For Persona 5 on the PlayStatn 4, a GameFAQs msage board topic tled "Would you play Persona 6 wh a strictly gay male character?".
Contents:
- WOULD YOU PLAY PERSONA 6 WH A STRICTLY GAY MALE CHARACTER?
- HOW PERSONA 5 LETS DOWN S GAY PLAYERS
- PERSONA 6 NEEDS A GAY ROMANCE OPTN
- PERSONA 6 NEEDS A GAY ROMANCE OPTN
WOULD YOU PLAY PERSONA 6 WH A STRICTLY GAY MALE CHARACTER?
* gay persona characters *
Inially, Kanji appears gay and Naoto seems to be transgenr. By clearly raisg the ia the player's md that Kanji is gay and then rejectg that ia, Persona 4 sends the msage that homosexualy is shameful and should not be 's start wh Kanji. Here, I hoped, I would get a plex portrayal of a gay character, one who has sadly but unrstandably reprsed his sexualy rponse to societal prsure, who felt that he uld not be accepted as a tough guy if people knew he was also gay.
HOW PERSONA 5 LETS DOWN S GAY PLAYERS
By clearly raisg the ia the player's md that Kanji is gay and then rejectg that ia, Persona 4 sends the msage that homosexualy is shameful and should not be accepted.
Yose's attus about Kanji are problematic, and so is the game's way of handlg the story progrs, we're perdilly remd that, had he been gay, Kanji would not have been fully accepted by the other members of the vtigatn team, and, fact, some anxiety lgers later on about whether or not Kanji is tly straight.
" suggtg that Yose's md, if Kanji had been gay, he would also be prone to behave appropriately. Rather than addrsg Yose's negative perceptns of homosexualy, perhaps wh a character arc which his prejudic are challenged and he be more open-md over time, Persona 4 lets his view of homosexualy as somethg to be feared stand unchallenged and unremarked upon, treatg as normal and acceptable.
PERSONA 6 NEEDS A GAY ROMANCE OPTN
" he says, suggtg that if he were gay, he would not really be a man.
By troducg the ia that Kanji is gay and that Naoto is transgenr and then backg away om embracg those characterizatns, Persona 4 reprents a betrayal of s central theme about people learng to accept themselv and each other for who they are, and sends the msage that such sexual orientatns and genr inti are too sry to accept.
PERSONA 6 NEEDS A GAY ROMANCE OPTN
The two unnamed men are the only explicly gay characters the game:.