In 2024, a short story based on the lore of Warhammer 40,000 was published that made a big reveal. For the first time, it confirmed that a division of the Imperium of Man, known as Adeptus Custodes had women in their ranks. The results were... greatly varied. Many were willing to embrace the sudden inclusion, but there were many who found this to be a disgusting addition to the lore. When Game Workshop later tweeted confirmation that there have always been female custodes, it led to accusations of gaslighting. Some fans were acting like this was some slap in the face to the franchise, literally throwing tantrums because a supposedly all-male faction is now co-ed.
The thing is there is no actual basis for these tantrums. Nothing in existing 40k lore established there could not be female custodes. Fans just assumed that, because only male custodes had been named so far, that the faction was therefore all-male. This is textbook argument from ignorance. Absence of evidence does not indicate evidence of absence.
All it indicates is that existing lore never mentioned female custodes one way or the other before this particular story. They had only identified male custodes up to this point, but there was no source that explicitly stated "there are no women in the custodes." Official artwork makes it clear that male and female custodes would be indistinguishable from each other while fully armored, so even then the idea that there have always been female custodes who simply blended in with their male counterparts is entirely believable. And yet, many fans will insist that it goes against the lore.
This is the murky ground of gender representation in 40k, a topic that leaves even its most hardcore fans divided against each other. It is a topic that has led to many heated debates and controversies over the years. Some want to see change, some deny there is an issue entirely. In this article, I will attempt to break down the different sides of gender representation and explore just what the issue is and how it can be addressed.
Space Marines
The simplest place to start with a discussion on gender representation is perhaps the biggest sticking point, the one that seems to really spark controversy among fans. Space Marines, also known by the formal title Adeptus Astartes are genetically modified supersoldiers who serve the Imperium of Man as an elite force. They are around eight feet tall, dwarfing most humans, and come in many different "chapters" which have their own unique characteristics and dedicated fans. The most iconic are the ultramarines, but other popular chapters include the blood angels, salamanders, black templars, and space wolves.
Regardless of which faction a given player chooses, space marines are easily one of the most easily recognizable and popular parts of Warhammer 40k lore. However, they are all men. Unlike the custodes, this is made explicit in the lore. The process of creating space marines only works on men. And this is where the dispute comes into play. Should there be female space marines?
It would seem logical that the answer should be a resounding "yes," but it is a bit more complicated than that.
The Sisters of Battle
The Sisters of Battle and Space Marines are often compared with each other, and it makes sense why. Both are structured around religious devotion to the Emperor (who, as far as they are concerned, is a literal god) and rely on very similar weapons and tactics. A common way to describe them, especially with the religious aspect, is that Space Marines are like monks while Sisters of Battle are more like nuns. "Nuns with guns" as some fans like to call them. The argument here would be that this theme neccessitates the gender restrictions.
Another potential argument would be to point out a double-standard. If women were to join the Space Marines, than is it not fair that men should be allowed into the Sisters of Battle?
Other Factions
It is important to note that, within the context of Warhammer 40,000 lore, the Space Marines and Sisters of Battle are exceptions rather than the rule. Just about every other division in the Imperium of Man is co-ed. The Cadian shock troops, Death Korps of Krieg, and Tallarn desert raiders have both men and women in their ranks. As mentioned above, it was eventually confirmed that there were even women in the Adeptus Custodes, supersoldiers twice the size of space marines. So women can't be space marines but they can get into the one unit that's even bigger and tougher.
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| Among the Cadians, both men and women know how to assemble a weapon before they know how to read. |
Outside of the Imperium, the same is mostly true when it comes to the various alien races that populate the 40k world. The Aeldari and Tau lack any sort of gender discrimination in their factions. The Necrons technically lack biological sexes due to being transformed into robots, but many still identify as male or female, and female-presenting Necrons have been shown to hold positions of power. The one exception would be the orks, who as an asexually reproducing species, simply lack any concept of sex or gender. And of course it is hard to tell if the concept of gender is even applicable to tyranids.
This would be another argument against the inclusion of space marines. There are already strong women in Warhammer 40,000. Some people would argue that there is no issue at all based on this fact alone, and therefore there is nothing to address.
Male Domination in Warhammer 40k
While the franchise has been getting better, Warhammer 40,000 does have a history of being male-dominated. Until fairly recently it held a predominantly male fanbase. It put a very heavy emphasis on the experiences of men. There are even recorded instances where Games Workshop actively blocked efforts to introduce female characters under the belief they wouldn't sell.
