World of Warcraft and the GLBT community

[steve2470]

A woman asked a question about gays and lesbians in WoW at BlizzCon and ignited a 23 page (and counting) forum firestorm for Blizzard Entertainment:

Concerning that lesbian woman at Blizzcon (the exact thread title)

[Posteritatis]

1. I kind of like one of the responses:

"The fact that people are SO upset over these ten seconds tells why the question is so needed. Interesting, isn't it."

It reminds me of a similar flamewar that started on another WoW thread when some dolt complained about insufficiently white characters being so common otherwise. As a gamer, I gotta say I find gamers pretty embarrassing at times. ;P

[WillParkinson]

2. One person summed it up nicely for me...

/facepalm

There are people who say it doesn't advance the story at all. So every NPC in the game advances a story? I'm kind of doubting it. (And playing it for years I know that I've seen plenty of men/women/children family units.)

[NMMNG]

3. Bigots want to even control fantasy games

I remember a thread about the Sims where someone asked why they couldn't incorporate reproduction for same-sex couples. In Sims2 you have to adopt or use a cheat to allow your SS couple to reproduce. In Sims3 you can only adopt, though with one of the expansion packs you can get a clone of one Sim (who won't be related to the other spouse in the marriage).

Needless to say a bunch of anti-gays went cuckoobananas about how you can't do that IRL so why ask for it in the Sims? Please! There are many things the Sims do that you can't do IRL so why would this be such a big deal--unless you're a raging bigot?

[justiceischeap]

4. I've only gotten halfway through page 2 but

The folks over there need some education on sexuality. Many keep saying why include a homosexual in the game since it's not got many romances, i.e., if there's no romance, there's no need to include 'teh gay'.

No wonder it's taking us so long to advance our cause if all they see when they look at us is "romance". I haven't "romanced" anyone in over five years but that doesn't make me any less a lesbian. I think if there is any chance of romance in a video game and that game allows you to build your own character, then they should handle the world building as such: make all characters within game capable of same-sex relationships and when building your character, picking their sexuality. That said, I think the way Dragon Age 2 handled this issue was great.

[NMMNG]

5. Bingo

Sadly we get the same thing here when people opine that teenagers don't need to come out because they're too young to be bothering with all of that "sex stuff". Why is it always about sex and "romancing" whenever the subject of gay or bi people comes up yet nobody blinks an eye when toddlers are raised on fairy tales with plenty of hetero characters kissing, marrying, etc?

[justiceischeap]

6. I thought the question about coming out was a valid one but

only because it's been proven it's not safe for them to come out so early because people who should be protecting them once they do, aren't and some kids just aren't equipped to handle the scrutiny/bullying once they do come out--I think it's unfair that we have to have this conversation at all. Anyway, their safety is my only line of reasoning as to why they shouldn't come out so early.

That said, I think it's great that kids have been coming out earlier and I agree that all too often the "sex stuff" gets in the way. I also agree that we sexualize our children from the moment they're born (this is more to do with gender than sexuality) and in turn it causes problems not just with sexuality but with equality between the sexes.

[NMMNG]

9. The problem was more that

being gay is always associated with sex, whereas being straight never is unless the parties involved are actually screwing. The double standard is demeaning and frustrating. "I'm gay" is no more about sex than "I'm straight".

[justiceischeap]

10. I totally agree! nt

[William769]

7. I hope these people don't play the Sims 3 game.

Then they would be foaming at the mouth. BTW I love the Sims 3 & have all the games since it's inception. OOps did I just say they publicly.

[NMMNG]

8. I love the Sims

I particularly appreciate that in Sims3 same-sex couples can get married rather than just having a "joined union".

[WillParkinson]

12. Love me some Sims 3...

Just got Pets. Haven't had time to play it yet, though. /grumble

[steve2470]

11. update thread: " An explanation from the Blizzcon Lesbian " (exact thread title)

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/3430806002?page=1

Hey guys, I've been seeing a lot of reactions to the question that I asked at Blizzcon and I just wanted to clear some things up about why I asked that and how I feel regarding the issue. Please try to understand that these writings are solely my feelings, and may not reflect the feelings of the LGBT community as a whole. We are all unique individuals with different thoughts :)

I'd just like to preface by saying thank you to Blizzard for their response, and thank you again for putting on a wonderful convention like Blizzcon. It was definitly worth the ~6000 mile round trip I had to make and I hope to be back again next year (this time with my girlfriend!) Chris Metzen did an awesome job when he answered my question, and I am extremely satisfied with his words. This was my first year going and I had a blast. (Diablo 3 is legit, you should all buy it!)

First, I would like to state that my question may not have been worded as properly as I had hoped. When you get up in front of that camera, and the lights are in your face and you realize that you have hundreds of thousands of people watching you, your thought processes tend to be a little muddled :) What I wanted to ask was if there would ever be an LGBT character in any Blizzard property or media. I don't necessarily want NPCs running around the game proclaiming their sexuality. I would personally be content with a character in a novel who just happens to be a lesbian (or gay, bisexual or transgender) or even another franchise entirely.

That said, if they did decide to make this take place within the context of the game universe, I feel that it would bolster support from the LGBT gaming community (Yes, there is one) and increase the enjoyment we get out of the game. When I play a game where my character is able to interact with the world in a fashion I choose, it makes it much more enjoyable. For example, Bioware's Mass Effect series has handled this very well, and I find a huge part of my enjoyment of those games is playing around with the relationships.

*rest at link above*