Sexuality in Mass Effect

[Fappy]

I defy anyone to call the male Shepard "canon" after comparing the voice acting of Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale.
Seriously, the man sounds like cardboard rubbing against a concrete wall.
Flat and abrasive in one monotonous concoction.

Also, I admit to having read the Mass Effect novels; and at no point is it defined what sex Shepard has.
That the marketing showcases the male incarnation is purely for the sake of insecure adolescent boys who couldn't possibly grasp the idea of a woman being the saviour of the known universe.

I'm getting tired of all the Mark Meer hate. Think about it... your comparing the poor guy to Jennifer Hale... JENNIFER HALE! That's like asking a rookie to get more runs than the star of the team. He's not that bad and has improved tremendously in ME2. I enjoy both of their performances and change sexes every playthrough.

 

[Withard]

Oh no back to the voice acting. Maybe this will spark a "sexual upset" but I couldn't take Jennifer Hale's voice acting seriously. I found the Mark Meer Shepherd to be a little blander but as a result I was able to connect with him a little better.

Anyway. You can tell when games become mainstream next to movies when people start crying over the same issues. An example being when people cried that there were no Homosexuals in Avatar /facepalm

 

[AndresCL]

I guess they were trying to focus on the gameplay? Its not such a big deal, seriously.

 

[Mother Yeti]

I defy anyone to call the male Shepard "canon" after comparing the voice acting of Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale.
Seriously, the man sounds like cardboard rubbing against a concrete wall.
Flat and abrasive in one monotonous concoction.

Also, I admit to having read the Mass Effect novels; and at no point is it defined what sex Shepard has.
That the marketing showcases the male incarnation is purely for the sake of insecure adolescent boys who couldn't possibly grasp the idea of a woman being the saviour of the known universe.

I'm getting tired of all the Mark Meer hate. Think about it... your comparing the poor guy to Jennifer Hale... JENNIFER HALE! That's like asking a rookie to get more runs than the star of the team. He's not that bad and has improved tremendously in ME2. I enjoy both of their performances and change sexes every playthrough.

There's nothing wrong with Mark Meer. He's just ... Canadian. Very, very Canadian.

 

[Fappy]

I defy anyone to call the male Shepard "canon" after comparing the voice acting of Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale.
Seriously, the man sounds like cardboard rubbing against a concrete wall.
Flat and abrasive in one monotonous concoction.

Also, I admit to having read the Mass Effect novels; and at no point is it defined what sex Shepard has.
That the marketing showcases the male incarnation is purely for the sake of insecure adolescent boys who couldn't possibly grasp the idea of a woman being the saviour of the known universe.

I'm getting tired of all the Mark Meer hate. Think about it... your comparing the poor guy to Jennifer Hale... JENNIFER HALE! That's like asking a rookie to get more runs than the star of the team. He's not that bad and has improved tremendously in ME2. I enjoy both of their performances and change sexes every playthrough.

There's nothing wrong with Mark Meer. He's just ... Canadian. Very, very Canadian.

And Bioware is Canadian.... I see what they did there.

 

[vamp rocks]

i agree with you that its a bit stupid that you can be a female shep and be gay but not a male one....

as much as i would love to be a homosexual male shepard.. (thats not sarcastic btw... i myself am gay)
i just dont think it matters all that much...i mean... im really enjoying the game the way it is... id like to be able to hit on guys... but i cant... oh well... lets move on...

 

[LiquidGrape]

I defy anyone to call the male Shepard "canon" after comparing the voice acting of Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale.
Seriously, the man sounds like cardboard rubbing against a concrete wall.
Flat and abrasive in one monotonous concoction.

I'm getting tired of all the Mark Meer hate. Think about it... your comparing the poor guy to Jennifer Hale... JENNIFER HALE! That's like asking a rookie to get more runs than the star of the team. He's not that bad and has improved tremendously in ME2. I enjoy both of their performances and change sexes every playthrough.

There's nothing wrong with Mark Meer. He's just ... Canadian. Very, very Canadian.

