Gender and sexuality diversity in RPG settings

[Talakeal]

I meant destroying the governments, not the innocent people ruled by them.

I get what you mean, I just don't think it is that simple on either in IC or OOC level.

On an OOC level, the GM and the players need to work together to develop and change the setting, either side trying to strong arm it is not going to go well. On a fiction level, changing societies through violent means is really hard, in a realistic setting there isn't going to be a clean line between the oppressors and the oppressed and simply killing the heads of state likely won't change the underlying cultural assumptions.

Are you trying to create a setting free of prejudice gender and sexuality? (No sexism, no homophobia, ect), or are you trying to explore cultural ideas of gender and sexuality within a fantastical setting.

Assuming the former, and assuming you're mostly interested in making a welcoming setting rather than doing an academic deep-dive into "Well, what aspects of society were influenced by sexism and homophobia, because those would need to be different", it's pretty easy, your biggest danger is going to be accidentally using harmful tropes, even if such tropes are not really a thing in-universe.

I do want the game to be an examination of psychology and society, yes.

But it is also a fantasy world with strong transhumanism elements.

The problem is trying to keep it somewhat grounded and relatable rather than completely alien to the players.

While a firm and sapphic admirer of the female form, too much T&A can get a wee bit much, especially if it conflicts with the rest of the tone. As an example, let's say you are doing a Conan style setting, where just about everyone is at least athletically toned. There, it totally fits to go pretty bonkers. On the other hand, if in the setting the male and masculine characters dress fairly rationally, dressed approximately for the weather, for example, while the women and feminine characters are depicted like they are on their way to swing on a pole, it can feels gratuitous. Another problem I have is when there's only seemingly one kind of female and feminine figure drawn, while the men are allowed to be much more diverse, like the only reason for women to exist in the 'verse is to be some minor variation on current Western, stereotypical straight male, ideals of sexy.

Yeah, I much prefer the former.

I personally find the elaborate costumes that you see on a lot of RPG covers and, especially, in mobile game advertising, to be really silly and a big turnoff.

[*]You mention you want your society to be egalitarian. Think about whether this includes women being equally represented in strength based jobs. If you do, how do they manage - is it only the strongest of them, or is biology different in your world so women are just as strong as men on average? I know some people prefer their fantasy to handwave real world differences such as these - perhaps magic?

In the distant past, the setting made extensive use of genetic engineering.

One of the results is that women are much closer in size and strength to men, to the point where the average woman has a greater lower body strength and the average man has greater upper body strength, but individual variation is far more important than sex.

The mechanics of carrying a child for nine months and then nursing it for several years, as well as the ability of a single man to impregnate many women in times of catastrophe remain unchanged however, and imo this likely has a far bigger effect on gender roles than strength ever did.

[*]As to sexual preference if you are wanting the DM to make an NPC's sexual preference compatible with whoever shows an interest in them, you should say so somewhere, otherwise some DMs will assume that they are straight.

That's more of a personal preference for how I run a game than something that is baked into the system.

[*]I don't think there is a proper ratio for female to males in art. I can think of three perspectives though. First you can make it 50/50 as you mention. Second, you can make it reflect the setting you are in - now if your setting is a whole world this will probably be 50/50, but some settings (eg single sex prisons) will skew hard to one gender. Third, and this is what I suggest if you are wanting this to be popular, you can cater to your target market - that is think about who you expect to be interested in your setting, then think about the gender ratio that will appeal to them.[*]I think you should sexualise some characters but not all. After all, most attractive people tend to sexualise themselves somewhat. Consider some people of both genders though - for every maiden with with chainmail bikini, add a well muscled shirtless guy. Some people will still criticize, but that's unavoidable. Sex sells, that's why most commercial media relies on it.[/LIST]

There is also the issue of how one even goes about sexualizing a male. Amongst game criticism, the standard ultra feminine woman with an hourglass figure is universally seen as a male sex fantasy, while the standard muscular bearded violent super manly guy is seen as a male power fantasy.

I personally prefer roguish men with a swimmers build and tall, full figured, athletic women in dominant positions; and so if I am going for "sexy" that is what I will ask for, usually just in the most revealing clothing that is practical for the role; but I know I am absolutely not the norm.