The Identity Of LGBTQ Characters In Videogamers

1247 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of online gaming

Sexuality and identification were never a focus point in the development of video games, since as history proves, the majority of gamers in the past were white males. Minorities in the gaming world were not considered when creating characters and establishing plots, until now. In the past, there were quite a few companies that presented characters whom exhibited traits of various sexual origins, but now the modern gaming community thrives for the production of new characters. This evolution of gaming presents questions on the influential factors of media, specifically video gaming, to the minds of the youth. There is great excitement and negative reactions with the inclusion of customizable and prominent LGBTQ characters created in the modern …show more content…

The LGBTQ characters in video games is often a controversial topic, leading to many discussions within and beyond the gaming community. A poll was formulated to research gamers and nongamers, as well as, LGBTQ members and non LGBTQ members on their personal views and/or their involvement with video game representation/lack of represention of LGBTQ identifying people. This questionnaire and research from past studies reveals the social influence that the creation and use of LGBTQ games have on society as a whole, as well as, the personal identification and acceptance of these characters. The introduction of such games provides an outlet of expression that reality …show more content…

However, the progress that has been made in terms of quantity and quality of throughout the representation in the examples we have looked at seems to indicate that the industry is on the right track. Yet one can still question how far video games will progress in terms of LGBTQ representation in the future, as well as how the gaming community at large will change in their attitudes towards this representation. There is also a variety of negative reactions to the introduction of LGBTQ characters and relationships. Some of the most extreme commentary on LGBTQ in video games was comments found on youtube videos such as Dragon Age: Inquisition Krem "How Bioware Deals with Transgender Characters?" created by Video Game Sophistry. A user entitled Bison RR states, “I'm absolutely DISGUSTED at the lack of pre-op intersex genderqueer representation in this video game. How appalling that in this day and age there is not a single character that myself, and many otherkin cannot identify with. Instead we have this; more cissexual he-man pandering and oppressive male fantasies. Barf. I'm a proud semidemisexual otherkin transfat/transracial (cis presenting) genderless social justice activist and anti-racist, confident skoliosexual individual (sexual attraction to

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Playing In The Gender Transgression Zone

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the reading, Playing in the Gender Transgression Zone, McGuffey & Rich argue that the ways youth build their “hierarchy” in school, camps, etc. can explain the way ‘gendering’ in society’ happens and why. It discusses how boys are seen as the high status members of society. This is a result of the ideology of hegemonic masculinity. This says that there is a predominant way of doing gender relations that elevates the status and privileges of masculinity over femininity. This establishes a socially constructed level of male social power and explains why male dominance continues on past the middle school ages. Men still have high status in higher level of social organization, especially political/ governmental institutions.

    Read More

  • Transgender In Pop Culture

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    The news article I studied is from March 12th 2014 and found in the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times. Its title is “In their Own Terms- the growing transgender presence in Pop culture.” This article outlines the culture surrounding transgender and transgender situations in the United States, whilst following the lives and transformations of some known citizens of pop culture.

    Read More

  • Video Games Gender Roles Essay

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    The history of video games began in early 1950s, and it continued in development until today. video games gained popularity as movies and T.V shows, and like movies which producers focus on the story plot, each character role, and the way they are being represented, videogames have the same concerns, especially character 's role and, representation, because most of players will not care about the game’s story, they just want to have fun playing the game, but the player will play as a character, or meet other characters from various gender, and that what make game designers care about the gender and, characters representation. and by the way of presenting gender, it will control the number of players of both genders, because it could connect to their life. games industry made researches about what both genders want in their game,

    Read More

  • Video Games Representation

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the humble origins of the video gaming industry, individuals used it as a challenge of their abilities. In modern day, this industry is just a popular as any other media which exists in the mainstream world. Video games reflect society’s changing views of the normalities of which individuals and/or groups must abide to. This is exemplified in the evolving representation of the queer individuals within the virtual world. As the video game industry came into focus, so did the LGBT rights movement. This illustrates that society’s views on the LGBT community were reflected in the video games made, however, it was rare that such characters existed as protagonists until the twenty first century. Due to the extreme lack of asexual and non-binary

    Read More

  • Summary: Deconstructing Ideology And Power In The Twilight Saga

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whereas people with disabilties make up 12 percent of the American population, but less than 1 percent of regular series’ characters have disabilities”. While we are seeing more representation of LGBTQ and disabled characters in movies and television stereotypes still prevail. Bisexual characters, for example, are often portrayed as hypersexualized, untrustworthy individuals with low morals and prone to infidelity or as an individual going through a phase which they will then get over when they find the right

    Read More

  • Media Portrayal of Transgender Characters

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    The depiction of transgender women characters in mainstream television has been offensive, insulting and derogatory. An article from GLADD called “Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television”, examines 102 episodes and storylines on mainstream television that contained transgender characters since 2002. Of these, more than half were characterized as containing negative representations of transgender. In 2007 only 1% of television series had a recurring transgender character, which has slowly increased to 4% in 2013. Negative portrayal of transgender TV characters.

