Character sexualities (and why they shouldn't be specified!)
(This is NOT a homophobic post. Please read before saying anything!)
I think that a character's sexuality in the lore should not be specified, unless it is absolutely crucial to their lore. Can/should they mention past lovers, if it benefits their story? Yeah.
For example- David. His lore partially revolves around a girl he was dating. But even then, his sexuality is never explicitly determined. Same with the nurse and the wraith, etc.
Another, and my biggest reason they shouldn't mention orientation- head canons! My friends and I LOVE to head canon with one another- and we even don't always agree with each other, but we don't argue. Why? Because it's not that big of a deal. They're fictional characters, and by leaving their orientations/sexualities/identities undefined makes way for a lot of cool ideas.
My friend, for example- She ships ZarinaxKate. I ship ZarinaxElodie. I also ship CherylxJake. Stuff like that. Their sexualities have never been specified in the lore before, so why start now?
TL;DR
Brooo leave room for us nerdy head canon-erers.. Let us decide for our own ideas! It's fun that way (unless it benefits the story to specify!)
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I just don't want people starting up Dwight X David and Dwight X Jake posts. I also don't want people asking for feminine or masculine outfits again. When this whole debacle started, people were wanting bikinis for characters like Kate and Meg. Sorry, everyone, this isn't Friday the 13th.
Edit: I'm totally on board for shirtless Felix, Dwight, and Myers, but nothing else.
Post edited by DetailedDetriment on11 -
Meme
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I doubt they would unless it did actually come into play in their lore, but they aren't going to tell us something that doesn't relate to the gameplay or lore at all. I feel like they'd only reveal it in an archive story because that lore is pretty much just side lore.
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Their sexuality was translating to people asking for.. bikinis? Weird lol
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Finally, something I can relate to.
I agree that their sexuality shouldn’t be specified either, unless it’s important.
Sure they can say “Felix dated a man before” or “Yui has a boyfriend”, but for me, that changes almost nothing. I love to imagine all characters as either Bisexual and/or Pansexual until explicitly stated otherwise.
By that, I mean if they say something like: “Yui doesn’t like women”.
People have tons of headcanons for the characters, I think mainly because of BHVR’s previous statement of the character’s being who you want them to be. If they can keep that way, I’d be glad. 😓
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I agree. Players should feel free to interpret characters however they want, including their sexualities/identities. After all, they're our avatars. We're allowed to draw our own conclusions about them. By leaving the sexualities of the characters unspecified, the lore allows you to do so.
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I still remember that one guy who shouted at the devs wanting to know if the new main character female lead from Gears 5 was into women instead of men... Like that has anything to do with the game or its story.
Sure, as you said, if it is required by the character's story, love interest, or something along those lines that are tied to the story, then, by all means, mention their sexuality, but if you throw it out there just to please a certain group, you are just pandering to the minorities who cry for not being properly represented in video games as if that is something that is their birthright.
This is not an attack towards anyone, I am just expressing how I see video games nowadays.
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Type bikini into the search bar. You get stuff for Huntress, Kate, Nea, Pig, etc.
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I agree. This isn't a dating sim; I don't think that anybody could care less about who everybody wants to get down with when they're being chased down by a crazed murderer.
That being said, if their lore requires their sexuality to be revealed, I'll be all for it. Whatever makes their character deeper and more relatable.
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I don't care about the sexual preferences of fictional video game characters. As far as I'm concerned, why even address it? That way each individual Player can simply apply the preference they prefer to them in their minds. For that matter, why are we even talking about this? There are tons of threads that make no sense to me:
- Which Killer do you think is hot?
- Which Killer and Survivor would make a good couple?
- Screw, Marry, Kill who?
And on and on it goes? Seriously, how many of you are here to play the damn game and how many of you are here to get inspiration for weird fan fiction? These are cartoon characters, and you can apply whatever interior motivations, dreams, preferences, etc. you want to them. Go wild; have a ball.
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Plus as the devs stated, "there is no time for love in the entity's realms."
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felix has a wife
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b-but i want a bikini for Kate bro :(
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I think yui is lesbian also i think they should just reveal their sexuality in tomes
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Do you know what head canon even means lol. In my head canon i play ghostface as Billy or Stu. Despite the canon saying otherwise. cuz head canon.
Its crazy but with the amount of people who get so offended over this i think BHVR might be able to actually fix homophobia the world over by changing dweets bio to "he gay"
I would expect an initial meltdown of course but once people realize theres not ######### they can do about it maybe they'll go do something productive or something
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The "devs" also started survivors forget everything that happens after a trail and killers never meet, despite contradiction to both of these things existing in game.
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Nobody said it was homophobic to add sexualities. And head canon, by definition, is- When someone invents a piece of fanon they really believe in, it may not be accepted as a general part of fandom, but it still stays tucked away inside its creator's brain; it thus becomes his or her personal "headcanon."
