Is the Pokémon "Are you a boy or girl?" thing outdated?

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I was extremely excited to have a black skin tone for my character in XY, and even more excited to have it even darker in Sun & Moon. Its only fair if gender peeps can have the same inclusion.
 
Just have a "first-person" segment where you fill out a form for your Pokémon trainer license on an in-game PC and have a checklist for gender with at least four options. Then have a spot where you choose preferred title (Mr., Ms., neither), and then the game continues as normal.

And an actual character creator with clothing options.
 
OP asked an innocent question, people respond with intolerance.

Y'all should pick up a book, tbh. Or watch the news, the world is changing. You can complain about "PC" culture all you want, but all that means, is that you're outdated. Just like the question in Pokemon. Saying "What's your style?" would be much better than "Are you a boy or a girl?"
 
xaeroxcore said:
It should include one predefined character and no more. Just to end this kind of idiotic discussions. I´ts a videogame in which the point is catch all the pokemons, not real life.
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This thread has had a lot of this, but all I would say is just try to read through some of the replies in this thread - there are a lot of thoughtful and heartfelt ones - and try to see some of these issues in a different light.
 
I was always under the impression that the professor was asking your character and not you specifically.

But more customization never hurt nobody.
 
platina said:
I think he's talking about these



Anyways this thread is getting dangerous seeing as it was locked to snipe out people. and i think it's time to bail as there is no right or wrong answer, just a lot of posts that have their meaning twisted. Be careful what you post people.
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I know what he was talking about, I'm not dumb. He twisted and added words and dismissed the context that was said in.
 
xaeroxcore said:
It should include one predefined character and no more. Just to end this kind of idiotic discussions. I´ts a videogame in which the point is catch all the pokemons, not real life.
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If it's a part of the game, than it can be discussed. Doesnitnhurt you that much to have this brought up? What is it about the subject that you can't just ignore or listen to?
 
I agree with the idea of opening up the character selection even more, just wanted to add I think it'd be hilarious for the professor to ask, "so tell me more about yourself! Are you -cis, -trans, AFAB, AMAB?"
 
Sou Da said:
iirc they don't actually ask you this anymore, Kukui asks how do you look and the portraits for both characters come up in different skin tones.

Then you pick one.
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Brawly Likes to Brawl said:
If it makes you feel better OP, Sun & Moon's character selection doesn't seem to explicitly ask you your gender, it just puts 8 different base designs on a palette and asks you to choose.
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This might need to be seen since it may have been fixed already.
 
Ric Flair said:
I agree with the idea of opening up the character selection even more, just wanted to add I think it'd be hilarious for the professor to ask, "so tell me more about yourself! Are you -cis, -trans, AFAB, AMAB?"
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You may not mean harm, but that's quite obviously mocking the notion of diversity.

girlfriendofagamer said:
This might need to be seen since it may have been fixed already.
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Awesome! Also, good on you for changing your tone on this.
 
I mean, the game honestly does not know our gender. I don't believe the term is dated by any means. It's a valid question to the end user and tailors their playing experience to what their choosing is.

As a individual typing this post over the internet, on a internet forum, I also do not believe I have the right to judge others based off of their selection.
 
Spring-Loaded said:
Just have a "first-person" segment where you fill out a form for your Pokémon trainer license on an in-game PC and have a checklist for gender with at least four options. Then have a spot where you choose preferred title (Mr., Ms., neither), and then the game continues as normal.

And an actual character creator with clothing options.
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Which options should there be "at least"?
 
GinoFelino said:
You may not mean harm, but that's quite obviously mocking the notion of diversity.



Awesome! Also, good on you for changing your tone on this.
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Sorry if that offended anyone, I was merely making jest of the idea a kid would probably have no idea what any of that meant, which maybe is a good thing. Would get them to talk to their parents about gender
 
Twiforce said:
already ITT: cis people get all uneasy about being reminded gender isn't a binary, trivialize non-binary people for wanting acknowledgement and validation
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It's a fucking game at the end of the day. I'm black and really don't care if they have a black avatar or not, etc.
 
Venfayth said:
I know this dude got nuked, but I wanted to make this post anyway for anyone who might get the wrong impression about what "The Business World" is.

I worked in a Fortune 500 company where a team member went through SRS and we formally were all sat down by our manager and we had a discussion about which pronoun to use among other things. It was an awkward meeting but the vast majority of people were incredibly respectful and understanding.

It's not rocket science to be respectful and any company that deserves a modicum of respect understands that as well.
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Exactly.

It's not difficult, and people who act like we're asking for something unreasonable here are just being difficult themselves for no good reason. It doesn't take me much effort at all to remember that this person likes to be referred to in this way and not any other, especially if we interact with one another on a regular basis.

Getting back to the topic, we also definitely need more in-depth character creation independent of the gender issue, as I just feel the current status quo is not acceptable. Even series like Dragon Ball are getting in on the action nowadays. Pokemon has no excuse.

