Lesbian protagonists shouldn’t stop at Ellie
Despite the protests of a thousand Joel Miller fanboys across the world, The Last of Us Part 2 sold ridiculously well and was the best-selling PlayStation exclusive of 2020. That isn’t even talking about how many awards the game has won. To say that a lesbian protagonist like Ellie puts people off from buying games is simply an excuse that doesn’t fly anymore.
She’s been celebrated as the first, triple-A lesbian protagonist by players around the world, and for good reason. The Ellie we’ve come to know and play as is an incredible character, her passionate affection for her love Dina and their son, right up to her quest for vengeance that leads her to take so many lives in The Last of Us Part 2. There is a lot about Ellie that players, queer and otherwise, find themselves relating to.
Despite previous concerns about where Naughty Dog would direct Ellie and Dina, the game has been incredible at not only highlighting its lesbian protagonist but the love she shares for women, too. There are notes, diary entries, and one-off comments between Ellie and the people she travels with. The game doesn’t shy away from Ellie being her authentic self without making it all of who she is.
To put it bluntly: Ellie is a protagonist whose love for women shapes a huge part of her, but it isn’t all that she is.
For queer players, the popularity of The Last of Us Part 2 and how well it did spells out something different from the average player, however. It spells out hope. Hope that more and more games big game studios out there are going to take the plunge and make protagonists who aren’t just their average, straight guy or gal. After all, The Last of Us Part 2 shows that there is success in doing just that.
And in all honesty, it shouldn’t stop at Ellie. It shouldn’t be the case that Ellie’s our one lesbian protagonist and that’s it for the next 10 years. No. As terrible as it may sound, our identities have become marketable and…that’s something. It’s up to you whether that’s a positive thing or not, but queer people thrive when it comes to games where we can see ourselves. So, not only would it, from an emotional standpoint, be hurtful to not include more queer protagonists, it just wouldn’t make sense not to.
So, more lesbian protagonists please.
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