CD Projekt Red’s Blatant Transphobia Is Troubling
What does Trans-Cyberpunk actually look like?
Note from the editor: This piece was written as a collaboration between Claire Michelle, and the author, Zoe Omega.
Claire Michelle is no stranger to trans representation in the media. As a business owner, model, musician, and vlogger, she often touches on the reality of her gender identity and how it fits into society both now and in the future. Much like the central theme of CD Projekt Red’s, Cyberpunk 2077, Claire Michelle is fighting back against corporations to show that trans people should no longer be represented in transphobic ways.
Like many people, Claire was upset by the demonstrations of transphobia from the much anticipated game, Cyberpunk 2077, by CD Projekt Red. With a massive amount of buzz, CD Projekt Red has released a variety of teasers, some more problematic than others. A hypersexualized version of a trans woman was shown in an in-game advertisement where she is on display without any agency over her image; there’s even a tweet directly from CD Projekt Red’s official Twitter account mocking the idea of gender identity all together.
Claire believes that CD Projekt Red’s commentary on the negative power of corporations could have been done without being transphobic. It is one thing for an ad to be sexual, it is another for an ad to be transphobic; and trans people should not be represented in exploitative ways.
CD Projekt Red responded to the backlash in a Variety piece by Stefanie Fogel where artistic director, Kasia Redesiuk, described the in-game-advertisement stating, “This is all to show that [much like in our modern world], hypersexualization in advertisements is just terrible,” Redesiuk continued. “It was a conscious choice on our end to show that in this world — a world where you are a cyberpunk, a person fighting against corporations. That [advertisement] is what you’re fighting against.” In this photo series, Claire Michelle and producer Athena Zammit are doing just that, fighting against the corporations.
I, Zoe, sat down with Claire to understand this controversy from the eyes of a transgender woman and furthermore, gather Zammit’s thoughts on the look and feel from from the shoot itself. We phoned Zammit during our talk and dove deep on all the things that make a photoshoot like this tick.
I approached Claire with the question, “How did this photoshoot begin?” Claire stated that she trusted Zammit, and photographer Sam Branch’s collaborative approach and that she was ecstatic to have a chance to create a three-dimensional character with much more depth than that of other, one dimensional, trans role models. What kicked off the shoot was Zammit’s interest in the question:
“What if a trans woman was the hero in the story? Not just an in-game ad?”
So, with a clear vision, Claire took on ideas from her own professional life, where she easily adapts from role to role and thus felt comfortable becoming the hero of the story.
Zammit and her co-creators were patient when creating a vast world for our hacker hero. The art of world building is important in video games, and so the team found it important to mirror that in the shoot.
“It takes time and imagination.” Zammit shared, “The world we envisioned came together through four different creatives: Sam Branch, photographer and editor; Monique Rinard, hair and makeup artist; Claire Michelle, model; and of course Athena Zammit, the stylist and set designer.
Zammit styled four outfits, a villainous look which consists of a glamorous vintage silver fur paired with a simple black dress; a clear raincoat with boots for running all day; an all white work uniform, complete with safety glasses; and a sequin lined party dress.
I asked where Zammit got her inspiration; she stated that the world of cyberpunk was vast, and that she looked into different representations of cyberpunk throughout history. Zammit also sought out and interviewed people that consider themselves modern day hackers. She asked them about their functional need in clothing instead of questions pertaining strictly to style. This, paired with the cyberpunk research, laid the groundwork for the collaborative process to begin.
Branch and Zammit then talked a lot about what the physical world would actually look like. They decided that the processing effects would be a strong futuristic feel that exists in a world that is run down and gray. According to Zammit, “We knew we wanted to incorporate reflective aspects into each photo, using the silver mylar was exciting and felt like a found object.”
Zammit confided she gained inspiration for the shoot from her “punk kid” days. She explained, “I thought a lot about what an elevated version of our everyday style would look like. How would that factor into the character’s functional needs? Where would she spend most of her time? In this world, it is essential to be versatile.” She added that clothes can still be a statement, but we “had to be careful not to be too not too flashy, considering Claire might need to ditch her current location and hijack a hover car or something.”
Soon we began talking about the shoot itself, and Claire told me that upon stepping foot on set and wearing the party dress look, she was told that she was acting, “too pretty.” She stated she loved that direction since “it tells me as a model so many things, and allows me to come out and explore.” She went on to say, “the first few shots are always a test for everyone involved, it’s sort of like conceptualization all over again. Even though we all know the theme, we all come at it with our own ideas; but once we start shooting, our individuality becomes collaborative.
Claire went on to tell me a laughter filled story from the shoot, and much like our hero, Claire proved ready to adapt to any situation. At one point in the shoot some makeup oil coated her eye contacts, “and the oil stuck on like glue and blurred my vision entirely!” The entire outdoor portion of the shoot was shot without the use of Claire’s sight. The PA’s on set had to help her walk so she wouldn’t trip over the curbs lining the street and everyone’s willingness to adapt to the situation allowed Branch to continue capturing even more amazing shots.
We started to wrap up our call and I began to feel that Claire, and the team behind the shoot successfully fleshed out a deep transgender character, unlike the hypersexualized advertisement in Cyberpunk 2077. It might not have been the intent for the CD Projekt Red image to be transphobic, but does that matter?
Kasia Redesiuk seemed to want the image to be a commentary on hypersexualization in the media. “Personally, for me, this person is sexy,” Redesiuk told Polygon.com. “I like how this person looks. However, this model is used — their beautiful body is used — for corporate reasons. They are displayed there just as a thing, and that’s the terrible part of it.”
I asked Claire what she thought of this and she stated that the image does not come across as a critique on the system. To many, it comes across as another transphobic message from a company that has released transphobic messaging before on social media. That makes it hard to accept that this image was created in good faith.
Claire went on to explain that Cyberpunk worlds traditionally have used transhumanistic ideas to draw attention to the evolution of mind and body. However, when body modifications are treated so trivial and without acknowledgement of the greater issues at hand, many people will not understand the ‘supposedly’ intended message of the in-game advertisement.
The imagery from Zammit’s photo shoot offers a welcome change. Here we see a trans woman as a hero rather than a victim, or sex object as she might be relegated to in other forms of media.
The shoot provides hope that in 2077 (or hopefully much sooner) trans people will be seen as three-dimensional people worthy of celebration. This shoot shows audiences, trans and cis alike, that there can be positive stories out there for trans people and that representation truly matters.
I emailed Claire later asking what she thought of the shoot now that the images are complete. Claire shared that “The idea of futurism is once again in full swing. To look upon the future is to look upon ourselves and draw conclusions on who we are as a society. It is a way of reflecting on who we are today and what needs to change. This project was our own interpretation on where we believe society is headed. Transgender people are continually becoming more and more accepted in society, and in turn we will soon hold more and more power until equality is reached. We found that by calling upon this William Gibson or Blade Runner-cyberpunk idea, we can address the disparity between now and the future. I would like to believe that trans people will one day soon have agency over their image whether fictional or not, and that we will be represented in positive ways, regardless if it was a conscious choice or not.”
See a more behind-the-scenes look in the film below.
Written by: Zoe Omega with collaboration from Claire Michelle
