Gender and Sexuality in Thedas {Lore - Spoilers All}

THIS VIDEO NEEDED AN UPDATE: • UPDATE: Gender and Sex...
Welcome, welcome! Are you curious about how the nations of Thedas view same-sex relationships? Or maybe you are confused about gender under the Qun? Perhaps you just want to learn about Dragon Age's genderfluid character? If so, then come and listen to what is known~
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This video does contain story spoilers for the Dragon Age games and other related media.
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Question? Video Ideas? Fan Theories?
Tweet me at @GhilDirthalen: / ghildirthalen
or
Send me a PM on /u/Ghilannain: / ghilannain
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[@DarkKing009]

Oghren's wife paragon Branka was bi

[@GhilDirthalen]

DarkKing009 FUCK. This is why I need you guys. I miss the obvious things!! Pinning this comment for visibility.

[@DarkKing009]

lol your welcome

[@darthportus]

Branka was full lesbian bro.

[@Shadowhunterbg]

No wonder the dwarven race is dying out...

[@darklymoonlit]

Or a lesbian. It's not clear if she wanted to marry/was ever romantically or sexually attracted to Oghren and that changed. He certainly seemed to look back on at least the first part of their marriage as being very good, but she never addresses the issue.

[@SpikeCat-s6q]

"Inquisitor, I am not homophobic, I am simply Sera-phobic"

[@Alva_Lombax]

Wait, Sera ? Well I shouldn't be surprised, I mainly treat her like an awkward pet and pretend shes not there most of the time aside the ocasional prank The way she is I have a hard time seeing her being part of a series organisation like the inquisition

[@H240909]

@@Alva_Lombax Just consider her an independent contractor, like Sutherland’s company. Then she fits in fine.

[@LordSusaga]

One bit of banter I love is when Iron Bull mentions that he considers Cassandra as either a man or a woman depending on whether she's wearing armour.

[@katiekatie6289]

This supports Ghil Dirthalen's hypothesis.

[@marly116]

In DAO if you keep talking to Sten, he will ask why you don't take a woman's role. and when you say that you fight he asks of you are a man. and when you say you are a woman he asks why you would fight when that is a man's role. and when you mention fighting he asks why a woman would want to be a man. And when you say you do not want to be a man but wish to continue to fight he becomes extremely confused and talks about gender roles such as becoming a priestess. I think that had Fem warden said she was a man that Sten totally would have been ok and understood but since her gender and role contradicted each other in the eyes of the Qun since their theology states that as a man's role that he becomes confused. I feel that Krem's situation would have been more understandable to him while women like Cassandra would remain a mystery. Meanwhile, The Iron Bull has had to live as a spy and talvashoth, he has had years to experience and grow accustomed to other cultures and the world around him and has become much more open minded.

[@JordanJumpin]

Tori-Parker Alexander yeah I think the qun had always considered gender as a role, if u were to live as a man you would have to assume the roles of the males in quando society and vise versa

[@Mikito456]

Whats ironic is despite the fact that Ive always thought Sten cool, my open minded decision generally lead to him having a low to decent opinion of me. But my only female character hit accord and despite shattering his gender views, invited me to Par Vollen.

[@centeroftheuniverse]

In the qun everything is defined by your job. You have no name or a family. You have a title and your place in society. It's not a stretch for your gender to be defined by your job. In the qun you don't have any individuality after all.

[@annielapointe6529]

“Varric doesn’t give a shit about anything whatsoever” Yeah, that about sums it up

[@jungtothehuimang]

That's why he's best boy

[@rougevillejoin5520]

If you have high friendship with Sera and don’t romance her, it is revealed that she and Dagna end up together at the end of Trespasser, she calls Dagna her “wittle”.

[@cruxnajii2056]

Varric never does give a s**t about anything! XD

[@Limis646]

He just wants to sit back write his books and hang with his friends and that's why i love him

[@vickshimmer]

love that man souch

[@amyelizabeth1783]

I feel like your opinion/theory on the Qun is correct. As Bull says to Cassandra in a cutscene where she's hitting him with a stick after the fear demon Adamant quest "this is why the Qun doesn't like women fighting" or something along those lines. So he seems to reaffirm what Sten says on the Qun's roles for women, maybe he doesn't see women's roles in the Qun as black and white as Sten, but still.

[@runehelm1192]

I’ve always taken that line as less of a genuine insult and more of a “you aren’t hitting hard enough so I’ll just make you angry.”

[@SevCaswell]

In regard to Tevinter and the Army, women ARE allowed to serve but only in limited roles, similar to many RL armies, but Krem wasn't satisfied with those roles, as well as not identifying as female.

[@lawrencemcconnell8962]

It really is pleasant to hear an intelligent, tolerant discussion of Bioware's handling of diversity. I see so MANY references to the acronym "SJW" in other KZbin videos and condemnation for how they handle gender and LGBT issues in their games. Substitute "Liberal" for "SJW" and I think you'll see my point - and why I'm making it.

[@Armaan8014]

Totally agree with you, Tiara!

[@mr9cube]

Well, SJW cancer is as SJW cancer does.

[@mduckernz]

Tiara Starbrighter Also necromancy, just slightly less this time: agreed. I believe there are more SJW complainers than there are SJWs. It's always the most extreme people that are the loudest, unfortunately :( We could all do with a little Varric in how we act to things (fine with just about anything if it's not hurting others) :)

[@ZeeNastee]

SJW doesn't equal liberal, however. Many liberals have a strong distaste for SJWs as well because of how they act.

