EA Hosting Panel on Homophobia in Gaming

[Jimmyjames]

I suppose they arnt aware that people do that stuff just to get a reaction?

Trolling by using slurs is still trolling. Using hurtful slurs.

It doesn't mean it should be illegal, but people should be aware and sypathetic to the fact that they are hurting others.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

There's some seriously misplaced loyalty here.

For one, by making a big deal about it, you're making a huge deal about the bigotry, which will help it grow.

For the second point, "gay" doesn't mean the same as homosexual in 'net lingo. In the same way that "fat" or "epic" means something great, "gay" tends not to mean male/male intercourse but "rubbish" in the same way as "fail" or "Aids"...which brings me to point 3. (It's not homophobic as such as just using a homosexual descriptive word for describing something else...in the same way "camp" was altered the use of)

Acronyms, guys... H.I.V.C.P??

 

[fluffybunny937]

I'm sure this is going to end well.



not

 

[A Pious Cultist]

Everybody knows that it's not easy to be openly gay on services like Xbox Live,

Good. I don't go on about my rampant heterosexuality and set my usertag to ifuckgirls92, why should they be allowed to?

 

[Snotnarok]

Maybe it's just a safe idea to not announce your gay, it avoids fights and troll aggro. I don't go blurting out I'm asexual on steam, that'd bring up the whole discussion on how "it doesn't make sense to be asexual". Like I haven't heard that 5 billion times, honestly dont' say anything and you're safe. Someone asks if you're gay just say you're into clowns, oddly it makes people forget with laughs.

 

[RebelRising]

While I don't know too much about GLAAD, I think it's good that the game companies are at least trying to lessen the hatred gaming networks. Just so long as it doesn't end up being used as ammunition for more bigotry.

I don't see it working, though.

 

[jezzy]

Really, this is stupid.
So what if some gamers make fun of gays? We live in a free country and For them to do something about this "problem" they are going to have to add censors, which are a BAD THING. I do not want my internet censored.
Do you think if it was the other way around, and the gays were making fun of straight people, that the totally PC people would do anything about it? Of course not.
I am all for treating everyone equally, but that means NOT giving them special treatment. We should be able to make fun of straights, gays, and bis all with equal impunity.
On a side note, if you are gay, why go announcing it over the chat? You have to know what is coming.
Okay, that is my rant. I hope it doesn't inflict mod wrath.

Wow, "So what if some gamers make fun of gays?" How can you not see how incredibly ignorant and homophobic that is in and of itself? Would you say the same thing if they were making fun of a fellow gamer they suspected of being black? Are you one of those people who says "LOL GIRLS CAN'T PLAY HALO LOL" as well?

Let's look at this another way, people. You all seem to assume that people are going onto COD 4 and saying "Planting a claymore...BTW I'm gay". Considering the vast amount of stereotypes, if someone thought that the person's voice sounded "feminine" or, for lack of a better term, "gay", then they don't need to announce it. They're going to get crap for it either way. What are you going to say to that? That they can't use the headset that was rightfully given to them? REALLY?

What is this I don't even...

 

[Susan Arendt]

Spoken like a bunch of heterosexual white males.

Just because this issue doesn't affect you personally doesn't mean it isn't something important that needs to be addressed. From a developer's perspective, you want your community to be as happy as possible, but if you allow open discussion of homosexuality -- which for some people is a large part of their identity -- you open the door to rampant hostility. On the other hand, if you deny the discussion, then you're seen as being biased against homosexuals. So what do you do?

As for not declaring that you're straight, you don't have to. It's automatically assumed that you are.

 

[cobra_ky]

I have no love for GLAAD, and I fail to see what they plan to achieve simply by segregating homosexuals from others. I'm also curious why we don't have segregation and rights orginiazations for jews, or christens, or women. It's not like they get any less abuse on Xbox live than homosexuals.

we do have one for jews. it's called the anti-defamation league. there may well be similar organizations for christians and women, too, for all i know, but none of them are as prominent as GLAAD because homosexuals are defamed and discriminated against far more often than other groups.

If they can stop the use of homophobic slurs on live, then fine. But they can't, super strict regulations would remove a massive part of lives paying population. Which while great, will never be allowed to happen. All that's left is to give minorities special privileges. Which is deftly avoiding the problem. Which brings up the questions, "Why don't they care about all the other minorities that get abuse hurled at them all the time?"

