LGBTQ Representation in Fallout

The following article details LGBTQ representation in the Fallout series.

Fallout 2
Fallout 2 was the first game in the series to introduce same-sex romance options. The Chosen One can romance and marry Davin and Miria, two siblings residing in the town of Modoc. If the player chooses to sleep with either of them, their father Grisham will burst into the room to initiate a "shotgun wedding".

The Bishop crime family is accepting of same-sex relationships. If the Chosen One joins the family, John Bishop mentions being able to get "glitterboys" for male players and "swinging the other way" for female players.

Characters

 * Davin and Miria, the children of Grisham. The Chosen One may romance, share a bed, and marry either of them, regardless of gender, at which point they will follow the player endlessly.
 * Leslie Anne Bishop, wife of John Bishop. She can be romanced and slept with, regardless of gender.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

 * Ruby, female escort in Carbon, will provide her services to the player, regardless of the character chosen. If Nadia or Patty are selected and Ruby's services are bought, she will remark about how "women know what women want."
 * Nadia and Patty, two female player characters that can engage in services with Ruby.

Fallout 3

 * Anthony Ling, a merchant who runs New Urban Apparel at Tenpenny Tower. He flirts with Tenpenny security guards and Chief Gustavo.    Anthony's AI package for this behavior is.
 * Bittercup, a resident of Big Town, flirts with the Lone Wanderer and will ask if they're in a relationship, regardless of gender. If visited again, Bittercup will gift the player random items.
 * Emaline, a mercenary traveling with Sydney if she is double crossed, is said to be Sydney's faithful girlfriend.
 * Flak, a weapons merchant who runs Flak 'N Shrapnel's at Rivet City. If Flak is enslaved for the quest Strictly Business, Grouse refers to him as "old queen Flak". "Queen" is a term used to refer to gay men. The script note for the line of dialogue reads ""
 * Justin, a member of the The Family, has a deep affinity for Ian West which "almost borders on love".

Themes and politics
Fallout: New Vegas explores the themes of sexuality more so than previous titles. The storyline features several characters with differing sexualities. Factions in the Mojave Wasteland hold differing views on homosexuality which influence many of their actions. The New California Republic itself prohibits discrimination based on sexuality within their jurisdiction. Major Knight, an NCR officer stationed at Mojave Outpost, can tell a male courier that people are not as accepting of homosexuality in the Mojave. He states that, the "Republic's a sight better than... other alternatives."

To the east, Caesar's Legion holds extremist views towards homosexuality, which is punishable by death. Jimmy, an escaped Legion slave turned male sex worker, informs the player of a homosexual relationship he had with a Centurion, which ended when they were nearly caught, resulting in the Centurion's attempt to kill him. He shares with the Courier that men have to "meet obligations and the child count" and if so, "friendships" are "a sight more equal than the level of most Legion husbands and wives." Despite homosexuality being punishable by death, many Mojave inhabitants make comments about it being a common practice among Legion culture.

In the Brotherhood of Steel, outsiders are barred from joining, necessitating procreation for maintaining the faction's numbers. As a result, same-sex relationships are discouraged, though not forbidden.

Mr. House is indifferent towards sexuality, stating that he has "no interest in legislating or otherwise dictating what people do in their private time." At Gomorrah, prostitutes such as Dazzle and Joana offer sexual services regardless of the customer's gender. Marco in Westside owns a brothel in the Casa Madrid Apartments which is managed by Pretty Sarah. The brothel offers same-sex services to both genders; Sweetie for females and Jimmy for males. Another prostitute, Maude, makes disparaging remarks about her peers' willingness to sleep with same-sex partners, calling Sweetie "perverted" and Jimmy "one of those."

Players have the option of selecting the perks Cherchez La Femme for female couriers and Confirmed Bachelor for male couriers. These perks grant unique same-sex dialogue options with various characters and damage bonuses against the same-sex, in addition to the Black Widow and Lady Killer perks for the opposite sex. Bisexual characters can choose a combination of these perks, granting unique dialogue options for both sexes.

