Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Come on, didnt devs expected this shitstorm? Of course they were. And if they were expecting this and still gave a middle finger to people they dont like, means they care little about profits from its existing fan base. That base is already small, and at least 1/4 of it consists of Eastern Europeans - poles and post-soviets who are known to be socially conservative. So they are not afraid of alienating them. Were they hoping to gain some casual minority player in? Certainly not, as Sunset proved its nearly impossible and Minsc proves that devs pay attention to all the recent developments. So, its clear to me that they rely on outside funding from bigger entities who promised them grants for social work, as they call it in my country. Dont forget that Trent is some big person in IGDA now, probably has a few connections here an there.
Haha, that must be it! A progressive conspiracy with secret agenda-pushing financial backers! Probably Illuminati, Lizard People, and/or Shadow Druids!
My goodness, you guys. It's possible to care about money and also want to include some diversity in games.
Exactly... I mean, these illuminati... If they really wanted to push this agenda in the gaming industry, they would choose an expansion for a 17 year old game based on Ad&d... right?
at least 1/4 of it consists of Eastern Europeans - poles and post-soviets who are known to be socially conservative. So they are not afraid of alienating them. .
Yeah, stop with this disgusting pandering to minorities by ...err... pandering to a minority?
Good for them, to bad Sword Coast is not really based on the "New World".
It's not really based on any real-world culture. Yes, there is a veneer of medieval Europe painted over the Realms, but really it's so historically inaccurate that it becomes pointless to try to peg it in a historical context. This is a setting that has drow cyborgs - it's pretty pointless to pretend that the real-world Middle Ages really applies.
Stop glueing things upon something that is clearly inspired by Tolkien, who been inspired by Nordic and Celtic mythology.
If you're arguing against non-binary sexuality being in the game because of its historical influences, I think Norse and Celtic mythology is the wrong tree to bark up. Norse mythology had gods that changed sex at will. Loki turned into a female horse to give birth to a foal and Odin changed his gender so he could woo the goddess Rind as a woman. Celtic myth had warrior lovers, and Cúchulainn and Ferdiadh shared a bed and kissed each other romantically in their epics.
I could continue the listing if necessary. Most real-world mythologies have plenty of instances of homosexuality and transgender individuals in them.
Are you one of those who also proclaim that Doran was the first gay character ever? That one in Dragon Age Inc? And yes I would have a problem with it being a bunch of South-Africans or Japanese in a place based on Nordic mythology. Shoe horning or forcing things in is stupid. So yes, I would accuse her of having an agenda of changing things to fit her world view. I do not want to see a majority of Africans in a setting based or inspired by North-Central-East Europe, I do not want to see Meso-American indians in a setting based on Japan-Korea-China. I do not want to see a bunch of caucasoid in a setting based on India. The Sword Coast and Thay with neighbours are not the same places, not the same cultures, not the same kind of people in these regions. In Mass Effect it fits but when people want to be so diverse and welcoming they force it. It becomes rather odd and not realistic at all. If people are acceptant of each others in a culture, eventually this culture would grow to become a mix of all these cultures and races and not really be diverse at all eventually. I find it funny how you bring up this topic but do not seem to care that you comit manslaughter and genocide on "not so beautiful" races in 99 out of 100 RPGs. Like that Xvart village in Baldurs Gate 1.
Using this logic, one would wonder why the lack of people trying to attack or enslave Valygar in Baldur's Gate II didn't break your immersion. I mean, here's this black guy wandering around pseudo-medieval Europe disrupting the social order and facing no repercussions because of his race.
Of course, Valygar's race is not an issue because the Forgotten Realms doesn't have a history in its 30 years of publication of people discriminating based on skin color. Similarly, the setting has no history of discrimination against people because of sexual identity.
This is a setting whose most iconic character, Elminster, literally spent a period of years wandering around as a woman.
Every piece of history in both the Forgotten Realms, Dungeons & Dragons, and the real-world mythology upon which this is based includes numerous examples of homosexual and transgender individuals. Having a transgender character in this game is in no way rewriting canon. It is simply building upon what is already there.
Just a friendly reminder to keep things civil as the thread title suggests. These sorts of threads are a nightmare for folks like Dee to keep track of.
