Blizzard has been ranting at us for weeks now saying that LGBT characters will be confirmed soon. And that confirmation came today within Overwatch’s “Reflections” comic series in which Tracer was actually shown to have a girlfriend – or at least a woman with whom she is romantically involved.
This confirmation is visible on page 8 of the new comic, and the panel you see here follows Tracer and her presumptive girlfriend Emily exchange gifts.
In the comic, Tracer is trying hard to find a last-minute Christmas present for Emily – a blue/green scarf – but, as a good samaritan, she feels guilty and gives the last available scarf to another patron present at the store. Luckily, the holiday spirit works in her favour as a young girl presents her with the exact same scarf just in time for her to bring it back home.
Tracer’s exact sexual inclination is still unclear, as far is if she is a lesbian, bisexual or some other identity in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum but I doubt that much will be explicitly confirmed.
Tracer’s freshly announced sexuality has received mixed reactions. Many are still in doubt if this is merely perpetuating the “hot lesbian” trope. Basically, the argument here is that Blizzard might be taking a shortcut to LGBT representation in Overwatch.
And, there’s something to be said for stating and understating someone’s sexuality, the way The Last of Us accomplished with Bill – a character who just so happened to be a gay, but it was never sensationalised by the media.
Some have also made the argument that a more challenging paradigm shift would actually be the inclusion of gay male characters. While more gay males showcasing would be an interesting addition, it should not come at the cost of female LGBT representation, which is disproportionately low compared to male LGBT representation.