[@casseroledragon3277]

The theory you make of the Qunari Gender perception is true based on Sten in Origins. If you become close friends with Sten as a woman, he eventually tells you that he understands now that he misunderstood your gender, and he insists that you are actually a man. Like he essentially just assumes you must not be cisgender if you are a warrior.

[@OddboxGames]

I don't thie what cisgender means, however that POV seems to be misogynistic, does it not? For anyone to call you a man for doing manly things makes a mockery of women who, on the high end of the bell curve, peruse manly ways of life or possess a masculine personality.

[@casseroledragon3277]

@@OddboxGames Great question! But speaking as someone with a Cultural Anthropology degree, I don't believe Sten is being misogynistic. He just has a misunderstanding of gender outside of the Qun due to a vast difference in culture. In Sten's culture, women are not warriors. So Sten is assuming your character must be a trans man and that he - and your party members - have been misgendering you. He's actually trying to be respectful while grasping the situation with his own worldview. After all, he only has this conversation with you after becoming good friends. He's trying really hard to respect your character, it's just hard for him to understand things outside of his own culture. At worst, Sten is incredibly ethnocentric (which means he only knows how to evaluate things from the standards of his own culture). Also, cisgender means to align with the gender you were assigned at birth. :)

[@snowpocalypse69]

@@OddboxGames I mean, Qunari culture is broadly misogynistic, I think that's pretty unambiguous. Although women are also able to access certain leadership roles men aren't, like the tamassrans.

[@TheMimiSard]

I would also add to the note about Sten's confusion that it is not only that everyone calls a female Warden a woman, but also that she goes about in standard Ferelden presentation of what is feminine. The Qun may also expect someone who is assigned a job role that conflicts with their biology to dress and present in a way that conforms to their job role - in your example of a cis male Qunari raising children, he may be expected to dress as a woman - to dress and a child carer. A female warden can have long hair, make no attempt to restrain her breasts beyond what her armour may already do (and for a warrior in heavy to massive plate, that can be a lot), and she generally behaves like a Ferelden woman, while also being a warrior - a total contradiction to Qunari thinking.

[@XPokeSonicX]

Thank you for voicing my argument that the two stances of the Qun (by Sten and the Iron Bull) do not conflict each other! Because gender and position are so closely knitted in the Qun, your position overrides your biology.

[@Raveneye2000]

I was actually unaware there was any argument that the two stances conflict. I was really confused when Ghil said as much in her video. I mean, we have a real-life example in Iran. Gender roles are draconian and strictly enforced, but being transgender has been declared just fine there.

[@purpleghost106]

Tiara Starbrighter, there is an error in your line of reasoning as it relates to Thedas lore. What suggests the peoples of the Qun would equate biological sex directly to gender roles? To the best of my knowledge, nothing. Based on what I have read, I don't believe they do. With the misunderstanding set aside, nothing in your statement hangs level. Gender ≠ gender roles, also Gender ≠ genitals, The Qun says you are what you do in every other part of their lives, they don't even have names because of it. Why would they make a special exception to their focus on roles as primary just for genitals? I don't think they have.

[@kachiechan]

The Qun doesn't consider biological sex to be related to your gender role within society. In the comics, we are shown biologically male Tamassrans (a female only role). Iron Bull explains that in childhood, Care-giving Tamasssrans will note how Qunari children develop and then recommend them for a role based on what their best traits are. Basically, if you show aggression and obedience, you will be assigned as a Male Gender Role befitting of your abilities. Qunari people's body types appear to be diverse; its not that a biologically male Qunari always turned out ripped, and they would not be suited for military work especially if they were a sickly child. They would be given a task suited to the talents they display in childhood, such as child-rearing, shopkeep, or even as a "pleasure giver". The Qunari has bakers too, y'know, and theyre not warriors and they're not all biologically female. I dont know they this is "controversial" at all because they do this all the time in sci-fi. Alien beings that are not human wouldn't logically have the exact same gender/sex correlation we do. Many animals operate this way, such as fish and reptiles.

[@hayleybartek8643]

Since the Qun is more important to the Qunari than their very lives, I would think that the role in society determines who the individual is. They have male and female roles, but those supersede biology and perhaps personal expression.

[@Pink_Sinthetic]

Hello! Just found the channel~ Loving the playlist so far! With regard to the City Elf arranged marriage, I have a feeling it stems a lot from the fact they are isolated and attempting to keep their race alive (thus a matter of procreation). Since Human/Elf pairings result in human looking children, and also engaging in only same-sex relationships would reduce the number of pure blooded elves, reducing the gene pool for future generations, it makes sense why they are as picky about it as they are. Which also always makes me think Feynriel must be more than half elf as well, cause he definitely doesn't look human.

[@yfullman]

Considering Iron Bull's true name is Hissrad, I just assumed he was lying to make Krem feel better.

[@CollyFlower192]

Head Cannon: maybe the Qun'athlack thing could exist because Sten saw a female warden (or Leilana) fighting a like on of their warriors with excellent proficiency. He goes back home with this information and tells this fellow Qunari. Low and behold, like 10 years later - this exists. Not sure if that lines up but like ...I want to think we had an effect like that on them.

[@biolaregeek6194]

ooo i need the dialogue of solas being upset when you asked for his advice on what to get Sera! Never new that was there

[@Fr0st1989]

He just says "Something human and fleeting"

[@FreakDaMIghet]

I feel like in Orlais, being bisexual is part of the fashion. Almost every Orlesian we come across is bi. The nobility probably sees being strictly straight or gay to be limiting.