And unfortunately, that history can still be felt in the fanbase. There are too many male fans throwing tantrums over the introduction of a female custode. There are several facts that make this "controversy" absurd:
- Argument from ignorance. The only "evidence" to back up the notion that there are no female custodes is rooted the fact that none were identified before now.
- While the existence of female custodes had not been explicitly stated, there are no prior sources explicitly stating that women could not be custodes.
- Official artwork of Adeptus Custodes portrays them wearing heavy plate mail-like armor that conceals their whole body. This implies that, when fully armored, a male and female custode would be indistiguishable. This makes it impossible to verify the sex of individual members in most artwork.
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| Looking at fully armored custodes, how would you tell if they were all male or mixed gender? |
Putting together the facts available, it is clear that this wasn't even a change to the lore. This particular story simply took something that was always theoretically possible and finally confirmed it. Yet some fans simply can't handle the idea that they made an incorrect assumption and feel the need to act like this is going to ruin everything.
In terms of lore, we can see a lot of emphasis on men, especially within the Imperium. The Empire is led by a male emperor, who also happens to be a superhuman being of unknown origin and, at least as far as anyone can understand, pretty much expects to rule the empire forever, even when he's half-dead. The Emperor also 20 "primarchs"- genetically produced children with unique powers. Of them, eighteen have been identified and all of them are male. Two remain open, so the idea of a female primarch isn't out of the question, though there are many who would object to such a move.
Put simply, a lot of the most powerful people in the lore, at least among humans, are men. Even the Sisters of Battle are characterized by their unwavering devotion to serving the (male) emperor. In many ways, this is kind of the point. Knowing this certainly makes things a bit discomforting.
Among individual groups, men often tend to get represented more than women in official media. The Death Korps of Krieg are supposedly mixed gender, but portrayals of them tend to exclusively show male soldiers. And of course, the most iconic and popular part of the Imperium is the all-male space marines.
Is There an Issue?
The big question that divides the fanbase of Warhammer 40,000 is whether there is actually an issue in gender representation. Do we even need to address anything at all? Or is it just people making a mountain of a molehill? Well, yes and no. The answer is a bit more complicated than simply accusing the whole franchise of misogyny or trying to cite it as a shining beacon of feminism. After all, Warhammer 40,000 encompasses a wide range of material including minis, books, animations, and video games. And it can be hard to take into account every single detail.
We know that Warhammer 40,000 has a history of being male-dominated and made with a male audience in mind, but also making a concerted effort to change with the times and become more inclusive. It is not necesarily wrong to want female space marines, but not all who oppose the idea are misogynistic trolls. Some actually bring up valid thematic or narrative reasons, or point to the existence of strong women elsewhere in the lore, including the Sisters of Battle.
However, a lot of where the problems come in are down to that one sticking point: female space marines. While Warhammer 40,000 has a lot of interesting lore, not all of it is going to be visible to newcomers. Some of it is hidden in books, short stories, and even locked behind a subscription fee for the official Warhammer streaming service (yes, that's actually a thing). So while there may be lots for hardcore fans, for the more casual audiences they will most likely see the most iconic and easily recognizable parts of lore.
And that just happens to be the Space Marines, particularly the blue-armored Ultramarines. They are the ones who appear front and center in everything. They are the ones who have a popular series of third-person shooters centered around them. Space Marine 1 and 2 place them front and center and focus on the brotherly relationships among them. Ask anyone to name any part of Warhammer 40k and almost everyone will identify the space marines.
The Spacer Marines are an obvious faction that will likely be the first thing anyone sees. To get to the Sisters of Battle, you have to dive deep into the lore. You have to go into all the books and and the Warhammer+ series to see any of them in action. This shows a level of disconnect between how often the space marines are portrayed vs. how often the Sisters of Battle are portrayed. We can extend this further to there being comparatively less material around any of the other co-ed factions.
So is there an issue that needs to be addressed? Well, yes, but not in the way one might expect. The issue isn't that there aren't strong female characters in Warhammer 40,000, the issue is that we don't see enough of them. The fact is the one faction that is explicitly all-male is basically the face of Warhammer 40,000, and this gives the wrong impression. Because so much emphasis is placed on the Space Marines, there often isn't room to include female characters thereby creating the appearance of a franchise centered around super macho men with little to no gender representation.
This distinction might be meaningless for hardcore fans, but it creates a less-than-ideal impression to everyone else. When people come into the franchise, what's the first thing they see? The Space Marines. They don't see the Sisters of Battle or female guardsmen. They see blue-clad supersized men in bulky armor. And this is where the problem comes in. More women need to take the spolight, rather than being relegated to places where fewer people can find them.
