Disclaimer: This thread will be referencing a leak of information about Fire Emblem: Three Houses that has so far been proven to be overwhelmingly accurate, so if you don't want to be spoiled on anything, turn back now. But you've already clicked on the thread, so you might as well read on and help out!
Most people following Fire Emblem: Three Houses are probably aware of the big info dump that was posted on Reddit about the game, and over the past month or so, literally everything in that very extensive leak has turned out to be true. Most of the stuff leaked was very exciting, but there were a few troubling aspects as well, namely, that the currently known male same sex options for romantic supports have been limited to exactly one character, (Lindhardt) while female same sex romantic supports reportedly have at least five options, (Edelgard, Dorthea, Mercedes, Rhea and adult Sothis) with most likely more. First off, it's amazing that female same sex romantic pairing seem to be a lot more varied this time, and that should be applauded. There is the troubling side note that this may be attributed to the developers wanting to leverage female same sex pairing primarily for their straight male audience, and that's a topic that deserves its own thread, but queer female gamers deserve to have content specifically made for them available in gaming, particularly for a series like FE that has such a diverse player base, so I'm going to choose to highlight the positive aspects of that inclusion here.
But that brings us to the men. As far as the leak goes, and based on the information that has been coming out of E³, there is only one probable male character that male Byleth can achieve an S Support (romantic) with, and that's Lindhardt. We know very little about Lindhardt at the moment, so I can't say how his portrayal will turn out, but from initial impressions, he seems to fit the mold of the lithe, pretty boy/effeminate characters of the last two FEs that have been bisexual/gay. (Niles and Leon.) Very Important Note: There is absolutely nothing wrong with effeminate queer male characters in games, or in any media. They are not lesser than other queer male portrayals, and they don't shed a bad light on the gay community. The problem is when queer portrayals are used to spread hurtful stereotypes and tropes. Fire Emblem already has a shaky background when it comes to their queer characters, so there is reason to be apprehensive-- Niles being portrayed as a "freak", Rhajat being a stalker, Soleil being used to queerbait while also having an abhorrent support that suggests she needs to be "cured" of her attraction to other females, (despite not being able to actually S support with any of them), and Leon pining for a straight man he can never be with, and then stating he'd rather be alone than search for another man. (And this is not to mention all the other queerbaiting that has happened in the series.)
But the main problem with this so far, is the sheer lack of choice for queer male players, and anyone else who wanted to pursue male same sex romantic relationships in the game. Fire Emblem has a very large gay fanbase, and romantic supports are a staple and a huge draw for many players. It's not acceptable that gay male players are most likely once again stuck with one choice, and aren't offered anything near the variety that straight players have. While we don't have all the details yet, as I mentioned above, according to the leak, and the info released this week, it's looking pretty bleak right now for us.
For example, this is a list of all the supports that Male Byleth can have with the Blue Lions house, ironically the house with the most male characters:
You'll notice that he can have S Supports with the three female characters, but none of the male characters. This matches what was stated in the leak. (Also, just as an aside, you can't do any romantic supports with characters until after the 5 year time skip, so all the characters will be adults then.)
So this brings me to the point of the topic, if this is also unacceptable to you, and if you want to help do something about it, please consider contacting Nintendo and Intelligence Systems to ask for clarification on this matter. Know any game journalists currently at E³? Ask if they can get a comment from Nintendo regarding this while they are there. Send some tweets. Write a few emails. Get your FE loving friends involved. Straight allies? Want to do something helpful for your gay friends? Then please help out! It might seem trivial to you to get upset about a video game, but as most queer people will tell you, one of the hardest parts about life as a queer person is that we have to strive for any sort of acceptance in life, from the biggest things, to the smallest. We deserve just as many "frivolous" things as anyone else, and that includes being able to immerse ourselves into games like this.
And Nintendo/Journalists, if you're reading this, and you have information contrary to this, please let us know! I'd love to be proven wrong about this. But if it is correct, I urge you to do something about it. Queer players deserve better than the treatment we've been given so far, and you can help make a difference!
List of Notable Contacts:
Nintendo Japan
Nintendo of America
Intelligence Systems
Doug Bowser
Bill Trinen
Thanks for reading. Happy Wrath Month!
P.S. Anyone who feels it's necessary to come into this topic to complain, yell "who cares", wax poetic about "creative freedoms", please consider punching yourself in the groin instead, cheers.
Update #1:
Update #2:
So bad news, it gets even worse. The game has been leaked and it has been confirmed that the Alois and Gilbert S ranks are not romantic in nature at all, purely platonic. So gamers that are interested in a male same sex option have exactly one "choice", Linhardt. There are also no romantic same sex pairings between any of the non-MC male characters. Two of the pairings have what can be construed as vague subtext (bleh), but nothing clear and outright. Once again, queer male gamers, and those interested in queer male content, get next to nothing.