[@kurtuhlig2553]

The best thing for Thedas to do is assume everyone is bi, that way no one is surprised. This is in reference to the natural assumptions a person will make when seeing people they don’t know.

[@MM-kq6fe]

In my gameplay Iron Bull and Dorian are together and Bull is actually quite open and happy about it, unlike Dorian.

[@Egenix52]

This has probably been said somewhere but the Orelsian point of view about gender is inspired by the Romans. In Ancient Rome, actors could play both women and men roles depending on the mask they had on.

[@alyagnes]

You forgot Wade and Herren! They are actually a couple.

[@darthportus]

Harren is desire demon though XD

[@Shadowhunterbg]

Really? :O

[@gayerthanyou42]

@James Tomlin The devs confirmed that Herren is only a desire demon in the Darkspawn DLC timeline, in the vanilla game they are both humans.

[@christyshultz6443]

@@darthportus yes he is and it's a very good interracial relationship chose deep love consideration for other races. Other races like that could be say if you romanced Andrews as hawk male or female you're technically also romancing a spirit slash demon depends on how you look at it .what hotels have a romance once he's made more of a real still technically instead of the spirit in my book. So Master Wade would not be the only one to hook up with a spirit or a demon. I'm fairly sure that the Divine justinia was also if a spirit perhaps because she saved Liliana and sort of had a thing with Liliana girlfriend (and yes I know her name but I cannot hope to pronounce the damn thing)at one point .

[@deathsdoor07]

@@gayerthanyou42 So Herren was a mage?

[@Oximus88]

I need to romance Scout Harding in DA4

[@ibetterbeinstreetsofrage4s328]

Randy Mosley Agreed

[@oliviamoore3426]

Me too

[@JSandwich13]

Looks like ur in luck lol

[@illandreidelorpha4774]

I was really proud to see Dragon Age and Mass Effect presented by XBox in their selection of LGBTQ mentions during Pride Month 2021.

[@nolanhewitt2563]

i usually tend to lean towards Dorian his past is something i used to fear if i tried coming out to my parents glad i was proven wrong and have amazing parents

[@deanthomas4929]

I really like your theory on the quun in relation to gender roles because when you think about it it is a lot like our real world ones but reversed. In real life your role us chosen because of your gender. But under the quun it seems like your gender is chosen because of your role. It's an interesting concept

[@LokiTheAnsuz]

I still believe the two stances on the Qun conflict... The Qun and surrounding history was very clear during DA:O, your position within society might be dependant on your skills, but your skills and wishes do not override what you are... Sten's comments on female warriors are supported by Genitivi's research: females were not part of the invading forces, most people in Thedas even thought the Qunari were all males... Until, out of the blue, Tallis and Viddasala appeared and Iron Bull says you can be male under the Qun even if you don't look like one... It ends up feeling like the Qun had to be "revisited", since it's the only culture in Thedas that was adamantly opposed to individual choice and that's somehow a bad thing for the game...

[@dreammirrorbrony1240]

Andrés De la Oliva Guzmán agreed

[@aledrone759]

Morrigan:"look around, you'll see females fighting all across thedas" Sten:"That is yet to be proven" M:"What? That I'm a woman or that I can fight?" S:"Both." That makes it clear to me, and yes, the qun could've been changed, since they lost the tome twice and no qunari has the whole qun in his head (according to Iron Bull)

[@AceOfDarkness999]

I have to disagree. The Qun, or more precisely the Tamassrans, raise the children under the Qun and then, at the age of 12, assign them their roles in society based on their skills and personality. And I don't see a conflict there to DA:O. Let's say you are physically born as a Qunari girl. If the Tamassran that raised you notices that your personality depicts that you are indeed mentally a man and therefor the best suited role in qunari society should be a male one, then you are an Aqun-Athlok under the Qun. That would mean, that everyone would see, address and treat you like that. And there is the point. As a warden you are addressed and treated (not always but mostly) like a woman and there lies Stens confusion. That is why he asks you if you might be a man, because there are people under the Qun who where born as a girl but recognized and assigned to live as a man. I see that the Qun is a philosophy with extreme views that hinders further exploration of yourself beyond the point where you are assigned to your role. But like The Iron Bull said in a conversation about life under the Qun, it is a good life for a lot of people. You might be given your role, but not at random. It is the role that might suite you best. Of course Bioware made additions to the Lore and it might be that it hasn't been planned. But there is no contradiction in my eyes and the lore has evolved in every corner.

[@ΜάριοςΔανδούτης]

AceOfDarkness999 But doesn't that seem more like a loophole? And besides if that was the case, wouldn't fereldans found warrior qunari women in the battlefield? They would have no reason to consider them male since that is only part of the Qunari culture and not Ferelden's.

[@AceOfDarkness999]

I would argue, that they do look male. How is another question, but we know that there are ways to achieve that.

[@aeneidos]

I'm a bit late but Dagna can be in a relationship with Sera!!!

[@robertsisk5491]

I had no idea about mavarus! (I probably butchered her name). It makes her friendship with Dorian seem more meaningful in my opinion.

[@Levsa399]

I applaud Bioware for seeing and understanding that they made a terrible mistake, humbly and profoundly apologizing for said mistake, and then immediately changing their ways to make sure said mistake didn’t happen again. That what everyone should do in that situation. Bravo Bioware! Keep up the good work!

[@darthportus]

You mean to pander to everyone who will feel offended by joke.

