Bioware Game 2011 Mass Effect 2 introduces Jack, a woman who suggests pansexual relationships, but will only date the player if he is playing a man. It is because they removed the option for fear of a conservative media reaction. [thegamer.com]
Here is the game’s writer, Brian Kindregan, interviewed by Cian Maher:
“Mass Effect had been criticized in a really unfair way in the USA by Fox News, which at the time … maybe more people in the world thought there was a connection between reality and what is discussed on Fox News,” Kindregan continues. “The Mass Effect 2 development team was a very progressive and open-minded team, but I think there was a concern at very high levels that [the first] Mass Effect, who only had a gay relationship, Liara – who on paper was not technically a gay relationship because she was a kind of unique gender – I think there was a concern that if it had caused a fire, Mass Effect 2 would have to be a little careful. “
And actress Courtney Taylor, who starred as Jack:
“It’s funny to me because I always understood that she was pansexual. So, I don’t know if that was just something I inferred from the character or something she said that maybe it was cut off. I was surprised that it wasn’t a possible female romance because that was my understanding, I think the time has come, you know?
A classic tale of self-censorship and vicarious corporate homophobia.