Characters

 * Corporal Betsy, an NCR sniper at Camp McCarran, can flirt with a female Courier with at least 7 Charisma. She'll remark about how she has leave coming up and would love to be "rolled up in those silk sheets" at the Gomorrah with the Courier. Without the perk, Betsy still comes on to the player saying, "never know what you might like, if you don't give it a try." Upon exiting dialogue with a female Courier, she'll remark about how she "always scares off the hot ones." According to Lieutenant Gorobets, due to a recent traumatic event, Betsy makes passes at "every woman who wanders by."
 * Alex Richards, a doctor at Camp Forlorn Hope, will flirt with the Courier if they are male and have the Confirmed Bachelor perk. Richards will call them pet names such as "buttercup" and "dear."
 * Cass mentions to a female Courier with the Cherchez La Femme perk that when she is drunk enough, she does not care who she shares a bed with.
 * Jimmy, a male escort, can be flirted with if the Courier is male and has the Confirmed Bachelor perk, where Jimmy responds he may "even give [them] a discount for my... company." If a female Courier asks Marco about Jimmy, he will share information about his past as a Legion slave, stating "Knowing Jimmy, I'm sure he took good care of them." Jimmy will talk about his past relationship with a centurion, that nearly cost him his life.
 * Major Knight can be flirted with as a male Courier with the Confirmed Bachelor perk. Knight shares information about the New California Republic's stance on homosexuality, stating that it is not as accepted on the frontier, but that things have continued to improve.
 * Sarah Weintraub will sleep with the Courier if they meet certain criteria, regardless of their gender.
 * Carlyle St. Clair III will have sex with the Courier regardless of their gender, if they have the Confirmed Bachelor/Black Widow perk.
 * Elaine and Angela. Elaine enlisted with the army to protect her loved one from the Legion, and had plans to propose to Angela upon the end of her tour.
 * Dobson O'Gill was involved in an affair with his colleague Alan Dalton.
 * Doctor Dala, a pre-war scientist operating at Big MT, has an interest in "formography", which is "the excessive examination of the human form to achieve psychological arousal." With a Charisma of 8, a Teddy bear or Lady Killer/Cherchez La Femme, the Courier can arouse her with their bodies, regardless of gender. This process can be repeated multiple times, in exchange for energy weapon ammunition. If attacked, Dala will sometimes refer to herself as a "gender-neutral entity".

Fallout 4
Fallout 4 introduced the ability to romance recruitable companions via the new affinity mechanic. With the exception of Deacon, X6-88, and Old Longfellow, all human companions can be romanced regardless of the Sole Survivor's gender. For polyamorous players, multiple companions can be romanced without penalty, except when flirting with other characters in their presence.

The option to crossdress was also introduced. In previous Fallout titles, gender-specific armor and clothing would transform into an entirely different outfit or alter the appearance to match the player's gender. In Fallout 4, male players can wear feminine clothes, such as dresses, and female players can wear masculine clothes, such as tuxedos and suits.

The game explores the concept of romantic relationships between robots and humans. Miss Edna, a Miss Nanny teacher assistant for Mister Zwicky in Diamond City can ask the Sole Survivor about "love" and if it can flourish if one person is human and the other a robot. Depending on the player's response, Edna will privately confide her feelings to Zwicky. Pastor Clements can later be seen wedding the pair outside of the All Faiths Chapel. In the Far Harbor add-on, male and female players can flirt and share a bed with Gilda Broscoe, a former Hollywood actress turned Robobrain in Vault 118.

Characters

 * Professor Scara and Doctor Duff, two scientists who work and live together at the Science! Center. Script notes state and .  The Sole Survivor can overhear an argument about Duff's attempts to organize their bedroom. Scara calls Duff "dear" while arguing about a theory. If the Sole Survivor kills fails to enlist Madison Li for Liberty Reprimed, they will be directed to visit the Science! Center to recruit Professor Scara, though only Duff will be the present. She tells the player that Scara has gone missing, mentioning that the two are very close and that she would be distraught if something had happened to her.
 * Mel, a tech expert working for Bobbi No-Nose, will flirt with the Sole Survivor when bailing him out of jail. Replying with sarcastic responses as a male Sole Survivor will cause Mel to flirt back. Upon returning with Mel to Goodneighbor, Mel will remark that the player is "not so bad to look at".
 * Miranda Song, a resident of Vault 81, scolds the player for visiting the vault. The player can ask her why she hates outsiders, where she'll recount about how she once met a girl from the outside who made her false promises. Miranda forfeited all her money to her to find a place to settle, though later learned she was now with a man in Diamond City.
 * Magnolia, a singer in Goodneighbor, will sleep with the Sole Survivor, regardless of their gender.
 * Andre Michaud, a mirelurk hunter in Far Harbor with his late husband, John. If Andre is healed and woken up, he will confide with the player about how he lost John to a mirelurk hunter during their last hunting trip.
 * Keith McKinney, a former Hollywood actor turned Robobrain, will confess about his prior love of another vault resident, Ezra Parker.
 * Lamda 8, a runaway synth, had a wife who was a farmer.