[@alihammoura7238]

What mistake, by not having all "genders" that are made up and stupid rather than only having male and female? Sjw just ruin games and should stay out of it, mass effect andromeda was a victim of shit like this and dice says that their b5 game is 80% behind preorders than cod because of them wanting to cater to Sjw instead of seeing what's wrong with their game and trying to fix it

[@Shadowhunterbg]

I agree. Multiple genders? Don't make me laugh. Degenerates, nothing more.

[@francesco3772]

@@Shadowhunterbg based and darkpilled

[@Shadowhunterbg]

@@francesco3772 Nope, just plain facts. I listen to science not to what the media says.

[@Sarostar16]

People complain about the Qun "retcon", but all of that assumes that the Qunari connect gender with biology (aka. what's between your legs), but what if they don't, what if they only connect your Rolle with gender. So all Warriors are "male", not by their body parts but by their Rolle. Sten confusion comes from the fact, that the Warden is referred to as a "she/female", but assumes the Rolle of a "male". In addition, for all contradictions between DA:O and later games, we should keep in mind, that Origins was written as a standalone Game. which means that when the franchise got continued thinks got/had to change, and let's not pretend, that the Oun think is the only thing they "retconed" (aka. updated).

[@REALdavidmiscarriage]

That is just reaching... In any society male and female has been determined by your biology so assuming anything else would be far fetched! It‘s just a new fad now in the 21st century that people see a difference between sex and gender! They retconned because the wanted to be PC cause being PC gives you higher sales! Just lazy writing and greedy multi million dollar corporations taking marketing too far (by changing a games content) Thats it... And I am disgusted by it

[@PiperJSmith]

@@REALdavidmiscarriage I respectfully disagree. There are cultures in which genders outside of male and female are recognized, (and more on this information can be accessed online). On the other hand, in many cultures it's common to label intersex people with more than one sexual organs as purely male or female to fit social norms. So it's not always biological differences that contribute to gender labeling. You might be right on Bioware changing their narrative, but it's also possible that the Qun sees men and women based on their roles and not genitals. In origin, Sten expressed he was confused about how a female warden can be a warrior because that's what "men do", and misunderstands my female character as a man therefore. We're talking about a game with fantasy elements and made-up species, so I don't think this would be too far-fetched.

[@Alva_Lombax]

The way game portrays it, it seems not to be a big deal, the only characters I can remember having a problem with it are Dorians parents But than again anyone fr9m Tavinter seem to suffer from Slytherin syndrome, aka 90% of them are automatically considered assholes

[@PennyLeFerret]

This is a really good video, but honestly what the series seems to radiate in this whole thing of "there's no homo(or trans)phobia in this society except with The Bad People" as has been written in the lore, combined with a bunch of writers inability to do that reasonably because they literally cannot imagine a world like that (same with the sexism in a world whose martyr is a woman)

[@hayleybartek8643]

That’s because there are literally no cultures where gender is numberless in expression, fluid, and meaningless. They’re having to make it up as they go. I’m surprised Krem hasn’t been called transphobic yet because they haven’t been confirmed as having gotten their bits changed through magic.

[@odd-eyes6363]

I like the idea of the Qun being essentially transphobic while being very efficient in other things and good to many people The Imperium and the Qun in Origins and Inquisition are very nice concepts since they bring up extremely uncomfortable topics and opinions that are completely normal from where they hail from with the developers having in mind that those opinions are some which most players would rightfuly disagree with. It's the closest you can get to the uncomfortable culture shocks that happen in real life, especially to those of English speaking countries.

[@tamarak.8800]

with varric and Oghren it's maybe a reason that the later is from orzammer.

[@LordZeromaru]

Yeah, what Tamara said. Orzammar dwarves are a dying race, with their low birthrate and high mortality rate combating the darkspawn, and this can influence their opinions about sexuality, as for them procreation is more important as a way to survive as a race.

[@sirgideonofnir6840]

Wow, the bull devil looking people are pretty cool when it comes to this stuff. Just look wise you wouldn't have thought

[@rosskerr1439]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the tale of Ser Aveline. But it's clear you put a lot of work into this video.

[@etinarcadiaego7424]

One thing I will add is the fact that Iron Bull is pansexual, though he never identifies himself thusly.

[@flowergirl287]

I really like how the qun treats gender because the gender you identify as is just your job like they, but feminine jobs just have feminine titles like how the title sergeant is masculine but in the army youre not allowed to call your female drill sergeant anything other than drill sergeant. There are no names in the qun and your name is your identity so is your gender, but your pronouns are your job I might be confused on this but I just think its cool May not be 100% right but it's a cool way to look at it

[@recjr7685]

I believe the aqun athlok thing is made up. The Iron Bull is exactly the type of person who would make up something like that to make one of his men feel better about themselves. And that's what we love the big bastard so much.

[@WardenMurphy]

I love all your informative videos so far! Please keep up the awesome job.

[@mysteryone8462]

In regards to Sten I also theorize/headcanon that he was confused by a female Warden because she is both referred to as such and because there were probably moments where she did things near Sten that are often perceived as "feminine" such as styling her hair and putting on makeup, etc etc so he was probably confused at the fact that she does these female activities and yet she fights which, under the Qun, is for a man to do.

[@fealubryne]

Another potential indication that Tevinter isn't overly bothered by same sex relationships outside of nobility and inheritance and such, that I didn't see mentioned, was after male Hawke and Fenris initially get together. Fenris is upset, one of the dialog options leads to Hawke asking if it was because being with another man is strange, and Fenris tells him it wasn't that.

