Possible Transsexual subtext in Mass Effect 3

[ChiralSpiral]

I'm playing Mass Effect 3 at the moment (loving it so far) and I noticed what seemed like a fairly blatant reference to transsexualism in the game (minor early game spoilers below):

For people who haven't played the games, in Mass Effect 2 there's an AI called EDI. Early on in Mass Effect 3 EDI takes over a robot body and can come with the player on missions.

EDI sounds and is referred to as female, and her new robot body is very definitely female (particularly in the chest region, if you know what I mean), however what got my attention is the language she and the other characters use to refer to all of this. Several times she mentions her "transition" into the robot body and she talks about making sure the crew of the ship she's on get used to seeing her like this. She also frequently talks about how much she likes her new body (it's always referred to as her "new body" even though she didn't have one before) and when you meet recurring characters from previous games she speculates about how surprised they'll be when they discover her identity. 

Like I said, the game never outright brings gender into the equation, but the parallels were still interesting. Mass Effect 3 has homosexual romance options and side characters, probably more than any mainstream game has ever had, so I wonder if this was Bioware's way of sneaking in some trans themes.

[Sephirah]

I have to confess I never thought about it like that before. I'm not sure though, I mean in the second game EDI is basically "unshackled" by Jeff (Joker) during an attack on the Normandy by the Collectors to get rid of them (which, in essence, means giving her total free will, and removing all constraints on her programming which in turn allows her self-determination). Personally I think it's more along the lines of Asimov's works in terms of transition from a series of programming commands to a sentient, self-aware being (for lack of a better term). Also learning what free will is and how to use it, and what it means to be 'alive' as it were. Several of the between-mission conversations with EDI revolve around Shepard explaining various aspects of what it means to be human.

Very interesting to ponder though. As you say, there is a lot more fluidity with regard to sexuality and gender in the Mass Effect games (the part where Liara catches up with her father, for example), so it wouldn't surprise me if had cropped up in the developers' minds when putting the game together.

[Rory]

I haven't had time to play ME3 yet, and I have to admit I'm a little scared to because of all the bad hype about its ending. That's a really interesting catch, though. I'll definitely be watching for it when I start my first play through.

[CorrieK]

Yeah the end to Mass Effect 3 is pretty bad but some of the humour and theories on the internet make up for it. Thank you for point out that about Edi. I might have to muster another playthrough. Reminds me of Star Trek, been watching DS9 and a lot of it in seasons 1 & 2 has reminded me of transition.

[Keaira]

I put off finishing ME3 for the longest time. When I did finally get to the ending... Oh, I hated it! I've had my Fem-Shepard, Miri, since the first game and it just felt so hollow and  depressing to choose your sacrifice. You really can create an emotional bond with these characters. People did it in FFVII with Aeris.

[FreyasRedemption]

A little delving deeper into the lore reveals this little interesting bit of information:
Remember the "Rogue VI in the Moon" sidequest in the very first ME?
That VI, "Hannibal" was later rebuilt by Cerberus using Reaper technology from Sovereign, into......guess who.
In total, EDI goes through three phases of transition. Upgrade from a male VI to a female AI, then removal of all programming restraints and finally a new body.

Sound familiar, at all?