Can You Wear a Dress as a Boy in Pokemon

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Player Gender in Pokemon Sword & Shield

• Thread starter dock
• Start date Feb 27, 2019

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• #101

Female Trainer: Dresses! Cute purses! Make-up! Change your hairstyle! You can go long, or short, shape your bangs the way you like! Here's some flowers for extra cuteness!

Male trainer: Uhhh...here's some pants, and uh, some shirts.

And then they had the mangnificent idea of locking colors behind different game versions. Literal homophobia.

Let's save that for when it's really warranted before we start giving out that important and serious word like lollipops when it's not warranted.

And no, that's not literal homophobia, Jesus Christ.

• #102

This. I need some real black hairstyles.

Me too.

• #103

LMAO at the girl not wearing pants in spite of the winter setting and everything else she's wearing. And she's pigeon-toed. It's the second coming of Platinum's Dawn.

It's required by law that no young female anime character from Japan can be designed without showing some exposed leg. The only exception is that if they are to be fully covered it'll only be by skin tight leggings, spandex or tights that show every curve and might as well be the actual exposed leg.

The pigeon toes is also something really japanese isn't it? Japan finds extremely cute when girls have their feet pointed inwards for some godforsaken reason I'll never get.

Like most of these tropes from Japan everything I don't inherently hate them (in fact I like them), the problem is how EVERYONE uses them and it gets old, tiring, and boring.

• #104

Wouldn't it be better for the game to ask that after you choose how you look? So you can choose, say, the more masculine avatar and get to say you're a girl and the game will use female pronouns! Problem solved!

I was about to ask "why can't a person who was born in a male body but identifies as a girl just select 'girl' when asked?" but I see the problem after reading your reply. Yes that would be a good solution indeed.

• #105

The pigeon toes is also something really japanese isn't it? Japan finds extremely cute when girls have their feet pointed inwards for some godforsaken reason I'll never get.

Yeah I noticed that too. Otherwise the base models look nearly identical. If the clothes are interchangeable between boys/girls in this game (wishful thinking), I'd prefer the one that has normal legs :U

• #106

Pigeon toes are infantilizing and often creepy because of that. They're also prevalent to the point of gender essentialism.

I really do love her look though. I just wish she wore pants!

• #107

I dunno but man that female design is so CUTE. Love it

• #108

Yeah I noticed that too. Otherwise the base models look nearly identical. If the clothes are interchangeable between boys/girls in this game (wishful thinking), I'd prefer the one that has normal legs :U

Wishful thinking indeed. That won't happen.

I do see maybe choosing pronouns but no I don't think you'll be able to dress the masculine avatar in skirts.

It's not a wish, it's a prediction.

• #109

Pigeon toes are infantilizing and often creepy because of that. They're also prevalent to the point of gender essentialism.

I really do love her look though. I just wish she wore pants!

Um.... gender essentialism?

I swear I learn new terms on Era every other week.

• #110

I want to dress like goku

• #111

Um.... gender essentialism?

I swear I learn new terms on Era every other week.

Basically, when certain traits are seen as essential to certain genders and distinguishing them. "She's a girl so she must wear a skirt and stand a certain way."

There was that time Ueda said he didn't want a female protagonist in The Last Guardian because he didn't want upskirt shots, as if girls were required to wear skirts.

Last edited: Feb 28, 2019

• #112

Let's save that for when it's really warranted before we start giving out that important and serious word like lollipops when it's not warranted.

And no, that's not literal homophobia, Jesus Christ.

Issa joke. Don't be such a stick in the mud.

• #113

Issa joke. Don't be such a stick in the mud.

Sorry but with Era I can never be sure. I've seen many instances where the poster was serious.

• #114

I would be cool but I find the lack of race diversity a more pressing issue. Give more black hairtyles and skin tones

• #115

LMAO at the girl not wearing pants in spite of the winter setting and everything else she's wearing. And she's pigeon-toed. It's the second coming of Platinum's Dawn.

