Pronouns???

[Alaray]

Going to be a bit blunt.. and perhaps a bit rude here. This is a fantasy game with rules set for how and what things are. With a request like this all I want to know is the following: How does this work by the rules of this setting? All the playable races are from everything we have seen of a binary nature, male and female. Thus what you request on behalf of your friend is not necessary, nor would it fit in.

Look, I get that it is of a 'personal preference' nature based entirely on IRL. But sometimes you have to recognize and accept that the setting of a game is not meant to take into account and accommodatie real life. Do you know why skin color is never brought up as an issue in this game's setting? Because it isn't one. That generic darker skinned Viera NPC is not treated any differently than the other Viera NPC with lighter skin. Even the discrimination that is there, for example towards Ala Mhigans, has nothing to do with skin color and everything with them being 'filthy refugees', has everything to do with reasons rooted in the narrative, not real life.

Ultimately my view is this: You play a character in this setting, of a race and gender that abides by the rules of the setting. Disconnect from the character. Acknowledge that the character is not you and is not meant to represent who you are in real life. It is most definitely what I'd advise your friend to try to do. Now, in player interaction, that's an entirely different matter, you can request friends/acquaintances and if you wish attempt to ask even strangers to respect preferred pronouns. Obviously in interactions with other people it does matter more.

Despite that the viewpoint is flawed as the world is based upon our own as a referential point so that the end user can relate to it, the world does have nonbinary characters -- namely, the pixies.

I'm more in the technical limitations being the largest hurdle camp, but this point doesn't ultimately matter especially when the canon of the world itself doesn't actually neatly fit the experience (ie: male miqo'te are supposed to be a very rare sight, particularly keepers, yet they're all over the place etc...).

[Haru304]

In a setting like Final Fantasy, it's extremely easy to produce or write a non-binary, intersex or gender non-conforming character without having to conform to IRL stereotypes or forms of communication. Want to know what isn't easy or good writing? Adding acknowledgement of an entire gender spectrum to a universe over night where it has no prior basis. We don't have fancy university classes in Eorzea where we learn to reject all forms of biological gender and accept it purely as social construct.

If a denizen of Hydaelyn gets upset because someone isn't taking their 'gender identity' seriously', then they don't have their head in the correct setting. FURTHERMORE; in this type of universe, the least of a person's problems is going to be what their pronouns are. This isn't Second Life. It's FINAL FANTASY.

I'm all for respecting people's personal pronouns and accepting that the character they're playing does not conform to a binary, but please don't slap an identity marker on characters in the world just for the sake of having identity markers. It's immersion breaking and has no basis as a greater part of the fantasy. I encourage you, put your pronouns or your characters pronouns in your search info or personal bio', but do not expect Square Enix to incorporate it in this already well established product. Suggest it for their next big MMO.

[Alaray]

In a setting like Final Fantasy, it's extremely easy to produce or write a non-binary, intersex or gender non-conforming character without having to conform to IRL stereotypes or forms of communication. Want to know what isn't easy or good writing? Adding acknowledgement of an entire gender spectrum to a universe over night where it has no prior basis. We don't have fancy university classes in Eorzea where we learn to reject all forms of biological gender and accept it purely as social construct.

If a denizen of Hydaelyn gets upset because someone isn't taking their 'gender identity' seriously', then they don't have their head in the correct setting. FURTHERMORE; in this type of universe, the least of a person's problems is going to be what their pronouns are. This isn't Second Life. It's FINAL FANTASY.

I'm all for respecting people's personal pronouns and accepting that the character they're playing does not conform to a binary, but please don't slap an identity marker on characters in the world just for the sake of having identity markers. It's immersion breaking and has no basis as a greater part of the fantasy. I encourage you, put your pronouns or your characters pronouns in your search info or personal bio', but do not expect Square Enix to incorporate it in this already well established product. Suggest it for their next big MMO.

I'll consider these points as I pilot my Gundam to fight a cube in a holo-deck.

[Caurcas]

I mean humans are binary (outside of an extremely rare medical condition, but that is usuall corrected in short order).

[MilkieTea]

I mean humans are binary (outside of an extremely rare medical condition, but that is usuall corrected in short order).

Not really. Concepts behind gender conformity didn't start becoming a thing until relatively recently in human history. And even then, gender conformity has always been fluid (the man didn't always wear pants, the women didn't always have the most elaborate gowns, the high heel used to be considered masculine, the wig and makeup used to be seen as gender neutral.) Fitting things into a binary was something we came up with and we haven't always been able to keep up with that.

[Haru304]

I'll consider these points as I pilot my Gundam to fight a cube in a holo-deck.

And my character will insert their MP3 and watch Soaps on their television because hey, why not. Good writing 101.

[SturmChurro]

Not really. Concepts behind gender conformity didn't start becoming a thing until relatively recently in human history. And even then, gender conformity has always been fluid (the man didn't always wear pants, the women didn't always have the most elaborate gowns, the high heel used to be considered masculine, the wig and makeup used to be seen as gender neutral.) Fitting things into a binary was something we came up with and we haven't always been able to keep up with that.

They say gender is a social construct, but sex isn't. We aren't slugs or whatever, we are humans. Male or* female.

[Alaray]

And my character will insert their MP3 and watch Soaps on their television because hey, why not. Good writing 101.

One of these examples is not like the other.

[Haru304]

Honk honk.

[squidmonarchy]

They say gender is a social construct, but sex isn't. We aren't slugs or whatever, we are humans. Male or* female.

That would be news to intersex people. They're rare, but they exist. Nothing is quite as simple as we'd like to believe, including sex and gender.