Perhaps I should elaborate.
Mark Meer isn't awful per default; but his performance in Mass Effect is a far cry of the vocal prowess he is capable of.
Take for example this improvised monologue:


Deliberate intonations, varied vocal register, downplayed...even subtle at moments.
None of this is to be seen (or rather, heard) in Mass Effect, which is very probably the fault of the voice director, not Meer.

 

[Fappy]

I defy anyone to call the male Shepard "canon" after comparing the voice acting of Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale.
Seriously, the man sounds like cardboard rubbing against a concrete wall.
Flat and abrasive in one monotonous concoction.

I'm getting tired of all the Mark Meer hate. Think about it... your comparing the poor guy to Jennifer Hale... JENNIFER HALE! That's like asking a rookie to get more runs than the star of the team. He's not that bad and has improved tremendously in ME2. I enjoy both of their performances and change sexes every playthrough.

There's nothing wrong with Mark Meer. He's just ... Canadian. Very, very Canadian.

Perhaps I should elaborate.
Mark Meer isn't awful per default; but his performance in Mass Effect is a far cry of the vocal prowess he is capable of.
Take for example this improvised monologue:


Deliberate intonations, varied vocal register, downplayed...even subtle at moments.
None of this is to be seen (or rather, heard) in Mass Effect, which is very probably the fault of the voice director, not Meer.

I'm in class at the moment
No headphones ftl.

 

[RyVal]

Perhaps I should elaborate.
Mark Meer isn't awful per default; but his performance in Mass Effect is a far cry of the vocal prowess he is capable of.
Take for example this improvised monologue:

-snip-

Deliberate intonations, varied vocal register, downplayed...even subtle at moments.
None of this is to be seen (or rather, heard) in Mass Effect, which is very probably the fault of the voice director, not Meer.

Meer just sounded like your average male video game protagonist fresh from The Harrison Ford School of Monotone Mumbling and Faux Badassery. Hale managed to imbue her voice with life. Even when she was doing her awful British accent in Mercenaries 2, she was still more interesting to listen to than the Jive Turkey [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JiveTurkey] black guy or the guttural main male character.

 

[223]

I remember reading a long time ago in PCgamer magazine about a game gaining media attention for having an openly gay character. That game was called Enchanted Arms and was a total PHAILure. Also, like someone else pointed out, gay people are a minority, so why should game developers waste time and money to add either a new character/ new romance possibility to please a very small crowd ? I`m not saying the gays are not worth it, but there is no wheelchair bound character in the game, nor is there any (party member) black character.
btw I have NOT played ME2, only the first one.

bottom line is you cannot please everyone, so go for the majorities and make money.

 

[Chewster]

It does seem rather silly that they don't go the Bully route, and just allow it to be the player's choice. I don't recall anyone bitching about Jimmy being able to make out with guys.

As for all the flack you got for such a simple question, well, I'd say that is something of an indicator of the strong existence of homophobia in the gaming community, even today. FYI to you all, no one is pushing anything down anyone's throats if the option to play your character as gay or straight is given, and the irrational fear that all games are going to eventually become one giant gay love-in is homophobia, no matter how many times you might say otherwise. More freedom to sculpt characters in whatever image you see fit is a good thing.

PROTIP to those whining about this post: when you say "I'm not X but..." chances are, you are.

EDIT:

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now and it seems to me that no one pointed out that being a lesbian and being gay are THE SAME THING. Someone might have, quote if necessary. You treat it like a symbol.

Considering the demographic for most games and also considering how lesbianism is much less stigmatized by men, no, it isn't the same thing.

SECOND EDIT:

Sorry, I keep seeing things in this rather interesting discussion. I'm sorry I was late to the party.

Again, it comes down to you must tolerate my particular group or else I find you intolerant.

Tolerating intolerance is not true tolerance. All intolerance and inequality must be unequivocally opposed, or else it will be left to fester and grow.

And it wasn't accurate, because the study showed that the brains of homosexuals are different. The word "malformed" implies that something is defective, thus putting a negative frame on what was otherwise a neutral piece of information.

 

[RyVal]

I remember reading a long time ago in PCgamer magazine about a game gaining media attention for having an openly gay character. That game was called Enchanted Arms and was a total PHAILure.

