Is the rebooted Lara Croft gay? Evidence for and against...

As some of you know, I’ve been fangirling hard over the new Tomb Raider, the first entry in the video game series since 2008, and ostensibly a reboot for the entire franchise. Taking the form of an origin story, Tomb Raider 2013 depicts the events that transformed a beautiful, if bookish, archaeology graduate into a pistol-packing adventurer with a devil-may-care attitude.


We meet Lara Croft as a pretty, fairly ordinary 21 year old, brooding over her work notes, listening to her mp3 player and very much confined to the shadow of her male mentors. By the end of the game, however, she’s taken charge – she’s had to! – and, battered, bruised and bloody, she’s both a survivor and hero, right down to rescuing the princess and carrying her away in her arms.

Yeah, this is probably the best point to mention that there will be some Tomb Raider 2013 spoilers in this post, so read ahead with caution.

Anyway, I loved the game. Technically it’s near faultless, it looks beautiful, the overall experience is cinematic and emotionally satisfying, and the new younger Lara is a wonderfully empathetic character far removed from the old boobs-and-braid portrayal. She is also, if some people are to be believed, gay.


It really shouldn’t matter, of course. Let’s make that clear right now. The Tomb Raider games have never been about Lara Croft’s sexual orientation or relationship status. They’re about her kicking ass and solving ancient mysteries. On her own. Despite her cheesecake “photo shoots” and infamous Duke Nukem gropage, Lara could easily be asexual; so wrapped up in her work that romantic relationships don’t even feature on her life radar.

To reaffirm, I personally don’t ever want to see Lara’s love life becoming a focal point of the series. By all means, drop hints and generate speculation to get the gamer fantas- uh, thinking, but don’t spell it out. It is far, far, FAR more interesting this way.

In a rather outstanding and enlightening interview with Kill Screen (read the whole thing), Tomb Raider writer Rhianna Pratchett reiterates the same point:

You know, we didn’t actually touch on Lara’s sexuality in the game…. People have talked about Lara’s boyfriends and stuff like that, and I’m like, “No, no, I don’t want that to be part of it!” This is about her. I didn’t feel like a boyfriend or that side of things fit into it.

But I do like the fact that people speculate about what Lara’s relationship to Sam might have been… It’s good that people care enough about those characters to think about those sorts of things.

Discussing the sexuality of a video game character may sound varying degrees of ridiculous and/or trivial. There is value in considering it though. Anyway you look at her, Lara Croft is an icon – the first Lady of Gaming. She is to video games what Wonder Woman is to comics: a character that has leapt out of a niche interest area into the mainstream public consciousness as a representation of women in that specific medium. Even if it’s likely to be an older interpretation they’re familiar with, people know who Lara Croft is. And given that LC, for better or worse, remains emblematic of female characters in gaming, it really does matter how she is being portrayed, physically, psychologically and emotionally. So is she slyly being set up as an icon for other marginalised groups as well? Let’s examine some of the evidence; do some archaeology of our own…


Actually, perhaps anthropology would be a better choice of words, because a certain segment of the online community has really rallied behind the idea of Lara Croft being gay. It’s been massively educational pursuing this line of enquiry as I haven’t delved into the world of online fan fiction since the late 90s, and it's seriously evolved over the past decade and a half, sprouting a new lexicon and everything. If I was around in the primordial days, present to watch the first fish crawling out of the sea, fan fiction is now happily scurrying around the brush, having split into dozens of different, thriving species.

Anyway, Lara Croft’s relationship with best friend and documentary filmmaker Sam Nishimura in Tomb Raider 2013 seems to have been tailor-made for this special brand of geek sub-culture. “Shipping” refers to the reimagining of pop culture characters as being romantically involved. And, of course, an actual ship is central to Tomb Raider 2013. The S.S. Endurance is how our heroes end up stranded on the lost island kingdom of Yamatai in the first place. Naturally, fans now refer to “setting sail on the S.S. Endurance”… The Same Sex Endurance. Geddit?


