LGBT+ Champs

masIow·8/26/2018, 6:35:18 PM·25 votes·17,083 views

I only recently found out that Taliyah was supposed to be a transwoman, only to be hinted at that she was Bi instead. I'm also aware that Varus is made up of two men, who were hinted at to be lovers. Taric has also been theorised as gay. However, they were only hinted at, not definitely confirmed. I understand that Riot has this way of keeping things only as "hinted" because they don't want their content restricted in different countries who might not agree with the content that Riot provides, but censorship is always a possibility, and things that make it more obvious than others can always be removed for different countries if need be.

I understand I'll probably get downvoted to hell, or maybe called ignorant, but with so many opportunities to show different communities, I don't understand what's really stopping champion creators / writers from creating more diverse champs. We've got POC (Taliyah, Karma, Ekko, Lucian, Nunu, etc), we've got disabled champs (Urgot, Swain, Kled, etc), we've even got furries. Lots of furries (Gnar, Poppy, Tristana, Rumble, Warwick, Volibear, Ornn, Willump, etc). Hell, we've got a space dragon.

But no definite LGBT characters. I suppose, in a way, there's a lot of representation, but only of particular interest for the playerbase. I've seen a lot of other people ask the same thing - where is the champion diversity?

Now I know what some other people might be thinking. I bet you think I want a champion that's "flamboyant", or "out there" or "rubbing it in peoples faces" that they're gay or lesbian or bi or pan or trans or whatever. But the reality is that I'm personally only interested in it because of stories, lore, interactions, etc. I myself am part of the LGBT spectrum, and let me tell you, whenever I see a same sex couple holding hands walking down a street, it fills me with joy. Just these little interactions that don't necessarily tell you instantly who they are, or what they've dealt with. But it's nice and comforting to see that interaction because it means we're actually thought about, we're confident, we're also human.

If this is a place where we can speak our minds for creations or concepts or stories, then I'm all in for that, and I could care less for the possibly rude and mean comments I'm about to receive for merely asking.

I don't ask for a character that, with every chance they get, tells another champion or the user they're gay.

I'm asking for more diversity.

112 Comments

Vartius8/26/2018, 6:47:22 PM14 votes

The two men that make up Varus aren't hinted at to be lovers, they are confirmed to be so. Riot said so in outside sources, there are also clear love declarations in the comic. As for other LGBT+ champs, well... There aren't any confirmed ones. I know the designer of Diana said that she is lesbian, however it was already after he stopped working for riot. There is one Swain - Fiora interaction that could hint to her being either lesbian, asexual, or having some secret romance. ("She's spurned so many suitors. A wonder they did not see why.")

Personally I'd love it most if they made Vi - Cait pairing canon in-lore, but I doubt that will happen.

UomoAfide8/26/2018, 8:07:45 PM10 votes

As usual, random downvotes... ugh...

Cetri8/26/2018, 9:27:25 PM8 votes

Yeah, as a trans person myself, I was really bummed to hear that the dev team were too afraid to openly canonize that part of Taliyah's character. I'm 100% with you, for all the reasons that I feel you stated more eloquently than I could.

Kelg8/26/2018, 6:48:04 PM7 votes

{quoted}

I only recently found out that Taliyah was supposed to be a transwoman

[sg-lux-2]

masIow8/26/2018, 7:51:41 PM7 votes

For all the dislikes on thread, you guys seem to be throwing in a lot of positivity, and I appreciate it a lot. If anyone read the source where Taliyah was supposed to be trans, you'll notice a comment underneath it saying that the creators were initially scared. They're scared of receiving bad backlash, because they don't want people to hate the characters they put so much thought, love and time into.

The amount of downvotes in such a small amount of time is exactly why the LGBT community isn't really "present" within the game, just because people don't like it.

Whilst you could say "make your own characters", will we ever see our own characters in game? Probably not, unless we were a part of the Riot creatives team. For ages I've dreamed of making a character that could not only represent me, but represent everyone within that community. I want to see people enjoying that character, playing them, making theories and drawing art for them. And it hurts when this kind of attitude is taken that "Oh you only want LGBT characters because you're a "special snowflake".", or something just as rude. Representation within large-scale games is hard to come by these days. But to know that characters did actually have a chance to be a part of a bigger community, only to be scrapped because their creators were physically too scared to share that side of the creation.. it really makes me feel sad for the future, you get what I mean?

LordHippoman8/26/2018, 10:01:56 PM6 votes

I understand I'll probably get downvoted to hell, or maybe called ignorant, but with so many opportunities to show different communities, I don't understand what's really stopping champion creators / writers from creating more diverse champs.

Sadly I think it's the first half of this sentence that clarifies the second.

Zenon mentioned that part of the reason the Taliyah lore didn't go through was for fear of backlash. When the new Varus stuff came out, there were a lot of people with very valid complaints (about his lore, not about homosexuality in general, of course), but there were also a lot of viscerally homophobic remarks. People STILL think it's high-larious to photoshop a KFC bucket into Lucian's hands or whatever. Sadly, I can see why he was worried.

Even this thread. As you mentioned down the page, most people who have actually commented here are supportive, and yet I saw it sitting at a -2. Some people just see the topic of "LGBT champs" and instantly smash a downvote. But these discussions ARE important. They are a way of showing Riot that we do care, that there are substantial voices that want LGBT+ representation, or maybe even more importantly, letting LGBT+ League fans know that they aren't alone.

AlienPrimate8/26/2018, 8:31:16 PM5 votes

[deleted]

Fasmodey8/26/2018, 6:51:25 PM5 votes

50 comments in 20 minutes intenstifies

Classic.

About thread, I think Taliyah being bi is definitely not canon and shouldn't even be considered. It is her writer having headcanon, and she did not even say "she swings both ways". She said "she will discover what likes and what not eventually, time will tell" which is exactly what could be said for every teen character... And let's not forget it was a board answer years ago. It couldn't be less canon.

Taric is not even gay. He is pan at best and we don't even know if it is panromantic or pansexual. I would say panromantic since Taric gives me the idea that he is more focused on romance and emotions than sex. He could be hetero but also be able to love a man romantically.

Varus as human was not gay either. Having sex and loving someone doesn't even matter for darkin him anymore anyway. Val and Kai, yes, but they are side characters to sustain actual character.

So... while they are hints, there are no canon LGBT+ champions. LGBT+ characters in story? Absolutely! It actually came to a point more LGBT+ side characters would be annoying and forcing. It is time for LGBT+ champions IMO since we don't have even a single one.

I would like to see a gay champion pairing in LoL equivalent to Xayah and Rakan.

DearPear8/26/2018, 10:58:02 PM3 votes

I think that those dislikes aren't just from people who're prejudiced or irrationally dislike minority groups or any community. I think they're mostly coming from people who just don't think minority characters can be written well and pay off well without being seen as preachy, a political tool, an author filibuster or a publicity stunt. That may be a selfish, subjective assumption.

Can't possibly be from people that are sick of agendas forced upon a game and that don't give a shit wether a character is gay or not. Can't - possibly - be.

KoKoboto8/27/2018, 6:48:59 AM2 votes

League of legends isn't really medieval times but it definitely is a past time thing. Even in Piltover and Zaun people use chamber pots. As such there shouldn't be that many LGBT stuff.

I could see LGBT in places like Shurima, Freljord, and Ionia more tho. Pretty sure everyone from the Void is LGBT