222: Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

[Stakhanov]

Great article, couldn't agree more. Very heartening to read this comment thread and see lots of other people taking a more mature attitude to games and sexuality than we commonly see.
Just for the record, I'd buy a game with a gay protagonist, if it was good. Does anyone really use that as a criteria for choosing their entertainment?

 

[Robert Yang]

Homophobia = FEAR of gay people.

Fear = disdain, distrust, nervousness, anxiety, irritation, intolerance.

... or, perhaps you have a better word to describe it when a homophobic person says "I don't hate gays; I just don't want to talk to them or associate with them or do business with them or befriend them."

It's not exactly a KKK member setting my roof on fire, but it's still discrimination that I otherwise wouldn't have had to face.

 

[Worgen]

I think the main reason we dont have more gay chars in games is that games are bairly mature enough to have straight chars in them, I mean here in the states we are perfectly fine with violence but really any sexuality is seen as something to shy away from. I mean if your looking for a war game we will tend to do it better then a japanese dev but if you want to have chars that are more then cardboard cutouts you really need to look to japan or one of very few western devs such as bioware. (I mean they are trying)

But Ive always been suspect of the numbers of gay and straight people, I mean Ill bet the number of gay people are under represented by the fact that since its taboo a good number who are gay are hiding it and a good number who say they are straight are really bi. I would love some hard numbers on this but its one of thoes things that till sociaty isnt afraid of it, you will never get honesty with it.

 

[MajoraPersona]

That's always been one of the things I don't get about homophobia: Just because they like men, doesn't mean they like YOU. Not every woman in the world is clamouring to have sex with every man, just like every gay man doesn't want to jump the bones of every other man. I liked this article a lot. Yet homophobia seems to be the most common intolerance around. A whole bunch of my WoW Guild Mates shat brix when I told them the Spartans were all homosexual, and got annoyed when I told them why. One of them even got quite hostile with me, and still won't use my name without adding some expletive.

I'd like to make an ammendment to that: I have slight homophobia as a direct result of other guys approaching me in ways that made me feel uncomfortable. Ranging from 'getting a little too close' to 'offering credit card numbers'. I'm not exaggerating either.

I am amongst the group that "doesn't really care". As long as they're not specifically trying to come onto me in Florence during what I'm treating as my graduation trip with people my little brother's age and the last days where (to my knowledge) my whole family is still technically together and I'm looking sharp in my lambskin jacket and genuine Roman-bought and over-priced 20 euro Fedora (though I'd give my life for one of those hats), I can deal with it. No judging of the person as a whole, either; I'm fully capable of dealing with someone I'm afraid tried to violate me in the past in a friendly manner.

Keeping in mind that I'm paranoid, have difficulty with social situations, and have raised the question of my own sexuality in the past (answer = straight), I may have blown each situation out of proportion.

TL;DR: I blather on about things I don't care about to make points I don't have.

 

[Andronicus]

Sorry, but I don't really have 2 cents to contribute to the conversation, but I wanted to thank you for writing this article all the same.

I'm not a fan of tags like "gay" or "straight". They say love is unconditional, but then people add "as long as your not gay", which makes no sense to me. If love is real, then who am I to question where you find it?

I admit that I have never played your mods, but I shall definitely put it on my "To Do" list for when school exams finish. But it's a nice article all the same, so thankyou for taking the time to write it.

 

[Lorechaser]

Marcus Fenix could easily be gay and have a picture of his partner in his wallet that he shows to someone just to dare the plot gods to try and kill his invincible badass self.

*That* would make me play Gears.

I can only imagine the shock to the average tough guy when he finds that out. Would he, in fact, cease playing immediately?

Happily, it seems that "Noob" is far more pervasive that "Gay" or "******" in all the online shooters I play now. I suspect it's because, for the most part, teens could really care less about someone's sexuality. Judging by the people my daughter knows, somewhere around 70% of high school kids identify as gay or bi. But then again, they still have pride rallies and put up posters, so mebbe it's just who she hangs with.

I've found saying things like "No, I'm straight, but thanks for asking!" confuses the hell out of the people that throw out gay as a random word.

