On Gaymers and Cons
- Thread starter The Wooster
- Start date
Not to be rude, but I think the people that the members of the LGBT community are trying to get away from aren't exactly going to do a 180 because the people that they mock went somewhere else. It just don't think that they'll be that mature.Alcaste said:
What do you mean? I am a human being. I have my own opinions, my own likes and dislikes, and this is an open discussion about the topic where people express their opinions. I have not thrown any attacks against you or a specific group of people; I've just stated that I find such a con and people's need for one ridiculous.Sepko said:
That makes no sense. If "gays also welcome" were whole heartedly true it wouldn't be discriminatory. I think you're assuming singling a group of people out by default means they reject everyone else. It's not, The emphasis of Gaymer con is just to show that discussing sexuality, in addition to games and all things geek, isn't a taboo topic.Nicolaus99 said:
Erm... did you quote the wrong post?Sepko said:
I didn't make any claims that anyone would stop visiting anything for any reason nor did I say anything about segregation.
Just a bit confused why you quoted me as if I was making this out to be a bad thing in any way, I've got no problems whatsoever with a gaymer convention or any other convention for a niche audience. The only thing I find somewhat disappointing is the idea in the description that such conventions can't be understood by white straight teenagers. I think a basic level of understanding is reachable on most any subject if one side is willing to explain and the other is willing to listen.
Read the blurb under the comic and then reevaluate your statement.rhodo said:Mh, I see the point here - I just completely disagree with it, frankly.
Here's why.
First off, I'm a woman and if they made a videogame convention dedicated to women, I would NOT attend it. I want female gamers to be equal to male gamers.
Do I even need to add how retarded a videogame convention dedicated to shaolin monks would be?
So, tell me: why then, a videogame convention dedicated to gay is apparently ok?
I repeat: this. is. a. GAME CONVENTION.
It's not a pub or a place to flirt, it's not something that needs a discrimination for gay or for women or for different religion.
So the message I -am- getting from the existence of a gay videogame convention, is that gay people feel themselves to be so irreparably different from heterosexual people that even when it comes to something like videogames, they need their very own version of it.
You didn't know that it included all comers, but have seriously never seen anybody attack this thing online?bunji said:
As I said in another reply, this isn't really a "Hide from the mean people" Con so much as "Bigots aren'te welcome here" con. It would be largely similar to a standard con, but most of the attendees are either gay, or sensitive to the challenges faced by gays, and there is more content targeted to that group.
It's not damaging, in fact it should be leading by example. I don't think it should be labelled 'Gaymer' though.
You know, I want to like this series, but you guys are getting too preachy as of late. The gamer girl comic, this comic,, I agree with you guys, but you've lost the two things I used to enjoy about this:
1. Your sense of humor.
2. Entertainment.
You want to preach, fine. But you're going to lose viewers along the way.
1. Your sense of humor.
2. Entertainment.
You want to preach, fine. But you're going to lose viewers along the way.
If Gaymers want to have their own thing then thats cool.
But anytime there is "x" thing for "x" people there will always be somebody left asking why.
I just think its kinda funny that in regards to this those people are viewed as ignorant or bigoted or both But if there was ever a con designed to be specifically for straigh males there would be somekind of outrage.
But anytime there is "x" thing for "x" people there will always be somebody left asking why.
I just think its kinda funny that in regards to this those people are viewed as ignorant or bigoted or both But if there was ever a con designed to be specifically for straigh males there would be somekind of outrage.
Never implied that they'd do a 180. Just that it's a start. If you continue the status quo, then nothing gets done. If you get confrontational with the problem, then you start a fight. Even the tiniest hints that 'maybe we're doing something wrong' makes it worth it.erttheking said:
But if the members of the LGBT community are so concerned about this, why do we need to put them somewhere else. Why can't a con that's already going to happen go "we highly encourage members of the LGBT community to attend" because frankly when you think about it, will the majority of people at regular cons and gamers as a whole even NOTICE the missing LGBT gamers at their cons (these aren't the people you can pick out of a crowd), or that the LGBT focused con even exists?Alcaste said:
rhodo said:
That isn't the message they're trying to convey at ALL. They're just trying to set up a place where like-minded individuals and those that support them can gather and enjoy themselves without having the passive hostility that their lifestyle gets almost everywhere else. The fact that the hostility is everywhere else is a problem, yes, and until we live in an all-loving utopia we have this in the meantime.
