I think this topic is interesting and important, so I'll give a serious reply.
First, we have to understand that Persona 4 approaches things from a different angle. It comes from an East Asian culture and has a lot of Jungian influence. Jung himself was influenced alot by Asian culture, and often mentioned finding balance in the inner psyche (conscious/subconscious) and between inner and outer (individual/environment/society). There's different assumptions made than Western identity politics.
Instead of just making sure we have a token minority, Persona 4 asks something more fundamental - Why should we even need to hide who we are? Why is acceptance so difficult? Why should different truths be so hard to face? The game's themes focuses on "Reaching out to the truth", and "the more you put in, the more you get out". To reach that balance that Jung talks about, people want to accept themselves for who they are, and they want to know they're not alone. But true acceptance requires understanding (truth), and understanding requires real time and effort. It's all the more difficult when jackasses around prefer to spread lies or half-truths.
Kanji as a child was immediately misunderstood and rejected because he's a guy with girly interests. Naoto's colleagues didn't even want to know her. Both were just children when they were rejected by people who had the same interests. Their gender identities and backstories are a unique perspective on how people face the truth - it helps to broaden the human experience, not just say we have a minority on board. The crap they face won't disappear so long as we treat them as categories and not unique, multidimensional people.
It sucks, but in the end, they will have to be the force of change they wish to see. Of course, they can't do it alone, and Persona 4 makes that clear by having the player character act as a very, very good listener and enabler. The Hero listens, understands and enables them to face themselves. Each Social Link character becomes stronger for it, and positive effects ripple outward.
Even NPCs like Hanako, Kashiwagi and even Morooka show surprising sides to them if you look around enough. Everyone has more than one side to them. Check out the Shiroku store at night.
It sounds kind of cheesy, but all this "Friendship power" works in Persona 4 because it doesn't for an instant give the illusion that any of this is easy. As Naoto says, "Failing to understand, and failing to listen, are two entirely different things."
Anyways, to reply to the TC's topic - no, Kanji and Naoto's stories weren't handled terribly. Kanji's still trying to figure out his sexual orientation. But he's accepted that he can be a "man" with "feminine" interests, and is now trying to get society to accept the same. And that entails not assuming he's gay just because he likes dolls and playing house. Naoto has accepted that having childlike enthusiasm and being female isn't exclusive with being a detective (which she assumed was only rugged, adult males). And now she's trying to get society to accept that, too. They've made peace with their subconscious selves, and now they're working to find peace with society. This is only problematic if we assume a narrow vision of diversity.
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