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Hi TL!
On wendsday in going to be attending at a panel discussion at Swedish pride (Gay and Queer festival) and talk about norms videogames. I work as a esportsreporter for several Swedish mediachannnels and i am kind of going to represent gaming, especially esports.
So what i would like your opinion on is:
There are very few gay characters in videogames, compared to the heteroexual ones, and also quite few female characters. However there are a lot of female and queer games out there and they are not represented in any way. How does this affect the way we look at queers etc? Does it affect us at all?
Does if affect how WANTS to play, since they might feel uninvited and excluded?
Would it diffucult to admitt that you are gay say when playing online or in gamersociety? Would such person be treated differently? How would you react if a good progamer came out as gay?
Do we need to change they way we portrait norms in videogames? Does it affect how we perceive reality?
What kind of norms and values are advocated in games?
id like to point out that the questions are not necessary representations of MY thought, but the questions i was asked to think and analyse about. The gay comunity in Sweden however does think it is important enought to discuss.
Thx for every answer ^^ Anyone in Stockholm be sure to show up! Kulturhuset på onsdag 14.15.
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lol
User was warned for this post
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sorry for misspelling the topicheader!
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Netherlands968 Posts
I fail to see how someone's sexual preferences are in any way related to gaming. What does it matter what the main protagonist of the game you play does at night, and with whom?
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This only becomes a problem once you name it a problem. I've never thought about this before this post and wont care even a little bit if any progamer was gay or not.
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Using an example, not being a gay character in GTA4 affects me exactly as much as not being an asian character, meaning nothing at all.
And if you are to claim that video games have such a profound effect on people, you would also be validating the idea that violent games make you violent, which has been refuted over and over again.
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United States7481 Posts
hey magenta,
I can't speak on the topic myself from the perspective you want but I think the good people over in this topic might be of help to you.
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You know what I love about the internets? Whether you're black, white, brown, yellow, straight, gay, or any mix of the aforementioned, it doesn't really matter. No one can tell. Why make a non-issue an issue?
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On August 02 2011 03:29 Magenta wrote:
What kind of norms and values are advocated in games?
Don't like something? Kill it.
End of norms list.
"There aren't many gay characters or female characters" - Most, if not all games to ever exist, have female characters. A lot of them. Now you could argue that they are over sexualized, but they still exist.
The lack of gay characters thing is... irrelevent.
It's not that there is a lack of gay characters. It's that we don't care what said characters do with their NONEXISTENT penises. No one asks if Rory Swann is gay, because no one cares. If blizzard went out of their way to overly "gay" him, it would only hurt gays who want homosexuality to be integrated into the hetero-normative society.
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On August 02 2011 03:33 contraSol wrote:
You know what I love about the internets? Whether you're black, white, brown, yellow, straight, gay, or any mix of the aforementioned, it doesn't really matter. No one can tell. Why make a non-issue an issue?
pretty much this... do people of every gender/ethnicity/sexual preference etc. need a "representative" for every sport/activity? I wonder if there is a gay gamer who feels like OP is doing them a good deed, I am curious to know...
edit: good point about rory swann et all above too
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Why does everyone have to be represented? I don't get it. Such thought processes have only lead to such things as 'the token black guy' in so many various forms of media. Like in Thor, for instance. There was a token asian guy and a token black guy, in a film that was supposed to be based on a comic book, that is based on norse mythology of which asians and black guys are nowhere to be found. Would a token gay guy make you feel good about yourself, or the role of the character, somehow?
I mean, I guess you can cite the recent Bioware games of giving the protagonist gay romance options, but those are exactly the thing I'm talking about. It's just there to make people feel good. It doesn't have any meaningful impact on the story, or the gameplay. It's a shallow plug to grab a little extra audience, while trying to be as insignificant as possible to maintain the core audience.
Isn't that kind of thing actually more insulting?
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I lol'd and facepalmed, hard.
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As usual, gays/lesbians trying to reassure they have representation in every aspect of life.
You know, I have no problem whatsoever on anybody's sexual preferences but whats next? A gay Tony the Tiger on my Frosties cereal box?
(although he must be gay wearing that scarf...)
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id like to point out that the questions are not necessary representations of MY thought, but the questions i was asked to think and analyse about. The gay comunity in Sweden however does think it is important enought to discuss.
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gay or not
that makes no difference for me i guess
i dont think i would care at all if some progamer would is gay or hetero and i would say most of the community wouldnt
EDIT: at least i hope
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I'm very much out to my gamer friends. They treat me the same as anyone else, though they know not to call things they don't like "gay" or "faggot."
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On August 02 2011 03:33 contraSol wrote:
You know what I love about the internets? Whether you're black, white, brown, yellow, straight, gay, or any mix of the aforementioned, it doesn't really matter. No one can tell. Why make a non-issue an issue?
the main guy in GTA:San Andreas is black, and i never felt the guy does not represent me because of this. In fact, I don't want a white guy looking like me in videogames. I look like myself in real-life, time for something new while playing
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On August 02 2011 03:29 Magenta wrote:
Hi TL!
On wendsday in going to be attending at a panel discussion at Swedish pride (Gay and Queer festival) and talk about norms videogames. I work as a esportsreporter for several Swedish mediachannnels and i am kind of going to represent gaming, especially esports.
So what i would like your opinion on is:
There are very few gay characters in videogames, compared to the heteroexual ones, and also quite few female characters. However there are a lot of female and queer games out there and they are not represented in any way. How does this affect the way we look at queers etc? Does it affect us at all?
Does if affect how WANTS to play, since they might feel uninvited and excluded?
Would it diffucult to admitt that you are gay say when playing online or in gamersociety? Would such person be treated differently? How would you react if a good progamer came out as gay?
Do we need to change they way we portrait norms in videogames? Does it affect how we perceive reality?
What kind of norms and values are advocated in games?
Thx for every answer. This is serious business boys and girls. Anyone in Stockholm be sure to show up! Kulturhuset på onsdag 14.15.
Values advocated in Games
1. Skill
2. Strategy
3. Manner
Sexual preference has no place in gaming what so ever
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On August 02 2011 03:29 Magenta wrote:
This is serious business boys and girls. Anyone in Stockholm be sure to show up! Kulturhuset på onsdag 14.15.
LOL
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EPT
