WorstUsernameEver
But best title ever!
Did you think interviews were going to stop him? Then you're a fool, because Ausir is back with another round-up of Fallout-related tidbits on The Vault. This time, they seem to mostly deal with homosexuality, with a series of responses solicited by Jim Sterling's original piece on Gamefront.
First is Robert Yang at Radiator Design Blog:<blockquote>The argument that [all] gay video game characters should downplay their sexuality might be well intentioned, but is ultimately representative of the most dangerous kind of homophobia -- a homophobia wrapped in intellectualism, appearing "tolerant."
True, sexuality isn't the only thing that defines a person -- but for the vast majority of LGBT people, I would argue that it's a crucial part of personal identity. To insist that effeminate gay men are "camping it up" and should just "be normal" is homophobia. That's the same type of attitude that murdered Matthew Shepard -- he would've been fine if only he didn't act so damn gay around people!</blockquote>Followed by, you guessed it, Gay Gamer:<blockquote>The discussion is actually reminiscent of the discussions about Zevron that came up in this Dragon Age II post about LGBT content in games. While it's easy to sympathize with Sterling and the posters who are tired of the same stereotypes showing up in games, like Yang I think there's a tendency to treat flamboyancy (or campiness) as the problem, rather than the developers' lack of imagination, when all types of gay people can be compelling characters. Additionally, when people say that being gay is "no big deal," to me it always seems to come from the same fruitopia where people claim that they're allowed to say, "That's so gay," because it doesn't actually mean gay anymore.</blockquote>After Elton takes these articles as a basis to expand on another issue:<blockquote>However, neither writer tackle head on what I think is the fundamental flaw in the argument put forth by Sterling: namely that the problem with gay characters is that their identity completely revolves around their sexuality — as if heterosexual characters are somehow defined any differently.
Don't believe me? Then how many straight characters on television or in the movies (and to a lesser extent in video games) can you name that haven't been identified as straight at some point? I'm wagering it's only a handful and that it's either the ones deemed to be too "old" or "unattractive" to have a love life — or because the show is hinting they might be gay. </blockquote>And for those of you who didn't grab it when it was put for free for an error on the Xbox Marketplace Techland has a contest which has Dead Money as a prize.
First is Robert Yang at Radiator Design Blog:<blockquote>The argument that [all] gay video game characters should downplay their sexuality might be well intentioned, but is ultimately representative of the most dangerous kind of homophobia -- a homophobia wrapped in intellectualism, appearing "tolerant."
True, sexuality isn't the only thing that defines a person -- but for the vast majority of LGBT people, I would argue that it's a crucial part of personal identity. To insist that effeminate gay men are "camping it up" and should just "be normal" is homophobia. That's the same type of attitude that murdered Matthew Shepard -- he would've been fine if only he didn't act so damn gay around people!</blockquote>Followed by, you guessed it, Gay Gamer:<blockquote>The discussion is actually reminiscent of the discussions about Zevron that came up in this Dragon Age II post about LGBT content in games. While it's easy to sympathize with Sterling and the posters who are tired of the same stereotypes showing up in games, like Yang I think there's a tendency to treat flamboyancy (or campiness) as the problem, rather than the developers' lack of imagination, when all types of gay people can be compelling characters. Additionally, when people say that being gay is "no big deal," to me it always seems to come from the same fruitopia where people claim that they're allowed to say, "That's so gay," because it doesn't actually mean gay anymore.</blockquote>After Elton takes these articles as a basis to expand on another issue:<blockquote>However, neither writer tackle head on what I think is the fundamental flaw in the argument put forth by Sterling: namely that the problem with gay characters is that their identity completely revolves around their sexuality — as if heterosexual characters are somehow defined any differently.
Don't believe me? Then how many straight characters on television or in the movies (and to a lesser extent in video games) can you name that haven't been identified as straight at some point? I'm wagering it's only a handful and that it's either the ones deemed to be too "old" or "unattractive" to have a love life — or because the show is hinting they might be gay. </blockquote>And for those of you who didn't grab it when it was put for free for an error on the Xbox Marketplace Techland has a contest which has Dead Money as a prize.
