Last month I made a thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.320869-LGBT-in-Video-Games?page=1] asking everyone to give their open opinion on the LGBT community for an Essay I was writing. It went over very well, and my Essay came out nicely. To thank everyone at the Escapist Forum for their help, I'm gonna post the essay here for everyone to view.
[The formatting is a bit messed up here, so if you'd like to read it with nice clean formatting, here is the downloadable document: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2OSNAB0Q]
Gamers? View on LGBT
By Danny Hopkins
I consider myself a ?Gaymer?, or a gay gamer. However, I only discovered that I was gay in high school, and only lately have been open about it. I have always been an open gamer however. Because of this, I?ve always considered myself a part of the gamer community, before the LGBT community. I follow gaming politics religiously, every day, and talk about gaming to the point of ranting. Most of my friends are gamers, while only a couple are LGBT, and even they have some interest in my hobby. Although I sometimes check in on LGBT politics, such as gay marriage, something that might directly affect my life, I don?t follow them nearly as closely as I do gaming politics, like game ratings in Australia, something that will probably never affect my life. I?ve often flaunted my sexuality playfully in raids on World of Warcraft, and whenever I?m called a ?Fag? on Xbox live, but otherwise the two parts of my life rarely cross. My previous bias also made me believe that homosexuals, for the most part, were not welcome in the gamer community, being that my closest friends in High School, all gamers, were somewhat, to really homophobic. In hindsight, it might have only been one of my gamer friends of mine who set a bad example to me. So how does the gaming community see the LGBT community? Is the gaming community unwelcoming, or even homophobic? Would the gaming community be more welcoming to games geared towards the LGBT community, or with games with LGBT characters?
To start, I decided to go straight to the source. I went to one of my favorite gaming news sites, The Escapist [1], and ask my fellow gamers how exactly they felt about the LGBT community. The topic [2] turned out to be very hot. As of today [Tuesday, December 06, 2011], it has had well over 10,000 views, and 296 replies. I also received a few responses from class mates. I was stunned to find out that the average response from gamers? was overwhelmingly positive. The range of opinions I?ve seen, going from most positive, to most negative, include those who are a part of the LGBT community, and thus of course would want to see better representation in video games, those who are not a part of the LGBT, and would like to see better representation for LGBTs in video games, or else don?t mind, those that don?t really care one way or the other, some that don?t mind, however wanted to state that they believed that bisexuality is a myth, and those that either didn?t seem to, or didn?t s state if they did, mind LGBTs in video games, but wanted the LGBT community, and any group of people, to stop asking for ?special treatment?. Many gamers also used their post to point out either their favorite, or least favorite LGBT video game character. As this essay is about Gamers opinion, not specifics about games that feature LGBT. I will however, go into specifics about opinions I?ve seen, including opinions on LGBT characters that appear in games. As previously stated, the general consensus is very positive. I?ve yet to read, or hear any truly unsupportive. No one has yet to state that they would not like it if a game contained a homosexual character, or gave the choice to be LGBT. Some even going as far as to state they wouldn?t mind playing as a LGBT main character. However a few pointed out, they might feel awkward playing as a LGBT main character.
There has been a good many LGBT characters in video games. Although they are a great minority, and clear cut info is typically sketchy, and somewhat tongue in cheek, they are out there. Gamers' opinion on these characters range, but are mostly based off their personality, rather than sexuality. A common example is Anders[3] from Dragon Age. Opinion on him his varied, as some see him as a much fleshed out character, which happens to be gay, and tastefully done. Others feel his sexuality is somewhat forced on the player, because he makes a pass on the player once, regardless of the player?s in game gender, and the player is given the option to either accept, or refuse his advances. If refused, he never flirts with the player again, if accepted Anders becomes a potential romantic interest. Another less known character is Poison[4], a male-to-female transgender, from Final Fight. Opinion on her is more comical, as her actual gender was only recently revealed. When she was first conceived, she was shortly removed because at the time, it wasn?t seen as tasteful to power drive a women. Her inclusion was justified later by indicating that she was actually a he. Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono states "In North America, Poison is officially a post-op transsexual." Though he also states "But in Japan, she simply tucks her business away in order to look like a girl," Gamers don?t have a strong opinion on Poison, since she is a rather vague character; however she is sometimes mentioned by fans of fighting games. Naoto Shirogane[5] from the Persona 4 series is a well-known female-to-male transgender, and a favorite among transgendered gamers. There are many other notable LGBT characters in video games. Birdo, as described in the original Super Mario Brothers 2 manual, "He thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He'd rather be called 'Birdetta.'"[6] There is a good many more LGBT video game characters. I?ll include a larger list in my handouts.