[@Grim_Degree]

There is Branka and the other dwarf woman in her house but all that's really paid to it is Oghren drooling over it and little bits of info but not much

[@LadyNachtlich]

Oghren's discomfort could be like so many people in real life, who are just uncomfortable with it, which is not necessarily a comment on the culture.

[@darthportus]

Nor it is homophobic. I don't care if two guys are going at it i just don't want to watch it.

[@vinx3078]

@@darthportus yeah but oghrens problem isn't that he doesn't wanna watch them go at it. He wants to watch lesbians go at it but when it comes to gay men, he doesn't even want to hear about their sexuality. It's not just "I don't care, just don't wanna see it", it's "I don't like it"

[@mairaineplayzgames2205]

4:30 HOLY SHIT! that voice on that body! doesnt fit at all but is hilarious! X'D

[@alphaxtitania5597]

As someone who's genderfluid, the very existence of Lisme makes me happy, even though I hadn't yet come to terms with being genderfluid when I read The Last Flight. Still, I like to think she, among other characters from other media, played a part in me coming to terms with it, so I hope we see more characters like him in the future.

[@REALdavidmiscarriage]

1 is enough thanks!

[@BrambleFae]

I love your videos so much! They give me a lot to think on. :)

[@spiderlover888]

branka had a girl lover didn't she???

[@windmaster5000]

Its sad that having a Male romance with Dorian or Iron bull ends badly. I'm playing a new one today as a Male on Nightmare. Love your video's.

[@darthportus]

With Dorian it doesn't with Iron Bull it depends on your choices.

[@aaronkennedy6661]

This is so cool, i cant get enough info on da

[@shadowhell8378]

Krim said that women can serve in the military just not past a certain rank

[@numnut154]

The Qunari just seem an inconsistent part of the world, I mean what they are seems to change in every game, which just seems to me like DAO (even though it doesn't have a large amount of information on the Qun) has been ignored and the Qunari change at the convenience of the writers. Imo the Qunari accepting transgender identities seems to be very at odds with any of their incarnations, a society that not only has rigid gender roles but also forces every citizen to think with one ideology would just "re-educate" anyone that has a potential subversive nature. And lets not forget that Transpeople are still born with the physical attributes of a man or woman, and that there is no hrt (magical or otherwise it seems) in Thedas, and since the Qunari laude skill and usefulness over any other traits they would for sure force (and they do force) people into roles that suit them and benefit the Qun the best. Honestly I think Orlais would suit a presence of Transpeople much better than the Qunari, especially since much of their sexuality is about politics it would make sense that gender would factor into unions as well. Overall I don't think it makes much sense that the Qunari are so accepting of Transpeople, it just seems at odds with any of their incarnations throughout the games.

[@katiekatie6289]

Maybe people aren't free to identify how they choose in Qunari society? Maybe if a woman is good at combat, and it's decided she is best suited for that role and should become a soldier, this would mean she is officially a man as far as the Qunari are concerned, regardless of how they identify? And perhaps a Qunari trans man wouldn't be able to openly identify as such if they don't have the necessary skills to fit the role of men in Qunari society. You assume that the presence of trans people in Qunari society means people can identify however they choose, but they might have even less freedom than the rest of Thedas. It would suit the Qunari better if this was something people had no choice over.

[@darthportus]

Katie Katie That's not how it works. THey throw penises to the right and vaginas to the left and then they trying them individualy in task that are suited for their gender. Reason why we think it is contradictory is because there is no way someone with vagina would even touch the sword in Qunari society let alone prove that she can fight.

[@zaltaristhedragongod911]

Sten be like: “You are referred to as woman but are doing man’s role what are you?” Sten is Sten

[@pipertheos2660]

I wonder if Fenris' relationship with his his master contained sex. Sorry , just curious.

[@onyxrose4349]

If it did, Fenris wouldn't have been a consenting partner...

[@mustelideo5201]

Sorry for commenting in an old video but I've just recently discovered this channel and kind of binge-watched the short videos. I think that the Qun assigning gender based on roles was kind of foreshadowed in DA:2 even without yet giving a fair treatment to transgender characters. In this scene, a Fem Hawke that brings Fenris to this encounter will have him, who has an extensive knowledge on Qunari society, trying to convince the Arishok to battle with her. He argues that "Hawke is no female", implying that he knows Qunari don't care about biological sex as much they care for their societal roles. Like, yeah. This is a very specific interaction but I think it does tell that Bioware was already leaning towards constructing Qunari gender roles that way. Link with stamp: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIKvf6WQnql5sJY People here implying that partial transgender acceptance that still serves the Qun is somehow "SJW" completely missed the point. They let you get a different role not because they are pro body freedom. It's because they don't want to waste potential of talented individuals that happen to be greater to the Qun if living as another gender (since they assign gender=roles). Not because they are "woke muhhh Bioware is pushing progressive agenda". People need to remember that in fantasy you can create new societies with rules completely different alien for us.

[@Yaetora]

Been "woke" isn't a bad thing. Hot take, I know.

[@modernklassicsgaming5991]

I don't think the Dwarves can afford to have same sex reltionships. Compared to the other races of Thedas, you *probably* call them endangered.

[@thekinginyellow7656]

Oh oh oh oh, actually, with Sten. In conversations between Morigan and Sten he states that she is not female. Something along the lines of "You are a woman, she should be a shopkeeper, or priest..." that fighting is for men. Morigan replays saying that yet she is a woman. To which Sten replays that its debatable. Note that he doesn't have these conversations with Lilliana, a spy. There is a dlc character in DA2 that is a quanary elven spy, who is female. I could say that this may hint at women being able to do battle, but having a roll in those battles. I think the issue is less your warden is female. But that your warden identifies as female.

