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 says he can get "glitterboys" for male players and references "swinging the other way" for female players.

Characters

 * Davin and Miria, two siblings in Modoc, can be romanced, slept with and married regardless of gender.
 * Leslie Anne Bishop, the wife of John Bishop, can be romanced and slept with, regardless of gender.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

 * Ruby, a female escort in Carbon, provides her services to the player character including the two female characters, Nadia and Patty. If either are selected, Ruby remarks that "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, flirts with the 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 asks if they're in a relationship, regardless of gender. On subsequent visits, she gifts the player random items.
 * Emaline, a mercenary who travels with Sydney, is said to be her faithful girlfriend.
 * Flak, a weapons merchant who runs Flak 'N Shrapnel's at Rivet City, is refered to as "old queen Flak" by Grouse if enslaved during the quest Strictly Business. "Queen" is a term used to refer to gay men and the script note for the dialogue reads ""

Themes and politics
Fallout: New Vegas introduced a wide array of LGBTQ characters to the series, many of whom serve prominent roles in the game's story, such as the recruitable companions Arcade Gannon and Veronica. Factions throughout Mojave Wasteland hold differing views on homosexuality which influence many of their actions. The New California Republic itself prohibits all forms discrimination based on sexuality, though only within their jurisdiction. Major Knight, an NCR officer stationed at Mojave Outpost, states that people are not as accepting of homosexuality in the Mojave. He also states that, the "Republic's a sight better than... other alternatives."

Caesar's Legion holds extremist views towards homosexuality, constituting it as a capital punishment. Jimmy, a male sex worker in Westside, speaks about his past as a Legion slave and the homosexual relationship he had with a Centurion, stating he was his "tent servant" and that "it was our secret, and he'd protect me." This ended when they were nearly caught, resulting in the Centurion's attempt to kill him. He adds 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 the Legion.

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

Mr. House cares very little about 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 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, if female, and Confirmed Bachelor, if male. 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, flirts with a female Courier with at least 7 Charisma. She remarks about her leave coming up and imagines being "rolled up in those silk sheets" at the Gomorrah with the Courier. If her advances are rejected, Betsy still comes on to the player, stating that they'll "never know what you might like, if you don't give it a try." When exiting dialogue, she mutters 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, flirts with the Courier with the Confirmed Bachelor perk, calling them pet names such as "buttercup" and "dear."
 * Cass mentions to 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 in Westside, can be slept with as a male. With Confirmed Bachelor, Jimmy offers to "even give [them] a discount for my... company." If a female Courier asks Marco about Jimmy, he shares information about Jimmy's past as a Legion slave, stating "Knowing Jimmy, I'm sure he took good care of them." With a female Courier, he'll speak of his past relationship with a centurion, that nearly resulted in his death.
 * Ignacio Rivas, a scientist at HELIOS One, has a unique dialogue option with Confirmed Bachelor where the player says they're more interested in him. He'll state that Fantastic has him on edge and that he used to be more fun.
 * Major Knight, an NCR officer at Mojave Outpost, 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.
 * Manny Vargas, a former NCR sniper in Novac, has a unique dialogue option with the Confirmed Bachelor perk.
 * Red Lucy can be slept with upon completion of Bleed Me Dry, regardless of gender.
 * Sarah Weintraub can be slept with if they meet certain criteria, regardless of gender.
 * Carlyle St. Clair III can be seduced regardless of gender, if the Courier has the Confirmed Bachelor or Black Widow perk.
 * Elaine, an NCR soldier, wrote a love letter to girlfriend, Angela. She writes that she only enlisted to protect Angela from the Legion and that she plans to propose to her at 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 she describes as "the excessive examination of the human form to achieve psychological arousal." The Courier has the option to arouse her with their bodies, regardless of gender, which can be repeated multiple times. If attacked, she scolds the Courier for hitting a "gender-neutral entity" such as herself.

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 are romanceable regardless of gender. Polyamorous players have the option to romance multiple companions without penalty, except while flirting with other characters in an already romanced companions presence.

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, opening up the ability to crossdress.