Tomb Raider 2013 certainly plays a lot with gender tropes, which further adds to the ambiguity about Lara Croft’s sexuality. For example, if you take age as an indicator, there are only really two potential love interests for Lara in the game: Sam and Alex. One is female, the other is male; both have unisex names.

Alex, as a character, screams Marty-Stu. Consider the stereotypical interpretation of a programmer or geek – the guys who made the new Tomb Raider and the guys who are playing it. Alex is a bespectacled hacker, has the chemical structure of coffee tattooed on his neck, reads graphic novels, loves his online conspiracy theories and is pretty damn cute. Is Lara interested? Evidently not at all. Alex’s attempts to impress Lara, who he has already called “his hero,” lead to his death. Before he sacrifices himself though, he admits his feelings. Lara’s response? A chaste little kiss on the cheek before she leaves him to his fate.



Out of interest, you really don’t want to be a white male in the new Tomb Raider. By the end of the game, every single one is dead. And three of the five most prominent WMs die saving Lara. The minorities pull through, meanwhile. The only people to escape Yamatai are a young white English woman, a black American woman, a Japanese-American woman and a Maori man whose backstory involves the horrors of domestic abuse. None of these characters are passive, for the record – they all pull their weight in battle; handle guns; fight back. It’s just that the only character Lara has real success saving is a woman: the very girlie, pretty-much-a-real-princess, Sam. Not that Pratchett isn’t aware of this:
There are different types of love. And I think in games we don’t really stray too much outside of girl-boy. There are things that can be done with sisterly love, brotherly love, paternal, maternal love. The straight boy-girl thing has been typified by the damsel in distress. It’s always the male character rescuing the female character. It was interesting that with a female [protagonist] like Lara rescuing a female, people sort of projected that there was more going on to that relationship because of that.

So yeah, there’s your first bit of evidence that over-eager fans are reading too much into the bond between Lara and college buddy Sam.

However, there's no denying that there is plenty of ambiguity in the game to feed speculation, regardless. It’s been fascinating to see that what one person uses to support the theory that Lara Croft is gay is also being held up as “proof” by someone else that she is straight. Case in point: This entry in Sam’s in-game journal:
I suppose on some level I have Lara to thank for this job. She's always believed in me. The academics at college dismissed filmmaking as nonsense. They just saw me as this ditsy American troublemaker with a camera.
But you know what? Most people can use a little trouble in their lives. And deep down, I know Lara wanted to just cut loose sometimes. She just needed a little help unlocking her inner party girl.
We had so many awesome adventures together. That insane backpacking trip through Bulgaria, I was always dragging her out to clubs. And the hiking trip on the south face of Kilimanjaro; all Lara wanted to do was explore ruins, but who knew we'd run into so many cute guys? Certainly not Lara, haha!
I have a feeling this expedition is going to be one for the books. Lara with her notebook, me with my camera...another crazy adventure!


From this extract, it sounds like Lara and Sam are your pretty standard pair of fun-loving girl friends, as opposed to girlfriends. Then again, why the “Certainly not Lara, haha!”? Does Lara’s disinterest in cute guys stem from her work focus or the fact that she’s gay? Sam definitely sounds very heterosexual in this passage while Lara’s feelings remain veiled. Is something one-sided happening? There may be some significance to the fact that the only photo Lara keeps in her cabin is of her and Sam at their graduation… Lara’s long-lost parents don’t even have a picture on her wall.

This said, I imagine it's significant that the new Lara Croft is essentially a self-reliant orphan. Although the details are unclear, at some point in her childhood/teens, her archaeologist parents vanished while on an expedition. This could easily account for Lara and Sam’s close bond; the relaxed demonstration of physical affection – because Lara naturally treasures the few loved ones she has left in her life.

As a result, when, Lara is “responsible” in-game for the deaths of friends, crewmates and rescuers alike, she becomes fixated on rescuing her kidnapped best friend, and “keeping her promise” to get them home. The stakes have been upped – Lara could lose everyone she’s ever loved – and her reaction escalates exponentially. Hence all the panicked screams of “Sam!” Lara’s guilt-plagued conscience clearly couldn’t cope with Sam’s loss as well. It’s her last chance at redemption for putting everyone at risk in the first place.