Equal rights and hopefully tighter moderation of inflammatory abuse overall is about as far as actual new regulations should go.

the problem is that regulations are too strict already. Microsoft won't let you use the word "gay" in your profile. Blizzard won't let you have a gay-friendly guild in WoW. What the game industry needs to do is develop a policy that maximizes the enjoyment of the homosexual community without alienating a significant portion of their audience.

 

[John Funk]

Spoken like a bunch of teenage, mostly-suburban heterosexual white males.

Fixed that for ya.

 

[RebelRising]

Spoken like a bunch of heterosexual white males.

Just because this issue doesn't affect you personally doesn't mean it isn't something important that needs to be addressed. From a developer's perspective, you want your community to be as happy as possible, but if you allow open discussion of homosexuality -- which for some people is a large part of their identity -- you open the door to rampant hostility. On the other hand, if you deny the discussion, then you're seen as being biased against homosexuals. So what do you do?

As for not declaring that you're straight, you don't have to. It's automatically assumed that you are.

You took the words right out of my mouth; thank you.

 

[cobra_ky]

Spoken like a bunch of teenage, mostly-suburban heterosexual white males.

Fixed that for ya.

wait, suburban? what does that have to do with it?

EDIT: also, as an ex-teenage, suburban, heterosexual white male, i can't help but feel slightly offended.

 

[brabz]

Spoken like a bunch of heterosexual white males.

Spoken like a bunch of teenage, mostly-suburban heterosexual white males.

Fixed that for ya.

This feels like an obvious point to me, but aren't you both editors of a site/magazine that is frequented and has advertiser dollars paid to strongly attract that specific demographic? Seems a little condescending and in poor judgment to trash an entire group because of their views or feelings, regardless of their validity or maturity.

 

[Worsle]

I never liked GLAAD. Maybe if they would shut the hell up and stop forcing their views down our throats 24/7, I would tolerate them. But they don't, so I don't

Yeah, I'm sure the there isn't a day that goes by in which GLAAD isn't knocking down your door shoving pamphlets in your face.

You know if I was a member and had any idea where he lived I might do it for the reaction. However you are right, people seem to hear the slightest mention of a subject and suddenly it is as if it's being forced on them every waking moment.

Spoken like a bunch of heterosexual white males.

Spoken like a bunch of teenage, mostly-suburban heterosexual white males.

Fixed that for ya.

This feels like an obvious point to me, but aren't you both editors of a site/magazine that is frequented and has advertiser dollars paid to strongly attract that specific demographic? Seems a little condescending and in poor judgment to trash an entire group because of their views or feelings, regardless of their validity or maturity.

You might have a point but you know what they are also right. Most of these comments are made by teenage white males who are just getting all bent out of shape for no reason at all. Oh no people want to be treated the same as every one else you better complain about it, it is tiresome and all to common.

As to the article good for EA. Nice to see them doing something sensible, hope this can produce some workable and sensible results but I am not anywhere near confident about that.

 

[John Funk]

Spoken like a bunch of heterosexual white males.

Spoken like a bunch of teenage, mostly-suburban heterosexual white males.

Fixed that for ya.

This feels like an obvious point to me, but aren't you both editors of a site/magazine that is frequented and has advertiser dollars paid to strongly attract that specific demographic? Seems a little condescending and in poor judgment to trash an entire group because of their views or feelings, regardless of their validity or maturity.

In no way were either of us trashing said group. Hell, I used to BE one of said group

We're just pointing out that most of the people commenting here really have no frame of reference for this sort of thing, and cannot understand why it would be necessary.

 

[cobra_ky]

Spoken like a bunch of heterosexual white males.

Spoken like a bunch of teenage, mostly-suburban heterosexual white males.

Fixed that for ya.

This feels like an obvious point to me, but aren't you both editors of a site/magazine that is frequented and has advertiser dollars paid to strongly attract that specific demographic? Seems a little condescending and in poor judgment to trash an entire group because of their views or feelings, regardless of their validity or maturity.