[@guydrake8606]

One issue I have is that Solas isn't against same sex relationships for the simple fact that while homosexuality itself may not bother him, it would bother Solas that as a result of your relationship you will not continue on your elven heritage to the next generation through reproduction. Especially if he was so bothered by you being with a elf that's against celebrating and preserving the elven the culture. I love dragon age but their ideas of gender and sexuality feels at times of people projecting modern views on cultures that probably wouldn't approve of these views.

[@chaos4854]

Do you have a video on the Seekers?

[@latuska3265]

Hi everyone! I'am new to the community and my point may be invalid, but I think that in the video there was no mention about this side quest in the Hinterlands: dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Strange_Bedfellows So basically there are these two scouts (female and male) and suddenly the female (Ritts) is missing. Later on she is found on a "picnic" with another female character. Sincerely sorry if this has already pointed out! All the best; keep up the good lore work.

[@JordanJumpin]

Dwarves culture is very conservative

[@joshchandler13]

Don’t mess with Krem!

[@joshchandler13]

Mae rocks!

[@KillerKrax]

Am I actually the only one who thinks that having a relationship in DA:O and DA:I is completely ruining my Character? I mean, come on, there is an Archdemon/Corypheus to kill. I always played my characters like there is no time for unnecessary stuff like love. Just sayn^^

[@seekersatori212]

Maybe not the only one, but one of the few.

[@hayleybartek8643]

That’s a reason why I enjoyed Awakening so much. “I don’t have time to screw around! This political intrigue might kill me and Darkspawn are talking!”

[@Shadowhunterbg]

I played a Female Warden and when the woman asked me at the brothel what i wanted to have i choose BOTH thinking that i would get two people - a man and a woman. Oh god, how wrong i was. I actually got frightened and instantly reloaded my save.

[@joshuastephens-fz5ob]

Why? You just choose one from a group of both men and women.

[@angrylizardman1472]

video on the first dragons? plz

[@Haloister]

Hi! Doing a deep dive on Dragon Age lore recently, and doing your videos as a result. They've been exceptionally informative, and I wanted to thank ye. Also I kinda dig the Quinari gender roles in so much as they're genuinely kinda an interesting take/way a culture might look at things.

[@cobrasouthard]

I'm like Varic I don't really care about sexuality and Dragon Age and to be honest it doesn't really matter about sexuality in Dragon Age

[@hayleybartek8643]

Varric only cares about Bianca, and even as an inanimate object he still refers to it as female, which is appropriate.

[@oliviamoore3426]

Awesome video

[@AquaswanOfficial]

I know this is late, 3 years late, but I've stumbled on something that I think confirms your idea on sexuality in the Qun. Iron Bull and Cassandra talk about it in party banter. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGHdf6yslLyXfpI (apologies if this has already been mentioned)

[@FirebirdPhoen1x]

Honestly, my biggest pet peeve about Dragon Age concerns Krem, specifically his German VA. I am German, but prefere to play video games in English. One day I wanted to know what the German voices were like. It was okay for the most part. Then I heard Krem's voice. And I was so disappointed. Understandably, without being able to transition with T, Krem's VA was a female, like in English. But the voice just... didn't fit. The VA has a wonderful voice, but in this case it was just not the right one for multiple reasons. One, she didn't try to lower her voice to at least sound more masculine, and two, it doesn't really fit the role of a warrior, but it rather sounds like a middle aged noble lady. It just didn't fit.

[@PrettyPinkPersephone]

Krem is such a Chad

[@christyshultz6443]

Okay im gonna call bulshit on this right now Braoca ( and yes I know I'm likely spelling that wrong) aad had a girlfriend( as in lover).And Ogeran didn't really mind the girlfriend he wanted to get back. But but Braoca didn't want to get back together.granted Braoca turned her lover over to a darkspawn and allowed her to be turned into darkspawn.and I'm not even going to go into the fact that you get approached by people in the dust Town whether you're male or female by same-gender people who offer a ride so to speak. Plus certain brothels you can't have a dwarf whether you're male or female. So thumbs down for not doing your research and being woefully inaccurate.also I have long suspected that the old King that lost his children and poisoned himself or whatever was having a thing with the dude that almost became king in my file mind you because I chose the only liviing heir. Something with a b anyway he allows dust townspeople to be treated better plus he lost or preserves to come back to orzammar making him a better King in my opinion. Granted he probably made that rule because because he had a bastard with a woman from Dust town.also Ogeren is mostly straight but looked at Anders once and said well maybe...but and then corrected himself no just no.

