Why has GW never acknowledged female space marines?

[Montpup]

Couple of thoughts on the lack of Y chromosomes within the Adeptus Astartes

Adeptus astrartes have lots of Y chromosomes they lack XX chromosomes

[Montpup]

but like fantomex said, even if there were female astartes, would we be to tell them apart form males? i dont think so.

well not the way GW does the female form anyway

[Durendin]

but like fantomex said, even if there were female astartes, would we be to tell them apart form males? i dont think so.

It would explain the pre-Heresy Emperor's Children being so prissy!

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Because that's the way they wrote the fluff and there's no reason for them to change it - after all, they wouldn't change the setting, add anything to the plot overall and a non-cringeworthy depiction of female marines would look nigh-exactly male marines. These are 7-8ft tall people who had bone extenders jammed into their bodies, after all.

But there's nothing wrong with people fanfluffing about female marines or speculating about 'em. Most know there's some obscure fluff restricting them to being male, but it's not exactly a cornerstone of the fluff. A fair few of 40k's various writers have gone on record talking about how canon isn't much of a concern in 40k, and we should consider all information unreliable.

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And no idea where you're getting the whole "PC" thing from, I have not seen a single person call it sexist.

[Kirsten]

because space marines are the iconic image of 40k, and if they were female, it would blow gamer's minds, literally, and GW don't want that on their conscience

[Fantomex]

It would explain the pre-Heresy Emperor's Children being so prissy!

The Emperors Children? More like The Emperors Daughters! *shock face*

[Fantomex]

because space marines are the iconic image of 40k, and if they were female, it would blow gamer's minds, literally, and GW don't want that on their conscience

Discussion: Ended. Brilliant..

[eldargal]

GW don't want people confusing SoB and Marines, that's what it boils down to. Each have to be their own thing. Something along these lines was mentioned in The Gothic and the Eldritch where they talked about deliberately making SoB power armour different so people wouldn't think 'girl marines'. Seems logical that the same thing would apply from a background sense.

Also, what Kirsten said.

As has been mentioned the in0universe explanation makes no kind of sense, so if someone wants to make FSM (and why not, it's no sillier than many other army ideas) it's easy enough to just say 'oh its a loss of knowledge, my chapter found an STC/figured out how/Fabius Bile did it/whatever.

[Grovel]

My opinion - I'd say it's just aesthetics.
Large/butch looking women won't appeal to many people no matter how well they're sculpted, and petite/feminine looking women wouldn't suit the "Space Marine" mould. The middle ground is unlikely because to be blunt - average doesn't sell as well as extremes do.

[Chris*ta]

Denzark, I reckon, purely as a popularity-with-the-fans point of view, it'd be so HUGE a step to retcon such a thing that it would honestly appear to be as if they were acquiescing to "political correctness" or similar perception of social dilemma..

I suppose the most obvious point is that to rock the boat in such a way would not please everyone, and that is something they'd not be willing to do, considering that tabletop 40k itself is over 50% of the value of the entire company and all its divisions..

With any other bit of the background, changes can sometimes be subtle, sometimes more than subtle, but never something so drastic.

C'tan changing from being actual gods to broken amnesiac controlled shards of gods? I'm good with that.
T'au Ethereals being created by the Eldar as controls to use in the fight against Chaos? Cool by me.

Heck, look at the Squats.
Spontaneous ULTRA RACE DEATH BY TYRANIDS RAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!

That was throwing a match at a very flammable pile of fanboy rage, it's the 40k equivalent of Greedo shooting first..

The fact they've been subtly slipped back into the fluff as Demiurg and now in the 6th ed BRB? I'm fine with that too.

I reckon it'd simply come down to lots of hardcore fans doing the OMGZ ITZ NOT RITE WHY IS THERE LADY MARINEZ I HAET DIS thing and getting worked up over nothing.

Why risk the fallout when you've done pretty well so far?


Plus, in a purely sensible argument, I'd say just look at the models.

Astartes are hulking slabs of muscle so utterly different from even human bodybuilding champions that if you did the same to a girl, she'd surely come out looking the same, wear the same armour, and be indistinguishable from a male Astartes once suited up.

Even GW wouldn't sculpt curvy boob-and-butt plates for female Astartes.. Would they?

This is pretty much the two points I was going to make:
1) The ship for changing this sailed long long ago.
2) They wouldn't look any different to regular SMs, except maybe if they were helmetless, so what's the point?