PandaShake said:
It's a kids game with options children can understand. It's not outdated, you've outgrown it.
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Now that's offensive.

Kids are actually better at understanding these things than adults are. They're blank slates - whatever you feed into them, they're going to absorb. A kid having two women as her parents will only have known that as their normal, and will have to be taught that a man and a woman is the 'usual' pairing. Likewise, a kid being taught that gender is a spectrum gets it in a snap relative to adults who have pre-conceived notions that must be shattered first.

Kids are brighter than you give them credit for.
 
Big Blue said:
It's a fucking game at the end of the day.
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But games are... just products/art made by people to be enjoyed by others. They reflect the views of those who participate in their development, and reflect where we are as a society.

Have you ever gone back decades and looked at certain cartoons? Racist as fuck. They were 'just cartoons' but they were important, because they not only reflected norms at the time, but also served to shape future ones with the youth.
 
Trulyworth said:
Simple solution: Type in all your information rather than select it.

Name: ______
Age: ______
Gender: ______
Favorite X: ______
Hobby: _______
Favorite Y: _______
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I was thinking something like that could work. I remember Civilization 2 had a custom civ option where you could change an empire's name, the way its citizens are called, adjectives for its units, etc by filling out a short form. An 'Advanced Options' where you could specify all the different terms for your character's gender could be doable like that too.
Plus, like with the X/Y NPC's giving you a nickname, people who don't give a rat's ass could just screw around with it and type in silly things to entertain themselves. It's a win-win.

But I'm expecting Pokemon to be one of the last franchises to implement something like that, if at all.
 
Even though I'm not opposed to the concept of choice, the only solution to the problem that I can think of involves having a bunch of questions along with a bunch of possible answers, or a form where you have to fill in a multitude of details.

Which is all fine and dandy (after all, PC games and some console games for adults have had character creators and options menus with so many options that they look like spreadsheets), but maybe too much of an accessibility barrier for a game that they want to market and sell to very small children.

It's not about "you shouldn't expose children to this concept" or anything like that, at least I don't think so. But if we're gonna do that and still target this audience, we're gonna need to come up with a solution that's very easy, straightforward and fast from the end-user's perspective.
 
xaeroxcore said:
It should include one predefined character and no more. Just to end this kind of idiotic discussions. I´ts a videogame in which the point is catch all the pokemons, not real life.
Click to expand...
This kind of mentality is horrifyingly dismissive to the entire issue. A lot of privileged posts in here are making this oddly reminiscent of the discussions surrounding minority race and female inclusion in games/media. "I don't think different people should be in my media!!"
 
Zolo said:
Just go here and start putting each identity in the list: http://genderfluidsupport.tumblr.com/gender/

Or just put in 'neither', 'other', or 'non-binary'.
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So I only understand the ones like male, female, trans, and neither. A lot of the ones displayed here seem very specific.

This onr seems to be a jobe but ive met others who would define themselves on their sexual preference whether it be male, male, or others.

What defines a persons gender when there seems to be so many definitions?
 
PBY said:
But games are... just products/art made by people to be enjoyed by others. They reflect the views of those who participate in their development, and reflect where we are as a society.

Have you ever gone back decades and looked at certain cartoons? Racist as fuck. They were 'just cartoons' but they were important, because they not only reflected norms at the time, but also served to shape future ones with the youth.
Click to expand...

This bit of well-phrased common sense should be required reading for everyone signing up with GAF :)
 
Something a little unique about Pokemon's situation is that recent games have been including the un-chosen gender character as an actual major character in the game, with a unique personality depending on if they are a boy or a girl. So the choice does have an actual impact on the rest of the experience.

I suppose if they offered half a dozen choices, they could still fall back on the boy or girl as written and leave the other un-chosen options out of it.
 
I think it would be great if they could find a way to be more inclusive. It would be incredibly difficult for a game to include all possibilities though. First there are just a lot of different ways of thinking about your gender out there from culture to culture, then there is the pronoun thing, which for some people seems wholly separate from the gender they identify as.

I think the best option for the first problem is choosing from a list of different appearances or going through a simple character creator and then allowing all clothing items to be equipped no matter your appearance. The second problem isn't so easily fixable.
 
During gen V I decided to play as the girl trainer.

One day I went on the pokemon website, and it had a stat showing the ratio of male to female players.

At first I was confused how they would even know that, since as far as I know they never had asked me my gender.

But then I clued in that they were basing it on the gender of the trainer you were playing as.

Before that point I never even clued in that that was a serious question. I thought the professor was just trying to be in character.
 
PBY said:
Does it matter though?
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That depends on what you perceive to be problematic here. If it is that you as the player are outright asked what you are, and then assigned an avatar that somehow clashes with what you identify as, then I can see where the criticism comes from.

If the question instead is asked to the character, I see no problem having the boy and girl character looking like a stereotypical boy and girl.
 