[@zaltaristhedragongod911]

Dagna is a Lesbian it’s confirmed because if you don’t romance Sera she ends up with Dagna

[@h.k.scorner4304]

Respect for this minus the straight thing

[@alnotbiggaytho7124]

I swear to god Thedas is so weird

[@theimperialnord38]

Id like to start by saying that I am not against anyones personal expressions, I am simply stating the facts regarding Qunari Society. Sten makes it clear in Dragon Age Origins that personal freedoms and all that are nonsense within the eyes of The Qun. This is made especially clear if you play as a Female Warden, because Sten openly questions your role as a warrior, stating that Women shouldnt try to "act like men" (because in his society being a fighter/soldier and warrior is for Men.) Under The Qun freedom and expression regarding the individual person is considered counterproductive, under The Qun everyone works in their assigned position for the greater good of society...never for the greater good of their own individuality. In reading further into the lore of Qunari Society it is also stated that sex is done for the sole purpose of procreation...nothing more. To find yourself wanting or needing sex for idle pleasure is wrong in Qunari Society. What some of you fail to understand is that Qunari Society isnt a tolerant society regarding person freedoms and liberties. To live under The Qun is to reject ones self for the greater good of society...this means rejecting sexuality and pleasure. Men under The Qun are assigned their own specific roles, just as Women are assigned theirs. Neither gender is above the other, both work in unison to better the whole of society. Its not unlike a hive mind like that of ants or bees, they work to better the hive as a whole, this is what The Qun is. Which is why it confuses me when I see some of you saying that it is likely still a thing within Qunari society anyway...because making those statements goes against what the original intention of their society represents. And if the developers of the newer games have altered this then they too have completely shat on what the idea of what The Qun is.

[@josh4601]

honestly, all the skirting around the subject is laughable to me, and stinks of bad writing. I'd rather the world see oddities as oddities, and the average person judge as such. rather than everyone remarkably being massively understanding, unless they happen to be a "bad guy" In a world where racism to the point of enslavement is a thing, it seems a bit odd for people not to judge your sex, sexuality or gender the same way they judge your race... "He's an elf of course he's a slave!" "actually... they identify as a female elf" "Oh my apologies, She's a knife eared scum slave" "Much better, thank you." It just stinks of cognitive dissonance. If you're gonna 'clean' it up for trans... why not clean up the slavery thing too? Or any of the other horrific things that happen? Dark spawn violate women to turn them into breeding machines? Perfectly A-Okay. Trans people not being addressed? OH NOES WE MUST CORRECT THIS IMMEDIETLY.

[@chenli9778]

I actually didn't Like the Idea to Put morden day ideas of Sexuality or concept to Fantasy or historical theme works. I mean shouldn't we shall How people were Not accept to Such things like LGBT in Middle ages or fantasy world inspired by it? So young people understand How their rights was earn through history?

[@acornpockets7244]

You use the words "transgender*ed*" and "cisgender*ed*" a lot and I'm sorry but they just aren't... Correct. "Transgender" and "cisgender" are adjectives, not verbs. They can't be past tense

[@ravenseeker8267]

Anything from DA2 and Inquisition i would put under much higher level of scrutiny and doubt since we know that there were people involved who wanted to push ""progressive"" ideological messages. it is no coincidence that that Qun was retconned into allowing females who "identify" as males to do roles that males do under the Qun, this is a blatant retcon and something that makes no sense when it comes to Qun such a rigid system that nurtures kids at what they are best at and then puts them into that roll would allow females into military because they say they identify female? quanri wouldnt care, as Sten said in origins women are not warriors under the qun. It even contradicts what Iron Bull and ben hassrath are about, policing thoughts i think they would be the worst when it would come to this and enforce reality as they already do with magic. It is contradictory to the nature of the qun itself. one of many examples of writers pushing this into their games, novels and other media. they are putting modern day ideas into medieval fantasy societies, clearly based off of different in real life cultures Orlais being inspired by france as an example, thus making this wierd mix of medieval society with medieval knowladge and technology while having modern ideas because its a fantasy and there is magic? Excuse that its a fantasy and therefore it doesnt have to make sense is nonsensical argument for iron in DA works as in real world, gravity is the same, light works the same, water is the same, etc. etc. its a thing called consistency and suspension of disbelief, just because something has magic in it doesnt mean the writer immediately gets a permission to do any contradictory and nonsensical stuff without being said inconsistencies and contradictions being shown and be criticised for it. It is clear that world of theadas takes from real world history, laws of physics and so on and so such inconsistencies stick out like a sore thumb for reasons of immersion and suspension of disbelief. i see it as the writers preaching to the players rather than telling a story, for the message is so blatant and blunt its impossible for you to miss it which is on in of itself a sing of bad writing, it goes to propaganda territory for propaganda is always clear in what its message is and that its the correct one, Which can clearly be seen in DAI.

[@REALdavidmiscarriage]

Agree 100% My God I have had this exact discussion so many times with people online and I can‘t believe how irrational people get when it comes to consistency in fantasy worlds! EA is just such a huge company and the bigger the company the more sales they have to generate. So they just end up doing anything that can generate higher sales, in this case it is being PC! It is a shame because in my opinion marketing should never influence a games story! Dragon Age Origins was grim dark with low fantasy and medium to low magic and interesting racial tensions with elves and stuff! all of a sudden they turn thedas into this ultra progressive world? Nah! I don‘t buy it!Whats next? An Elves Lifes Matter movement in DA:4? (Although some elven rebellion would be kinda cool not gonna lie lol) Still in Origins I always liked playing a woman and being treated sexist or when playing as a city elf being discriminated against! It made me wanna prove them wrong and that gave me that extra bit of motivation to become more badass. It‘s what we call playing the underdog and it makes your rise to the top soo much more satisfying! Just how in origins you are just a nobody and in Inquisition you are like the ultimate Badass from the start! I dislike it when games do that!

