Videogames have been used as a way to escape from the troubles and limitations of reality, but one issue has persisted: heterosexism. Homosexuality has been repeatedly classified as “sexually suggestive or explicit” in the ESRB’s rating guide, and still puts a Mature rating on any game with sexuality, specifically LGBTQ themes (“Game Ratings”). Players themselves are perpetrators of hate speech, with “gay” and “fag” a common slur in many online gaming worlds. I will analyze a recent controversy over an option to choose a gay relationship in an existing Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (or MMORPG) using Puar’s written piece, “Monster, Terrorist, Fag”, and Van De Meer’s article, “Bashing a Rite of Passage?”
The recently released MMO called Star Wars: The Old Republic has been a subject of controversy due to their plans to include same-sex relationship options in the gameplay. Roleplaying games have been historically the most inclusive when it comes to LGBTQ characters, with games such as The Sims and Skyrim allowing for homosexual relationships. But even these are recent examples from the last few years, showing how same-sex acknowledgement in the world of gaming is still a new and contested idea. In “Monster, Terrorist, Fag”, Puar writes about the use of rhetoric to portray Islamic people as inhuman and monstrous; terrorists as simultaneously a fag and homophobic (118). This method of othering is used by the Family Research Council (FRC) on gamers who choose to include LGBTQ ideas in this example, the Star Wars MMO. Says the President of the FRC, Tony Perkins, “Star Wars gamers have already gone to the dark side” in addition to claiming homosexual activists a “threat to the empire” (Gray). These kinds of statements are used as a form of community, togetherness, and common enemy similar to nationality in post-9/11 America spoken about by Puar (126).
Beyond the simple inclusion of queer characters and gameplay options, the online gaming community is blatantly offensive to the LGBTQ players. As demonstrated by a post in the forums of BioWare (Creators of the Star Wars MMO), straight male players expect games to be catered to themselves as the majority, whether specifically marketed that way or not (“Bioware Neglected Their Main Demographic”). In this case, a gamer was clearly offended to have same-sex relationships in a game that did not even actively market or publicize a catering to the straight male gamer. This is brought up by Van De Meer’s article where he points out that perpetrators of hate crimes often felt “the approval of society” regardless of the effects of their actions (156). By being part of the majority, they find equality impedes on their rights, and a natural solution through suppressing the rights of the minority with physical or indirect actions.
Fortunately for those who identify as a LGBTQ gamer, the creators of videogames are beginning to find that the previous force of marketing to the straight male gamer misses a major demographic. In an economic and societal way it makes sense to broaden the target users of games to cater to as many as possible. Years of advertising to a specific demographic has succeeded in bringing in the majority of straight male gamers, and brought with it their heterosexism and lack of any sign of diversity. Game companies of the present and future will shift their focus to include LGBTQ content and stop the exclusion of the “gaymer”, while constantly meeting societal obstacles such as the ones presented by the FRC. The history of marketing bias and present social conditions have put in place a heterosexist stigmatism on a billion-dollar industry that will likely take years to heal.
Sources
Gray, Stephen. "Rebel Alliance Slams Star Wars Game over Gay characters." PinkNews.co.uk. 31 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/01/31/rebel-alliance-boycotts-star-wars-game-over-gay-characters/>.
Jasbir Puar “Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism and the Production of Docile Patriots” in Social Text 72 Vol. 20 No. 3, Fall 2002
Theo Van De Meer “Bashing a Rite of Passage?” in Culture, Health, Sexuality, Vol. 5 No. 2 pp 153-165
"Game Ratings & Descriptor Guide." ESRB Ratings Guide and Definitions. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp>.
“Bioware Neglected Their Main Demographic: The Straight Male Gamer”.
21 Feb 2012. <http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/304/index/6661775&lf=8>.
Homophobia is prevalent in the music genre of hip-hop and rap. The entertainment genre of gaming is similar in the manner that homophobia exists: these areas of entertainment are highly heteronormative as a male audience and development team dominates them.
ReplyDeleteThe hip/hop genre when brought up, we think of Jay-Z and Kanye coming up with “sh*t” that’s “cray”, not female artists trying to find love in a hopeless place. Similarly when we come up with video game characters we might think of Link, not the Zelda, although the franchise is named after her. Although developers tried to include homosexual behavior in games to be inclusive, the overall catered audience it is too heteronormative to find any acceptance or to find it an everyday part of life. However, there is alleviation to all the marginalization and the name calling: just like how “lesbians and gay men formed literacy societies and planned private entertainments that sustained friendships”, there are communities that cater to LGBT gamers (D’Emilio). Websites like gaygamer are networks and sites that promote equality within the gaming community, pointing out games and topics that catch the attention of LGBT gamers.
Although there is not much acceptance in the large community, there are resources and safe spaces that allow marginalized communities to come together to resist against larger opinion. There is a voice; people just need to find it.
D’Emilio, John “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview” from Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities in the United States 1940-1970. Chicago, III: University of Chicago Press, 1983