I contributed here some time ago and I think my point was that if you would try to represent every possible side of sexuality and gender and possibly race you would be looking at a pool of 50 plus characters easily. I get what has been said about wanting a representation of people that is more life like in terms of it's variety and to get away from the stereotype of the butch lesbian with her hard outer shell who wanted to make it as a woman without being pitied or the gay man who secretly longs to be a princess or some such. I do get that and I do get, that as a white, male, heterosexual it's probably hardest to understand that simply because we are so used to having the lead be a white, male, heterosexual who ticks all the boxes of traditional masculinity.
The questions I am always asking myself when reading here are:
1. Are we not forcing these representations down people's throat? Should it not be the player's choice in some way whether or not he/she is actually comfortable with representation of homosexuality and other sexual orientations in the game they are playing and even if they are do they care and even if they do, shouldn't they have a choice from the start to basically say: yes I would like life's diversity reflected in the cast of this game or no: straight characters for me only? The same way players of homosexual, bisexual or any other sexual orientation should also be able to say: look I've had it now after years and years of being neglected and put down, I don't give a **** anymore, give me an all homosexual cast? So should the answer not be to have a pool of say 16 characters for a team of 8 or whatever which has 4 males and females of the 4 different races which are either all straight, all homosexual or a mix instead of trying to add a new type of Lesbian, a new type of Gay, a new type of Bi-Sexual (who are usually charakterized as being promiscouis and just looking for sex) every game or trying to somehow bring balance to something that can never have balance. You have gay men who are queer, you have gay men who are as rugged as it gets, the same is true for lesbian females but the same is also true of heterosexual and bi-sexual people and the same is also true for people with no or little interest in sex or relationships. It's impossible to somehow represent life in all it's fullness and diversity. The best you can hope for his to have a 16 or 24 for characters, 8 because 2 dwarves (male and female), two Elves (male an female), two Qunari (male and female) and two humans (you get the picture). And have those in heterosexual form, homosexual form, bi-sexual form and then for all I care pick the people who you like best simply because they are who they are. If you do not like or feel represented by the gay dwarf who is more feminine in his demeanor than for all intents and purposed pick the gay Templar who is simply a Templar who likes guys but is still up for drinking, farting and arm wreslting. There is simply no point in trying to add a new type of character when you thereby throw out another type of character that is as common in real life as the guy or girl you are replacing him or her with.
2. Again... how on earth do you want to get this done. At some level those characters will simply be defined by their sexuality because even in DA: I you have the problem of having such a massive cast that some are simply critically underwritten and underdeveloped. The larger this cast gets, the larger the problem will become, at least by Bioware's current standards because writing, once their strong suit, is now criminally underachieving. If they changed that, fine, I could deal with a cast of 16 or 12 or whatever. If not, what is the point? I found the Iron Bull to be appalling in his whole demeanor and view on the issue. I found Solas to be absolutely boring and annoying. I found Blackwall to be criminally underdeveloped and his motives and his past never fully explained. I found Cassandra to be an appaling choice as the only viable Romance option for a heterosexual male who wants a love interest in their party. Apart from which I found her fairly interesting but again... underwritten and developed. I found Cullen to be bloodless, as was Varric compared to his role in DA II, I found Leliana to be utterly unlike herself, no matter how stupidly they explained her reasons and so on. If you want a variety in the cast then they need to actually spend more time developing these characters. Honestly? I didn't give a **** about Dorian's sexuality. I didn't even notice it the first time through the game until he pointed it out. And that is my point. Yes I get the identification and empowerment a "normal" homosexual character would bring but then again I think: who the hell gives a ****? I don't. And not because I'm unfeeling but because most of the characters since DA II were so cornily written, that I simply did not give a **** about their sexuality whatsoever because I was more annoyed with fart and poop jokes by Sera, Iron Bull being a male ****, Dorian being a whiney ****** and so on. Even if they weren't written as badly... I'm not sure I would care because to me, sexuality isn't something you wear on your sleeve and it shouldn't be. It's something intimate and private. It's something that should be respected but is also, nothing that defines you to me as a person. How on earth does it matter if you sleep with girls, boys, both, none at all or animals if you are a dick? It doesn't. It matters even less when you are a nice person or a friend. Yes I might notice or you might tell me. Yes we might not talk about girls because you like boys. So what? It should only matter in this game when it comes down to love interest not when it comes down to charakterizing the character. So why not friggin leave it open? Why not simply leave the choice to the player. If the player doesn't choose the companion then for all I care, let the end show their intended sexuality and have them find a partner or tell the player. I quite liked Dorian in general because he was pretty whitty and the most interesting because of where he hails from. But every time I played the game after realizing his sexuality and reading that the game basically designed him specifically to represent a major gay character and a major gay loveinterest I got annoyed because you noticed the little hints and innuendos more dramatically and it totally degraded the character for me and made talking to him a chore. What I'm saying here: leave the ****** sexuality at the door. Don't rub in that Sera is a lesbian. If I don't pick her as a love interest: go ahead. Give her a girlfriend and let me meet the girlfriend. But until that time: I don't care because I wouldn't care in real life. Same for Dorian and Bull. And if a homosexual player would like to be with Blackwall or Cullen as a guy: let them!
3. Again: why do we need preferences of any kind? Why isn't Cullen into Dwarves and basically leaves you with a hormone sack who screws everything that moves or an old bearded dude who is kind of shady and who I wouldn't leave alone with my kids? (and yes I roleplayed as a girl!) Why can you only Romance Solas as a friggin' elf? And all that nonsense. Give me a break. Cullen is so ****** in awe of you and so devoted to you that he'd give you a reach around if you were Grizzly Adams. Solas is so into spirits and meeting of the minds that he would do you if you were a dwarf etc. It's utterly ridiculous especially if you think about the possible end of the world... you really think Cullen would give a **** after Lyrium withdrawal from whom he gets some? You really think Solas would with all the **** he already caused? You think Cassandra who has longed for love all her life would turn down a woman who honestly loves and cherishes her, leads by example and treats her with respect? You think Sera who probably has been looking for love and acceptance wherever she could find them in her life would care? I strongly doubt it. This is not real life. And even if it were a proper representation. For crying out loud the solution is so easy: write real characters. Don't decide their sexuality before writing their soul. Hell don't write their race and gender before deciding what kind of person this character should be and then leave the choice to the player. I think it would be much more magical if anyone could end up with anyone and if you then find out, afrer 150 hours of playing the game, that this character likes guys, or this one, or this one.