Before we get too far into patting the Cyberpunk genre on the back for trans inclusion, though they were definitely at the forefront of it, it's a history that's considerably mixed as well. In particular, stories and settings where getting body-altering surgeries reduces your "Humanity" or soul energy or whatever is an extremely problematic take for trans people, for obvious reasons.
While I didn't think of it in terms of trans persons way back in the early 1990s, I did think about that in terms of an amputee. Some dude loses his leg in an accident and takes a Humanity hit when he gets a replacement? That doesn't seem quite right. But, like many games, I suspect it was written to consider the points of view of those who are adventuring rather than a statement on life in general. i.e. The players are edgerunners. They type of people who get cyberware because it gives them an edge not because it fixes a problem.
But even then, in
Cyberpunk 2020, getting a meat leg to replace the one you just lost doesn't cost you any Humanity. And while the main rulebook doesn't mention specifically mention changing sex, bodysculpting, a.k.a. extremely advanced plastic surgery, doesn't cost any Humanity at all. You can get your face sculpted to resemble a cat girl, grow a tail, put tiger stripes on your skin or have a light covering of fur, in addition to all the normal "general all-over bodywork" and it comes with no Humanity cost at all. It doesn't take a big leap to come to the conclusion that gender affirmation procedures wouldn't cost Humanity either. Not that I had any idea what gender affirming procedures were back in 1991.
To Mike Pondsmith's credit,
Cyberpunk Red specifically points out that replacement parts that simply return normal function does not cost Humanity. And the book specifically mentions gender affirming care as not costing Humanity.
Speaking with other queer people and this is one of the scariest Pride months we've had in many, many, years. That's a big part of why normalization through representation is such an important thing, especially in this fantastic and inclusive hobby of ours.
My company put out their standard corporate Pride colors yesterday and we've already received a deluge of hate. Management could have looked at what's happening to Bud Light and Target and decided we weren't going to do anything this year, but I'm happy to say they didn't give in out of fear. And good luck boycotting my company.
So yeah, to all the LGBTQ+ out there who are worried, I get it. If you had told me ten years ago we'd be here today I would have disagreed vehemently. Things were getting better. But now? #$%#
