The Scene staff
By Sky Tucker
The Scene staff
The LGBTQ+ community has long faced harassment by religious extremists and conservatives who claim to favor “traditional family values” while discrediting the lives of others.
But recent years have brought efforts to educate. Some people try to explain the differences between sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Others focus on normalizing representations in the media.
Those who choose the latter depict LGBTQ+ people in typical, everyday settings. This includes featuring them in recognizable contexts like TV shows, movies, games, etc.
One example is Elder Scrolls, a Sandbox Role-Playing Game (RPG) series created by Bethesda Studios.
Despite the company’s name having religious connotations, the developers are quite progressive. It’s one of the few to add queer characters, going as far back as 1998 with the game Fall Out 2.
In Elder Scrolls, players can choose their character’s relationships while battling monsters and uncovering lore. Meanwhile, non-playable characters (NPCs) have relationship statuses of their own, and some are same-sex couples.
Announced in September, an update featuring a nonbinary character named Tanlorin became part of Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). They’re voiced by nonbinary Puerto Rican actor and Drag King Vico Ortiz.
As expected, the news made plenty of people unhappy. Many took to social media to rant, while YouTubers like Eric Perez (also known as 8-Bit Eric or 8be) and Jon Del Arroz complained to their thousands of followers about studios suffering from “woke mind viruses.”
Despite the protests, the update went live on Oct. 28.
“We have mixed marriages and gay and lesbian characters in abundance throughout the game,” Narrative Director Bill Slavicsek told TheGamer.com in response to the backlash.
“It just makes sense to us that all possibilities exist in Tamriel. We treat it as a real and living world. You just might not notice because we don’t shout it from the rooftops or put signs proclaiming it everywhere. And you know why? Because in Tamriel, this is just the way the world is.”
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Bethesda faced criticism for representing gender identities.
Starfield, another Sandbox RPG, was released for Windows, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X in September 2023. It didn’t have any transgender or nonbinary characters outright, but people began boycotting the game.
Their reason? Players could choose their avatar’s pronouns. That was it.
Of course, people took to their socials over the “woke” content, blasting Bethesda for ruining the immersion and “bringing real-world issues into their games.”
Some, like gaming YouTuber Az (aka HeelvsBabyface), threw an actual tantrum on video, garnering millions of views, multiple reposts and plenty of reactions.
Controversies aside, these representations are not only important for inclusion, they’re essential.
This year’s election results and the looming prospect of the conservative Project 2025 initiative being implemented have caused many in the LGBTQ+ community to feel a heightened sense of concern about the potential loss of their civil rights.
The growing backlash against inclusive representations only deepens this anxiety, as it suggests a larger societal shift that might undo years of progress.
However, efforts to normalize LGBTQ+ visibility are more critical than ever. In a rapidly changing cultural landscape, inclusive media provides a safe space for marginalized communities and expands the understanding and acceptance of diverse identities.
By showcasing LGBTQ+ characters in mainstream games, companies like Bethesda contribute to reshaping perceptions, promoting empathy and encouraging broader social acceptance.
No matter the type of media, the more inclusive these mediums become, the more they help break down barriers, showing that everyone, regardless of identity, belongs.