Tracer is Gay

One of the things people liked most about Overwatch was its diversity: it’s got a wide range of characters from all around the world, with all kinds of professions, ethnicities, personalities, and body shapes (ranging from dwarf to female). Well, to make sure all the diversity boxes are checked, people have been asking Blizzard if any of the characters are gay. It only makes sense, after all, that one of the most diverse cast in gaming would have at least one or two people who bat for the other team. Well, Blizzard had been teasing for a long time that at least one of their characters was, in fact, gay, and they would reveal who it was when the time was appropriate.

After all, there isn’t much opportunity to express homosexuality through gameplay.

Well, in a recent comic posted to celebrate the holidays, Blizzard has revealed the first of probably several gay characters. And, if the title didn’t spell it out for you, I’ll repeat: it’s Tracer.

Tracer is gay. She’s got a redheaded partner, Emily, and she buys her a scarf.

I have a few thoughts on this. On one hand, congratulations to Blizzard for not falling victim to traditional tropes and not revealing Zyra to be the first gay one. It’s also really cool that the posterchild for the game, arguably the “main character” or “mascot”, is the gay one.

…but on the other hand, Tracer is still a really safe choice. It’s easier to address sexuality for good-looking characters, which Tracer most certainly is, and the sad fact is that lesbians are way more socially accepted than homosexual men. That’s not to say that they aren’t underrepresented and don’t need the support, it’s just, this doesn’t feel as progressive or daring as if they’d made, say Soldier 76 the gay one.

Still, it’s a net good, and a lot better than if they had picked, say, Winston. That would have had all kinds of messy social commentary attached to it.