Videospel said:
That depends on what you perceive to be problematic here. If it is that you as the player are outright asked what you are, and then assigned an avatar that somehow clashes with what you identify as, then I can see where the criticism comes from.

If the question instead is asked to the character, I see no problem having the boy and girl character looking like a stereotypical boy and girl.
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I don't think anyone is out to specifically criticize this game or this company here - people just want more inclusiveness. So that would apply to both scenarios.
 
  • Choose your aparece (male or female)
  • Chose your color
  • Choose your clothes

So, if someone whant a male apparence but wear girls clothes, that person will can.
 
RockmanBN said:
So I only understand the ones like male, female, trans, and neither. A lot of the ones displayed here seem very specific.

This onr seems to be a jobe but ive met others who would define themselves on their sexual preference whether it be male, male, or others.

What defines a persons gender when there seems to be so many definitions?
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Whatever the person in question feels is right.

Yoshi said:
Sorry if I ask, but are you serious? I asked which four, not "can you send me an absurdely long list?" Is this even an actual gender-support website or is it some sort of parody?
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You don't seem to actually care so I don't know why your continuing with this.
 
Woman 1: "Hey I'm pregnant!
Woman 2: "Oh!! Is it a boy or a girl??"
Woman 1: "FUCKING CIS BIGENDER SOCIETY BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA.....!"

For GOD'S sake this shit has to stop. It's a god damn videogame.
 
royox said:
Woman 1: "Hey I'm pregnant!
Woman 2: "Oh!! Is it a boy or a girl??"
Woman 1: "FUCKING CIS BIGENDER SOCIETY BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA.....!"

For GOD'S sake this shit has to stop. It's a god damn videogame.
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ricardo_sousa11 said:
OMFG,

Society these days has to offended with everything, stop right there, please stop.
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No mention of offense being taken in the OP, me thinks you are reacting more offended that they are
 
Scientist Supreme! said:
You don't seem to actually care so I don't know why your continuing with this.
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Oh, he doesn't.

Some people come across as completely levelheaded, but then lose all capacity for thought when it comes to a topic like this.

royox said:
Woman 1: "Hey I'm pregnant!
Woman 2: "Oh!! Is it a boy or a girl??"
Woman 1: "FUCKING CIS BIGENDER SOCIETY BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA.....!"

For GOD'S sake this shit has to stop. It's a god damn videogame.
Click to expand...

Is it woman 1 who represents outrage culture, or is it you?
 
ricardo_sousa11 said:
OMFG,

Society these days has to offended with everything, stop right there, please stop.
Click to expand...
It's not about being offended, it's about being inclusive. No one here is offended by a binary gender choice, considering that is the overwelming norm. We are just saying it would be more inclusive to have a gender non-specific option.
 
royox said:
Woman 1: "Hey I'm pregnant!
Woman 2: "Oh!! Is it a boy or a girl??"
Woman 1: "FUCKING CIS BIGENDER SOCIETY BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA.....!"

For GOD'S sake this shit has to stop. It's a god damn videogame.
Click to expand...

ricardo_sousa11 said:
OMFG,

Society these days has to offended with everything, stop right there, please stop.
Click to expand...

Nobody's even posting about being offended by the current gender option, except for the crowd who is apparently vehemently opposed to any discussion of gender and keeps throwing a tantrum over the stawmen that they've made.
 
royox said:
Woman 1: "Hey I'm pregnant!
Woman 2: "Oh!! Is it a boy or a girl??"
Woman 1: "FUCKING CIS BIGENDER SOCIETY BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA.....!"

For GOD'S sake this shit has to stop. It's a god damn videogame.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif


You seem offended?
 
Lord of Ostia said:
It's not about being offended, it's about being inclusive. No one here is offended by a binary gender choice, considering that is the overwelming norm. We are just saying it would be more inclusive to have a gender non-specific option.
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What if Im an Transgender moonlight elf with dark blue skin ?

I dont feel included in society :( Games dont give me that option :(

This is ridiculous, this time and age is so so ridiculous, every-single-thing is either racist/sexist or offensive.
 
RocknRola said:
It's easy to replace he/she with the character name in most situations (if not all) though.

So, for example "Wow! He beat the Elite 4! He is totally gonna be the Pokemon Champion!"

Can just become "Wow! [name] beat the Elite 4! [name] is totally gonna be the Pokemon Champion!"

Even if the speech may feel a bit forced by doing it like this, it does removes that headache, per say
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Euhhh. I'm not a native english speaker, but the 2 sentences are really different.
The first one will be better if the speaker is close to you and look at you.
The second one is way more distant.
 
ricardo_sousa11 said:
What if Im an Transgender moonlight elf with dark blue skin ?

I dont feel included in society :( Games dont give me that option :(

This is ridiculous, this time and age is so so ridiculous, every-single-thing is either racist/sexist or offensive.
Click to expand...

I'm curious how many topics it'll take the majority of GAF to realize that they're going to get banned for posting comments like this.
 
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