LGBT in Video Games

[lovest harding]

No different from anyone else. If they flaunt their sexuality (eg: being overly flamboyant for being gay) I still find that annoying. Other then that, no differences.

I've never understood this. So a man is flamboyant. Say they have a lisp and say girlfriend after every sentence and everything they talk about is fashion based. Isn't that their personality? How are they flaunting it?
People don't look at a straight man who drinks beer all day and talks about nothing but tits and NASCAR and say he's flaunting his sexuality.

I'm not trying to start and argument or be offensive. I seriously want to know how you justify saying that a gay man is 'flaunting their sexuality' when they simply have an over the top personality.

Firstly, straight guys do flaunt their sexuality, if anything just as easily as any other sexuality. You never heard a go "woah, she's so fit, I'd have me a piece of that ass" etc etc. Happens all the time, it's also annoying, just as much as any flamboyant. Only that's refered to being a dick/twat/fucking idiot, most of the time.

People (gay and straight) can have a bubbly personality. That's fine, no problem with that. But they can keep it to themselves. I have nothing against how gay people may chose to act, but I don't need it directed at me, or shoved in my face, which it has been a few times. Perhaps it's just the few gay people I have in mind, the in your face, lipstick, high heels, handbag, eye liner, and always telling everyone how many boys they fucked last week (oh yeah, my school sounds great now XD) that get on my nerves. That is what I call flaunting it.

Call me closed minded, but I do judge people on outward appeaence and actions. Everyone probably has / does. So that guy I just mentioned might actually be a really great guy, but I will know cause he annoys me, so I won't get to know him at all.

[sub][sub]I know what I want to say but it's really hard to say it without sounding like a complete bastard. I kinda hope I got what I want to say across. Sorry in advanced cause that was probably written really badly xP[/sub][/sub]

(ignoring the insulting generalization of flamboyant=drag queen)
But a man telling you how many women he's slept with doesn't bother you? Can you at least recognize that double standard?
The issue here is the language. No one says that a straight man is 'shoving it in my face' when he talks about sex, but when a gay man does it he is. See the issue? If both bother you, treat both on equal ground. Say that that one gay who offended you (which I'm assuming from your post is a classmate) is a dick/douche/idiot. Don't say he's shoving it in your face, unless you're willing to back it up. Is he really coming up to you and saying that he slept with 300 men last week? Or are you overhearing/listening as he talks to someone else? Does he really where high heels and lipstick? Or are you simply noticing him more because what he talks about makes you uncomfortable?

It's fine to be bothered by someone's personality. That's your prerogative. But you can't blame a gay man for an issue you have. That's the only point I have when discussing this. People complain about the flamboyant gay when it's just someone's personality. He can't help it if you dislike his personality (and it's fine that you do). But you can't blame him for his personality. And it definitely isn't his responsibility to make you comfortable.

And that's what this whole 'shove it in your face' comes down to. There will always be someone you don't like or can't stand to be around. I can pretty much promise that 99% of gay men including the flamboyant men aren't going out of their way to 'shove it in your face'. Anyone who is is just being a douche and comments about one person should stay directed at one person and not forced into a poor generalization (which always seems to be the case). But as I said you have to recognize that you're the one who's uncomfortable. It's your problem. That's the only thing you can affect.

(Not trying to sound like a psychiatrist or put the blame of anything on you, you can feel however you like about anything. I just want to make it clear that you're saying more about yourself than anyone else and it'd be smart to recognize that.)

 

[Nimcha]

Well, if I didn't like the LGBT community I'd be pretty short on dating options, considering I'm part of that community...

I really don't know what you want me to say, though. Your question statement is immensely vague. What specifically are we meant to be talking about?

^ This ^

is the sort of shit that bothers me OP. I find it annoying that she felt the need to make clear tht she is, in fact, a Lesbian. Listen, good for you badgersprite, but nobody gives a shit that you prefer taco to sausage.

I do!

Now what?

You don't count. And neither does anybody else quoting that to polarize. Because that's why you're doing it, to polarize. Study harder.

You're doing the exact same thing.

I don't give a shit about 99% of the content that's posted on these forums, yet I don't complain about it.

You realize this Thread is about opinions on the LGBT community, right? Pretty common opinion that the kind that have to mention it all the time are annoying.

Like I said, study harder, you kind of suck at the whole psychology thing.

Personal insults aside...

I do not care about your opinion, you just made a sweeping generalization. That I reacted to.

