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Beating A Dead Horse (That Is Actually A Chameleon)

Gravesinger·11/21/2018, 1:56:04 PM·10 votes·5,442 views

I have seen a litany of threads relating to the new girl on the block, and almost every single one has been locked by mods. I didn't really want to spawn a new thread to address Neeko, but hey, I can't do it anywhere else because all the other threads have been killed. So here's my two cents on my problem with Neeko.

First thing is first: LGBTQ is fine by me. I actually don't mind that Neeko is lesbian. What I do mind is how Riot is handling it. There are a couple reasons why.

  • Timing. Riot is publicly embroiled in a 'bro culture' scandal. I know Neeko has been a concept much longer than that, but there is one thing that sticks out here. Riot has, as far as I know, never gone to Twitter to confirm a champion's sexuality before; yet, this time they decided to make a big deal out of it. Sexual identity is not something that should be capitalized on for monetary or PR gains.

  • Identity. Why should sexuality be anything but ambiguous unless it provides meaningful character development? Consider, for example, Xayah and Rakan. Their relationship is a key part of their backstory, and their sexual orientation is pretty well known to be straight. Sadly, Neeko gains nothing or real value out of her sexuality in terms of relationships, which is why I don't like how Riot has handled this. It just doesn't strike me as anything other than Riot seeking the approval of the LGBTQ community at large.

That's more or less it. I think Riot has cheapened the champion and her identity by basing her around her sexuality without providing any meaningful relationships that build on it. Just imagine- what if they'd done another Xayan/Rakan-esque thing? A chameleon Vastaya and her partner show up. They're unfamiliar with the nuances of Runeterra but one is adventurous and pulls the other along with her, and there's some character development together as they explore the world.

Tl;Dr: sexual identity is a concept that falls under the auspices of Chekhov's Gun. If you're gonna explicitly state that it's there, you had better use it in some meaningful manner, otherwise it's just bad storytelling.

18 Comments

TheWhiteRabbit711/22/2018, 8:44:18 PM5 votes

It must be nice to live in a world where you don't have to concern yourself with representation, because you are by -default-. I wish I, as a homosexual, had that. Not only do I not have that in a game where if you don't tell me I don't know, I don't have that in real life for myself OR others. If I don't tell people I'm gay, I'm misrepresented as straight. If I don't communicate myself as a person, assumptions are made, and we all know what happens when we assume. Unless I carry a big rainbow flag, or a sign of some kind DIRECTLY communicating what I am, I'm misread.

I, literally, wear a rainbow wristband, have for over a decade, and I'm still assumed straight instantly. I have no way of representation of myself without communication, I'm simply incapable.

We have to explicitly state it, because we just don't have any other way to do it.

Cetri11/22/2018, 5:45:09 AM3 votes

Even without the confirmation, it was pretty heckin obvious she had a thing for Nidalee, and their relationship (and decision to leave Nid to go on her journey) is an important part of her character.

ScubaVampire11/26/2018, 4:55:36 AM3 votes

"Riot isn't woke enough!!! AHHHHHHH!!! Bro-culture is bad!!!" Riot takes to be a better company (at least outwardly with their products) "You're pandering to the gays!! It's irrelevant! You are doing everything wrong!"

This has happened twice now with Varus and now Neeko... Riot is damned if they do or damned if they don't.

Eternal79111/21/2018, 9:47:46 PM2 votes

I agree completely. While I enjoy Neeko as a character, I do think her sexuality is largely irrelevant unless it pertains to an important relation ship with another character.

Larriet11/25/2018, 6:32:34 PM2 votes

Sadly, Neeko gains nothing or real value out of her sexuality in terms of relationships

That has yet to be seen. We don't even know anything about her crush on Nidalee yet.

sexual identity is a concept that falls under the auspices of Chekhov's Gun. If you're gonna explicitly state that it's there, you had better use it in some meaningful manner, otherwise it's just bad storytelling

This would be meaningful if "not stating it" actually meant is was ambiguous, but it doesn't. Not stating it explicitly is functionally identical to explicitly calling them straight because that's what 99% of people will just assume.

Lysdexic111/22/2018, 5:34:38 AM1 votes

I've seen this in a couple of different threads but it actually also completely conflicts with her lore of being the one shapeshifter her clan chose to save to keep the species alive; why would they do that if she is a lesbian? She has no hope at reproduction. At this point it really WAS only pandering to the LGBTQ community.