Cindi, why do so many trans women play fighting games? Last local I went to had like 4 and I’m in Missouri. Is it because of Guilty Gear or Kayo Police?
Mm I have a few ideas.
1. They're fun.
2. Fighting games are the most diverse genre bar none in terms of representation so this brings a diverse crowd, which means more trans representation. There are multiple trans (Poison) or trans-ish (Bridgette) characters. Plus they're like the only genre where you can play as a woman and kick ass and until recently it wasn't heavily sexualized. Fighting games, outside of jrpgs, were one of the few genres where you could play as cool female characters that weren't bimbos (sans DOA) so that's natural draw. Characters like Chun Li, Cammy, Morrigan, Millia, Nina, Sarah Bryant are just fucking cool. Meanwhile your only real alternative 20 years ago were sexed up polygons like Lara Croft.
3. Character loyalty. Most people's identify with their characters right? It's hard to explain but you feel attached to the character on an emotional level. So you'll want to take that character to the next level because you love them so much. When you have few female characters in games that are legit, it's pretty easy to get attached and want to level them up. I play Chun in every SF for this reason. I'm just attached to the character and everything she represents.
4. They're fun.
It's not any different than why there's so many black, Latino, and Asian fg players. People often see themselves in the game or something that just clicks with them which I think is one of the coolest part of the genre. I didn't want to learn how to play fighters properly until Poison in USFIV because of my connection to the character so maybe that's my personal perspective.
My 2c.