Oh, that's not a insult, it's a observation, you can't stop taking the bait, you obviously haven't noticed that I've been fucking with you, so I doubt you're all too great with the psychology thing. I'm also fairly certain that you'll reply to this aswell, it would probably be best if you prove me wrong. Also, there is no generalization in saying that Gays and Lesbians that feel the need to make sure everybody always knows that they are homosexuell are annoying. If it's relevant, go nut's (or ovaries if you prefer), if it isn't, you're annoying. It's a fact of life.

Wow I'm so impressed you managed to 'fuck with' someone over the internet. That truly takes a lot of skill.

Yawn.

 

[Blind Sight]

Fuck whatever you want, as long as they're willing and not under the age of fifteen, I've got no problems with it. I know that's a really simple answer but in all honesty I don't really consider gay/bi/transsexual/whatever relations to be any of my business. I'm not a fan of blatantly moralizing or bitching about another person's voluntary choices that have no real effect on me. That being said, I also don't feel that opposing opinions to mine should be forced to be quiet under the pretense of 'correctness'. As long as someone isn't actively attempting to harm or undermine other individuals (through legal means, etc.) I don't see their opinion as a problem.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

Bisexuality doesn't exist, it's just someone resisting the knowledge that they are queer.
Transsexuals have a mental disorder. I've never been sure why they were lumped in with the gay and lesbian community, but if you want to put a knife to your penis then you are fighting your natural biology.

Oh, internet. How you always supply me with the most hilarious quotes of pure, uncut ignorance.

To be on topic. I don't care either way. There's an obvious lack of it, but I don't feel it's completely lacking per say. I'd like to see more of it represented, but I don't want to see it added just for the fact that companies can say "they did" or they are being "cutting edge" on their social agendas. Add it if it feels natural, cut it if it feels fake - just don't hate on it because you don't know and don't ignore it because of your own bias feelings.

 

[CMDDarkblade]

As a gay guy, I mostly keep my sexual orientation to myself because most of the time it isn't relevant to whatever I'm doing e.g. business transactions and most of my college classes. However, this means that when I do mention my sexual orientation I consider it important and relevant. I'm not "flaunting" my sexual orientation; I'm stating it. Most of the time this means that someone who has considered me straight because I don't act "flaming" or "camp" now has to change their view of me and consider me as gay. Most of the time they say "whatever" and there is no issue, but there are a few people who get offended that they have been told that I'm gay and accuse me of pushing my sexuality on them.

To this I reply: "Dude, why are you mad at me for? I just told you that I was gay. You didn't see me getting annoyed with you when you said to me last week, 'Damn, she has a fine ass! The things I would do to her. Umph!'"

In my opinion, straight people need to chill out. We are just trying to live our lives just like you. Most of us gay people don't care that you're straight why should you care that we are gay? Especially when we aren't trying to flirt with you.

As for LGBT characters and issues in games, I think that they should make LGBT characters like any type of well-written characters. Their sexuality should be a part of the traits that them more interesting and realistic, not just their primary characteristic. If a character in a game is homosexual or bisexual and at the end the only thing that a gamer remembers about that character is that they are homosexual or bisexual then that character has not been written well and is flat.

 

[adamroberthenry]

Well as I'm gay I can't really complain about the LGBT gaming community can I!!!!

 

[Chasing-The-Light]

I feel it's a good idea to include the LGBT community into games, such things like Fable where it gives you the option to do that, but it also gives you the option not to if you want. I like that sort of dynamic, where if you want to ignore it you can, or you can delve into it. *shrug*

 

[CMDDarkblade]

Well as I'm gay I can't really complain about the LGBT gaming community can I!!!!

Sure you can! Some of those people are annoying and incredibly narcissistic. Most of them are pretty cool though.

 

[drisky]

Not actually sure if we're supposed to be posting our gender and sexuality, but a lot of people seem to be, so what hell.

I'm a straight female.

As far homosexuality and bisexuality, I have zero problems with it whatsoever and believe it should be included in games as a choice for the player to do themselves, and maybe get hit on or asked about by gay/bi characters (granted, yes you should be able to say "No, I'm not interested." of course.) If people are freaked out by the concept of being hit on, (most notably guys seem to be the most immature about it), too frickin' bad, gay people exist, get over it. You should be flattered that someone finds you attractive not horrified, they aren't going to rape and skull-fuck you because they're gay or bi, just say no and move on.

As far transsexual characters, if they were already transitioned, passed and were living as their desired gender, you likely wouldn't know in the first place and it wouldn't even be mentioned. And if you put a stereotyped trans character where they obviously don't pass or even act appropriately like the gender they're living as, which is how you usually see the trans-people portrayed in the media, it would be straight up completely offensive. Overall, properly representing transsexuality in a video game would be extremely hard to pull off and be quite out of place most of the time.

