Ok, I know I said I was getting back to lighthearted gaming topic with the next post, but yeah, been busy with work and this is kind of fresh out there, in my mind at least, and it's kind of important to say in the geek/gamer subculture especially.
Also, before we get started, this is a post for people on a somewhat more mature situation. Childish comments following this post will be ignored. Also, my language might take a more vehement turn in some aspects of this, so be warned that this post would be rated R in film and probably M, borderline AO in gaming.
So, how many of you use the word "gay" as a negative term describing something? Be honest. Hell, I'm even guilty of it. I've seen it on ScrewAttack plenty of times in the comment section, and well, there's even an entire post out there about Spongebob's sexuality (which definitely is much more negative slant on LGBT issues than should probably be present, but that's another topic).
As many of you know, I am interested in both guys and girls...I'm not bisexual, but LGBT issues do play a major issue in my life because of that. Seeing gamers and other geeks trash gay people by using the word is really painful. For the most part...these are people I respect, as they too live on the edge of society as a rule, they're usually very intelligent, very well spoken, and usually, they don't give two shits about your personal life (though, in some cases, they can be a bit perverted, but for the most part, no).
This last week, not only were games ruled as art, but New York became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage. This was really big news for the LGBT community at large, as New York is the most populated state in the nation as well as the center of a large number of gay issues, specifically, the Stonewall Riots (the event that kicked off the Gay Rights Movement comparable to the Montgomery Bus Boycott of the Civil Rights Movement, though, with more Mafia involvement) and the first Gay Pride Parade.
Last month, Tennessee, the state in which I live, passed a bill stating that educators, the field in which I study, will be legally punishable for mentioning homosexuality or any other LGBT topic in their classrooms, eight grade and under (by the way, you should really read that link, the author is wonderful at her editorials). Their reasoning though, at least their stated reasoning, was that it was because children were saying gay in the classroom as a derogatory statement. Yeah, rather than make it illegal for gay to be used negatively by teachers, and give precedence for a rule for students, they made it so teachers were not allowed to teach homosexuality in general. How's that fucking work again?
The only good thing to come from it is a new focus on Tennessee by gay advocates and activists, most notably, George Takei, and now that New York has gained the right to marry...that's a whole lot of lobbyists and activists.
Here's where it's really been an issue in the gaming world though of late. Anytime any content provider, be they ScrewAttack, GameTrailers, IGN, Kotaku, Channel Awesome, Destructoid, puts out anything that might concern LGBT issues, a spew of hatred comes bubbling out of the the geek community.
The latest example was Channel Awesome's Nostalgia Chick attending this last weekends NYC Pride. The piece itself is very well done, shines a light on the topic, exposing a lot of people all over the world to Pride, and giving a bit of what it means that something like that exists.
Unfortunately, the comments section tells another story. The delusion that being gay, being a lesbian, being bisexual, or being transgender are all mental disorders are brought up. There again, that being those are a choice. Simply put, neither are true or have any semblance of truth.
As I said before, this is not an isolated event, and it's been a while since I've seen it here on ScrewAttack, which is why I felt posting this here rather than somewhere else would be a good idea. However, it does happen, and the aforementioned Spongebob Blog is still up, but I think this site might be the best place to entreat geeks and gamers who also visit other sites to call people out when they say something like this. Do it in an adult way of course, but make it known that what they're saying isn't true.
I'm apprehensive about asking this time, but please share your thoughts about this topic below.
-Sara
p.s. I promise, next post...gaming goodness, I swear.
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