A civil discussion about Sirona Ryan

[Civil Critical Thinker]

The characters voice seems to be pitched to give the impression that it's a man crossdressing as a woman or even a transgender person (atleast in the international or english version). I have several reasons why such a character shouldn't exist in a video game but let's get one arguement out of the way :
the arguement that's it not historically accurate is quite silly since it is a world with magic and beasts.
That beeing said, I disagree with the usage of such a character as a token to appease a "woke" community when in our reality those people are suffering from a mental illness called Gender Identity Disorder also known by now as Gender Dysphoria. Idealy such a person should seek the help of a psychiatrist. The potrayal of the character however suggests that it's some badass transitioned lady. I think this is very counter productive if one truly wishes to support a humans well beeing.

If you're disagreeing I'd love to hear your take , just please do so in a civil manner.

[DeadManWade]

Oh look another jester bait thread

[Zhorge]

I thought it was ♥♥♥♥♥♥ voice-acting or autotune gone bad like with the male pitch-change issue. Seriously, I no idea until the second day that Sirona was trans. Which, itself, is a laugh when you think about it. In the Harry Potter universe you can use magic to turn yourself into a cat, dog, stag, rat and many other things. So why not just turn yourself into a woman?

But as for me, while I love the game, I have to say there are some really terribly voiced characters. Mr. Moon is another, really hate his quest because he just rambles on with the worst, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pseudo-cockney accent... But I have to finish it to get what I want.

[D®agon]

あなたは決して女性ではありません

[Warhead]

Yeah the voice is really weird. The voice was so out of place it distracted me from the cutscene. lol.

[xpanicked]

just an FYI it sounds like you're trying to be VERY cognizant of being respectful that is appreciated! However, you wouldn't refer to the character was "a transgender". You would just say "transgender" or "a transgendered person". Thanks!

[Antiga]

Or, just play the game and don't add to this biggest ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ discussion of all time.

[|Pipe Dreams]

Agreed. The voice thru a curveball at me.

I don't enjoy listening to that VA at all. I just skip it now. The pitch is all off, sounds like they are mumbling, etc.

There needs to be some better QA on this particular dialogue. Definitely felt like it was just thrown in to appease some, but the people they are trying to appease, are boycotting this game, so its a weird situation.

Unless the person just has a SUPER masculine voice, and well, that is something you can do nothing about it.

[Civil Critical Thinker]

Originally posted by xpanicked:

just an FYI it sounds like you're trying to be VERY cognizant of being respectful that is appreciated! However, you wouldn't refer to the character was "a transgender". You would just say "transgender" or "a transgendered person". Thanks!

Changed it . Cheers.

[patrick68794]

Rebecca Root is the VA. Just go listen to any interview and you'll realize that it's their normal voice.

[Naver]

It's a magic world, if there's anyone born there with Gender Dysphoria they'll probably able to transition properly through magic. Sirona just wants to be a special snowflake.

[Civil Critical Thinker]

Originally posted by patrick68794:

Rebecca Root is the VA. Just go listen to any interview and you'll realize that it's their normal voice.

I've just seen an interview. So the voice isn't even pitched , it's an actual transgender person voicing the character.

[DarkestOnion]

As a transgender person who is not 'woke' in the slightest and who has still gotten abuse here, I will attempt to comment before people stink this thread up with trolling and being a general nuisance about the controversy around trans presentation in contemporary gaming.

Firstly, the historical accuracy argument holds no water as transgender folks existed in 1890, and they often passed themselves off as deeply voiced women or highly voiced men who preferred to use the fashions of the gender they preferred (generally wealthy folks mind you). Of course being discovered back then (as some places even today) can lead to harassment, injury, and even death. The honest truth is that transgender folks were hidden rather than not existing. They simply were not allowed to openly express themselves in any historical texts - leading to modern people uncomfortable with trans-genderism making the argument that people like myself have only recently come into existence on a timeline based on the first known successful post operative sex change.

Secondly, we are generally not fond of being categorized as having a mental disorder for being transgender. This is because the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) once treated non-heterosexuality as a mental aberration requiring often extreme and torturous treatments to make a person 'a good and normal heterosexual' who dresses in a way which make people the most comfortable with established social gender norms and displays of gender. So while a psychiatrist is often crucial in processing gender dysphoria...it may be better to see that psychiatrist as helping the transgender to integrate into society in a way that best promotes their safety and mental well being.

Lastly, I personally do not require or desire more transgender representation in any of my media. However, many other transgender folks disagree and hold that representation leads to normalization over time. For them, it is a needed step in a long process to get society to a point where we are accepted just as much as any other person. Many critics of trans-genderism misinterpret this desire for acceptance as a desire to 'force our selfish and destructive agenda' on the games loved by proper heterosexuals who accept traditional spoken yet unwritten social conventions.

As to Siona in particular in HWL...they are likely too subtle in their representation for people who use the word 'woke' to stigmatize anyone who challenges transgender representation in the gaming sphere. It seems to me that the developer wanted to have 'spin control' over the JK Rowling controversy to deflect criticism over transgender representation...to maximize profit. So they cautiously went only as far as they had to so that they would not fuel the controversy.

I hope that I have brought you food for thought and not come off in a way that makes anyone uncomfortable with this currently sensitive topic. If you wish to further discuss the matter civilly - I am happy to engage. However, if this thread (like so many here) turns into negativity and trans-bashing I will just block the haters/trolls and get back to playing this mediocre Action RPG with a great IP. Let's hope together that we can have a productive discussion folks.

[Legendkiller456]

No way this stays civil...

[Switch]

Ma'am you have testicular cancer

[Caduryn]

Originally posted by Civil Critical Thinker:

Originally posted by patrick68794:

Rebecca Root is the VA. Just go listen to any interview and you'll realize that it's their normal voice.

I've just seen an interview. So the voice isn't even pitched , it's an actual transgender person voicing the character.

Yes, and?