On the bright side, all the female same sex S ranks are romantic in nature, and there are multiple romantic female A rank pairings.
Most people following Fire Emblem: Three Houses are probably aware of the big info dump that was posted on Reddit about the game, and over the past month or so, literally everything in that very extensive leak has turned out to be true. Most of the stuff leaked was very exciting, but there were a few troubling aspects as well, namely, that the currently known male same sex options for romantic supports have been limited to exactly one character, (Lindhardt) while female same sex romantic supports reportedly have at least five options, (Edelgard, Dorthea, Mercedes, Rhea and adult Sothis) with most likely more. First off, it's amazing that female same sex romantic pairing seem to be a lot more varied this time, and that should be applauded. There is the troubling side note that this may be attributed to the developers wanting to leverage female same sex pairing primarily for their straight male audience, and that's a topic that deserves its own thread, but queer female gamers deserve to have content specifically made for them available in gaming, particularly for a series like FE that has such a diverse player base, so I'm going to choose to highlight the positive aspects of that inclusion here.
But that brings us to the men. As far as the leak goes, and based on the information that has been coming out of E³, there is only one probable male character that male Byleth can achieve an S Support (romantic) with, and that's Lindhardt. We know very little about Lindhardt at the moment, so I can't say how his portrayal will turn out, but from initial impressions, he seems to fit the mold of the lithe, pretty boy/effeminate characters of the last two FEs that have been bisexual/gay. (Niles and Leon.) Very Important Note: There is absolutely nothing wrong with effeminate queer male characters in games, or in any media. They are not lesser than other queer male portrayals, and they don't shed a bad light on the gay community. The problem is when queer portrayals are used to spread hurtful stereotypes and tropes. Fire Emblem already has a shaky background when it comes to their queer characters, so there is reason to be apprehensive-- Niles being portrayed as a "freak", Rhajat being a stalker, Soleil being used to queerbait while also having an abhorrent support that suggests she needs to be "cured" of her attraction to other females, (despite not being able to actually S support with any of them), and Leon pining for a straight man he can never be with, and then stating he'd rather be alone than search for another man. (And this is not to mention all the other queerbaiting that has happened in the series.)
But the main problem with this so far, is the sheer lack of choice for queer male players, and anyone else who wanted to pursue male same sex romantic relationships in the game. Fire Emblem has a very large gay fanbase, and romantic supports are a staple and a huge draw for many players. It's not acceptable that gay male players are most likely once again stuck with one choice, and aren't offered anything near the variety that straight players have. While we don't have all the details yet, as I mentioned above, according to the leak, and the info released this week, it's looking pretty bleak right now for us.
For example, this is a list of all the supports that Male Byleth can have with the Blue Lions house, ironically the house with the most male characters:
You'll notice that he can have S Supports with the three female characters, but none of the male characters. This matches what was stated in the leak. (Also, just as an aside, you can't do any romantic supports with characters until after the 5 year time skip, so all the characters will be adults then.)
So this brings me to the point of the topic, if this is also unacceptable to you, and if you want to help do something about it, please consider contacting Nintendo and Intelligence Systems to ask for clarification on this matter. Know any game journalists currently at E³? Ask if they can get a comment from Nintendo regarding this while they are there. Send some tweets. Write a few emails. Get your FE loving friends involved. Straight allies? Want to do something helpful for your gay friends? Then please help out! It might seem trivial to you to get upset about a video game, but as most queer people will tell you, one of the hardest parts about life as a queer person is that we have to strive for any sort of acceptance in life, from the biggest things, to the smallest. We deserve just as many "frivolous" things as anyone else, and that includes being able to immerse ourselves into games like this.
And Nintendo/Journalists, if you're reading this, and you have information contrary to this, please let us know! I'd love to be proven wrong about this. But if it is correct, I urge you to do something about it. Queer players deserve better than the treatment we've been given so far, and you can help make a difference!
List of Notable Contacts:
Nintendo Japan
Nintendo of America
Intelligence Systems
Doug Bowser
Bill Trinen
Thanks for reading. Happy Wrath Month!
P.S. Anyone who feels it's necessary to come into this topic to complain, yell "who cares", wax poetic about "creative freedoms", please consider punching yourself in the groin instead, cheers.
Update #1:
Update #2:
So bad news, it gets even worse. The game has been leaked and it has been confirmed that the Alois and Gilbert S ranks are not romantic in nature at all, purely platonic. So gamers that are interested in a male same sex option have exactly one "choice", Linhardt. There are also no romantic same sex pairings between any of the non-MC male characters. Two of the pairings have what can be construed as vague subtext (bleh), but nothing clear and outright. Once again, queer male gamers, and those interested in queer male content, get next to nothing.
On the bright side, all the female same sex S ranks are romantic in nature, and there are multiple romantic female A rank pairings.
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