If you focused on them before transition and some character who obviously didn't fit the particular gender they were assigned at birth, it would be rather strange as to why they're on some mission to save the world (which is what most game storylines boil down to at some point) in the first place, when they've got problems to sort out already. Not to mention if they did decide to ignore the issue and join the hero group anyway, it's unlikely they would bring it up out of nowhere and start unloading those personal problems onto the player anyway considering they're trying to save the world.

The only other scenario I can even think of that might even remotely work would be having a romantic interest who passes that the player can choose to flirt with and so forth. Eventually when things get serious into the physical contact zone, the character could tell you they're transgendered and ask if you're ok with that, which the player could respond to how they like. Although, that would most likely come across as some kind of cheap surprise ending or would likely draw way too many comparisons to The Crying Game. (Note that in this circumstance, the person would pass and you wouldn't know otherwise until they told you, which contrary to popular belief does in fact very much exist in real life.)

Outside of that... There's also transvestite characters. Seeing as how transvestism is a sexual fetish, I'm not sure what purpose it would really serve and how you would even use it. The whole stereotype about a straight man dressing in gaudy women's clothing and wearing copious amounts of makeup because it turns him on is actually extremely accurate to real life. Although, I don't know how exactly you could make a situation were it would be handled in a "serious" manner unless the player had to go to a crossdressing bar or something, and even then, it just seems gimmicky or some sort of strange joke. Also, the downside is that a large portion of the general public doesn't have the slightest clue that transvestite and transsexual are two extremely different type of people and it would most likely not give any sort of positive effect for the transsexual community in the end, which it already does.

You have it mostly right, but not all cross dressers are sexual fetishists. A lot of times cross dressers want to be socially excepted as there opposite sex, but don't want to go though the finical burden or physical risks of surgery. The permeant change is a big decision people don't take lightly after all. Some transgendered people can fell comfortable with them selves with out going though surgery.

Also there have been games that tackled gender identity, or at least not fitting gender roles. Alexis form Valkaria Chronicles 2 is in my opinion a good example.
While not exactly having the negative body image of gender dysphoria, she does dress in the male uniform and keeps her gender a secret. She likes dressing as male and has the male social role. Her reasons societal rather than based on body image, but the idea of gender non-conforming to the point of everyone thinking your a man and not correcting them is transgender enough. She wants her gender to be a non-issue, but settles on looking male to have the place in the world she wants. It shows the problems that come up with transgender people and in a way that doesn't seem out of place, as exploring the characters in the game is a side quest. But yeah, someone who is just incidentally transgender might as well just be female. If the topic of discrimination doesn't come up, it is not important. Still it would be nice to see less stereotypical transgendered people in the media if anything more then ignorant people understanding that not all of them act like Mr. Garrison.

 

[Blaster395]

Bisexuality doesn't exist, it's just someone resisting the knowledge that they are queer.

Apparently I suddenly don't exist. Odd. Then how am I typing this?

 

[Appleshampoo]

I'm fine with LGBT in my games, no problem. It's when people start going 'WHY ISN'T THERE TWO MEN MAKING OUT DURING EVERY CUT SCENE? IT'S DISCRIMINATION!' or just start pushing it into my face that they are gay and they think EVERYONE needs to know, that's when I start getting annoyed to the point of just slapping someone.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

Yeah, I suppose as a gay gamer, the only things that annoy me are the overuse of homophobic slurs in multiplayer games (Which I don't really play anyway) and the American localizations of certain games scrubbed out references to gay characters, for example the aforementioned Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Because, all the kids are scarred forever if an adorable little crossdressing boy has a crush on Mario...

Perpetuation of stereotypes annoys me as well, but that seems to be becoming less and less of a problem. I can't say I was a huge fan of how BioWare made everyone Bi in order to satisfy homosexual relationships, but I'd rather have that than no options, and I liked the romances we were given. I'm looking forward to Skyrim doing the same. I think the only things that really annoy me about "the gaming community's" views towards LGBT people apply to society in general...

 

[corneth]

Yeah, I suppose as a gay gamer, the only things that annoy me are the overuse of homophobic slurs in multiplayer games (Which I don't really play anyway)

Dude, I have actually heard NEW slurs on Multiplayer games. Those people just suck.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

Yeah, I suppose as a gay gamer, the only things that annoy me are the overuse of homophobic slurs in multiplayer games (Which I don't really play anyway)

Dude, I have actually heard NEW slurs on Multiplayer games. Those people just suck.

Lol awesome, like I said I don't really play multiplayer games, so that's my ignorance. Although, it's only a matter of time before more old words are perverted for bigorty...

