Even though the LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual) community is making progress, there are still people who do not support them which impacts various industries like the videogame industry. LGBT theme and characters are a very sensitive subject when it comes to videogames. Lucien Soulban, Ubisoft’s lead writer, explained that fears of damaging sales would be the main blockade in securing support for an LGBT protagonist (IGN, Luke K). It would be a refreshing change to see a minority protagonist in video games versus the stereotypical white, male protagonist, not only would this be refreshing but it would appeal to different parts of the player demographic. In order for the Western world to better accept LGBT protagonists, videogame publishers need to take a risk in having an LGBT protagonist if any progress in representing and aiding this minority in their fight for acceptance.
Video games shied away from LGBT characters until Infocom’s 1986 Moonmist, which is a mystery detective game for multiple systems such as Atari ST and PC (Commodore 64). One suspect in the game, Vivien Pentreath, was jealous of your female friend’s fiancé because he married her girlfriend. Although it wasn’t openly stated that they were a lesbian couple, there was a connotation that they were girlfriends at one point (Metroweekly). Infocom took the first step helping make LGBT characters more accepted by exposing and representing them to this part of media. Unlike Infocom’s Moonmist, Nintendo shied away from any form of topic that could put them into negative light. Nintendo censored and removed any sexualities within their games. Even with all the censorship, Nintendo’s Birdo is a target in the community due to her transsexual status. Her status in ge...
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Often in videogames female roles are over sexualized and over dramatized within the limited supportive roles that they play, often playing the role of the sidekick. When their the protagonist they’re reduced to nothing but sex icons to appeal to men. Often scantily dressed and a bust size within the D cup and up range. Characters like Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider Series debutting in 1996 and Bayonetta in her own series called Bayonetta which released in 2010. Yet even though they are far apart in terms of release they both feature a lead female role whom dresses in an obscene manner. Why is this? The simple truth is that sex sells, games with female characters with mini skirts and tight shirts generally manage to sell decently well. This causes an issue in the min...
Video game playing has become an increasingly popular interest for many people. Every video game is unique in its own way and how it is shaped to the audience at hand. With all the video game playing, this gives rise to possible concerns as to how the media portrays such aspects in a game. One debate about video games that is an increasingly popular subject to talk about is how gender is portrayed in video games for both men and women. In many video games, women are shown as having a passive role, while men hold a more dominant role. In the video game Tomb Raider, Lara Croft is a character this is being talked about because she is the main character and is a female. Previous video games have created the media representation that females are
While the survey was conducted in England with English citizens, the results are still applicable here in America. For instance, countless television shows from England are rebooted and rewritten for American audiences, like Queer as Folk, the Office, and Shameless. So, biases and stereotypes in those shows are likely to carry over to the rebooted shows here in America. Moreover, exaggerations or perpetuation of stereotypes of queer characters is especially harmful because they are already exposed to prejudice, and negative portrayals only serve to heighten the hostility they face in their day-to-day lives. Admittedly, having more queer characters on television will not solve the crises that plague the gay community. However, it will certainly help curb the discrimination, violence, and lack of respect they experience in their everyday
...deo game blogger and venture capital analyst Bob Thomas says “things are moving in the right direction, with great games like the mass effect series, putting male and female characters on equal footing.” Over the decades gamers have matured, with audiences recognises the inappropriate content displayed. He stresses: “i don’t think the gaming audience accepts sexism lightly” and says that for companies “who are mature enough to acknowledge that their developers’ sex is not the basis of their creativity, the benefits are clear”. (Bates, 2012) The gender imbalance and stereotype of woman being weaker than males is reinforced through Grand Theft Auto. The times have changed, and with more video game publishes rebuking this stereotype and allocating more female roles in their games, it is about time that Rockstar, the producer of Grand Theft Auto, should follow suit.
When television first appeared back in the 1940's, times were very different. What we would consider completely normal today would have seemed quite taboo just a few decades ago. For example, in 1953, Lucille Ball was not allowed to say the word "pregnant" while she was expecting baby Ricky and it wasn't until the 1960's show Bewitched, that we saw a married couple actually sharing the same bed. Considering how conservative the television networks were back then, it is not hard to deduce that something as controversial as homosexuality would be far from discussed or portrayed at any level. It was only in 1973 that television premiered its first homosexual character. Over the next three decades the emergence of gay and lesbian characters in television has increased and decreased as the times have changed. Due to the resurgence of conservatism that came back in the early 1980's, homosexual topics were again reduced to a minimum. Since that time though, as many people can see, there has been a rise of gay and lesbian characters on television. One might think after a first glance at the previous sentence that there has been progress among gay and lesbian communities to have a fair representation in the media. However, if one looks hard at the circumstances surrounding their portrayal, many people may start to believe that if there has been any progress then it has been quite minimal.
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.
As a gay male, I have encountered a numerous amount of situations in my lifetime where i was discriminated against or harassed for my sexuality. However, every instance I have encountered this discriminatory situations, I have gained valuable insight in what it means to not be accepted. Going into a foreign culture, I hope to spread this understanding
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.
Wilton, Tamsin. "Which One's the Man? The Heterosexualisation of Lesbain Sex." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 157-70. Print.
Halwani, Raja, Gary Jaeger, James Stramel, Richard Nunan, William Wilkerson, and Timothy Murphy. What Is Gay and Lesbian Philosophy? 2008. MS. Oxford, UK. San Diego Mesa College Academic Databases. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. .
In the face of a homophobic society we need creative and critical processes that draw out the complexity of lesbian lives and same sex choices, not a retreat into the comforting myths of heroines and unfractured, impeachable identities
Gender and sexuality might be fathomed through social science. Social science is "the investigation of human culture and of unique connections in and to public opinion" (free lexicon, 2009). The investigation of social science manages diverse parts of public opinion, for example, governmental issues, trading and lending, and the social parts of pop culture. Sexual orientation character is nearly interlinked with social science as it is focused around a personality of a single person in the general public. Sexuality is "the state of being described and recognized by sex" (free word reference, 2009). There are distinctive sex personalities, for example, male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and cross-sexual that exists all far and wide. There is bias in sexual orientation personalities and strength of a male paying little respect to which sexuality they fall under. The guys are better over the females and gays better over the lesbians, on the other hand it diverse relying upon the spot and circumstances. This paper will take a gander at the sex parts and generalizations, social arrangement, and homosexuality from a current and a conventional public opinion point of view. The three separate territories will be contrasted by the two separate social orders with see the amount changes has happened and whether anything has truly changed. When all is said in done a customary public opinion is more traditionalist where as an up to date pop culture is on a very basic level liberal. This is to say that a customary pop culture records certain parts relying upon the sexual orientation and there are generalizations that are associated with the sexes. One must comply with the particular case that is predominant and decide. Then again, an up t...
Throughout Western civilization, culturally hegemonic views on gender and sexuality have upheld a rigid and monolithic societal structure, resulting in the marginalization and dehumanization of millions of individuals who differ from the expected norm. Whether they are ridiculed as freaks, persecuted as blasphemers, or discriminated as sub-human, these individuals have been historically treated as invisible and pushed into vulnerable positions, resulting in cycles of poverty and oppression that remain prevalent even in modern times. Today, while many of these individuals are not publicly displayed as freaks or persecuted under Western law, women, queer, and intersexed persons within our society still nonetheless find themselves under constant
The first video games didn’t call for much attention to gender as there weren’t really any humans present. Games such as Snake or Asteroids were really just a revolution in technology. As time progressed, gaming consisted of male-dominated industry whose
Timmons, Heather, and Kumar, Hari. “Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban.” New York Times. (2009): n. page. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. .