Another common theme among gaming, beyond interesting characters, includes the players themselves. Gamers are a varied community, much like the gay community. Perhaps this is why they are actually a lot more welcoming to the homosexual community then one might think. Indeed, the gaming community might seem very homophobic with its behavior sometimes. It?s not uncommon to be called a ?fag? in an online forum for gaming, or within games themselves, by gamers. I?ve personally been in many debates about the use of the hateful word. And although I personally disagree with this view, I have been told that ?fag? no longer is a used as a homophobic insult. While this can be up for debate on a larger scale, it is clear that in most cases, just because someone uses the insult, doesn?t necessarily mean they are homophobic. However they might be classless, perhaps, but not homophobic, as their reasoning for using the word are less because they believe the other is homosexual, but rather for the sole purpose of insulting. Personally I disagree with this stance; however the implications of this are beyond the scope of this essay, which are not about my bias feelings (being homosexual myself) about the subject. The use of the word ?fag? has been heavily debated in gaming forums. However, it is usually sparked not by the use of the word fag, or rather, the banning of the word that sparks these debates. For example, recently Microsoft attempted to ban the use of the word ?fag?, ?gay?, or any mention of homosexuality within gaming. The purpose was actually to keep the words from being use in the derogatory sense. So it was ok, right? They were trying to protect the community from insult. Well, it didn?t go over very well. It ended less a way to protect gamers from insults, and more of a ?don?t ask, don?t tell? rule applied to gaming. After a good deal of complaints of real gay gamers being banned for having ?gay?, or ?lesbian? on their profile, and one instance of an gamer being suspended for living in Fort Gay , West Virginia[7], that policy was quickly adjusted. The policy was highly unpopular, and seen as unnecessary censorship by many gamers. In this, gamers as a community showed even more support for support for the homosexual community.
So, in conclusion, giving the overwhelming support that the gaming community gives to the gay community, I see no reason why the industry can?t be more open to LGBT themes within games. Already we are seeing more and more games open to the ideas of alternative sexualities. Many games have already given the player the option of being gay, such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and The Sims. However one sad fact is that the LGBT community has yet to have any main characters be Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, unless they are blank slates for the player to create like the three previously mentioned games. One argument against having a character in say, an RPG, is how to present them as homosexual without making them a stereotype? Well, a good example of this is ?A Closed World?. It?s a small indie game about being ?different?. Note, it isn?t about being gay. The character?s sexuality is randomly assigned. More so, it?s about being an outcast. It?s a really deep game, and really short! It takes around ten minutes to play through, it?s really easy, and has a great message. I highly recommend it, and will place a link below. [7]
If we focus on making a big game like this, we will certainly see more improvements on equal rights among the LGBT community.
[1] http://www.escapistmagazine.com/: Steve Butts. The Escapist. The Escapist, Web Site. Tuesday, November 08, 2011.
[2] Hopkins, D. (2011, November 1). LGBT in Video Games. The Escapist Forum. Retreived November 8th, 2011, from: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.320869-LGBT-in-Video-Games?page=1
[3] Anders Romance. (n.d.). In Dragon Age Wikia. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Anders#Romance
[4] Final Fight?s Poison: The Final Word On Gender. MICHAEL MCWHERTOR. Kotaku. Gawker Media sites, DEC 12, 2007. Web. November 8, 2011. ?http://kotaku.com/333130/final-fights-poison-the-final-word-on-gender /?.
