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Are you a man, woman or rat?: Attempting to be non-binary in Cyberpunk 2077
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Department of Game Design.
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Department of Game Design.
2021 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

In this thesis, the recently released video game Cyberpunk 2077 has three of its segments investigated and analyzed. The three segments are the game’s character customization, its dialogue, and its optional romantic storylines. By performing a combination of a queer reading and a trans reading, the study aims explore how non-binary identities fit into the three segments of the game. This is done by revealing cisnormative components of the game at the same time as non-binary potential between the cisnormative moments is highlighted. Many cisnormative parts of the game are found, including the assumption of the player character gender and certain romances specifically locked for transing characters. Fewer parts were found where non-binary identities fit into the game without cisnormative complications. Examples include the insignificance of the player character's genitalia and the allowance for any player character to wear makeup. The study concludes that Cyberpunk 2077 is to a majority biased by cisnormativity, but that the parts where non-binary potential shines through serves as an inspiration for future games to be more inclusive.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 32
Keywords [en]
Non-binary, Cyberpunk 2077, Trans reading, Queer reading
National Category
Information Systems, Social aspects Gender Studies Design
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-571824OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-571824DiVA, id: diva2:2015228
Subject / course
Game Design
Educational program
Bachelor's Programme in Game Design and Graphics
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2025-11-20 Created: 2025-11-20 Last updated: 2025-11-20Bibliographically approved

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Citation style
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Output format
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