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, asks the player about "love" and if it can flourish if one person is human and the other a robot. Depending on the response, Edna privately confides her feelings to Zwicky. If this path is chosen, Pastor Clements is seen wedding the pair outside of the All Faiths Chapel. In the Far Harbor add-on, players can flirt and sleep with Gilda Broscoe, a former Hollywood actress turned Robobrain in Vault 118.

Gilda Broscoe also mentions that her acting partner, Keith McKinney, "caught Vince Natali and Sergio Amore at a nightclub in a compromising situation", providing insight into the acceptance of gay relationships prior to the war.

Characters

 * Professor Scara and Doctor Duff, two scientists who work and live together at the Science! Center. Script notes state and .  Scara gets frustrated at Duff's attempts to organize Scara's workplace and their bedroom. Scara calls Duff "dear" while arguing about a theory. If the Sole Survivor fails to enlist Madison Li for Liberty Reprimed, they are directed to visit the Science! Center to recruit Professor Scara instead, though only Duff is 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.
 * Irma, the co-proprieter of the Memory Den, will flirt with characters of either gender, saying she'd hate to turn a "clever boy [or] girl" away and that she likes "persistence and money" in a man or woman.
 * Mel, a tech expert working for Bobbi No-Nose, has the option to flirt with a male Sole Survivor if broken out of jail during The Big Dig. Upon returning with Mel to Goodneighbor, Mel remarks that the player is "not so bad to look at".
 * Miranda Song, a resident of Vault 81, scolds the player for visiting the vault, stating that "outsiders do is take advantage of you." If asked why she dislikes outsiders, she recounts about meeting a woman from the wasteland who made her false promises of a place to live. Miranda forfeited all her money to her to find a place, though later learned through a passing trader that she was now with a man in Diamond City.
 * Magnolia, a singer in Goodneighbor, has the option to sleep with the player, regardless of gender.
 * Trashcan Carla, a caravan merchant, can be responded to sarcastically, with the player stating that they're "just looking for love". Carla will call a male player a "wiseass" and a female player "beautiful", but says her "lovin' days" are over.
 * Andre Michaud, a mirelurk hunter in Far Harbor with his late husband, John. If Andre is healed and woken up, he confides with the player about his last hunting trip with John that ended in his death and Andre's current condition.
 * Keith McKinney, a former Hollywood actor turned Robobrain, confesses 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, 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, who took a dislike to skiing. While the two were apart, the Great War occurred and Lucie was killed by the bombs, which Freddie feels survivor's guilt over. 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 states that he has a preference for "bad boys." If female, he says that they're "not my type" and suggests taking a cold shower.
 * Johnny Weston says he does not mind "shacking up" with the player, regardless of their gender.
 * Katherine Swan makes multiple references to an ex-girlfriend. If asked directly about her ex, Katherine states 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", though only the male version of this dialogue plays in-game.
 * Molly Cooper, the chief biologist in Vault 96, mentions in a terminal entry that she went on dates with her colleague Nina Valaya, and that Nina used to make time for her. On the Overseer's Terminal, an entry notes that Nina's acceptance into the vault required the inclusion of Molly, then stating an "undisclosed relationship" was possible.
 * Katherine Swan makes multiple references to an ex-girlfriend. If asked directly about her ex, Katherine states 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", though only the male version of this dialogue plays in-game.
 * Orlando is non-binary, being referred to exclusively as they/them.
 * Pete Myers, a repairman at the traveling Nuka-World roadshow, will be dismissive if confronted about Betty Hill's crush on him. He states that he doesn't know if he is "that way inclined" and adds that he's "trying to figure things out for [himself]". If the player asks if he's attracted to women, he remains unsure about it, saying that the "wasteland is complicated enough", as well as trying to understand himself.
 * Ruggy, a deceased settler from the Foundation, is referred to as 'they' by Kenneth Dean in his journal.
 * Settler Wanderer mentions her former girlfriend Catherine while 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 tells the player his plans to study humans and suggests he might mate with one. If the player offers to mate with Xerxo, he states he can only perform the "ancient Zebulonian love dance with high ranking government officials.", regardless of gender. He offers 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."