your smalltown psychophile

first of all, coyle "being gay" isnt out of nowhere. He's a very sexual character, dressed like a leather daddy (a queer subculture) and most of his sexual lines are directly talking about male trial victims or himself. He is an equal opportunity offender with his male and female mannequins in his trials, and is significantly more upset when you kill the snitch than when you kill the judge, saying blatantly sexual shit about the snitch and really only yelling about justice when it's about the judge.

second of all, if you think the trial would be better with a female victim then you fundamentally misunderstand the horror aspect of the trial. outlast isnt just gore porn, there is a psychological element to the horror as well (and also lore but yk). Part of that psychological horror is feeling vulnerable. That is a feeling Outlast has ALWAYS tried to instill in its players. you are weak and vulnerable and you are not in control. the villains are. you are at their mercy.

If the warden were a woman, there would be no statement for his character to make. Coyle dominating a woman is very normal and expected, especially for the time period. It isn't scary, it's just life. It is the status quo. Coyle dominating a man, however, is a bigger statement. The man coyle is dominating here is bigger than him, likely stronger, but submits completely. This proves to reagents that he is strong, worthy of respect and fear, because a MAN dared to bend the knee to him. To do whatever he asked, to embarrass himself to obey coyle's demands.

If the warden were a woman, he would just be another submissive housewife obeying her husband's every whim. there's no statement there, no broken rules to force discomfort into the minds of onlookers. just a guy and his wife in a slightly kinky relationship.

The warden needs to be a man to make sense.

And all this is ignoring how weird and red flag-y a statement like "why is coyle suddenly gay" is when referencing a decision the people who created him made. not even going "why is he suddenly bi" which would still be absurd based on all the above but would at least make more sense.