[5] Naoto Shirogane. (n.d.). In Megami Tensei Wikia. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from :http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Naoto_Shirogane
[5] The First Transsexual Video Game Character? Retrieved December 6, 201, from : http://transsexual.org/birdo.html
[7] Xbox Live Gamer Suspended For Living In Fort Gay. Mike Fahey. Kotaku. Gawker Media sites, Sep 8, 2010. Web. December 6, 2011. http://kotaku.com/5632871/xbox-live-gamer-suspended-for-living-in-fort-gay
Larger list of LGBT characters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_characters_in_video_games
[The formatting is a bit messed up here, so if you'd like to read it with nice clean formatting, here is the downloadable document: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2OSNAB0Q]
Gamers? View on LGBT
By Danny Hopkins
I consider myself a ?Gaymer?, or a gay gamer. However, I only discovered that I was gay in high school, and only lately have been open about it. I have always been an open gamer however. Because of this, I?ve always considered myself a part of the gamer community, before the LGBT community. I follow gaming politics religiously, every day, and talk about gaming to the point of ranting. Most of my friends are gamers, while only a couple are LGBT, and even they have some interest in my hobby. Although I sometimes check in on LGBT politics, such as gay marriage, something that might directly affect my life, I don?t follow them nearly as closely as I do gaming politics, like game ratings in Australia, something that will probably never affect my life. I?ve often flaunted my sexuality playfully in raids on World of Warcraft, and whenever I?m called a ?Fag? on Xbox live, but otherwise the two parts of my life rarely cross. My previous bias also made me believe that homosexuals, for the most part, were not welcome in the gamer community, being that my closest friends in High School, all gamers, were somewhat, to really homophobic. In hindsight, it might have only been one of my gamer friends of mine who set a bad example to me. So how does the gaming community see the LGBT community? Is the gaming community unwelcoming, or even homophobic? Would the gaming community be more welcoming to games geared towards the LGBT community, or with games with LGBT characters?
To start, I decided to go straight to the source. I went to one of my favorite gaming news sites, The Escapist [1], and ask my fellow gamers how exactly they felt about the LGBT community. The topic [2] turned out to be very hot. As of today [Tuesday, December 06, 2011], it has had well over 10,000 views, and 296 replies. I also received a few responses from class mates. I was stunned to find out that the average response from gamers? was overwhelmingly positive. The range of opinions I?ve seen, going from most positive, to most negative, include those who are a part of the LGBT community, and thus of course would want to see better representation in video games, those who are not a part of the LGBT, and would like to see better representation for LGBTs in video games, or else don?t mind, those that don?t really care one way or the other, some that don?t mind, however wanted to state that they believed that bisexuality is a myth, and those that either didn?t seem to, or didn?t s state if they did, mind LGBTs in video games, but wanted the LGBT community, and any group of people, to stop asking for ?special treatment?. Many gamers also used their post to point out either their favorite, or least favorite LGBT video game character. As this essay is about Gamers opinion, not specifics about games that feature LGBT. I will however, go into specifics about opinions I?ve seen, including opinions on LGBT characters that appear in games. As previously stated, the general consensus is very positive. I?ve yet to read, or hear any truly unsupportive. No one has yet to state that they would not like it if a game contained a homosexual character, or gave the choice to be LGBT. Some even going as far as to state they wouldn?t mind playing as a LGBT main character. However a few pointed out, they might feel awkward playing as a LGBT main character.
There has been a good many LGBT characters in video games. Although they are a great minority, and clear cut info is typically sketchy, and somewhat tongue in cheek, they are out there. Gamers' opinion on these characters range, but are mostly based off their personality, rather than sexuality. A common example is Anders[3] from Dragon Age. Opinion on him his varied, as some see him as a much fleshed out character, which happens to be gay, and tastefully done. Others feel his sexuality is somewhat forced on the player, because he makes a pass on the player once, regardless of the player?s in game gender, and the player is given the option to either accept, or refuse his advances. If refused, he never flirts with the player again, if accepted Anders becomes a potential romantic interest. Another less known character is Poison[4], a male-to-female transgender, from Final Fight. Opinion on her is more comical, as her actual gender was only recently revealed. When she was first conceived, she was shortly removed because at the time, it wasn?t seen as tasteful to power drive a women. Her inclusion was justified later by indicating that she was actually a he. Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono states "In North America, Poison is officially a post-op transsexual." Though he also states "But in Japan, she simply tucks her business away in order to look like a girl," Gamers don?t have a strong opinion on Poison, since she is a rather vague character; however she is sometimes mentioned by fans of fighting games. Naoto Shirogane[5] from the Persona 4 series is a well-known female-to-male transgender, and a favorite among transgendered gamers. There are many other notable LGBT characters in video games. Birdo, as described in the original Super Mario Brothers 2 manual, "He thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He'd rather be called 'Birdetta.'"[6] There is a good many more LGBT video game characters. I?ll include a larger list in my handouts.
