Love the trans representation. Love pride. Love is love. I don’t even typically announce I’m trans on the forums, because I don’t think of myself as a special “type” of woman (thus I don’t typically self-define as “a trans individual”), just another woman, but I think for this topic and the vitriol some people decide to have it was worth stating.
Now, all that aside, can we note something really quite unfortunate and vital here? Shadowlands is where you go when you’re dead. Pelegos, in his in-game text, explains that he, in life, had a female form with a name and race he can’t even remember. However, as soon as he “woke up” in the shadowlands, he was in his affirmed body! His true form! Hooray! He was ecstatic!
Do you see the problem here yet?
In a community notorious for unsavory suicide statistics, it’s a bit of a weird note to include that Pelegos was never transitioned or affirmed in his life. He had to DIE to achieve affirmation and love, and get rid of his dysphoria. It may be clear to most people that Blizzard didn’t INTEND to say “die and you’ll finally be respected”, but imagine being an early-on transman and seeing and identifying with Pelegos.
The representation is good, but the message it sends to transgender individuals, at least by example, is that in life you won’t be affirmed and in death you will. That’s a scary thing to promote, especially when immersive RPGs such as this one have a way of captivating young minds. Internalizing death as a way out is not something we want, is it? I definitely think Pelegos should be kept in the game, but can we maybe change his text a little to not imply that death is the way to affirmation?
“It never felt as clear to me then as it does now. I struggled with that identity for my entire life”
Entire life // Wasn’t clear before implies that this is a discovery of gender euphoria he only NOW received. Had he found how to get the gender euphoria earlier in life, he probably wouldn’t be mentioning he struggled with it his “entire” life.
Gender Euphoria is the feeling/experience when affirmed and in sync with your body/presentation. Dysphoria is the feeling when disconnected. Dysphoria is what pelegos felt in life, euphoria is what he feels in death.
As an actual transman that hasn’t transitioned yet I … I appreciate where you’re coming from sis, but I don’t have any problem with Pelagos and I think, in this particular instance, it’s quite a stretch.
The way the above text is written “It never felt as clear to me as it does now” makes me believe that perhaps he didn’t even realize he was trans until just now, which, as someone who didn’t realize I was trans until I was 22, it happens.
Also - was Pelagos from Azeroth? Was there any way for him to transition or be able to help his gender dysphoria in life? I don’t know if we have the answers to that, and I don’t think, at the end of the day it matters.
This is a man who got to be who he always ways, I think thats the most important takeaway.
First of all, Shadowlands isn’t where we go when we’re dead, it’s another dimension, with sunlight and growing things and it’s basically life 2. It’s not really an afterlife because you’re still alive, just in another way.
Secondly how did a kyrian not remember their name or race as soon as they wake up? I thought that took years of practice and a ritual to achieve - a chosen process at that.
They add things to the story and lore as they see fit, even if it doesn’t make any sense. Personally, I don’t have an issue with how they handled this character.
As far as the story and lore…sometimes (and by sometimes I mean all the time) you just have to roll with the punches and accept it for what it is.
I was just happy that they made the character first before moving on to other details, which is how any character should be done.
While I was and am still extremely happy with the fact that the character is here it all, it just also seems like a fairly important thing to get right and while some kings have replied here and explained that they don’t feel it would affect them personally, I can’t help but shake the feeling that in all cases it would be better if they just clarified a little that death isn’t some revolutionary experience that makes you who you always were. If there was just something in those lines so that some people wouldn’t get the wrong idea. It’d be nice. That’s all.
The lore directly states that it is, and that’s how it’s presented to the majority of the playerbase even if subtle things imply differently. It’s Azerothian death, and death in the WoW Universe. An extra step to death that may or may not exist IRL.
It just kind of hit me one day, because despite my love of ~girly~ things and wearing feminine items I’d always, always flinch at she/her, hated having bbs, and oh god my voice.
But I basically looked at my friend at the time was like “I think I’m trans” and here I am.
I think you’re reading too far into it, the land of the dead is going to be filled with tragic stories, and pelagos is one of the exceptions until elaborated on
I don’t think death has anything to do with it, and you’re reading into / creating scenarios. Dying in wow doesn’t seem to mean death…just a continuation of life…
It’s almost as if there is not true death in wow since everything goes somewhere after they ‘die’
Death does a little something for everyone, apparently, in the WoW universe.
Pelegos got what she wanted (perhaps the higher ups knew that and said “here you go”) and Uther found a new purpose and was essentially reborn, wings and all.
I think that’s what it boils down to. Death is whatever characters make of it. Unless they’re in the Maw, then they are SOL.
The only other thing to add to your concern is, pelagos, and any character for that matter, can only represent those who allow him to represent them.
and, one of bastion’s properties is that it allows for beings to change upon arriving there…whether that be outer appearance (blue human) or other more personal aspects.
I don’t necessarily equal bastion’s abilities / properties with the struggle and suffering of trans people, and so I don’t see pelagos or his story as representative of trans. That’s a me thing but it is also everyone’s personal decision who they want to consider their representative. I don’t think any character in any medium or media can actually represent anyone, I think it’s the individual who chooses that.
besides, a character in wow who happens to be, let’s say, gay, can’t really represent all gay people nor the struggles and suffering and depression and anxiety they’ve felt forever, at most a character who is gay can only represent gayness itself. If someone chooses to let a character represent them that’s on them, but I hope most people know they are way more than just a letter from lgbtq+, and aren’t wholly summed up by a characater…