In short: Lara isn’t gay. She is just incredibly protective of her friend. And in their nightmarish situation, both she and Sam turn to each other for mental and physical support (all the hugging and hand-holding). Just think of Sam and Lara as being like Sam and Frodo

Then again, there are still moments like this in the game. 

See here and here for the context of this clip.

Those long lingering looks and shy smiles are, well, saturated with subtext. Let’s not forget that Pratchett did also say this in the Kill Screen interview:

There’s part of me that would’ve loved to make Lara gay. I’m not sure Crystal would be ready for it! But we've not spoken about it directly, either.

Although to be fair, these extracts from the same interview provide additional context, and support the “just good friends” argument.

Certainly with Lara, I wanted to make a human story. But I never wanted to forget that she was female either. And, I mean, certainly the way she reacts to things could be said to be more female as a reaction. I’m not talking about being scared, or being vulnerable. But the way she interacts with other characters, her friendship with Sam in particular…you wouldn’t see a male character holding the hands of an in-pain male character or hugging a dying male character…
I think she’s got a little bit more female empathy, one could suggest. And certainly her friendship with Sam, especially when it’s fleshed out in the camera sequences, it’s quite a female friendship. It’s quite sort of playful and fun and girlish. And that underlines Sam’s importance in Lara’s life. They both have their differences, but they’re both ambitious women in their field. And they care a lot for each other. Maybe with a female character it’s easier to show those kind of emotions.


Still, I think there’s enough evidence to support a third way of looking at things. Perhaps Lara and Sam’s feelings for one another evolve from friendship into something more intimate over the course of the game? They undeniably become a lot more hands-on with their affection for one another over time. Consider the following – the first time that Lara and Sam see each other after the traumatic shipwreck that lands them on the island in the first place.


Not even a hug to celebrate the reunion. Granted creepy-as-all-hell Mathias is there to interrupt and literally step between the two young women, but afterwards the friends don’t even sit together. This scene doesn’t ring true in multiple aspects – given what she's just been through, I'd expect Lara's supposed “great instincts” to kick in and prevent her from completely relaxing at the fireside – but if you want, the "hands-off" response of the two women could be interpreted as Lara not yet realising what Sam means to her, and vice versa.Over the course of the game though, as Lara becomes a knight in decidedly unshining armour, that changes.

In the end though, the interpretation is yours to make. Nothing is explicitly spelled out for the players of Tom Raider, which adds to the fun if you’re in the mood to ponder character matters and motivations. I’m very excited to see if/how things will be handled in a sequel. “Hardened survivor” Lara seems all set up at the end of this reboot to head off in a very different life direction to Miss-Skinny-Jeans Sam, and there’s certain to be some severe post traumatic stress to contend with on both sides if both characters are around for 2.


------

P.S. There’s quite a bit of Lara-Sam fan fiction on the Web these days. I was most surprised to discover how sweet and tonally appropriate a lot of it is. The following are some of my favourite pieces because of how authentically the writers have managed to duplicate the characters’ voices from the game. Please be warned though that the stories contain varying degrees of sexual content:

NOTE: (8/5/2014) For an updated look at why Sam matters, and her significance in Lara's life, read my new post on the matter:

P.P.S. If you really, really want to grasp at every single straw in the “gay or straight” debate, it’s probably worth noting that Lara’s right ear is pierced twice. A pierced right, as opposed to left, ear is traditionally viewed as a way to indicate homosexuality.

P.P.P.S. As an afterthought, I suppose the argument could also be made that a lesbian-leaning Lara is more palatable for male gamers if articles like this are to be believed. It's not a case of cheap titillation please note; it's more that hetero male gamers apparently can't handle the thought of playing as a female character who becomes intimate with a male character. Take that as you will...   