Another common theme among gaming, beyond interesting characters, includes the players themselves. Gamers are a varied community, much like the gay community. Perhaps this is why they are actually a lot more welcoming to the homosexual community then one might think. Indeed, the gaming community might seem very homophobic with its behavior sometimes. It?s not uncommon to be called a ?fag? in an online forum for gaming, or within games themselves, by gamers. I?ve personally been in many debates about the use of the hateful word. And although I personally disagree with this view, I have been told that ?fag? no longer is a used as a homophobic insult. While this can be up for debate on a larger scale, it is clear that in most cases, just because someone uses the insult, doesn?t necessarily mean they are homophobic. However they might be classless, perhaps, but not homophobic, as their reasoning for using the word are less because they believe the other is homosexual, but rather for the sole purpose of insulting. Personally I disagree with this stance; however the implications of this are beyond the scope of this essay, which are not about my bias feelings (being homosexual myself) about the subject. The use of the word ?fag? has been heavily debated in gaming forums. However, it is usually sparked not by the use of the word fag, or rather, the banning of the word that sparks these debates. For example, recently Microsoft attempted to ban the use of the word ?fag?, ?gay?, or any mention of homosexuality within gaming. The purpose was actually to keep the words from being use in the derogatory sense. So it was ok, right? They were trying to protect the community from insult. Well, it didn?t go over very well. It ended less a way to protect gamers from insults, and more of a ?don?t ask, don?t tell? rule applied to gaming. After a good deal of complaints of real gay gamers being banned for having ?gay?, or ?lesbian? on their profile, and one instance of an gamer being suspended for living in Fort Gay , West Virginia[7], that policy was quickly adjusted. The policy was highly unpopular, and seen as unnecessary censorship by many gamers. In this, gamers as a community showed even more support for support for the homosexual community.
So, in conclusion, giving the overwhelming support that the gaming community gives to the gay community, I see no reason why the industry can?t be more open to LGBT themes within games. Already we are seeing more and more games open to the ideas of alternative sexualities. Many games have already given the player the option of being gay, such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and The Sims. However one sad fact is that the LGBT community has yet to have any main characters be Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, unless they are blank slates for the player to create like the three previously mentioned games. One argument against having a character in say, an RPG, is how to present them as homosexual without making them a stereotype? Well, a good example of this is ?A Closed World?. It?s a small indie game about being ?different?. Note, it isn?t about being gay. The character?s sexuality is randomly assigned. More so, it?s about being an outcast. It?s a really deep game, and really short! It takes around ten minutes to play through, it?s really easy, and has a great message. I highly recommend it, and will place a link below. [7]
If we focus on making a big game like this, we will certainly see more improvements on equal rights among the LGBT community.
[1] http://www.escapistmagazine.com/: Steve Butts. The Escapist. The Escapist, Web Site. Tuesday, November 08, 2011.
[2] Hopkins, D. (2011, November 1). LGBT in Video Games. The Escapist Forum. Retreived November 8th, 2011, from: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.320869-LGBT-in-Video-Games?page=1
[3] Anders Romance. (n.d.). In Dragon Age Wikia. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Anders#Romance
[4] Final Fight?s Poison: The Final Word On Gender. MICHAEL MCWHERTOR. Kotaku. Gawker Media sites, DEC 12, 2007. Web. November 8, 2011. ?http://kotaku.com/333130/final-fights-poison-the-final-word-on-gender /?.
[5] Naoto Shirogane. (n.d.). In Megami Tensei Wikia. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from :http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Naoto_Shirogane
[5] The First Transsexual Video Game Character? Retrieved December 6, 201, from : http://transsexual.org/birdo.html
[7] Xbox Live Gamer Suspended For Living In Fort Gay. Mike Fahey. Kotaku. Gawker Media sites, Sep 8, 2010. Web. December 6, 2011. http://kotaku.com/5632871/xbox-live-gamer-suspended-for-living-in-fort-gay
Larger list of LGBT characters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_characters_in_video_games