Or maybe Gamefreak is on point, hahaha. I was in UK in late Winter once. It was freezing cold, but so many women had shorts or skirts on. I would say they nailed it ;P

• #116

Hoping for nice hairstyles for guys and good looking clothes. Sun and Moon lacked both, hard.

• #117

Female trainer is always better.

• #118

I personally just hope that you can change your skin tone of your character like in sun and moon. Maybe some more ethnic hairstyles and i'd be satisfied.

• #119

I personally just hope that you can change your skin tone of your character like in sun and moon. Maybe some more ethnic hairstyles and i'd be satisfied.

What is that supposed to mean? You don't wanna go there, my friend.

And I'd be shocked if they didn't let you choose skin tone. They've been letting you do this for a long time now, why stop now?

• #120

LGBQT people make up less than 1% of the overall population. It'd be nice but you can't realistically expect every game to represent that crowd.

From a quick search, it would appear that less than 1% of Americans identify as transgender; but about 5% identify as LGBT overall. And I'm sure there are many who would not answer truthfully even if the polling was said to be anonymous.

But the bulk of the work necessary to support this in a game is already done.

• Ask the player to pick (or create) how they want to look.
• Don't gender those choices; don't even ask the player's gender. Either use gender-neutral pronouns, or ask the player if they want to use He/Him, She/Her, or Other (custom).
• Allow any appearance to use any voice, hairstyle, or clothing/accessory option that the game includes.
• If there are romance options in the game, allow everyone to be with any character.

That wasn't so difficult!
Now, I actually do have a bit of an issue with that last one: I think it's important to have characters with a defined sexuality rather than everyone being bisexual; but that's preferable to everyone being straight, or all the men being straight and the women being bisexual.

Why do they need to make clothes and styling options gender-exclusive exactly?

In terms of pure technical reasons, characters in video games don't necessarily "wear clothes" as much as they have the model swapped out for one with those clothes modeled onto it.
So it's not like a person swapping out pants for a dress, because we're far from having games be able to simulate that; another character model is being made. Not necessarily from scratch, and a lot of the work can probably transfer over, but it is extra work.

• #121

LGBQT people make up less than 1% of the overall population. It'd be nice but you can't realistically expect every game to represent that crowd.

I'd love to see the demographics on Era. It feels like we have a disproportionate percentage of LGBTQ folks here compared to the outside world isn't it? It'd be interesting to see how much. And I say this with the upmost respect.

• #122

Wishful thinking indeed. That won't happen.

I do see maybe choosing pronouns but no I don't think you'll be able to dress the masculine avatar in skirts.

It's a shame TPC has never cottoned on...

• #123

What is that supposed to mean? You don't wanna go there, my friend.

And I'd be shocked if they didn't let you choose skin tone. They've been letting you do this for a long time now, why stop now?

No, they definitely should go there. I'm tired of trying to make black characters in games like this and having no hair styles that work save for the occasional and stereotypical cornrows and big afro. Why would you not want them to have more hairstyles?

• #124

No, they definitely should go there. I'm tired of trying to make black characters in games like this and having no hair styles that work save for the occasional and stereotypical cornrows and big afro. Why would you not want them to have more hairstyles?

I'm fine with more hairstyles. It was the word "ethnic" i have a problem with. You're okay with someone calling a typical black hairstyle "ethnic"? I hate how, at least in the English speaking world, for some (generally white folks) anything not white is "ethnic". Ugh.

• #125

I'm fine with more hairstyles. It was the word "ethnic" i have a problem with. You're okay with someone calling a typical black hairstyle "ethnic"? I hate how, at least in the English speaking world, for some (generally white folks) anything not white is "ethnic". Ugh.

I don't really expect the game to use the word "ethnic" so I don't think that's really an issue.

Thinking about it, I wouldn't really want someone to call my hair ethnic but I simply understood what that poster was trying to say. They want more hair style options for people who don't just have straight hair. That really should be a thing. It's so off-putting for me when I make a black character in a game like this and they have to have straight hair or an afro/cornrows if I'm lucky. No alternatives. Makes the skin tone setting feel like an afterthought.

