Aside from a joke here and there (And a D20 book I haven’t read) the issue of gender and sexuality in role playing games has not been addressed. What, for example, is life like for a gay male drow? Consider that men are second class citizens in drow society. The average male drow wants at least to marry power. A gay man is stuck loving another second class citizen.
A lesbian drow, however, would almost certainly try to marry her way up the ladder. She would also tend to view male drow with even more scorn than usual. Imagine, what if a whole city began to view male drow this way- a city where males have almost no rights and are viewed only as useful for breeding. How would the men try to revolt? What new gods would they seek?
We’re told (Complete Book Of Elves among other places) that light elves have no distinction between the sexes. They have no separate pronouns for male and female. Their chief deity is often depicted as a hermaphrodite. Based on all this, I conclude that all light elves are actually bisexual. If there is no distinction between he and she in anything else in elf life, why a distinction in romance/sex? If I’m right, heterosexuality and homosexuality are viewed as equal disorders in elven society.
‘I heard Torlon Moon only seeks women as romantic partners’
‘That is odd. I wonder why.’
What of other cultures? Why wouldn’t a nation worshiping the Olympians have the Greeks view of sex and sexuality- The men holding the power, taking male lovers, and viewing women as necessary only for bearing children? Think of the constant conflict between the gods and goddesses over the status of women. In our world, the effects of a prayer to Artemis are open to debate. In D&D, the effect depends on the level of the cleric praying. What about the Vikings? I’ve read that men wanting to be clerics of Freya were required to dress and live as women- and to take a woman’s role in sex.
What if somebody doesn’t approve of another’s sexuality? In our world there are no ‘cures’. But in a world of magic and potions, this is not so. A carefully worded wish spell can fix almost any problem. Upset that your son is gay? Find an accommodating spellcaster.
In our world, the transgender have it very rough. While hormone treatments and surgery can solve some problems, others remain. In a world of wish spells and girdles of gender reversal, these problems disappear. Let’s take the example of Hypothetica. Hypothetica is a woman with a problem. She was born with the body of a man. In our world, Hypothetica would be required to take years of counseling before a doctor will consent to hormone replacement therapy and years more before getting consent for an orchiectomy and vaginoplasty. Even after that, Hypothetica remains dependent on hormone treatments, cannot bear children, and has many problems with her legal status. But, what if Hypothetica was born in the lands of Dungeons And Dragons? After the appropriate spell or magic item is used, no one would deny that Hypothetica is a woman. She needs no hormone treatments, having her own female reproductive system. No court would now deny that she is a woman.
What if such magic items are rare? Then imagine the anguish of a character who finds themselves trapped in the wrong body. Reincarnation spells have a habit of placing a soul in the wrong species. But what about the wrong gender? Interestingly the comic series Camelot 3000 had sir Tristan reincarnated as a woman. How does a character cope when his love returns as a man?
But what about high magic worlds, where the population gets about on flying carpets and magical objects are commonplace? The populace could change gender and orientation at will. Imagine a world where your father decides he’s bored being a man and becomes a woman for the week? Imagine a world in which any friend is a potential mate. Imagine the possibilities.
WOD
Note, I know only of the Old WOD
Much of what I said holds true for other games.The Life sphere can alter your body from one sex to another. Mind and Spirit magicks can change your orientation. The Technocracy would tend to favor heterosexuality (as does Pentex- see Freak Legion). What about the traditions?
What about the Garou tribes? They would have good reason to place a high value on heterosexuality. They need all the Garou and kinfolk they can get. The pressure would be on for everybody to produce children.
Cyberpunk, Shadowrun
In a world of cybernetic implants and cloned organs, a full sex change is no problem. A full vat grown reproductive system is just a matter of NuYen.