I hope Amber Scott can learn to step off of her pedestal. She seems to think (from her interviews and such) that she is a magnificent writer and everyone who doesn't like her writing is a bigot. Hopefully she can be humble enough to learn from this debacle and we can get better writing without any characters who are shoved into the game in a botched attempt at inclusiveness.
"To white" is one of the dumbest things I ever read
Actually, that seems like a good place to end, too.
Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Because Mulan takes place in a culture and time period where there was only one ethnic group (although there are of course many diverse groups among the Chinese, but that's a different point). Forgotten Realms does not.
I hope Amber Scott can learn to step off of her pedestal. She seems to think (from her interviews and such) that she is a magnificent writer and everyone who doesn't like her writing is a bigot. Hopefully she can be humble enough to learn from this debacle and we can get better writing without any characters who are shoved into the game in a botched attempt at inclusiveness.
I personally don't think Amber has come off as stuck up at all. She has a right to be proud of her work based on the early reviews, and I really doubt that what seems like a bit character in a game that has hundreds of lines of dialogue is going to be the determinant of how good this story is.
"To white" is one of the dumbest things I ever read
Actually, that seems like a good place to end, too.
Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Because Mulan takes place in a culture and time period where there was only one ethnic group (although there are of course many diverse groups among the Chinese, but that's a different point). Forgotten Realms does not.
Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
I hope Amber Scott can learn to step off of her pedestal. She seems to think (from her interviews and such) that she is a magnificent writer and everyone who doesn't like her writing is a bigot. Hopefully she can be humble enough to learn from this debacle and we can get better writing without any characters who are shoved into the game in a botched attempt at inclusiveness.
Darn women, getting all uppity and opinionated and stuff!
Amber literally said none of those things. She pointed out a couple of legitimate sexists tropes in BGI and said that SoDs writing would not incorporate them. That's it. It's Gamergate losers who are trying to paint her as a radical feminist boogeywoman.
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
Strangely, it usually seem to be the anti-SJW crowd crying havoc about not getting their way.
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
Strangely, it usually seem to be the anti-SJW crowd crying havoc about not getting their way.
Oh really? This is why every game under the sun is to sexist, to racist, to this and that? Tracer poses is sexist, Telltales games are racist, Game of Thrones is to white. So on, so on.
Well, I'm finishing up a BG1 run, was getting ready to buy Siege and looking forward to it, like I haven't anticipated buying a game in years. But I don't want their SJW agenda shoved down my throat. I won't be buying and won't be recommending this to my friends. Too bad, my niece really wanted to play this.
As other people have pointed out, there's already gay and bisexual characters in the games, not to mention inter-species relationships and magical seduction. And now there's a trans character that isn't even a romanceable companion - she has like three total lines of dialogue - and people flip out because it's "too much for D&D" or somehow not theme appropriate (putting aside the whole conservative family values, anti-SJW ranting, because that's not even a valid point).
You don't have to talk to her. She offers no quests or important information. Just that one little line as a nod to a minority that hasn't had much real representation in games EVER. It's a tiny and tasteful step toward acceptance and social progress in gaming. How does this entirely optional quip detract from anyone's experience of the entire saga?
Playing a bigoted character for some reason? Fine, ignore or kill her and move on. Don't try to trash the game over something so insignificant.
As other people have pointed out, there's already gay and bisexual characters in the games, not to mention inter-species relationships and magical seduction. And now there's a trans character that isn't even a romanceable companion - she has like three total lines of dialogue - and people flip out because it's "too much for D&D" or somehow not theme appropriate (putting aside the whole conservative family values, anti-SJW ranting, because that's not even a valid point).
You don't have to talk to her. She offers no quests or important information. Just that one little line as a nod to a minority that hasn't had much real representation in games EVER. It's a tiny and tasteful step toward acceptance and social progress in gaming. How does this entirely optional quip detract from anyone's experience of the entire saga?
Playing a bigoted character for some reason? Fine, ignore or kill her and move on. Don't try to trash the game over something so insignificant.
She is useless, they could done more with her, him, whatever. As I pointed out earlier. Shown how the world itself looked upon it. How the diffrent gods react. How the people in icewind Dale where Tempus is big react on it. Such things. If they want it in, stop shoe horning it as some kind of statement with those "Came to accept it" talks.
