Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4

Naoto is a playable character in Persona 4 (part of the Persona series). Naoto is typically described using the pronoun she, but some sites have suggested Naoto is meant to be a trans man character. In most descriptions, Naoto is presented as a female character who typically wears male clothing. Naoto passes as a man and Kanji falls in love with Naoto (though he doesn’t really express this until he finds out her assigned sex is female). Naoto’s Shadow appears to be transgender, however, and at one point prepares for a “body-altering operation” (Naoto Shirogane). Like Kanji’s Shadow, this might indicate that Naoto is meant to represent a character coming to terms with their gender identity, but how the audience is meant to interpret Naoto’s identity seems to be left ambiguous. LGBTQ content in this game series: Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999): Tatsuya Suou; Jun Kurosu Persona 3 (2006): Unnamed Female Student; Unnamed Beautiful Lady Persona 3 Portable (2007): Elizabeth; Female Protagonist; Aigis; Mitsuru Kirjo; Ryoji Mochizuki Persona 4 (2008): Kanji Tatsumi; Naoto Shirogane; Chie Satonaka; Yukiko Amagi; Yosuke Hanamura Persona 5 (2016): Two Gay NPCs; Lala Escargot; Yusuke Kitagawa See also QRM’s entry for this game series. Citations:
  1. List of Persona 4 Characters (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Persona_4_characters
  2. Naoto Shirogane. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.giantbomb.com/naoto-shirogane/3005-6117/
  3. Naoto Shirogane. (n.d.). Retrieved from Naotomegamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Naoto_Shirogane
  4. Persona. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_(series)
  5. Petit, C. (2013, March 1). Denial of the Self: Queer Characters in Persona 4. Gamespot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chie_Satonaka
  6. Xu, Samantha. (2009, January 28). Opinion: Sexuality and Homophobia in Persona 4. Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/112965/Opinion_Sexuality_And_Homophobia_In_Persona_4.php
  7. Youngblood, J. (2013). “C’mon! Make me a man!”: Persona 4, Digital Bodies, and Queer Potentiality. Ada (2) http://adanewmedia.org/2013/06/issue2-youngblood/.
  8. Zaher, T. (2014, September 18). Portrayal of LGBT Characters in Persona. Geeks Out. http://geeksout.org/blogs/troy-zaher/portrayal-lgbt-characters-persona