umbrascitor Wrote:
MK9 Smoke had a certain vibe that made a lot of people think he was gay, without him ever coming right out and saying anything. Some people hated him for various reasons, but he proved to be fairly popular overall. That's a step in the right direction, I think.
If they did make a character who was clearly gay or bi, they'd have to do it carefully. If it's too obvious they're just doing it for the diversity, then it's a contrived effort that loses its meaning.
It's somewhat paradoxical, but the best way to draw positive attention to a minority position is to carry on like everything is normal instead of drawing attention to it. In real life this translates to, "If you want to be treated the same, stop rubbing it in people's faces how separate and different you are." In media, that means seamlessly integrating characters who can easily be interpreted as gay, but never saying anything about it, so that the character is cool on its own merits and their sexuality becomes cool by association. Characters like Smoke, and to some extent Rain, do that pretty well. So do games that let you choose your protagonist's sexuality as an inconsequential background option, like Mass Effect and Fable.
Shame on you. What a deplorable thought.
