The last trailer of Cyberpunk 2077 and it in-game advert depicting a trans woman showing off her HUGE cyberdick with the slogan "MIX IT UP" made me think about the cyberpunk genre and about transgender representation.
I revisited some relevant articles like Why ins't Cyberpunk Better at Trans Representation? and "Is Every Woman Here A Sex Change?" - Trans in Cyberpunk RPG.
There was also some discussions online about Cyperpunk 2077, some of them, where people were not super defensive, were interesting and made me want to respond in the classic OSR/DIY fashion: by crafting my own thing, so I started working on a trans positive Cyberpunk zine.
While working on my zine I acquired a bunch of cyberpunk inspired OSR publications and I used the PDF search function to check how trans people are represented in them. Since there is a lot of trans people in the OSR scene, I was wondering if the representation would be stronger and more positive or creative.
I checked Black Hack Cyber Hacked, Mirrorshades (Black Hack), Cybernetica, Deep Morphean Transmissions, Mirrorshades Adventurers Rules, Cyberpanky_NOW, Extinguish the Sun #02, Polychrome Cyberpunk (Stars without number) and Augmented Reality.
There was no results for the words sex, trans and gender in these publications, except for Cyberpanky NOW, Polychrome and Augmented Reality.
In Cyberpanky NOW there is a gender identity table that you can roll on when you create a character:
Gender Identity
1. Straight male
2. Gay male
Gender Identity
1. Straight male
2. Gay male
3. Transgender male pre-op
4. Transgender male post-op
5. Bisexual male
6. Straight female
7. Gay female
8. Transgender female pre-op
9. Transgender female post-op
10. Bisexual female
If you use this table, your character have 40% chances of being trans and 80% chances of not being straight. This is kind of interesting but there is no other context and this is the only place were the word "trans" is mentioned.
Polychrome have "biosculpts" and mention that gender reassignment is relatively simple.
"Biosculpt: Available in two different varieties, a biosculpt job involves the implantation of immuno neutral tissues and artificial implants to produce a desired appearance. Gender reassignment is relatively simple (...)"
Polychrome also mention the existence of "other" genders but they are relegated to sex work.
"The Nightingale: On the surface, the Nightingale is a typical,
slightly upscale underhab knocking shop, with the almost 100%
artificial madame Miss Cecilia overseeing a stable of men, women,
and other genders available for varied entertainments."
And then there is the notion of cyber ninjas undergoing biosculpting gender reassignment to better approach their target.
"Some specialists take regular biosculpt jobs to alter their
appearance and gender so as to optimally appeal to a target, getting
close enough to execute them in an unguarded moment. These
“Judiths” or “Judies” can easily command as much as 50,000 credits
for the successful assassination of a mid-level corp manager."
Undergoing gender reassignment procedures just to better approach a target is a pretty problematic trope, I guess that cyber ninjas don't really care about their gender because ninjas only exist as assassins, not as people. Maybe only gender fluid people become cyber ninja, but the text don't go there.
Deep Morphean Transmissions don't represent any trans character but it feature artworks by Scrap Princess.
Extinguish the Sun #02 don't feature anything trans related but it credit two trans women: I did some commissioned artwork and there is a character class written by Fiona Maeve Geist. There is also a interview with Daniel Sell who mention that he often work with queer and trans people.
"HOW INCLUSIVE DO YOU THINK THE OSR COMMUNITY IS AS COMPARED TO TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING GAMES AS A WHOLE?It’s inclusive for sure, but compared to games as a whole I have no idea. As a rule I don’t engage in the broader community; I’m already too busy and I don’t need to deal with rubes on top of that. I work with more trans and queer people that not, and am openly gay myself, but I don’t seek them out.Most people I work with come to me with their projects in hand, or I find them because I know I’ll enjoy working with them."
Augmented Reality The Holistic City Kit for Cyberpunk Games was the most interesting to check out as the book attempt to breath life to a cyberpunk urban sprawl through the use of random tables.
- There is a Transvestite entry in the looks table for cabbies.
- There is trans man and trans woman entries in the sex workers table.
- Street gangs can roll transgender as a descriptor.
- Street gangs also feature this entry: Premier suppliers of street level gender reassignment technology.
- The random table for the Fixers have this entry: Hormone-locked teen transsexual; outrageous flirt.
- A random trait for NPCs: Substandard gender reassignment.
My observations...
Transgender characters are pretty absent from the Cyberpunk OSR publications. When transgender characters are represented, like too often in the Cyberpunk genre, they are sexualized and are othered instead of being normalized or being cast as positive or significant characters. The only exception was Cyberpanky NOW who somehow subtly suggest that trans and queer people are often the main characters in the game.
But that said, there is very few cyberpunk themed OSR products and some of these publications don't really present a setting. I hope that more cyberpunk stuff will emerge.
About Transploitation
So there is a lot of transploitation in the Cyberpunk genre as trans identities are often used by the genre as a tool to sell a edgy, transgressive and decadent future. In the discussions I had about Cyberpunk 2077 and it big dick MIX IT UP advert, a lot of people told me that this is transploitative but it is on brand for the Mega Corporations. I agree but the issue is that Cyberpunk generally use a straight cis white male gaze to explore the future. Most cyberpunk protagonists are generic cis male characters, "broody Tintins" who are used as point of view characters to give to their audience a familiar perspective that let them explore the weird cyberpunk stuff. These point of view protagonists are not transgender characters who can address how the corporations use their image. If this was the case, maybe it could be something interesting to explore. If not, it is just exploitation.
The main advantage of roleplaying games is that you can author your own character but I appreciate it when the game's writers are able to add some nuanced diversity on their own. Like everyone else, I like it when I find stuff that inspire me in a game or when I can identify with some elements of the setting.
The main advantage of roleplaying games is that you can author your own character but I appreciate it when the game's writers are able to add some nuanced diversity on their own. Like everyone else, I like it when I find stuff that inspire me in a game or when I can identify with some elements of the setting.
Transgender Representation
I think the key, as always is to present a good diversity of characters. I want my cyberpunk games to present multiple trans characters, so that some of them can be ordinary trans folks while others can be more marginal people. I want to see cool and flawed cyberpunk characters in the same book. Don't forget that trans people network a lot to find info and to support each other, before, during and after our social and/or physical transition. That gothic trans girl who record porno simsenses certainly know a quiet corporate trans woman, a pre-op net slicer who don't care about their meat body, the cute non binary barista who take a bit of estrogen and that cool street samurai trans man who kick major asses.
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