[@Александар-МЈанкоски]

the world of Thedas is loosely based off the history of the world. but keyword loosely. 9:30 Dragon would correspond to which year in our world excaly? now if the writers can borrow from any age of the real world and apply it to the present in Thedas why cant sexuality and gender issues be addressed too. You are just cherry picking and it's dumb. The old gods living underground casually being corrupted by darkspawn and almost destroying the world every couole hundred years is normal, but a trans character now tha sticks out likes a sore thumb It's a fantasy game with it's own world building. please stop and enjoy the game and if two trans character prevent you from enjoying a great story then you might be the problem

[@thanjohn]

S

[@---fn7lh]

DA:I sucked for romance if you played a straight male

[@ollanius-pius]

Tiara Starbringer I promise this response isn't just to start an argument, but anytime anyone says they don't like something Bioware does when it comes to a character the fanboys start screaming alt-right. I don't know what video you are talking about so it very well could have been, but I have seen several videos where the person made very valid points & wasn't ugly about it at all & people were calling them a Nazi in the comments

[@ollanius-pius]

Tiara Starbrighter Yeah Bioware lost 100% of it's credibility to me when they refused to fire Manveer Heir. I know eventually he left but it was years after he started making racist remarks pretty much every single week. Now that he & Aaron Flynn are both gone I'm hoping they get back to how they were & care more about making a fun game with an engaging story than preaching at people. I hope no one takes what I'm saying the wrong way, because I have no problem what-so-ever with LGBT in gaming. As a matter of fact I think they handled it very well in DA:O & Mass Effect 1 & 2 but after that I feel they just got kind of pushy with it. I think the majority of people don't mind but no one likes to be preached at. I always use Sera & Dorian as examples. I know a lot of people like Sera but I really can't stand her character. It's like they were trying to hard to make her "hip" or "cool" where as Dorian is by far one of my favorite characters & I usually always have him in my party. Most will see that & say that I don't like Sera because she's gay & completely ignore the fact that I like Dorian, the male gay character. I think this guy's vid explains it perfectly & before anyone thinks it's some homophobic person the guy flat out tells you at the beginning that he is gay. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z57Lkq2IqLyAbZI Thanks for the response & it's nice to talk to someone who doesn't automatically go full on rage mode.

[@---fn7lh]

Fusion Flarez yea but at least Dorian is Hot as fuck

[@ollanius-pius]

Dorian was my favorite companion. Didn't romance him because I only go after the female companions but he was still probably the funniest with the best story. Unlike everyone else I think Sera is probably the worst companion Bioware has ever made. In my opinion she was written by someone who was trying to hard to make a "hip" character, but like I said that's just me. To each their own.

[@darthportus]

Teutonix Dorian is like only Homosexual character done right in Dragon age. His sexuality is not part of his character whatsoever except for his family troubles. He doesn't go around announce it on every turn like some.

[@iang8032]

With my second Playthrough I actually tried out to make my Inquisitor a Trans character. Since you have all the hair options for both male and female there and the American female voice is a pretty deep one, it actually turned out quite well. Sure you can't do much about everybody adressing them as "Lady Inquisitor", but that really is the only thing that unmasks the whole thing here.

[@OddboxGames]

What do you mean? If you make a woman, just pretend she used to be a man. Vice versa. How can you 'make' a trans character if the goal is to look an act like a man or woman while being born the former?

[@iang8032]

@@OddboxGames Welp it feels more Setting-appropriate to have a Trans-person that is Pre-T/HRT considering that we are talking about an medival-ish setting here known for not having advanced medicine like hormone therapy. I mean from what we learn from Crem the closest thing you could get to transitioning as a Trans-guy in Thedas is some (probably blood-)magic shiz, which not everybody is cool with. Thus this kinda choice ;)

[@OddboxGames]

@@iang8032 Ah I see where you're coming from. I don't know any trans people so my assumption was that the benefit of 'passing' using an adept character creation tool would be sufficient. But I understand what you mean now. :)

[@aseeker2269]

Transgenders in video games.....just feels too cringey to think about.

[@mothman6652]

NoComplicance How dare people exist as they are.

[@REALdavidmiscarriage]

@@mothman6652 its not about that man! It‘s just such an obvious marketing decision so they can look more pc so they get higher sales. It‘s just corporations trying to look woke and the universe is paying the price by suffering from inconsistencies. Really a shame cause Dragon Age Origins had such a nice grim dark medieval touch to it but was ruined by the latter 2 which ended up being too high fantasy for my taste. Especially Inquisition.

[@slyfer60]

@@REALdavidmiscarriage The only reason it felt grim dark was cause the blight was on. Look up the zero punctuation review for the DAO it was dark in name only. Everything else was straight fantasy classic.

[@REALdavidmiscarriage]

@@slyfer60 Not gonna look up somebody elses review I played the game like 10 times and have been playing rpgs for 30 years (BG, Icewind Dale, Nverwinter, Kotor, pillars of eternity, devinity... just to name a few) so I think I have enough experience to say it is more on the darker side, maybe not entirely warhammer but it gets pretty close sometimes. the demons, the level of gore, the blight, The way elves and Mages are treated, I‘ve even heard people refer to it as a horror game of sorts...

[@slyfer60]

@@REALdavidmiscarriage Bro I'm rocking Pillars of Eternity right now and I've played every rpg you listed and none of them really hit grim dark levels of shit. The only recent RPG that truly can be called dark is Tyranny. Sure Pillars has a bleak atmosphere but that's the tone the story. It's mature. That's it. You brought up the gore level but dude, come on man. Need I remind us all of the cringe that was the DA:O Violence trailer. Have you played the expansion content for DA:I if you haven't then I recommend you do its level of writing is top notch. Addendum: Please refrain from using woke as a criticism. It's a very neutral term that means next to nothing and doesn't help your argument.