HAlexandra64

@nephix: If that's the case and Ms. Bailey was already cast before character design, we're looking at same issue but simply watching it flow in reverse. It doesn't really change things. It just begs the question of why ND had Ms. Bailey at disposal and then decided to design Nadine as they did.

Keep in mind, I am not saying ND was required to cast differently or design differently. They are free to do as they like with their art. Laura Bailey is a tremendous talent. Heck, she plays Faye in Binary Domain and gives an amazing performance. It's one of my favorite games and she helps make it so. But that doesn't mean we can't examine the mechanisms involved in creating characters like Nadine or Faye to look for shortcomings or missed opportunities in order to improve those processes.

These two statement are incongruous. If only because you're not disagreeing with my actual argument. You're disagreeing with a false version of it that has been argued to the extreme. The prospect of "only" is not something I am concerned with. I merely ask for equity, not monopoly.

I wrote an entire article about it. But remember, I want more than for those people to simply be seen. Being seen is a single step along a greater path.

In the simplest terms, I am not you and you are not me. How can I speak for you and your experiences? How can someone speak for me and mine? This ripples out and moves broader, into identities. What do I know about being black, for instance? Very little. I am not black. I have never known, for instance, the fear of having police hold control over my literal safety. My existence and my body.

I have known a variation of that fear and I have known variations of the pain of seeing my brothers and sisters shot down in the streets or in clubs. Of seeing allies choked to death on street corners. But I have known it solely through the lens of a complex tangling of systems, interactions, history, and politics that culminate in my facticities. Does this mean I cannot imagine other experiences or empathize with them? No. I can do that and often do. Does this mean that a cisgendered man cannot write a compelling trans character? No.

Yet, what it does mean is that there are things in our lives...in my life and the lives of everyone...that we cannot comprehend in totality and thus, attempts to express or communicate those things are shadowy and wispy when compared to those who have experienced them utterly and completely. Because of this, there is immense, powerful value in giving voices to those who can speak with more authority and experience than our own.

So, I wanted to wait until I was free to reply to this one. First, I'm not merely "pro transgender". I am transgender. Parsing in the term you chose is a little odd and I thought I'd clear that up.

To the question: I can separate these things because the latter half of your statement isn't really the point of my argument. My thesis isn't "Any and all of X group must be portrayed or written exclusively by members of said group." My thesis is "Minority characters in art provide an opportunity to allow marginalized voices equity in an economy that has largely denied them access."

When I use Krem as an example, I am not saying that Krem is an invalid character or even an unwanted representational icon. Krem's cool! What I am saying is that there were multiple opportunities to involve trans people in his creation/presentation and that this opportunities were not taken. As such, marginalized people remained marginalized. Which is Not Cool™.

@clush: You're unloading a lot that doesn't really merit response but I'll stand by what I said about the nature of "the discourse" when it came to The Witcher 3. Biases cut all ways and manifest in many different forms. In that discussion, important voices were at risk of being ignored for very capricious reasons.

@ac_shredder: That's one of the chief reasons that I take time to mention The Witcher as a Polish work of art. This noted, it is also an internationally distributed work as well. For what that is worth considering. Regardless: more often than not, I find that rhetoric that dismisses racial criticism because it is coming form a place divorced from Europe largely exists as a mean to ignore or de-emphasize very salient points.

Make no mistake. We certainly need more works that are culturally Irish, Polish, Russian, et cetera. But it would be unfortunate to dismiss Tariq's criticisms.(Hell, in doing so, many people erase Mr. Moosa's South African heritage so that they can pursue anti-American lines of inquiry.)

@matterman: checking in briefly from work while I am on break. My Twitter handle is @transgamerthink and most of my work is catalogued at my website transgamerthoughts.com!

@v878: Sure. But it is possible and healthy to hold many thoughts about a thing in your head at once. I like Krem and think he's written well, given the circumstances. But I can believe that while also believing that Krem provided a lot of opportunities that were not capitalized on. One doesn't necessarily cancel out the other.

Bear in mind that I'm not saying that only certain types of people can create certain types of character or icons. I'm saying there's ample opportunity to allow people traditionally removed from these roles a more comprehensive, equal participation.