"To white" is one of the dumbest things I ever read
Actually, that seems like a good place to end, too.
Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Because Mulan takes place in a culture and time period where there was only one ethnic group (although there are of course many diverse groups among the Chinese, but that's a different point). Forgotten Realms does not.
Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
Because Faerun is diverse and the game should be reflective of that. I wouldn't expect diversity in Kara-Tur, although even there you would probably find a few visitors from Faerun. An all-white Faerun is inconsistent with lore.
"To white" is one of the dumbest things I ever read
Actually, that seems like a good place to end, too.
Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Because Mulan takes place in a culture and time period where there was only one ethnic group (although there are of course many diverse groups among the Chinese, but that's a different point). Forgotten Realms does not.
Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
Because Faerun is diverse and the game should be reflective of that. I wouldn't expect diversity in Kara-Tur, although even there you would probably find a few visitors from Faerun. An all-white Faerun is inconsistent with lore.
This shouldn't be so hard.
It is so diverse that several races are supressed and pushed out to live in fringe regions. You want some constructed utopia world where everybody lives in perfect villages. Where people don't go back home after trades or live in their own walled off societies but are all sharing and drinking and celebrating. No good and evil, just utopia. "John you have to go, you break the perfect 50/50 pattern of cultures, races and genders!" mindset.
Well, I'm finishing up a BG1 run, was getting ready to buy Siege and looking forward to it, like I haven't anticipated buying a game in years. But I don't want their SJW agenda shoved down my throat. I won't be buying and won't be recommending this to my friends. Too bad, my niece really wanted to play this.
How is the presence of a few lines of tame, optional dialogue shoving an agenda down anyone's throat? You people are so melodramatic.
Let your niece make her own decisions, it's a great game.
"To white" is one of the dumbest things I ever read
Actually, that seems like a good place to end, too.
Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Because Mulan takes place in a culture and time period where there was only one ethnic group (although there are of course many diverse groups among the Chinese, but that's a different point). Forgotten Realms does not.
Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
Because Faerun is diverse and the game should be reflective of that. I wouldn't expect diversity in Kara-Tur, although even there you would probably find a few visitors from Faerun. An all-white Faerun is inconsistent with lore.
This shouldn't be so hard.
It is so diverse that several races are supressed and pushed out to live in fringe regions. You want some constructed utopia world where everybody lives in perfect villages. Where people don't go back home after trades or live in their own walled off societies but are all sharing and drinking and celebrating. No good and evil, just utopia. "John you have to go, you break the perfect 50/50 pattern of cultures, races and genders!" mindset.
Are you still talking about the single transgender NPC, or do you maybe need to take this to another thread?
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc.
By the same token, it's Beamdog's prerogative to write their story the way they want it without being bound by people who will get upset by a couple of lines here and there. The caretakers of the franchise, Wizards of the Coast, get to vet everything they do and have given this their thumbs up.
It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
Delving into the racial elements of Tolkien's work would cause this thread to explode in a whole new way, so I imagine it's best if we leave that stick of social dynamite alone.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
FYI, altering hormonal balance is one of the first steps that get taken when somebody starts to undergo the sex change process. So I'm not really sure what you mean by the "hormones and everything" bit.
Since you didn't counter my point that Odin turned into a woman because he was wooing a goddess that wasn't attracted to men or that Celtic mythology included male warrior lovers, can I assume you're letting that point slide?
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
I'm not sure what you're getting at here. You can't be implying that the existence of LGBT individuals means that there's no value in exploring things. I mean, it's not like the real world keeps them in a single country or anything. And since the main impetus of exploring in Baldur's Gate is because you're trying to find out who is trying to kill you rather than exploring new cultures, I just don't know what you're trying to say here. I'd love it if you could clarify for me.
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc.
By the same token, it's Beamdog's prerogative to write their story the way they want it without being bound by people who will get upset by a couple of lines here and there. The caretakers of the franchise, Wizards of the Coast, get to vet everything they do and have given this their thumbs up.
It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
Delving into the racial elements of Tolkien's work would cause this thread to explode in a whole new way, so I imagine it's best if we leave that stick of social dynamite alone.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
FYI, altering hormonal balance is one of the first steps that get taken when somebody starts to undergo the sex change process. So I'm not really sure what you mean by the "hormones and everything" bit.
