulers, monarchs, people in power (such as gym leaders/bosses), etc. However, in English adaptions of Pokemon, the "Karate King" trainer class is translated as "Black Belts" and is exclusively male, while there is an exclusively-female trainer class, "Battle Girl(s)." In the American release, her statement is changed a bit: "Yes, a mere half year ago, I was a Black Belt! Quite the transformation, wouldn't you say?" So, regardless of the translation, both Japanese and English versions reference this character having previously been in an exclusively male trainer class. The English version excludes the reference to "the power of medical science," but the allusion to a surgical procedure that caused a drastic physical "transformation" is still there, making it very obvious that this character is clearly trans.

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What I find the most distressing with video game representation of trans characters is that they are often created as spectacles, and tokenized for their trans-ness. As with comic representation, they are often highly sexualized and objectified. Perhaps the most frustrating thing is how trans characters are so present within Japanese iterations of games, and then almost entirely erased, rewritten, or censored within their American counterparts. This kind of erasure of trans identities within popular games is something that I hope ends soon because, as we have seen, the transgender characters are often among the most interesting within the game.

#videogames #pokemon #poison #transrepresentation #transcharacters #erasure