Comments

Anonymous said…
I absolutely loved this article. So enjoyable to read that I'm passing it on to others! I am a LaraXSam shipper, but the arguments and thoughts you put out were interesting. Bottom line is that the characters in this game are meaningful to people in different ways. For me to have a pretty, intelligent and strong lesbian character portrayed through Lara Croft would show that things really are changing for the Gay community. Then again like pointed out in the article.. are they really ready to do such a huge step? Probably not, but the aspects in this game which triggered the fan base to take charge in how we want the story to progress will prevail in our fan art and stories. Lesbian Lara or not, I'm dying for the next game! Maybe there will be more shy smiles and subtext to feed the fans on her next adventure? :)
Anonymous said…
I grew up with Tomb Raider games and always perceived Lara as... hmm... bisexual who is much, much more interested in her work than people and relationships. When it comes to your article, I'm a fan of third theory: Sam & Lara's feelings evolve in to something more in the course of the game.

PS. Have you read "The Camera Loves You"?
Unknown said…
You really dont know your left from your right, do you? look at that last image again and tell me thats her right ear.....
Pfangirl said…
Thanks for the comments, everyone; I'm very glad to hear you've been enjoying my examination of the "gay Lara" issue.

I have added The Camera Loves You to the list of fan fiction. If anyone finds another story that they believe belongs on the list, let me know.

Cdr Shepard, that final image is apparently fan created.
Anonymous said…
in my opigion lara shouldnt be gay. too many tough girl in tv sow movie and such turns out to be gay. and girls holding hands doesnt make them gay. nice article btw.
Anonymous said…
Well I think the game should not have to bring things like this in. It should just be played by the main idea. A smart, strong, and young woman explores ancient tombs for answers to unsolved mysterious and then fights off anyone or anything in the way. I don't think the game should bring in anything sexual, really. I just love the game it self. If there are more tomb raider games that will be like this, the producers will have a new loyal fan. Nice interesting article anyway.
Anonymous said…
Honestly, I don't think Lara is gay. The in-game journal of Sam's says, "Who would've known there'd be so many cute guys there? Certainly not Lara, haha!" That means that she wasn't expecting there to be so many guys she found good-looking, I've heard that phrase many times outside of the game. Also, there could've been pictures of her parents in her cabin. When you step into the cabin, to the right of the mirror, there's this slanted bulliton board with many photos on it. I've zoomed in, and I can make out pyramids and digs, but I can't see the people very well, so I can't see if it is her parents or not. I just think that, like mentioned, Lara doesn't want to lose the last close people to her. Between her parents death, and then Roth's, she doesn't want to see her best friend go too, and I wouldn't either! I thin that it's really a girly friendship, I don't think the developers will ever involve her relationship status in the franchise, besides friendships.
Anonymous said…
they are not gays fuckers...their friendship its called PURE FUCKING FRIENDSHIP. just because they are hugging and anything it doesnt mean they are gays...and whose thins that they are it means they never had best friends. i also had a friend with who i walked on streets holding hands...and i had a boyfriend so whats the idea?they are just close friends. thats all
Anonymous said…
First off, thank you for taking the time to construct this article. It's been so enjoyable to read, and your arguments have certainly made me take a closer look at the LaraxSam dynamic.

At the start of the game, I didn't really feel anything more than platonic vibes between the two girls. Although, that changed as the game's storyline progressed and we saw more intimate interactions between Sam and Lara. That being said, I have to agree with your third point that their friendship and feelings could've evolved into more over the course of the game.

P.S Your LaraxSam fanfic is my favourite by far out of all of them. Simply amazing.
Anonymous said…
Another fic to add is royal affection I think the authors name is celefin or something like that its a sam(himiko)x lara. Its a fic that goes in about a what if situation. If lara got to sam to late and since its in progress laras attempt to reconcile or find a way to reverse what happened. Just a few chaps in buts its a good read along with yours and asyncas fics.
Anonymous said…
Lara is clearly not gay sam's straight anyway so any theory with her and lara is pointless.
Anonymous said…
I dont want a strong lesbian main hero, i want a strong straight woman in action.
Anonymous said…
It's funny to see how many people get angry with this theory of Lara being gay. I mean, even though I understand the fact that the game isn't really about the main character's sexuality, it's pretty shocking that still on these days, people get so offended when it comes to the matter of homosexuality.
I don't care if Lara is lesbian or not, it doesn't change the fact that she is an awesome female character. It's pretty hard to have a female protagonist, and even harder to have a so real and human female protagonist, that doesn't have boobs that are bigger than her head (although the "old Lara" is like this...).
Anyway, this article was awesome, and it showed both sides of the coin. I really enjoyed a lot, and you didn't took any sides. You just wrote the arguments of her being and her not-being kkk