 

[jymkata]

I have a confession to make.
One of my friends (who apparently had forgotten that I came out to him a week ago) was complaining that there was no 'straight' option in your (fantastic) game.
Without knowing anything else about it, I instantly downloaded it.
Sorry for being such a philistine

 

[SoullessSolace]

I must say i loved the article... while i differ on a few small points none of it is big or important enough to warrant a rant. I am part of the 18-35 heterosexual white male gamer demographic but even i have wondered about when games will add homosexuality into a game, not as a mechanic or plot point, but rather as a part of everyday "life" inside the game. While i have not played "Handle with Care" the way it is done is perfect in my opinion.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

That's always been one of the things I don't get about homophobia: Just because they like men, doesn't mean they like YOU. Not every woman in the world is clamouring to have sex with every man, just like every gay man doesn't want to jump the bones of every other man. I liked this article a lot. Yet homophobia seems to be the most common intolerance around. A whole bunch of my WoW Guild Mates shat brix when I told them the Spartans were all homosexual, and got annoyed when I told them why. One of them even got quite hostile with me, and still won't use my name without adding some expletive.

Excuse me, but why are all the Spartans homosexual? There are female Spartans, too. It's not like a segregated prison kind of situation. Were they genetically designed to only like their own sex? Because it doesn't make sense for there to be NO straight men and women in an organization where both sexes work and rest in close proximity. It does make sense that a few of them might be gay, but not ALL of them.

 

[The Youth Counselor]

That's always been one of the things I don't get about homophobia: Just because they like men, doesn't mean they like YOU. Not every woman in the world is clamouring to have sex with every man, just like every gay man doesn't want to jump the bones of every other man. I liked this article a lot. Yet homophobia seems to be the most common intolerance around. A whole bunch of my WoW Guild Mates shat brix when I told them the Spartans were all homosexual, and got annoyed when I told them why. One of them even got quite hostile with me, and still won't use my name without adding some expletive.

Excuse me, but why are all the Spartans homosexual? There are female Spartans, too. It's not like a segregated prison kind of situation. Were they genetically designed to only like their own sex? Because it doesn't make sense for there to be NO straight men and women in an organization where both sexes work and rest in close proximity. It does make sense that a few of them might be gay, but not ALL of them.

In Spartan culture the relationship between males, specifically between a man and a boy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartan_pederasty] were considered the most sacred of all. It was legally instituted and men of eligible age were actually fined for not engaging in a pederast relationship.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

That's always been one of the things I don't get about homophobia: Just because they like men, doesn't mean they like YOU. Not every woman in the world is clamouring to have sex with every man, just like every gay man doesn't want to jump the bones of every other man. I liked this article a lot. Yet homophobia seems to be the most common intolerance around. A whole bunch of my WoW Guild Mates shat brix when I told them the Spartans were all homosexual, and got annoyed when I told them why. One of them even got quite hostile with me, and still won't use my name without adding some expletive.

Excuse me, but why are all the Spartans homosexual? There are female Spartans, too. It's not like a segregated prison kind of situation. Were they genetically designed to only like their own sex? Because it doesn't make sense for there to be NO straight men and women in an organization where both sexes work and rest in close proximity. It does make sense that a few of them might be gay, but not ALL of them.

In Spartan culture the relationship between males, specifically between a man and a boy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartan_pederasty] were considered the most sacred of all. It was legally instituted and men of eligible age were actually fined for not engaging in a pederast relationship.

Oh, THOSE Spartans. The ones that actually exist in real life.

Okay, well... Those Spartans did some crazy stuff. Not the gay part, the bit about pedophilia.

I think the samurai had a similar thing going, but it was more situational. I'm not entirely sure.

 

[Knight Templar]

I never got what the issue was with having a homosexual protagonist, but then I didn't really see the need for one either. I understand now of course, moving the medium forward as an art form and all that, but most gamers seem to still think along lines of "why should we?" or as I did, which is not thinking about it at all. I think thats very sad, that an entire demographic of possable protagonists is shuned not because it has any problems, but because people have a problem with it for not real reason.

 

[oathblade]

you have a number of amazingly good points and insight and then..

"Because if I can't escape from reality through videogames, you shouldn't either. "

Hateful intolerance as a joke...the thing youve been arguing against...