You playing billy/ghost face is not a head canon, it is a preference. A head canon is when you make up something that isn't actually apart of the real story, that is in your head, as the name implies. If you looked up the word head canon, it's the first result.
I just said this because sexualities don't actually affect lore haha
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Devs: survivors forget everything after they die Benedict Baker: Wrong
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Too late for that sadly
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The reason why people want to know these things about fictional characters whether they are relevant or not is because people want to feel seen.
People want to be acknowledged to be more in a setting than a someTHING to provide 'an important lesson'
Check out e.g. Council of Geeks on youtube, they got some marvelous essays on why people want to know what's up with a character whether or not it's relevant to their story.
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Oh i see you're not dumb i am. Because head canon is something that isnt a part of the story its just something that i believe.
Its not canon to believe the Ghostface im playing is Billy or stu its a preference.....because Billy and Stu are really in dbd obviously, duh.
My bad man
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Look. I'm as queer as they come and I'll agree that there's no need to state the sexualities of the characters in the game. People will do what they like with it especially since, in a fanfiction/art sense, the crossovers happening in DbD are fun to explore, both on the side of Killers and Survivors. To a degree I don't care for the Tomes - given how much of the game has changed over the years it's been out, it's inevidentable that the initial ideas they had regarding characters and how much they want to discuss them has changed and is now contradictory in places.
People like to assign sexualities and headcanons to characters in part because they like finding stories, but in part because they like seeing characters like them in the media they partake in. If I imagine a character is gay then part of it is because I'd like to see a character like me in the video game I'm enjoying. Hearing that somethig like that is official is nice because it means you're being seen and recognised. Does it matter in DbD? Not really, not in terms of gameplay. But for some people it can be meanful in that other sense. And it's worth mentioning that while we do have numerous mentions of hetreosexual relationships in the game - boyfriends and girlfriends, wives and husbands and the like - I can't think of any homosexual backstories mentioned anywhere.
Like I said, does it impact anything int he grand scheme? Probably not. But it's nice to be seen and to see yourself in your media, to have characters you can grab and say 'yeah, this one's officially like me'. That all said, devs, you ever want to add a transgender survivor, count me the ######### in
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Coming from a gay person, it is absolutely unnecessary to specify. At best, just say "his boyfriend" or something like it. Just an off handed comment, but I don't get why people think that if they don't specify sexualities, they are automatically straight. Honestly, I won't understand the logic, and think it's unnecessary to specify in any case. Good post.
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Ikr i agree with you
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coming from a queer person, representation matters and hiding behind the excuse that everyone should get to decide for themselves has been at odds with the canon for awhile. frank x julie? confirmed. wraith x nurse? strongly implied. david has an ex girlfriend, felix has a current girlfriend and an unborn child he wants to get back to. ace has multiple references to being a skeevy 'ladies man'.
as is, ONLY heterosexuality exists in dbd. the incoming LGBTQ+ representation doesn't take away your headcanons any more than the current canon sexualities do. imagine whatever you like, but it'd mean a bunch and make a lot of people really happy to have concrete evidence BHVR isn't all talk when it comes to supporting us and to see ourselves reflected in characters we know and love. especially in a gaming community not well known for being welcoming and open-minded.
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I mean, they shouldn't outright state sexualities. Yes, they have states couples but have never straight up said, "This person is straight!"
That's what I meant :0
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Idk about you but after seeing Samations Wraith, he is totally gay in my book.
*Twirl. Twirl.*
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you don't have to say felix is straight or frank is straight or ace is straight for the majority to reach that conclusion but if you tell us yui kimura's a lesbian in no uncertain terms? that's a clarifying, strong statement, one many gamers wouldn't even consider unless the lore provided that intel. that's the big difference here and ultimately why clear representation matters imo, we're not just fighting for inclusion, we're fighting the perception that heterosexuality is the "default" and so it does need to be louder and more distinct to get that point across.
that said, i'm honestly gonna celebrate whenever we get any representation at all, ambiguous or defined. 🌈💕
Post edited by hagling on2 -
That is because in our heteronormative society, it's assumed that people are straight unless specifically mentioned otherwise. You don't need to straight up say that someone is hetero, because our society already assumes that as being a given.
That is why people explicitly out themselves as LGBT and why sexualities have to be mentioned straight up.
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A character that had a relationship with the opposite sex could be bisexual or pansexual tho
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true! but when we decide that's the case rather than pressure the devs to actually MAKE that the case by clarifying their sexuality, we're giving them an easy out on rep.
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Too late, several characters already had their sexualities stated like David, Nurse, and Wraith.
I'm thinking Jake could be our rainbow man. Him being into guys could play a part in him splitting off from his traditional and controlling family to run off on his own. It fits perfectly.
