I think this feeling is at least part of why a lot of trans people become game devs, too. It's part of why I am. The feeling of freedom with who I could be was really powerful for me and now I want to be able to craft that feeling for others
this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2026
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Many of my favourite and recently played games let you be trans, though it depends on how you define it. For me (a cis man) it means the ability to set your physical sex and presented gender in opposite directions.
Cyberpunk 2077 is the best at this. You can give your character breasts (3 different sizes) or not. Entirely separately from that, you can give your character a penis (cut or natural) or a vulva (full bush, trim job, or waxed). And entirely separately from both of those, you can give your character a male voice or a female voice. The game also features a trans woman, and it's not even clear or obvious she's trans unless you do her side quest to completion. If you didn't notice the trans flag on her truck, she talks about her transition when she tells you about her late husband. And literally no one, not even the guy she tries to kill (or have you kill) in her quest line, makes an issue of her being trans. Everyone just accepts it, as they should.
Animal Crossing comes from a country (Japan) that is so conservative, a mangaka (manga author) received death threats for not having his male protagonist hook up with a girl at the end of his long running popular shounen (young men) battle series. So to satiate those homophobes (note he did not have the guy hook up with a guy either, he just said they were too busy focusing on the fighting to pursue any romance), he released a bonus chapter where the main guy and main girl agree to team up. That seemed to shut everybody up, but it also fueled the homophobia. A lot of people started saying that the gays lose and the straights won, like we have to be in competition or something. Anyway, Animal Crossing. One of the biggest games out there and certainly Nintendo's best selling game recently. So you can never change your name, which kinda sucks, but you can change your gender identity at any time, and you can always wear what you want. There are no rules on which gender can wear which outfits. If you give a male villager a dress, they will try it on. I mean the animals. You, the player, the only human on the island, can wear whatever you want, and you'll be complimented if you wear 2 or more from the same set, or I think 3 or more of the same colour. You also have makeup and face paint options. There is no voice acting, so that isn't a factor. The animals kind of chirp? If you know, you know. Animal Crossing language is kind of its own thing, and it's not gendered. But the human villager never makes a sound. Pronouns are the only sticking point here. You're sometimes given pronouns based on your selected gender identity, and sometimes it's they/them regardless. But hey, it's Nintendo, a Japanese company, based out of a traditional homophobic country. So I give them props for what they did do.
Having nails in Cyberpunk was huge for me.
What manga?
By the way, same-sex relationships in Japanese media are pretty common. Gender-diverse people too. By western standards now it's hit-or-miss, but 20 years ago Japan was far ahead. I think the portrayal of queer people in Japanese media has stayed pretty consistent since then, or improved only a little bit. But it's still pretty decent I'd say, in the scheme of things.
The trope of "traps" in anime is pretty well established and very fucking transphobic. Its all getting better but we can't act like its great overall
Yes definitely. I said "common," not "empowering" to be clear.
Gotcha gotcha
I don’t think you can have no breasts in Cyberpunk.
In Cyperpunk you can have any combination of genitals that you want.
Having no breasts would mean having a gaping hole in your torso. Male breasts are also called breasts.
Careful. Y’alqueda is gonna start forcing you to input your Drivers License and only allow you to play as your gender listed on it.
It feels like we're overusing "euphoria" lately, maybe just me
"Gender euphoria" is a term has been around for ages. It exists at least since 1976, from what I've read online. I personally haven't heard "euphoria" being used very often (except for the name of that one TV show), so I can't really say if it has been overused lately.
That's fair, I didn't realize it was such an old term.
This use feels weird to me, but I'm not trans, so maybe I just don't get it.
Gender euphoria is the opposite of gender dysphoria.
Like, if you woke up and were physically the opposite gender but mentally still felt to your core that you were your current gender. That discordance and, to some, disgust and physical pain, is gender dysphoria. Hard to imagine, sure.
Gender euphoria is the state that people experience in opposition to that. When what you see in the mirror matches up well with how you feel inside. Most people will take this state for granted, but for many trans people it is the exception, not the rule.
Hope this helps understand why euphoria is by no means an exaggeration in this sense :)
Yep thinking of it in linguistic terms being the opposite of dysphoria makes more sense. I was just thinking in terms of the emotion, which yeah I totally understand it being very gratifying I just couldn't see it being "euphoric". Thanks for the explanation
For trans folk it genuinely is euphoric!
This is also why the backstepping into hentai ladies in every game is a problem.