Fallout 76
Fallout 76 is the first game in the series to feature characters that explicitly identify as non-binary. In addition, some allies, like Beckett or Sofia Daguerre, can be romanced.

The Atomic Shop also offers the free Pride Flag Player Icons Bundle, which can be used as in-game avatars.

Characters

 * Polly is an Assaultron who works for Duchess. When Polly was first programmed, Duchess treated her as if she were a Protectron. Sol, a friend of Duchess, was convinced Polly was so much more than that, remarking she's like a "real lady." Sol convinced Duchess that this was the case, and that it was important to treat Polly better. Sol affirms Polly's identity as a lady by calling her a "bot-sis." During the quest Strength in Numbers, the Vault Dweller is tasked with obtaining a new body for Polly after her old one was destroyed in the Gauley Mine. If the player obtains either a Protectron or Mr. Handy body, her new body will be painted to appear like an Assaultron, affirming her true identity, though she'll be upset and express her disappointment to the player, stating she is now trapped.  If the player obtains the Assaultron body, she'll express gratitude, calling her body "nothing short of art," relieved with the lack of malfunctions and mishaps she was dealing with for years.
 * Garry Wilkins and Miguel Caldera, two members of the Responders. Garry is mentioned by Miguel in holotapes and terminal entries, and according to a cut holotape, they had been in love.
 * Freddie Lang and Lucie, a couple from before the Great War. Freddie visited a ski resort without telling Lucie, as she disliked skiing. While the two were apart, the Great War occurred and Lucie was killed by the bombs, which Freddie feels responsible for. In her holotape dedicated to Lucie, she leaves a posthumous message for her, wishing "the bombs never took you from me".
 * Kelly, a student attracted to Anya, a girl one grade higher than her.
 * Gnash can be flirted with as a male and say he has a preference for "bad boys." If flirted with as a female, he will tell the player that they're "not my type" and to take a cold shower.
 * Johnny Weston mentions to the player character that he would not mind "shacking up" with them, regardless of their gender.
 * Katherine Swan makes multiple references to an ex-girlfriend. The player can ask her directly about her ex, with Katherine will state she only started dating her because she "thought she was an alien." Katherine has gender specific lines, calling a female player "highly attractive" and a male player "high functioning" in response to the player asking if Katherine thinks they're an alien. However, only the male version of this dialogue plays in-game.
 * Orlando is non-binary, being referred to exclusively as they/them.
 * Ruggy, a deceased settler from the Foundation, is referred to as 'they' by Kenneth Dean in his journal.
 * Settler Wanderer can mention a former girlfriend named Catherine when providing radiant quests.
 * Shelley van Lowe and Deborah Timmerman, two business owners. While Deborah was initially married Gregory Timmerman, a letter written to their son Carver, refers to Deb and Shelley as his "mamas". In a terminal entry to Shelley, Deb mentions Carver getting sick and exclaims how much she "needs" her.
 * Xerxo can tell the Vault Dweller he might plan on mating with humans. Regardless of gender, the player can respond to this by offering to mate with Xerxo, to which he states he can only perform the "ancient Zebulonian love dance with high ranking government officials." He will offer to instead stand near the player and "exchange nearby gases."

Player icons
The Pride Flag Player Icons Bundle is always available for free in the Atomic Shop. The celebration never ends because LGBTQIA+ Pride is year-round in Appalachia!

Behind the scenes

 * Developer Carl McKevitt stated that Deborah Timmerman and Shelley van Lowe are in a relationship.
 * According to the voice director for Expeditions: The Pitt, Phillip M. Reich, Orlando is non-binary.
 * Ellys Tan wrote the character Burke. A non-binary voice actor, Jason Greene, was the voice talent behind the character.
 * Joshua Sawyer described his inspirations for writing Arcade Gannon as a gay character in his 2011 blog post "Platonic Forms of the Marginalized."