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Jake doesn't want any social interaction, Doesn't want to talk to his family friends or anybody so him being with another man/woman is unlikely
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The devs could just say his boyfriend or her girlfriend in one of the tomes That's an easy way to make a gay character
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Wraith nurse and david could be either bi or pan
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excluding the current tome cuz it's not finished yet, there have been lore entries for a total of 17 playable characters. only 2 of those were about or alluded to a romantic relationship, julie's tome and david's tome. both straight relationships. if you really think the devs are gonna give the remaining characters multiple tomes each focusing on their romantic exploits in order for us to reasonably conclude they're bi or pan.. well, that's very very unlikely.
and yeah, they could totally give david a lore-only side character ex boyfriend after they complete every other remaining character's tome and start double dipping but us imagining that's the case before they tell us isn't representation, and frankly waiting that long for something they promised us back in june 2020 sounds miserable. i'd much rather they confirm rep in a way where we don't have to assume anything, it's right there on the page. david's bisexual. yui's lesbian. jake's gay. practical, bold, and quick, y'know? until then, all we have is heterosexuality. pretending otherwise gives the devs credit they haven't earned yet.
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No way in hell do Kate and Meg get bikinis without Bill getting one as well. Ill quit playing if this ever happens. Bill in a Borat outfit or nothing for anyone.
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Oni in a fundoshi or nothing for anyone.
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It's not that common though, not so much when compared to straight folks like myself, bi or pan it doesn't matter, that still fits in your community, and as such, you guys are minorities which is why we protect you or encourage you guys to express yourselves, and yes being straight is a default in our society, that's just how our bodies are intended to work. But whatever, I don't really care if some characters are gay, just don't it randomly and without explanation, like if Bill randomly turned gay when his L4D would strongly conflict that in his comics.
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Oh, so you mean the way that the norm is that people assume you are straight because the majority of people are straight?
No, there is 1 confirmed heterosexual, that being Ace. The rest(like, what, 5 people out of the 49 remaining characters?) are maybe heterosexual relationships, but they are not necessarily straight. All that has been shown is that out of 50 characters, 1 is heterosexual and 5 have engaged in a heterosexual relationship. Not even including the fact that the lore only represents only a few months before the characters were dragged into the fog.
Considering the lore is mainly about the daily lives before entering the fog, there is plenty of room.
As for gaming communitys being welcoming and open-minded, well, dead by daylight is quite open-minded. It literally leaves room for a lot of things. The lack of information given to characters on purpose is pretty much the definition of an open-minded lore. Unless you're talking about "blackface" bubba, in which case you need to get out, because that's racist. Removing Claudette from Bubba's inventory because she is black is like saying Bubba doesnt think Claudette's face is worth wearing because she is black. Bubba is not a racist murderer, he wears the faces of his victims equally.
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so you clearly aren't capable of understanding what i was saying but i'll go ahead and repeat myself: when we pretend that only alluding to heterosexual relationships/attractions means that the characters could be bi or pan or any other flavor of queer rather than pressuring the devs to confirm that in concrete terms, we're letting them off the hook on representation. it's something that's totally true irl, it's quite rude to assume you know a real person's sexuality based on some small shred of evidence but this is fiction and imagination isn't representation. i've said similar three times now in this thread alone, which you didn't care to read or maybe just didn't process cuz you were too busy conjuring some strange unrelated argument about blackface bubba?? weird thing to defend given no prompting but do you i guess.
you can tell me the dbd community's super open minded when an LGBTQ+ topic can exist on the forums without getting random bigots drawn like moths to a flame (even this thread had a couple replies bad enough that when reported, they were removed by the mods) or the use of the F slur dies down in endgame chat, seems like you're trying to pretend something isn't an issue because it doesn't affect you. pretty common here tho.
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It reminds me of a SWF Roleplay game we had with some friends and it was hilarious
They were a Claudette - the mum - an Adam - the dad - a Jake and me as Feng - the adopted childs- and we had so much fun like we had some family vacations on the Crotus prenn museum and the guide guy - Hillbilly - wasnt gentle and dont deserved tips
-mom, ive founded weird skulls with fire in it ?!
-dont touch it with your hands its dirty !!
No matter if we losed Claudie mum and Brother Jake this time, it was so funny
🤣
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But what about the rEpReSeNtaTiOn that all the gays need?
I mean come on, this might be a game about death and nothing to do with sexuality, but we need to know if Dwight likes his bussy played with /s
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I agree. I kinda wish BHVR didn’t include lore that has to do with certain Survivors sexuality. I feel its kind of a smack in the face to people who like to be imaginative.
For example: I think Jane is sexy and I love to think she’s into women, but maybe a straight male who plays the game also thinks she sexy and believes she’s straight. Why should BHVR dictate that? I mean, we’re the ones who spend hours on this game, I think we deserve to have some freedom when it comes to our imagination.
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True. David will always be a powerbottom to me
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Exactly.
Everyone deserves to have their preferences/imaginative ideas put into these characters, ESPECIALLY David.
David is #1, lol <3
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