Frustrating relative lack of LGBT NPCs in this game

[Endeleon]

None of the main NPCs have a sexuality at all. So???? I find this a weird request.

Also there's a gay couple fore the Wanderer's Palace quest.

[Eloah]

What about the Bard quest NPCs. Or the Carpenter Guild master and his boyfriend. They were even paired together in the recent Hatching Tide event. Granted they were in suits but still.

[Mhaeric]

What about the Bard quest NPCs. Or the Carpenter Guild master and his boyfriend. They were even paired together in the recent Hatching Tide event. Granted they were in suits but still.

Examples like those are what are known as queer coding where it's all subtext and with a good chance to not even be noticed by someone not LGBT. It's a bit of a controversial thing since it's not really proper representation and can very easily slip into the closely related and clearly negative queerbaiting. FFXIV is chock full of queer coding. You can see that just from the examples provided in this thread alone. Thankfully it doesn't yet have any queerbaiting, knock on wood.

The wikipedia article on queer coding doesn't really delve into the controversial aspect of queer coding much calling it "somewhat of a neutral trope" and pointing out then common 'queer villain' version of it which doesn't really describe the complexity of its historical use and impact particularly by queer creators themselves, but for anyone who wants to delve deeper into it there are some good papers and even some good youtube videos discussing it. Mass media articles on it are kind of surface level and often are actually talking about queerbaiting not queer coding, so I wouldn't bother with those if you want a true understanding of it.

[Theodric]

I'd say it's up in the air as to whether such things exist in-game or not, especially when some players insist on treating even an innocent friendship as proof that two characters are intending to hook up with one another. Or, more bizarrely, they insist on 'shipping' characters that have no meaningful links to one another in the first place.

A lot of studies on the subject are also likely to be coloured by bias and written by those with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, as is often a risk when it comes to discussing 'representation' in general. It often excludes the viewpoints of those of us who are gay but aren't particularly interested in representation for the sake of representation.

[KayRadley]

The troll level is pretty impressive honestly. Kind of admire it.

On the subject we do not really know the backstories of multiple different "main characters" sex lives. Thancred is obviously straight and rest are a guess. I mean Shiva was into dragons so I guess that community is represented!?!?!?

OH OHHHH OHHHH Viera!! Literally an entire race of females isolated in the woods that reproduce somehow!! Aren\\'t Rothgar all males?!?!? There you go.

Hrothgar have a queen and Viera men are mentioned explicitly. It's just that Hrothgar have very few women and Viera practice strict segregation of the sexes.

[Gameovers]

Oh wow. This thread title is word for word the same as a Reddit title back in 2017 with some paragraphs literally taken from it.



Wow, even this was taken from that thread.

In agreement with Doozer as well.

I want to sue him for his name. As a disable Veteran who served overseas in 08 and 09 his trolls make me mad. Like.. don't think bad of us please people T.T We are NOT like that.

[SavishSalacious]

FF14 is a wonderful game. It's beautiful, the gameplay is fluid, the lore rich, and the graphics stunning, especially in the Azim Steppe.

Part of the reason why it's so wonderful is because it is possible to fully immerse yourself in this game. Characters all have a backstory, many NPCs are fleshed out, have their own personality, and you really feel like Eorzea is a place you can live in.

However, the lack of representation of LGBT characters in this game is frustrating for a billion-dollar video gaming company. While I applaud SE for allowing the Eternal Bonding to take place between two people of the same gender, there is not much else in this game that represents LGBT characters, other than a token gay couple in Upper La Noscea.

Some people will also bring up characters like Alphinaud (weird) or Haurchefant, and say they're "WOL-sexual". But you know that they're not actually designed as gay characters. They just happened to be perceived as LGBT because of the fandom.

Many other RPGs are already fully embracing the need to represent minorities in their game, because minority representation is an important issue that affects the psychological development of minority youth.

I hope to see Square Enix do more to represent LGBT characters in their game, because by doing so they'll let LGBT youth feel like they have a place in Eorzea and feel welcomed.

I know some people will think I'm joking, but I'm not. As a LGBT PoC myself, I am deeply invested in this issue.

Are you on something that you are willing to share? Like who cares? As a gay man my self, you don't see me complaining "oh this aint GW2, wheres the lesbian couple". Christ.

[HeulGDarian]

I want to sue him for his name. As a disable Veteran who served overseas in 08 and 09 his trolls make me mad. Like.. don't think bad of us please people T.T We are NOT like that.

Aside the whether its true or not. dw dude there are 2 groups of people, those that know not to generalise and those that are looking for something to hate in order to validate their miserable existence and you only have to care about one of those groups.

[Allegor]

Hrothgar have a queen and Viera men are mentioned explicitly. It's just that Hrothgar have very few women and Viera practice strict segregation of the sexes.

To be fair, that may indirectly imply Viera are generally ok with playing around with the same sex, much like Amazons. Either that or the females give the 'death by snu snu' treatment to the few males that visit during mating season.

[Eloah]

Examples like those are what are known as queer coding where it's all subtext and with a good chance to not even be noticed by someone not LGBT. It's a bit of a controversial thing since it's not really proper representation and can very easily slip into the closely related and clearly negative queerbaiting. FFXIV is chock full of queer coding. You can see that just from the examples provided in this thread alone. Thankfully it doesn't yet have any queerbaiting, knock on wood.

The wikipedia article on queer coding doesn't really delve into the controversial aspect of queer coding much calling it "somewhat of a neutral trope" and pointing out then common 'queer villain' version of it which doesn't really describe the complexity of its historical use and impact particularly by queer creators themselves, but for anyone who wants to delve deeper into it there are some good papers and even some good youtube videos discussing it. Mass media articles on it are kind of surface level and often are actually talking about queerbaiting not queer coding, so I wouldn't bother with those if you want a true understanding of it.

If you ask me that's the kind of representation you want though. Because, while representation is nice, actively championing a "representative" makes it seem like an exception and not the norm. In cases like the ones I mentioned they are treating it like any other common relationship, not making it a grandiose spectical to appease the masses. I mean there is clearly a distinction between relationships such as Beatin and Gairhard, Sanson and Guydelot, Aymeric and Lucia, and Y'shtola and Runar, compared to ships like Cid and Nero, or Alphinaud and Estinien. If you ask me queer coding is the proper way to show representation. Cause why are all NPCs considered "straight" until proven otherwise. Why can't they be LGBT until proven otherwise?