 

[Dunkerloop]

I really don't think of them as different from human beings. I personally don't care about a persons sexual preferences.

 

[guitarsniper]

I'm a bisexual male. I also happen to enjoy Call of Duty. Good Times. Story about that: few days ago playing MW2, I draw host. apparently some people are lagging kinda hard because a couple of "fag host leave" "fucking gay host get out" etc show up. My response: "Hello. I am host. I am also Bisexual. I am not leaving. Maybe next time you'll consider your word choice."

OT: Anyways, I feel that something like Mass Effect or Dragon Age, while good on them for having the option of same-sex romance, especially Dragon Age for allowing Guy/Guy rather than "Lezbeeyuns Hawt", doesn't necessarily go about presenting queer characters properly. There's absolutely no reason that every possible romance option needs to go both ways. They also don't really depict actual relationships properly, but that's not necessarily the point of this thread.

 

[Nihilism_Is_Bliss]

When LGBT wants representation in video games where it matters (role playing choice games ie. fallout) then fair enough.

When LGBT demands representation in games with a set story, and virtually no romantic interaction between characters (ie. WoW) they can shut it.

I have nothing against the LGBT community, but it is generally exceedingly good at kicking up a stink over nothing when it comes to video games.

 

[KelsieKatt]

You have it mostly right, but not all cross dressers are sexual fetishists. A lot of times cross dressers want to be socially excepted as there opposite sex, but don't want to go though the finical burden or physical risks of surgery. The permeant change is a big decision people don't take lightly after all. Some transgendered people can fell comfortable with them selves with out going though surgery.

That's not really transvestism though. That's transsexualism in a more controversial form.

I agree that definitely exists, although I disagree with calling it crossdressing. Cross-dressing is someone dressing in a manner contrary to the social standards to gender role they live within.

If they live their life fulltime as a particular gender, that's how I'll treat them.

As for the people who prefer to keep their sex organs purely because they're happy with them (even if they could perfectly recreate sex organs to be 100% functional and real), I can't relate to that at all, but I'm not going to stop someone from doing what they like. I still find it very confusing though to enjoy a sex role your brain is supposedly not compatible with... I don't know, I just can't really comprehend it. I still accept it though. Although, in the grand scheme of things, this particular group is a minority, so I would say that that sort of thing probably shouldn't be heavily introduced into the media until people are more comfortable with the basic concept of transsexuality to begin with.

 

[BOOM headshot65]

Seriously, as a straight male with a straight girlfriend, both of us really dont care who you are, what you do, how you think about other people, *blah, blah, blah*

I never (ok, almost never) make up my mind about someone until I have gotten to know them. Its just the way I was raised. "Dont do business with someone until you have learned about them." "Never judge someone by what is on the outside" "Never hurt anyone." Its just common sense, and I dont see what all the uproar in the "States" is about. How does a guy having romantic feelings for another guy make him less than human? No, uber-relgious people, dont play the "Its not natural or what God intended." God creates everyone, so that most likely means they were going to be gay from birth because that is how God MADE them. Blockheads.

As for LGBT in gaming, I was suprised to see you could make your character gay or Leisben in that Fallout: New Vegas. Did it freak me out? Heck no. I thought that was a great edition to the game and hope more games will follow suit.

 

[TheDooD]

Yeah, I suppose as a gay gamer, the only things that annoy me are the overuse of homophobic slurs in multiplayer games (Which I don't really play anyway) and the American localizations of certain games scrubbed out references to gay characters, for example the aforementioned Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Because, all the kids are scarred forever if an adorable little crossdressing boy has a crush on Mario...

Perpetuation of stereotypes annoys me as well, but that seems to be becoming less and less of a problem. I can't say I was a huge fan of how BioWare made everyone Bi in order to satisfy homosexual relationships, but I'd rather have that than no options, and I liked the romances we were given. I'm looking forward to Skyrim doing the same. I think the only things that really annoy me about "the gaming community's" views towards LGBT people apply to society in general...

The reason why the gaming community's views are kinda messed up on this issues because they really don't want to deal with it. Overall I kinda hate the whole date-sim bullshit that's tacked on to extend storyline. This goes for all sexual perseverance, relationship roles feel like another mission instead of you really growing to care about a character. It's basically spoil them until they're willing to fuck you.

If you're happy with that kind of relationship building in a games that's fine. Yet we all know they can go way past the whole date-sim logic that's currently set up. If the LGBT stuff is gonna get done right the hetero is gonna have to get done right first. To me they're gonna have to get past the sex as a goal and work on dependable, romantic relationships. When you're building that relationship the end product should in my eyes be a very close friend instead of just a sexual conquest.