Since you didn't counter my point that Odin turned into a woman because he was wooing a goddess that wasn't attracted to men or that Celtic mythology included male warrior lovers, can I assume you're letting that point slide?
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
I'm not sure what you're getting at here. You can't be implying that the existence of LGBT individuals means that there's no value in exploring things. I mean, it's not like the real world keeps them in a single country or anything. And since the main impetus of exploring in Baldur's Gate is because you're trying to find out who is trying to kill you rather than exploring new cultures, I just don't know what you're trying to say here. I'd love it if you could clarify for me.
They are not real women or men, mate. Not until they have the internal and external organs with it.
As I told you, Gods are more then "I feel like a woman/man in a man/womans body".
Yes, we should leave it, but nor do I think you can call this man a racist in his time, it was the common viewpoint back then. With todays eyes, maybe, but those are irrelevant when he wrote.
And no, Beamdog cannot do what they want, they do not own the license. Nor should Hasbro ater to a crying group, be either people who want to cut down on the setting (to many gods, kill em) or it being to white or to straight cis hetrosexual....Jesus, stop changing well established settings to fit your agenda, your as in not you bot these groups. The best thing to do when one want to spread diversity and such is to write a totally new world and setting. Look at Bioware. I love the Mass Effect world and it got a lot of those things that people do not want to see pushed into Baldurs Gate but they accept it in Mass Effevt since it been there from the start and is not shoe horned in as political statements or forcing ideology or viewpoints but as a valid part of society and the overall culture. Amber Scott takes offense in a game that is over 16 years old. It is silly when she cries havoc about Safana, Jaheira and such.
It's amazing watching certain responses pop up on this thread that are identical - and I mean word for word - to the more, shall we say, "spirited" responses against Hexxat two years ago. Here's an idea: if you want to make a case for why inclusion is political but exclusion is not, or why the presence of a single solitary transgender character with three lines of dialogue in an entire franchise is pandering, at the very least come up with new arguments. Because both the real world and Faerun frown on graverobbing.
And no, Beamdog cannot do what they want, they do not own the license.
No, that would be Wizards of the Coast. And they signed off on this. So clearly, whatever values SoD espouses, whatever "agenda" it's got, they're okay with that. If you're not, maybe D&D isn't for you anymore?
Well, I'm finishing up a BG1 run, was getting ready to buy Siege and looking forward to it, like I haven't anticipated buying a game in years. But I don't want their SJW agenda shoved down my throat. I won't be buying and won't be recommending this to my friends. Too bad, my niece really wanted to play this.
How is the presence of a few lines of tame, optional dialogue shoving an agenda down anyone's throat? You people are so melodramatic.
Let your niece make her own decisions, it's a great game.
Sorry, I'm not promoting mental illness to my relatives. I don't see any heterosexual npcs running around, going, "hey, I like people of the opposite sex." It's only the mentally ill who must shout at the top of their lungs, "I'm a LGBLT, hear me roar!" I will not support this kind of crap in any form.
And no, Beamdog cannot do what they want, they do not own the license. Nor should Hasbro ater to a crying group, be either people who want to cut down on the setting (to many gods, kill em) or it being to white or to straight cis hetrosexual
They do not own the license, but the people owning the license allowed them to publish the game as it is. The only one who wants to tell the people owning the license what they are allowed to do is you.
Amber Scott takes offense in a game that is over 16 years old. It is silly when she cries havoc about Safana, Jaheira and such.
She made one more or less off-hand comment without being visibly upset, calling for boycots or being outraged about it. This can hardly be called calling havoc, unlike what you are and certain other posters in this thread are doing. With another common theme with the anti-SJW crowd.
It's amazing watching certain responses pop up on this thread that are identical - and I mean word for word - to the more, shall we say, "spirited" responses against Hexxat two years ago. Here's an idea: if you want to make a case for why inclusion is political but exclusion is not, or why the presence of a single solitary transgender character with three lines of dialogue in an entire franchise is pandering, at the very least come up with new arguments. Because both the real world and Faerun frown on graverobbing.