P.S.: I won't lie... I'm a big fan of LaraxSam. But I wouldn't be sad or offended, like many people, if she wasn't lesbian.
Anonymous said…
^^ Agreed
Anonymous said…
I love strong female heroines as well but just what is the problem in having that strong female heroine who also happens to be gay? Are you guys homophobic or something?
Arianyth said…
Uh, yea, what's the deal with that? I wanna see less heterosexual main characters out there, considering that's practically ALL there is. Look elsewhere for your "strong, straight" people, there are plenty of places to find them. Bring out the gays I say! :P
Anonymous said…
No one's homophobic over here, but can we please get at least one strong female who isn't gay or bisexual. Remember Xena warrior princess she was gay, and Buffy the vampire slayer had a very short bisexual relationship as well. This is noting new but the media can't seem to make a Strong female Character without trying to make her bi-curious. We need a strong female who straight or just doesn't have time for romance before trying to make everything a statement. Lara Croft should stay just as a story about a action hero who just happens to be a woman.
Anonymous said…
Samus Aran (Metroid). Chell (Portal). Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark). Zelda (The Legend of Zelda). Yuna (Final Fantasy). Lightning (Final Fantasy). Sarah Kerrigan (Star Craft). Kate Wilson (Hydrophobia). Alice (American McGee's Alice). Jade (Beyond Good and Evil).

All strong, female characters (most of which are leads) who were straight.

Now list out any and all OPENLY gay female characters (I'll even allow for non-lead characters).

Can't list any, can you?

Hate to break it to you, but orientation doesn't make a character less strong, nor does it detract from a story. By the way, Xena was not openly gay, nothing was stated about that. Same goes for Buffy. The only one you could even call openly bi-sexual is Bo from Lost Girl, but she's a succubus and it's part of her actual character design as well, not solely her orientation.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fruitbat44 said…
Veronica Santangelo, Corporal Betsy and Christine Royce. All openly lesbian characters and all from 'Fallout: New Vegas.'

So it is possible to list some openly gay female characters.

But it's a very short list . . .
Fruitbat44 said…
Great article. (i.e. it falls in pretty much with my POV on the matter.) And I think the comments in your PPPS about straight male gamers, into which category I fall, has its merits. I did play 'Fallout: New Vegas' with the "Cherchez La Femme" perk. -blush-

But it was nice to read an article which looked at the possibility that the rebooted Lara was gay without harshly criticising anyone who thought she wasn't gay. Or responded to the possibility that she was gay with borderline "gay-bashing" comments.

FWIW I think that Lara does love Sam, but the exact nature of the love (sororital or Sapphic; mutual or unrequited) is undefined.