A common argument against this is focusing on the Space Marines acts as a kind of filter. If a potential fans sees the Space Marines and are put off by them being all-male, they will stop there and go enjoy something else. However, this does not work as a reliable metric since it hinges on potential fans being put off by an inaccurate first impression. Some people could end up missing out on a lot of stuff they'd love simply because the Space Marines were so in their face they couldn't see anything else.
We can also just as easily turn the filter argument around. Instead of weeding out people who want inclusivity, how about we put our best foot forward and show the variety and diversity of the Warhammer 40k universe? Potential fans who would prefer hypermasculinity can then see how diverse the franchise actually is and will go off to something less woke. Or they can stick with the space marines. If that's their preferred group, it is a valid choice, as long as it is a choice.
So, now that we have identified the real issue at play, how can we address it? Well, the way I see it, there are two logical ways to change this.
Solution 1: Female Space Marines
The most obvious solution to the issue, which has become the main point of contention, is to start having female space marines. In theory, this would address the problem of gender representation without changing the current approach.
One argument in favor of female space marines involves pointing to the real-life circumstances that contributed to the lore around their absence. When Games Workshop first began making space marine models, before all the lore was fully established, they actually attempted to make female space marines. The only problem was this was the 80's and, despite the popularity of Aliens and Metroid, a lot of its predominantly-male audiencewasn't ready for it. This led to the female minis not selling and pressure to focus on more masculine characters that seemed more profitable at the time. Eventually that also got incorporated into the lore
This seems like a petty story of sexism in media and seems like a logical reason to make the change. It was nothing more than a business decision motivated by what the higher ups at Games Workshop decided was more profitable and a reflection of how their biases and assumptions at the time. Considering this was over thirty years ago, and we're living in an era where people tend to be much more accepting of badass women, it may be time to reverse the decision.
Arguments against introducing female space marines tend to appeal to the in-universe explanations for why women can't join their ranks. The simple explanation in the lore is the gene seed needed to make space marines only works on men.
Does this make it impossible to add female Space Marines? Not necessarily. The simplest way to do it would be to retcon the existing lore, though this approach would not be well-received by fans. A more creative way would be to incorporate the change into the lore. The inclusion of female space marines could be attributed to in-universe technological advancements. Maybe a scientist figures out a way to make the gene seed work in female subjects, meaning women were unable to become space marines until a specific point in the timeline.
That said, while incorporating the change makes sense in theory, it does run into some complications with Warhammer 40k's themes of stagnation, especially with regard to the Imperium. Humanity is basically in a new dark age, which has stifled innovation. Put simply, the technology they are currently using comes from the Emperor, and as far as they are concerned the Emperor is perfect, so his technology must be perfect as well. Therefore, as far as anyone understands, any effort to improve on the Emperor's designs would be implying he is imperfect and amount to heresy.
In the existing lore, the Space Marines were creations of the Emperor himself, and given humanity's religious worship of him as a deity, it makes sense that people would be reluctant to modify the Space Marines if it could be avoided. From a worldbuilding perspective, this reasoning could be interepreted as meaning that any attempt to modify Space Marine gene seed to accomodate women would be considered heretical and any effort to do so would be discouraged if not outright prohibited.
Another explanation comes down to the Emperor's character and why he created the Space Marines. The Emperor acts in what he believes is humanity's best interest (though whether it's actually good for humans is a matter of debate), and he values regular unaltered humans. Genetically modified humans, like the Space Marines, were only ever meant as a means to an end, a tool to further his agenda. From here, there are two reasons only men could handle the process:
- The gene seed comes directly from the Emperor, who is a man, so it is only compatible with male subjects
- Space marines are significantly bigger and stronger than humans, and some look down on them. Ensuring that space marines could only be one gender might be a way of preventing them from reproducing (thereby spreading their genes and making more super humans) to a level where they can dominate regular unaltered humans.
Taking this into account, the lore does seem to make an in-universe justification for introducing female space marines difficult at the very least.
Other arguments point toward the fact that there are in fact strong women in Warhammer 40k, with the Sisters of Battle being commonly cited as an example. This argument could work if equal representation was assured. However, the problem is the Space Marines have disproportionately greater representation than the Sisters of Battle.
Space Marines are everywhere, you have to dig into deeper lore to find the Sisters of Battle. And since it's the space marines that get so much attention, it brings us again to the problem that the one explicitly all-male faction is the one most people see, creating the appearance of a male dominated world simply because people don't see the female characters.