Your posts come off as rather vitriolic...You might want to tone it down.
We aren't putting them anywhere else. They're still going to go to the regular conventions.erttheking said:
Imagine a panel (or a few) that were set up to discuss the topic of homosexuality in gaming. It would be AWESOME to put that in a regular gaming convention. However, that wouldn't be likely, as unfortunately a lot of the younger gaming community is incredibly aghast by that sort of thing. Not most, but enough to make it messy.
You're insinuating that the existence of the only Gaymercon on the planet will suddenly make the LGBT crowds stop attending the mainstream cons. I have no doubt we'll still be going to the same events we've been going to since the dawn of time, we just have an option to attend an alternative should we so wish, to escape the Xbox Live Universe that is some mainstream cons. And the straights can go too, it's not like we're gonna ban the lot of you from attending. We could always do with supporters.rhodo said:
Still don't see how this isn't a form of self-segregation. Honestly, part of me feels like I'm somehow being homophobic by not understand and I am racking my brains and desperately trying to think of how this isn't a form of segregation, but I can't think of it.
While a heterosexual individual wouldn't be denied entry to the event there would, I imagine, be more than a few people wondering why that person came. Some people might even think it ruins the event itself, like how several of my gay friends started getting irritated because the local gay bar was having more and more straight patrons. Putting a label at the door just makes people not of that label feel unwelcome. I wouldn't, for example, join my local Afro-Caribbean in my university because I feel like I'm not welcome.
Of course, this doesn't mean I'm against this event: if people feel too uncomfortable around heterosexual individuals to join an event then it's good that they have the option to surround themselves with more like-minded people, only I feel it comes by excluding people of a different mindset.
While a heterosexual individual wouldn't be denied entry to the event there would, I imagine, be more than a few people wondering why that person came. Some people might even think it ruins the event itself, like how several of my gay friends started getting irritated because the local gay bar was having more and more straight patrons. Putting a label at the door just makes people not of that label feel unwelcome. I wouldn't, for example, join my local Afro-Caribbean in my university because I feel like I'm not welcome.
Of course, this doesn't mean I'm against this event: if people feel too uncomfortable around heterosexual individuals to join an event then it's good that they have the option to surround themselves with more like-minded people, only I feel it comes by excluding people of a different mindset.
I've got nothing against homosexuals getting their own gamer con, but what I don't understand is how their sexuality would change their approach to gaming in a way that's significant enough to warrant its own celebration. I mean, gamers come from all horizons, all stratas of society, all races and all sexual orientations. What unites us is our love of the medium.
I understand the appeal of each group getting its own con - maybe there's a few niche titles I can't think of that would get a better representation in that context - but this has the downside of splitting our already contentious lot into smaller groups. I'd much rather bump into a "gaymer" at PAX and find out what kind of person he or she is. That would give me a better chance of understanding if, and how sexuality colours our approach to gaming. It would also relegate the person's sexual orientation to the third or fourth degree. I'd base my opinion of them on everything *other* than their sexuality, which seems less discriminatory to me.
On the other hand, I have no issue with a gay gamer con existing *alongside* mixed-background venues, like PAX. This way, "gaymers" get their desired chunk of exclusive hangouts and still get to share their perspective with the rest of us. I'd think of it as distilling an element you're intending to later integrate into a brew of some kind - said brew representing the cultural affects of gaming.
I understand the appeal of each group getting its own con - maybe there's a few niche titles I can't think of that would get a better representation in that context - but this has the downside of splitting our already contentious lot into smaller groups. I'd much rather bump into a "gaymer" at PAX and find out what kind of person he or she is. That would give me a better chance of understanding if, and how sexuality colours our approach to gaming. It would also relegate the person's sexual orientation to the third or fourth degree. I'd base my opinion of them on everything *other* than their sexuality, which seems less discriminatory to me.
On the other hand, I have no issue with a gay gamer con existing *alongside* mixed-background venues, like PAX. This way, "gaymers" get their desired chunk of exclusive hangouts and still get to share their perspective with the rest of us. I'd think of it as distilling an element you're intending to later integrate into a brew of some kind - said brew representing the cultural affects of gaming.