Let's see how 'Tomb Raider 2' develops.
Anonymous said…
I mean this in the least mean way possible, it does not fudging matter. The end. We don't really know what her sexual oreintation is and should it matter? as long as a game presents options for homosexual and hetrosexual it is good in my book, why? if games are to get more personal with people they need to feel more real, obviously you can't simulate a different gender's experience in Western society (and before you say I am stereotyping, there are general differences between most men and women, such as having a baby, I don't really see how a man could do that) but if we are to move in a direction where homosexuals should be able to have a bit of an experience of what it is like to be hetrosexual and vice versa maybe we should allow more options, maybe when I choose ethnicity in a game it not result in a skin change the end, many ethnicities have sub cultures and or experiences that the dominant ethnicity in a society may not, I want to experience life as a dissadent in China's Authoritarian powerful miltary state, in the midst of economic revolution, I want to play as a bi sexual in Uganda who are very uninformed and unfortunatley believe that it is a sign of devil powers, etc. I want greater variety in games, but I understand their choice to leave it ambigious, not because anyone gives a rats... butt... but because it may be harder to get into a survival story when sexuality is somehow tied in, a few emotional moments offer clues but shes fighting for her life, how the hell would she have time to display such things. Bottom line we need more variety in games, even tomb raider could benifet, the choice to have characters sexulity, ethnicity, nationality, gender, height, weight etc. more ability to create characters and see some realistic and gripping experiences, not all the time is it necessary, but not many games manage to pull off the differences, even Bioware focuses on relationships but does not have the option to play as an alien and experience racism, etc. a lot more could be done, but in the end not many care
Anonymous said…
I believe that in Tomb Raider Lara is straight. She could be anything honestly and I think that is what Square Enix did to keep their options open. Would it really matter? No, there is NOTHING wrong with straight, gay, bi, or whatever characters. I would like to say that she is straight for a number of reasons. Most guys like myself would like her to be that way because we base our relationships with girls off girls in comics, movies, books, and video games. I don't want to feel like that guy who is trying to sleep with lesbian girls and is too stupid to realize it's never going to happen. I'm sure many males who have played this game have fantasized about Lara at least once or at least have thought about her in that way. In the long run my and other male's or even women's depending on the people's relationships will be based on this game and this character.

Has anybody ever considered that women may play this game as well? Maybe they are younger and straight or anything else and would like to have hope in a world where everyone tells you that you can't be a strong women.

Square Enix is impacting the world more than they think on a social level. They are engineering future generations to believe and support ideologies and theories. It's all subconscious but they don't know that they are doing it. Depending on what they do they will impact people's viewpoints on who can do what. <- AGAIN not that this is a good or bad thing.

Maybe they should just call it 50/50 and make her bi so both sides can shut up and enjoy the game. I don't know but I would love to see Lara Croft as straight because it gives me hope for elevating the status of women and preserving their feminine aspects.
Unknown said…
I like how Lara saves her woman throughout the game.
Unknown said…
Lara is a real hero by saving the women she loves that is true love.
Anonymous said…
Ellie from 'The Last of Us' was gay. I don't really know if you can call her openly gay though, since in is never explicitly mentioned (its the apocalypse, no one really cares), but she kisses her friend Riley in the DLC and I believe it was confirmed by the writers. I would really like it if Lara was queer though, the more the better!
Anonymous said…
one in the left, two in the right
Anonymous said…
A woman's sexuality has nothing to do with whether or not they are feminine...Anyway, I think representation of LGBT people is a little more important than your boner, dude. I also don't get why you'd rather her be straight than bisexual if you understand bisexual women still are into men...
Anonymous said…
I'm assuming you're a heterosexual male who would hate to see a hot female character be in a relationship with anyone outside of your demographic. I can also assume that you've completely misinterpreted this article considering you think it's blatantly criticizing homophobes and trying to establish Lara's sexuality, even though the author repeatedly says that it's ambiguous. I like this article because it presents a unique and detailed approach to Lara's character, and gives out a theory regarding her sexuality way better than you have with your three-sentence comment insisting that she's straight. I like to imagine that LGBT characters are becoming more prominent in popular video games, because it helps introduce closer-minded people into the idea of homosexuality in a way that doesn't freak them out. Referring to the first part of your comment, I think people have every reason to feel sensitive to hatred towards gay people. If no one gives a shit about homophobia, we'll forever be one large step behind in advancing socially as a society.
Anonymous said…
I grew up playing the tomb raider games on pc and Lara was always a hero to me, I could identify with her in certain ways- one of them being asexual. Some people just don't feel sexual attraction or the need to be in a relationship, and that's fine. That doesn't mean they can't love though, love is putting your life on the line to save someone dear to you, it doesn't only have to be sexual or someone you just wanna bang. Everyone has a passion in life, whether it be music, traveling, or archaeology, and sometimes that passion is just as strong as love. Lara loves her friends (I think this is pretty clear during the events of the game) and she is also very passionate for archaeology and exploration (like in parts of the game where she is clearly in a grim situation, but still stops to marvel the ancient ruins like "these guys are trying to kill me but DAMN, THAT'S BEAUTIFUL! LOOK AT THOSE MARKINGS!"). I think she's perfect the way she is.
Anonymous said…
Never liked any of the Tomb Raider games period...until this one came along. Lara now has an identity, and she's not just a polygon boob sack. And if this new Lara is a lesbian (which the game strongly hints at), so be it. It's not even made into a huge deal...it's just there, like "Yup, she's also gay. We're not making a big deal about it because sexual orientation doesn't define a person." Cheers to that.