Which had a lot more to do with the fact that it was a mediocre [http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/emenchantarm?q=Enchanted%20Arms], obscure JRPG than the fact that it had an openly gay character. Coincidence does not equal causality.

Also, like someone else pointed out, gay people are a minority, so why should game developers waste time and money to add either a new character/ new romance possibility to please a very small crowd ?

Because it is a role-playing game. Allowing people to have their characters reflect their own choices and decisions is rather integral to the whole experience.

I`m not saying the gays are not worth it, but there is no wheelchair bound character in the game, nor is there any (party member) black character.
btw I have NOT played ME2, only the first one.

Having a guy in a wheelchair is totally different from having someone be gay. Giving you the option to be gay does not carry crippling gameplay issues in the same way that allowing you to be physically disabled does - how would combat work, for instance?

Also, I think there is a black party member in Mass Effect 2.

bottom line is you cannot please everyone, so go for the majorities and make money.

But they have already catered to the minority in the past, with no noticeable effect on sales. It is not very hard to repeat. Furthermore, it is somewhat immature to airbrush male homosexuality out of an ostensibly adult drama.

 

[Mother Yeti]

there is no wheelchair bound character in the game.

I take it you never spoke to Joker.

A lot of the arguments here are based on the idea that including a same-sex option would be catering to a minority, implying that only gay people would want to roleplay a gay character. However, anyone who's ever been to TV Tropes, Television Without Pity, or a yaoi fansite knows that that there are many, many hetero women and girls who would love to do exactly that.

 

[Dexiro]

I think it'd be better if most the characters had gay options, perhaps in every game xD

I don't mean forcing it onto the player, the characters would be 200% like they would of been otherwise and no touchy references that'd make homophobic players uncomfortable.

It's just nice not to feel forced. Unless the character is a well established manly man talking about his wife and big guns constantly then sure keep it more strict, but otherwise i can't see why it would ever affect someones character.

 

[Kage Me]

A lot of the arguments here are based on the idea that including a same-sex option would be catering to a minority, implying that only gay people would want to roleplay a gay character.

Not only that, but they did already include a same-sex option. I'd assume that lesbians are an even bigger minority than gay men, so why did LesShep get included over GayShep?

 

[Cody211282]

Honestly I don't care if they add it in or they don't, I wouldn't pick the option (unless it was an achevment) so it wouldn't bother me.

 

[Mother Yeti]

A lot of the arguments here are based on the idea that including a same-sex option would be catering to a minority, implying that only gay people would want to roleplay a gay character.

Not only that, but they did already include a same-sex option. I'd assume that lesbians are an even bigger minority than gay men, so why did LesShep get included over GayShep?

Exactly! Everyone is fine to concede that males might play a lesbian character, and yet they act like male homosexuality some gross, weird concept that no one would have any interest in roleplaying. Yet we're all perfectly aware of the existence of yaoi fangirls and hoyay-happy internet females.

 

[AcacianLeaves]

Actually I was disappointed that they removed most of the 'gay' options in ME2. Even in ME1 you weren't really being 'gay', as the Asari are a single sex race. It was kind of a cop-out by BioWare to not have to include actual homosexuality.

And, in reality, they've never had a truly homosexual character in their games. All characters that could potentially be 'gay' were actually bi - and would sleep with males OR females. I think they're consciously avoiding having to write a character that is actually really gay. They have characters that will ONLY ever be straight, but no characters that will ONLY ever be gay. What does that say about the representation of homosexuality in BioWare games, and games in general?

 

[Greeboz]

I don't know if this(Not going to look through 13 pages of this.) has been said or not but there is no homosexuality in ME and ME2. You may totally bone Liara as a Femshep but remember that Asari have no gender. They look like alien babes but it's a trick. Fooooled youuuu.

 

[Earthmonger]

I can't be bothered to read this entire morass of gay rights in media. So I'll simply say: aliens are animals. Anything nonhuman is either an animal or artificial intelligence. To an alien, we are animals. This means Bioware has amply programmed bestiality into ME. It does surprise me, going to this extent, that no gay male scenarios are present.