Character Customisation – Cyberpunk 2077
Last week, one of the most anticipated videogames of the year hit the shelves: Cyberpunk 2077. Despite offering an intense story-driven narrative, one of the games novelty features is getting a lot of attention
The game allows players to customize their characters, notably: the genitals.
Players are given the option to choose whether their character has a vagina, an intact penis, or a circumcised penis.
NSFW WARNING: mouse over the box below to show the nude in game character models.
…Interesting, to say the least
It is interesting that this option was included in the game, and it has created a surge of cultural fascination. Whilst it may seem a bizarre feature to include, Google suggests that it is prominently being searched for, attracting those who are outraged, curious and excited for this peculiar addition to the game.
The net consensus is that this feature is to allow people from all walks of life to have the autonomy to choose a character that represents them or their ideal self.
For those who are outraged or feel that this feature is somehow a crass addition, we would remind readers that the REAL LIFE customisation of other people’s bodies happens regularly in the form of FGM, forced gender assignment in intersex people, and male circumcision.
We feel that there is far less fanfare surround these issues than they truly deserve, as the consequences of “choosing wrong” can be devastating for boys, girls, and intersex children as they grow up and discover what has been done to them against their consent.
Cyber vs Reality
Sadly men do not have the option to be intact once that option is removed from them.
Real life is not a computer game, and once someone has taken this decision away from you, it is difficult to recover, and impossible to completely reverse.
It is interesting how many times we hear the justification for male circumcision that “It will make him more like his dad.” And it shows that many families think the procedure is a lot more trivial than it truly is. This college humour video puts things into perspective:
You can’t reload the penis!
We would hope that circumcision harm will be widely recognised long before the year 2077. Customisation requires autonomy, and you can’t reload the penis, so instead, save the foreskin!
Does selecting a circumcised character really lock players out of romance options in Cyberpunk 2077?
A rumour is circulating that choosing a circumcised penis for your character in Cyberpunk 2077 leads to detrimental effects and locks you out of romantic encounters. This has been debunked by many reputable gaming news sites.
It is true that some men have faced rejection and ridicule over their genitals, lots of tropes have a grain of truth in them, while we are happy that the in-game options do not lead to discrimination, it sadly will not change the reality that many men go through. We often hear the comment “I have never heard anyone complain about circumcision” but sadly, these comments are grossly misinformed. 15 Square have heard many thousands of complaints from men.
Click here to read some of their stories.
The reality is that some parents still decide to circumcise their children “to fit in”. In the USA, outside of religious circumcisions, baby boys are circumcised at a much higher percentage than the rest of the world as it is seen as a matter of social norm, a leftover from a puritanical past— if the gender roles were reversed you could imagine the outrage.
By 2077, we hope that people will be educated enough to be equally shocked by non-consentual male circumcision as we are by the history of female circumcision.
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