• #126

It would be nice if I could be a fat kid. But as if that's going to happen.

• #127

I don't really expect the game to use the word "ethnic" so I don't think that's really an issue.

Thinking about it, I wouldn't really want someone to call my hair ethnic but I simply understood what that poster was trying to say. They want more hair style options for people who don't just have straight hair. That really should be a thing. It's so off-putting for me when I make a black character in a game like this and they have to have straight hair or an afro/cornrows if I'm lucky. No alternatives. Makes the skin tone setting feel like an afterthought.

I mean I get what you're saying but this game is very cartoony, no human has big oval eyes like the characters on Pokémon as they're not meant to be realistic so authentic hairstyles aren't that up in my priorities so if they're not there I don't mind but having them there certainly don't hurt.

But yeah don't call "black hair" ethnic, please.

• #129

What is that supposed to mean? You don't wanna go there, my friend.

And I'd be shocked if they didn't let you choose skin tone. They've been letting you do this for a long time now, why stop now?

Speaking as a person of color. Dreads, and Afro or something along those lines that helps me identify and connect more with my character. I don't think that's necessarily too much to ask, but wouldn't be a deal-breaker if not included. You never know, for whatever reason they can revert back on these decisions they made in the past in order to focus somewhere else.

Edit: I think you're getting too caught up on my "ethnic" terminology. My intention with my terminology was trying to be inclusive and respectful of races outside of black hairstyles that I may not be fully aware of and not to just say " put black people hair in the game over other races".

Last edited: Feb 28, 2019

• #130

The recent Pokemon games haven't referenced gender or used pronouns at all. I'm guessing they'll keep it that way.

The one thing they need to change is allowing all characters to wear all clothes and have any hairstyle. Please Gamefreak.

• #131

Pokemon almost never has two NPCs talking about the player character to each other so even in the days before a female playable character option I don't really remember much in the way of pronouns besides "you"

• #132

Speaking as a person of color. Dreads, and Afro or something along those lines that helps me identify and connect more with my character. I don't think that's necessarily too much to ask, but wouldn't be a deal-breaker if not included. You never know, for whatever reason they can revert back on these decisions they made in the past in order to focus somewhere else.

Edit: I think you're getting too caught up on my "ethnic" terminology. My intention with my terminology was trying to be inclusive and respectful of races outside of black hairstyles that I may not be fully aware of and not to just say " put black people hair in the game over other races".

I know what you were asking for and why. Just let's not call it "ethnic" regardless of you're white or not. There has to be a better term than that.

• #133

I know what you were asking for and why. Just let's not call it "ethnic" regardless of you're white or not. There has to be a better term than that.

I feel like this is pendantics that distract from the main point. Instead of having a meta discussion about what term to use (since they would not even say this in the game), let's talk about how they can incorporate these hair styles.

• #134

I prefer choosing the Male Trainer because it means I'll get to chat with the Female Trainer during the adventure.
What I mean is: I love the Female Trainer much more than Male Trainer. =p

• #135

I'd like to be able to make my trainer black with a good believable hair option but I have about zero faith in that being the case so I guess I'll pick the girl cause her design is neat.

Hahahaha yeah right , this has been the struggle even in Western games let alone Japanese ones. Its the one thing that if it ever happened, I would legit be shocked to tears.

As for the OP yeah, not happening. Japan + a game for kids, its not going to go beyond the simplest of conventions. Best I hope for this time is a color slider for skin, and clothes if I'm really dreaming. Also a NPC or something to change gender. Just make it an option in the menu and take away the controversy chance I say cause its one of those, "its so simple they can't fuck it up" things, that they would fuck up some how. Some more traditionally gender neutral clothes would be a fun thing though and its something that Japan is moving a towards in certain cities and towns so I hope they toss them in.

• #136

isnt it the idea is just different version gender of MC,thats why those two look identical

• #137

Tried to look this up but haven't found much.