They're paid to attract gamers. Any well-run business is going to be extremely interested in anything they can do to broaden their audience. EA and Microsoft are getting behind this because they realize they can make a lot more money off of gays than they currently are off of homophobic pricks.


and yes, i am absolutely refreshing the hell out of this thread.

 

[brabz]

You might have a point but you know what they are also right. Most of these comments are made by teenage white males who are just getting all bent out of shape for no reason at all. Oh no people want to be treated the same as every one else you better complain about it, it is tiresome and all to common.

I'm in no means denying that their point is valid, I just think the approach was poorly thought out.

 

[RanD00M]

IT'S THE APOCALYPSE.RUN FOR YOU'RE LIVES.EA HELPED THE COMMUNITY.we're screwed.

 

[Treblaine]

Hate to say this but there is nothing about the online space that makes people homophobic fascist, it's just in online games anyone can join from the most fucked up backgrounds. In far too many online games there is inadequate moderation, on PC there is almost always the admin on every server ready with the ban-hammer. But on consoles, anyone can plug in a mic and spew insults for entirely sadistic reasons they only do it because they know they will cause harm, usually they go without any punishment. Try that in real life, you'll get banned from any private function (pub/cinema/arcde/etc) and on the streets you'll get excluded from the rest of the world and be put in jail.

For the time being the best solution is simply - and I have said this a dozen times before - just "mute player". I don't know how it is for gays but I personally don't like these socially retarded pre-teens scream "GGGGAAAAAYYYY" at me just because I am killing them so often. No one is safe from these immature dickweeds and they will just say what every they think will cause most offense... because their playing skills suck so much they have to compensate.

As to actually getting these social retards to stop with their prejudice, good luck. Though one thing a strict etiquette can do is not popularise gay-bashing amongst other users and one way to achieve this is to vote-mute an abusive user, so no one even has to have the inconvenience of individually muting him, the abuser then knows that their conduct is not accepted. Peer pressure is a powerful force, getting voted off is an effective social punishment.

As to why gay-bashing is used as such a common insult even against obviously straight people, well I blame the gay community for this one. The gay community think they will get their way by differentiating themselves and being "visible" so they can't be "ignored" when all it does is alienate people to homosexuality. I mean gay pride parades do nothing but enforce stereotypes and how is anyone going to come out of the closet when his sexuality is represented by farcical pantomime.

Gays need to be re-branded. Confident, responsible and empowered, not flamboyant and effeminate. Imagine all the horrible racist stereotypes of African Americans and put on a float as part of a "black pride parade". Counter-productive, no? Where are the openly gay sportmen? Openly gay action protagonists like Omar of the unappreciated 'The Wire'?

Take the UK, my home town. There is no gay issue here. Why? Because openly gay people have made them self popular with the majority of the Heterosexual population by being great entertainers, comedians and TV presenters. Has there EVER been an openly gay TV presenter for say a TV game show for the mass American audience? Yet Americans like Perez Hilton think they can just whine, ***** and moan till they get their way. Doesn't work like that. If they keep up with this "them and us" attitude then California's Proposition 8 will not be the last anti-gay legislation. They are only 4-7% of the population, they NEED to be popular as you can't just vote HARDER, American gays MUST endear themselves to average straight people, not as a "poor me" pity-case but to defuse the paranoia over what many people see as a perverted lifestyle choice.

A city has nothing to be proud of about having a "gay district" as in my mind it is the moral equivalence of Jewish or Black Ghetto. America needs integration, not segregation.

I usually don't get uppity with America (kick ass country by the way) but on the gay issue you are completely wrong. Even the liberals among you seem to treat gays as a different species. Maybe it is because you have so much of that uncompromising "macho pride" which never really worked for us and in the UK there is no perception that gays are a threat to average straight people's way of life so there is no moral reason to tolerate abuse that is clearly targeted at them.

 

[GamerPhate]

I didn't read anything other than the title to know what was going on with this article. But um.. I think it is like this. Like most people that tolerate gay couples are fine with it, however, most of them would frown extensively to seeing gay PDA (as I would be one of them.. although I am a bit of a hypocrit as I don't seem to mind two girls making out heh)

If they are trying to see if people would tolerate a gay game to be made? Sure.. some will be fine with it. But does that mean I will buy it ? No.. no thanks...