"Because games about gay people are unpopular and unprofitable, and thus no one else will make them."

Not in America land founded by people who thought married couples should sleep with a board between them. When you found a country like that things are slow to change its true.

There are other things, but I just want to say you had a wonderful article and then shot yourself in the foot in the last few paragraphs. I hope that was supposed to be some sort of ironic message.

 

[DaBozz]

You know I personly am straight, however I for one would welcome more games where you can play as gay-bi-lesbain, because it's different if games are truly about escape why can't I escape and do things I would not do in real life, prance around naked or chat up male NPC's with welsh voices. for example in any game where I have a choice I play as a girl, why?
not because I tranny or anything like that, its because you ALWAYS play as a man in other games its boring, and given the choice would you rather stare at a male bum in fallout3 or a woman in a sexy nighty.

this is why I enjoyed fable2 so much, in terms of gameplay it sucked, however you don't have to follow the mold of playing straight male ALL THE TIME.

so yes, its time devolpers say "STFU" to the US market and gave poeple more choice.
just Imagine a gay kratos, or master cheif in a mini-skirt.

 

[EmeraldGreen]

Homophobia = FEAR of gay people.

Fear = disdain, distrust, nervousness, anxiety, irritation, intolerance.

Phobia isn't just fear - it's irrational, petrifying, panic-inducing fear. Not what "homophobia" generally refers to.

(I had altophobia when I was a kid. I remember once being taken to a museum and having to crawl up the stairs because I was too frightened to stand on them. Even though I was really embarrassed about it, I couldn't bring myself to stand up on those stairs. Fortunately, I grew out of it - mostly. I'm still not comfortable with heights, but I couldn't call my fear a phobia any more.)

That said, "homophobia" means what we use it to mean, and nitpicking about its roots achieves nothing.

 

[Dcill]

I really liked this article. I liked the point you had about playing videogames doesn't really allow you to escape reality but to see it much clearer. That's a really good point, and thinking about it. I think videogames, like a movie or book with a good story could help more people empathize with characters that are not them. Nice work.

 

[Eicha]

I've been a long-time watcher of videos on the Escapist and this article finally got me to register.

To mention something k-ossuburb said on the first page, on lesbianism in games. That too is horribly censored; my girlfriend and I LOVE the Harvest Moon games and have played as either gender in every game possible. I play DS and she plays DS Cute mostly, and I have no qualms about switching. I'm confident enough in my sexuality to play as a girl and flirt with guys. Hell, if there was more of an emotional component to the relationships in the HM games I wouldn't mind having the male character marry a dude (though the men in HM games are for the most part not particularly attractive, but that's not the point.)

Anyways, the thing I was going to bring up before I started rambling is something that really pissed me off. My girlfriend informed me that in the Japanese version of DS Cute the female main character could marry another female character and on a random day after that she comes home with a kid. You can't do that in the American version, of course, cause OMIGOD IF KIDS SEE THIS THEY'RE GONNA MARRY KIDS OF THE SAME SEX AND ADOPT KIDS AND CORRUPT THEM TOO *WHINE WHINE WHINE*. The more I hear about this issue the more my faith in humanity and equality keeps slipping away.

Aversion to homosexuality is basically racism, in a sense. I'm Jewish, and can understand completely how it is to be hated for being who you are. It would be great to see homosexuality, whether it be between men or women, in media in a more mature fasion. Maybe someday American culture can evolve to be as tolerable and free as Japanese.

 

[Hamster at Dawn]

I think it would be good if there were more games with gay protagonists. There would probably be some controversy over it but hopefully it would lead to a decline in homophobia. Well there is the new DLC chapter for GTA IV that comes out later this month but I'm not sure if that will put a positive light on the gay community or not.

 

[Foolish Mortal]

Gay main characters or just general gay characters knocking about in the background fixing things, operating computers or possibly beating the shit out of something, whatever, there's always going to be a paranoid closet-case freaking out because they fear that the gay character will come out of the screen, The Ring style, and dress them in pastels, make them wear a beret and stuff quiche down their throats.

That is easily one of the best sentences I have ever heard in my life. Bravo, sir.