I was about to post this in the old thread when it got locked.
In a situation like this, where there are multiple potential valid reads on the poster and how it's being used, I don't know how much we can gain by extrapolating from it without the context of the rest of the game behind it. It's a tiny part of a much larger whole. How it reads will depend on the entire world surrounding it.
I appreciate how this discussion has highlighted how trans bodies can be fetishized in a way that harms the community, which I hope has opened some people's eyes. The rest seems to be filling in gaps based on assumptions about the rest of the game's world informed by CDPR's social media controversies.
For me personally (and as someone with a much lower stake in this conversation), I don't believe the actions of their social media people have a particularly strong relationship to the actions of the writers and art directors responsible for this material. But I have no way of knowing, and if people feel differently, that's their right.
Ultimately, no game is owed your preorder. If you're skeptical, then it's easy to sit back and wait until the work comes out. It will speak for itself. I'm sure plenty of people are going to play it who care about LGBT issues, and if it has problems, they'll write about it and let the world know. We'll see in the end. But it's tough to judge a tiny slice (in this case, a single art asset) in a vacuum.
RSC handles body modifications and sexuality in a vastly more nuanced way than this particular instance. There is an issue with a character's deadname being present, but in my experience it's handled very realistically.
For instance, Red Strings Club faced some controversy when Waypoint reacted to the deadnaming without fully considering how it fit in with the larger context of the game, or with the experience of its three developers, one of whom was trans and was very involved in the decision to include it.
That led to a wider conversation on the game and this choice, which I'm glad they attempted. Similarly, I'm also reminded of people's
reactions to the reveal of Far Cry 4's cover art, assuming that Pagan Min was white or gay based on his appearance and on Far Cry 3's past issues. When the game came out, it was clear that these concerns did not reflect anything in the final game.
When the final game comes out and we can see it in its entirety, we'll be able to have a much more informed and interesting discussion about its treatment of marginalized communities.