The simplest way to fix it would be to just stop making it an all-male faction. If there are women space marines fighting alongside the men, then they will appear alongside men in Space Marine-centered media, and there is no longer an issue.
However, as noted, this is a contentious issue that has more nuance than might initially be apparent. Yes, some of it is is simple misogyny, but some of the arguments do make legitimate points.
So now that we have identified the most controversial solution, what other options do we have?
Solution 2: Stop Making it All About the Space Marines
If female space marines aren't an option, there is another solution. The problem ultimately comes down to Space Marines being featured front and center in everything, giving the wrong impression because so many people only see the hypermasculinity of one faction. The one way to keep that part of the lore intact while improving gender representation is therefore for the space marines to stop hogging the spotlight all the time.
If female Space Marines aren't an option (which many fans argue it isn't), then the logical solution is to give more attention to other areas where strong women can be present. Maybe do more with the Sisters of Battle or one of the other co-ed groups. Or even move away from humanity all together and do something with one of the aliens, like maybe something about the Aeldari. If the Sisters of Battle got anywhere near the attention Space Marines do, it would be a lot easier for fans to actually see that the Space Marines are unique in this one aspect.
This means ensuring that these factions are easily available. They shouldn't be hidden in novels or locked behind the paywall of an exclusive streaming service. They need to be seen with the same level of vigor as the Space Marines. There have been a few efforts. The Sisters of Battle got a VR shooter called Battle Sister, and Adeptus Mechanicus starred in a strategy game called Mechanicus, which recently got a sequel.
We need more efforts like these. There would be a lot less disputing about female space marines if the Sisters of Battle had equal screentime. Or perhaps we could take advantage of some of the factions that are actually co-ed. After all, just in the Imperium there are so many different factions with their own unique personalities.
Take the Space Marine games, for example. Both center around Space Marine Demetrius Titus and heavily emphasize his brotherly relationships with other Space Marines. However, the first game also gave a major role to Lieutenant Miranda Nero, a Cadian commanding officer who oversees a lot of the game's operations. Space Marine 2 introduced Major Sarkaana, another tough Cadian leader. It could be argued that Sarkaana deserved more screentime, and it might have been nice if she wasn't the only female character to have any significance to the game's campaign, but it does show a legitimate effort to portray strong women while respecting the game's existing lore.
The upcoming Warhammer 40k TV series on Amazon Prime ran into a major controversy when star Henry Cavill refused to participate in the show unless they respected the lore. This was in response to the show's writers wanting to introduce female space marines, while Cavill insisted on sticking with what has already been firmly established.
Cavill was not neccessarily wrong to demand this, but the writers seemingly failed to consider potential workarounds. like finding female representation in non-Space Marine characters. Could they not have found room to include the Sisters of Battle? It seems as if some media just fails to realize there are other things to 40k besides Space Marines.
If female space marines are not an option, and they wouldn't be if many fans have their way, than the logical solution is to stop putting so much emphasis on the one faction that can't have female members. If more attention were to be given to the Sisters of Battle, or even one of the co-ed factions like the Cadians, Death Korps, Tallarn Desert Raiders, or Adeptus Mechanicus, it would open up a lot more room for women to take center stage and for strong female characters to actually be seen.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the issue of gender representation in Warhammer 40k is a complicated issue with multiple layers. While no fandom is completely united, there are few quite as divisive as that of Warhammer 40k, especially with regards to such a specific issue. We can't simply label the whole franchise as sexist. There is sexism within its history and certainly among its fans, and this has defintely had an impact on how the lore is constructed.
Still, we can also see examples of strong female characters and positive gender representation. Even the big sticking point of space marines is more nuanced than it initially appears. We see people throwing literal tantrums because a faction that was always theoretically capable of having female members had a female member, but we also see some intelligent and well-constructed arguments for why it makes sense for one particular group to be gender-locked.
In the end, the big issue is less about whether there is representation, but about how clear that representation is. There are strong female characters, yes, but how many people actually see them? Ultimately it comes back to the issue of the space marines once again. When the all-male faction is the one everyone sees, it obscures a lot of the deeper and more diverse lore from all but the most hardcore of fans. And this is the part that needs to change.
How can that change happen? We have outlined two possible ways. Ultimately, it is impossible to please everyone. No matter what choice Games Workshop goes with, there will be pushback. If female space marines are unveiled, there will be fans who embrace the change and fans who will rage. There will be those who rage if space marines aren't the center of everything, but perhaps bringing other more varied factions into the foreground will attract new audiences.
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