brap
Banned
I have to agree here. Maybe they should've had a trans person on staff to consult with this sort of thing. Is bad representation better than none at all?
i didnt mean to capitalize the title idk how that happened
i didnt mean to capitalize the title idk how that happened
The Last of Us Part II is a controversial game, and much of that controversy has been fueled by bigotry toward developer Naughty Dog’s foregrounding of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming characters. However, the game’s decision to deadname a transgender character — Lev, played by trans actor Ian Alexander — has also prompted condemnation from members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community.
WHAT IS DEADNAMING?
GLAAD Director of Transgender Representation Nick Adams has defined deadnaming as “To reveal a transgender person’s birth name without their explicit permission,” to The New York Times. This practice is harmful because it constitutes “an invasion of privacy that only serves to undermine the trans person’s true authentic identity, and can put them at risk for discrimination, even violence.”
HOW DOES DEADNAMING COME UP IN TLOU 2?Lev is an adolescent who befriends Abby during her treacherous adventure in Seattle. Lev has been kicked out of his religious community known as the Seraphites for shaving his head and identifying as male. The game drops some pretty clear contextual hints about Lev’s identity, but during a confrontation with some Seraphites, they angrily refer to Lev by their deadname.
Lev asks if Abby heard what the Seraphites called him, and she confirms that she did. Abby doesn’t press the issue, only saying that he can tell her more if he feels like it. Lev declines.
HOW PLAYERS HAVE RESPONDED — “I'm not going to pay $60 for a game that mistreats, deadnames, and abuses trans characters,” translator and RPGSite and Silconera contributor Kazuma Hashimoto said on Twitter. “It doesn't matter how "dark"/"grim" a setting is, that's unnecessary. Developers need to understand what kind of player will feel good about that kind of violence directed at trans people.”
While The Last of Us Part II likely aims to shed light on the difficulties of being transgender, it does so clumsily. Hashimoto points out that some gamers might even get pleasure from seeing transgender characters beat up or deadnamed. Even if the game portrays actions like deadnaming in a negative fashion, should it really be portraying them at all?
The game clearly explains that the Seraphites expelled Lev for defying the group's traditional gender roles, so deadnaming the character comes across as an unnecessary “saying it louder for the people in the back” moment. It’s hard for the game to present itself as progressive while pandering to ignorance.
Critics suggest cis white male writers like Neil Druckmann are out of their wheelhouse on this issue and disappointingly rely on queer identity as a mere setup for conflict and abuse. This widespread sentiment is apparent through just a simple Twitter search. Deadnaming characters and dramatizing their abuse isn’t “representation”, it’s bad writing.
'Last of Us 2' deadnaming prompts outcry from LGBTQ+ community and allies
Naughty Dog's decision to deadname Lev, a transgender character in 'TLOU 2,' has prompted condemnation from members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community.
www.inverse.com
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