Are you one of those who get offended by the Trace pose in Overwatch aswell? Like that dad who didn't want his daughter to watch that pose which she should not be seeing in the first place since she was to young to play the game? Games are not political, should not be. Atleast not an RPG in a fantasy world, ffs. Can we just stop being political everywhere? Everything need to be an statement these days and it is getting really annoying. This char was made like a statement in how she is portrayed. So few lines yet her gender is one of the most important parts of it. Silly.
Let me start by saying that I have many transgender and gay friends.
I do not have anything against them as long as they don't act gay or transgender. So, as long as they behave like heterosexual, cisgender people would, and don't ever talk about their sexuality and gender identity, I accept and tolerate them.
So I'm fine with adding gay and transgender people to the game.
But my question is: Why can't gay and transgender NPCs just behave like all the other hetersexual cisgender NPCs in the game?
Just making sure, @Shandyr: This is satire, right?
Comments
I could continue the listing if necessary. Most real-world mythologies have plenty of instances of homosexuality and transgender individuals in them. Using this logic, one would wonder why the lack of people trying to attack or enslave Valygar in Baldur's Gate II didn't break your immersion. I mean, here's this black guy wandering around pseudo-medieval Europe disrupting the social order and facing no repercussions because of his race.
Of course, Valygar's race is not an issue because the Forgotten Realms doesn't have a history in its 30 years of publication of people discriminating based on skin color. Similarly, the setting has no history of discrimination against people because of sexual identity.
This is a setting whose most iconic character, Elminster, literally spent a period of years wandering around as a woman.
Every piece of history in both the Forgotten Realms, Dungeons & Dragons, and the real-world mythology upon which this is based includes numerous examples of homosexual and transgender individuals. Having a transgender character in this game is in no way rewriting canon. It is simply building upon what is already there.
Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
Amber literally said none of those things. She pointed out a couple of legitimate sexists tropes in BGI and said that SoDs writing would not incorporate them. That's it. It's Gamergate losers who are trying to paint her as a radical feminist boogeywoman.
As other people have pointed out, there's already gay and bisexual characters in the games, not to mention inter-species relationships and magical seduction. And now there's a trans character that isn't even a romanceable companion - she has like three total lines of dialogue - and people flip out because it's "too much for D&D" or somehow not theme appropriate (putting aside the whole conservative family values, anti-SJW ranting, because that's not even a valid point).
You don't have to talk to her. She offers no quests or important information. Just that one little line as a nod to a minority that hasn't had much real representation in games EVER. It's a tiny and tasteful step toward acceptance and social progress in gaming. How does this entirely optional quip detract from anyone's experience of the entire saga?
Playing a bigoted character for some reason? Fine, ignore or kill her and move on. Don't try to trash the game over something so insignificant.
This shouldn't be so hard.
Let your niece make her own decisions, it's a great game.
Since you didn't counter my point that Odin turned into a woman because he was wooing a goddess that wasn't attracted to men or that Celtic mythology included male warrior lovers, can I assume you're letting that point slide? I'm not sure what you're getting at here. You can't be implying that the existence of LGBT individuals means that there's no value in exploring things. I mean, it's not like the real world keeps them in a single country or anything. And since the main impetus of exploring in Baldur's Gate is because you're trying to find out who is trying to kill you rather than exploring new cultures, I just don't know what you're trying to say here. I'd love it if you could clarify for me.
As I told you, Gods are more then "I feel like a woman/man in a man/womans body".
Yes, we should leave it, but nor do I think you can call this man a racist in his time, it was the common viewpoint back then. With todays eyes, maybe, but those are irrelevant when he wrote.
And no, Beamdog cannot do what they want, they do not own the license. Nor should Hasbro ater to a crying group, be either people who want to cut down on the setting (to many gods, kill em) or it being to white or to straight cis hetrosexual....Jesus, stop changing well established settings to fit your agenda, your as in not you bot these groups. The best thing to do when one want to spread diversity and such is to write a totally new world and setting. Look at Bioware. I love the Mass Effect world and it got a lot of those things that people do not want to see pushed into Baldurs Gate but they accept it in Mass Effevt since it been there from the start and is not shoe horned in as political statements or forcing ideology or viewpoints but as a valid part of society and the overall culture. Amber Scott takes offense in a game that is over 16 years old. It is silly when she cries havoc about Safana, Jaheira and such.