So, now that the games are out, how did they do?

• #138

I'm playing as the female protagonist so I don't have all the info on what's available as male, I guess he doesn't have access to stuff like skirts or dresses?
But from what I've seen in some streams I was really glad to notice he has access to all tights & leggings! At least in the first two clothing stores.
No thigh highs though but I didn't really expect it.

I can't wait to have even more options but things look pretty good to me, especially compared to Gen 6 & 7.

• #139

Apparently men don't wear sweaters in the Pokemon world...

There's also no denim jacket (just a blue leather jacket that sort of works)

Not many clothes I'd wear, so I just went with a grey sweatshirt.

• #140

I'm playing as the female protagonist so I don't have all the info on what's available as male, I guess he doesn't have access to stuff like skirts or dresses?
But from what I've seen in some streams I was really glad to notice he has access to all tights & leggings! At least in the first two clothing stores.
No thigh highs though but I didn't really expect it.

I can't wait to have even more options but things look pretty good to me, especially compared to Gen 6 & 7.

The reason he has access to tights isn't because Gamefreak is throwing a bone to non binary people. It's because men actually wear tights during stuff like athletics (Football being a theme In the game after all). I'd bet money on that.

• #141

So is there no skirt options for men in this game? Not even a Kilt? I don't personally know as I went with a female trainer to recreate Elizabeth from Peesona as best as possible.

• #143

The reason he has access to tights isn't because Gamefreak is throwing a bone to non binary people. It's because men actually wear tights during stuff like athletics (Football being a theme In the game after all). I'd bet money on that.

Probably this. Nate also wore tights in bw2.

• #144

I have not seen any skirt or kilt options for male player characters. I'm a little obsessed with player customization options. I'm playing with my boyfriend (he has Sword, I have Shield), and I've made it a pattern that any time we reach a new town, I'll go through the clothing options in both games to compare.

It's a little disappointing that only some of the clothes are gender locked. We can both get the same tee shirts, but then there will be a sweater or something that's only for one gender. I guess it can be complicated making something work for both body types from a dev's perspective, but it is still disappointing to see a clothing binary enforced.

• #145

Probably this. Nate also wore tights in bw2.

You are both right in that regard, but there has still been improvement on this over the years.
Also in Sw/Sh some of them (and most of the early ones) don't seem to be specifically sports gear, especially tights (compared to leggings) and they could have restricted the color choice for male, which isn't the case.

It could also be representative of the athleisure trend and how populars leggings are now, even for men (and not exclusively for athletics and such).
Of course it's not that common (yet?), but I like how they're giving all options for everyone in the "Socks" category like it's already the case in reality.
It's the kind of detail that can help improving things and minds overall, imo.

It's true that the theme being football in the game obviously helped for this, but I like to think that's not the only reason and that people don't see it this way either.
It reminds me of Gen 7 where the theme had so much impact on the fashion that tights and leggings didn't exist at all, which seems odd. (except for the default outfit of male protagonist in Ultra Sun/Moon, but well).

• #146

I think they're okay as is personally.

• #147

I haven't found any overview of all available clothes yet (guess Serebii will have it soon), but how is the male wardrobe? I loved it in XY, but in SM it was so dire.

• #148

I haven't found any overview of all available clothes yet (guess Serebii will have it soon), but how is the male wardrobe? I loved it in XY, but in SM it was so dire.

I think both genders have significantly more options than in any of the previous gens all around

• #149

I haven't found any overview of all available clothes yet (guess Serebii will have it soon), but how is the male wardrobe? I loved it in XY, but in SM it was so dire.

Better than SM. If it had boots like the girl trainer gets, it'd almost be acceptable. No matter how fine you'll dress your boy, he'll always suffer from the unfashionable backpack, though.

• #150

Unless something opens up (I just finished the 8th gym), I feel the male options are pretty drab....

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Source: https://www.resetera.com/threads/player-gender-in-pokemon-sword-shield.102339/page-3

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