    Read More

  • Social Media's Impact on Gender Roles: An Annotated Bibliography

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    This journal article is entirely credible and written by two women who know what they’re talking about. This article discusses how video games form stereotypes about both genders and that they impact both gamers and non-gamers. Men are portrayed as aggressive and women are unsurprisingly portrayed as sex objects. A main issue with this is that video games are mostly played by the younger generation meaning these are the ideas being imbedded into the youth of the world. The...

    Read More

  • Video Game Reflection

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever since I was little I remember playing games where I would fight the bad guy and win the girl in the end. This never seem to affect me or make me wonder what small effect it had on my thought process. In games such as Zelda, call of duty, assassin creed, gears of war, Mario, and even halo you play as a white heterosexual male. The idea of playing this way never seemed to phase me as a young child. As I grew up and became more aware of the difference of people and the need for other as well as myself a need to be able to connect and find one 's self in different place such as games, movies, and TV shows. I became aware of the one sided views that video games seem to have. Then I realized that it was seen as acceptable to only have the one sided displayed due to the lack of speaking out on the need for change.

    Read More

  • The Sexism Within The Gaming World

    2265 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many video games portray women as objectified beings, purely used for sex appeal and to attract the larger male gamer population. We also see men idealised in a similar way as well – the males in video games are portrayed as muscly, brawny men. However, we rarely see a scantily clad man in a game, but there is a vast abundance of games which feature women wearing ‘sexy armour’, or a noticeable lack of substantial amount of clothing. This isn’t female-friendly as these games are made for men, causing women to feel alienated and uncomfortable.

    Read More

  • The Normality Of Queer And Gender Characters, By Tennessee Williams

    1875 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout various mediums, queer and gender portrayals are not shown in the best light. Majority of media show clear negative connotations of homosexuals and queens while constantly being a target of discrimination and ridicule. Though as time went on many writers decided to speak up and gain awareness for queer and gender biases by incorporating messages of societal discrimination in their plays. Much of their ideals were that of how sexual/gender identity portrayal, lifestyle stigma, and preconceived notions of the homosexual community. These ideals were combined in what is called gender studies and queer literary theory. Some of these concepts and ideas of queer and gender theory can be seen throughout the play

    Read More

  • Gay and Lesbian Visibility in Movies and Television

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1990s saw surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek and it’s supporting character of teenager Jack McPhee, we are slowly seeing gay and lesbian characters creeping into the mainstream media.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Video Games On Women 's Experience Of Self Objectification

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dill explain in his article Effects of exposure to sex-stereotyped video game characters on tolerance of sexual harassment that female video games characters are continuously shown as gorgeous, busty, scantily clad sex objects. This has been confirmed by many video game players that women have been portrayed as a sex object. Dill further explain how women in video games are under-represented and games rarely depict female heroes. This shows that female characters have rarely been shown in video games, and if so those female characters didn’t refl...

    Read More

  • Video Games and the Human Brain

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    Video games have been a growing industry for about 30 years and has never been bigger. As a whole, the industry made around $66 billion last year, and is expected to make even more this coming year. Because of this growth, gamers have sought better graphics, better stories, and even more violence. Developers have satisfied this want with more M rated games that include heavier violence, stronger language, sexual themes, and intense blood and gore. Past acts and laws have been put in place to try and eliminate violence in video games. These laws have stiffled the industry's freedom of expression and caus...

    Read More

  • Sexism In Video Games Essay

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gaming has long been considered a male-dominated activity. There have been numerous scientific studies conducted to analyze the impact video games have on an individual and vice versa, however one of the most common discussions concerning the gaming community is sexism. With today’s growing audience and the popularity of smart phone gaming, it is a mystery as to why gaming has managed to keep its male-minded stereotypes. Most games reflect the sexist gender roles imposed upon gamers by society, however today’s response is a heated protest, some more dramatic than others. Most gamers are demanding more female protagonists, and developers are listening, but it’s a slow climb to equality in the world of pixels and fantasy. Let us discuss the surrounding influences of the video game community, some setbacks and remarkable breakthroughs in diversifying, and the ways gamers shape the games they play.

    Read More

  • LGBTQ Representation In The Media

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    It’s only natural for people to project themselves onto the characters they view on TV or in the movies. However, being LGBTQ means that there are nearly no characters to relate to. There is a lack of LGBTQ representation in the media which has a negative effect on the queer community. LGBTQ people have had to protest for basic rights throughout all of history, so demanding to be recognized by the media is just another thing the community has to fight for. Although things have gotten easier, worldwide many LGBTQ people are not allowed to marry, adopt children, own a house together, or simply exist without persecution from society.

    Read More

More about The Identity Of LGBTQ Characters In Videogamers

Open Document