I agree there should be more homosexual characters in games, but come one now, hetero-bashers...calm down. The few posts in response here calling for the end of straight characters and the era of gay characters...let's be realistic. Trading favoritism for one "Group" over another "group" will still be favoritism. It's also a bit unrealistic, considering that homosexuals are outnumbered on this earth by billions...yes, billions...of heterosexuals, the sudden insertion of homosexuality into absolutely everything becomes unrealistic, and therefore, "token". Be careful what you wish for.

Anonymous said…
FUS RO DAH
Anonymous said…
Hanna and rain in fear effect 2 were gay and in love with each other
Anonymous said…
Try to think of a female character who's strong, capable in action, well written, stars in her own game (not a sequel to one starring a male like say Yuna in FFX-2 or a spin-off like Aveline in AC: Liberation) and is unquestionably straight (not Bi).

Nilin is one of the only ones that comes to my mind and the developers admitted they had to cut a scene out involving her kissing a man because they were told "You can’t make a dude like the player kiss another dude in the game". (There's also Ayumi from X Blades but she's...not the best example for this argument)

Meanwhile you have Nariko and Kai (Heavenly Sword), Bayonetta and Jeanne and now Lara and Sam. We don't know what Samus, Jade, Chel and co. are because it is never stated. I suppose you can argue that Jodie from Beyond: 2 Souls is straight even though she looks like and is played by Ellen Page who is gay.

Games with female leads are rare. Games with straight female leads are even rarer.
Anonymous said…
Lara Croft is an icon. That being said, not every female icon has go be sexualized. She is more likely asexual that a lesbian. She just cares for her friend like you would a sister. The whole lesbian things as a label has gotten out of hand. Let's not turn someone into something she's not because people are trying to become comfortable with the fact our society is running rampant with confused people who don't know right from wrong.
Anonymous said…
I think you should get over it. Your reading too much into it and forcing it to be something that isn't.
And please stop accusing anyone with an opinion of being a homophobe. Go do that in Uganda!
Anonymous said…
People are overprotective (and rightly so) of characters that have existed a long time, and grew up with these characters and have perceived them a certain way. I'm all for homosexuality representation in video games and I applaud the many developers who are bringing this forth, but I think it would be more effective for developing completely new characters with a homosexual orientation and going forth and turning them into icons. It does not have a profound effect if existing icons/characters were all of a sudden decided to be oriented gay.
Anonymous said…
Hey there anon, we're all for LGBT representation in video games, just let it be new characters and not existing or classic ones like Lara. I'd love to see a new lesbian character take center stage in a new game of her own instead of just turning most of the existing strong characters LGBT. Toby Gard, the creator of Lara Croft has never expressed her orientation, let it be that way.
Anonymous said…
As a queen I'll tell you that I have never once looked at someone's ear piercing to determine if I should hit on them.
Anonymous said…
In Dark Waters, the part where Himiko "saves" Lara in the Endurance crash, a close-up of Lara shows her left ear also has two rings.
Aeron Sky said…
Lara Croft was created back when all female characters were straight, the creators wanted to create a very beautiful video game women. A straight women in a video is gonna get more looks at then a lesbian women. Automatically the video game creators made her a beautiful straight video game women because that would help sell the game. Therefore Lara Croft is STRAIGHT

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