Importance
of Having Diversity in Games, Game Companies, and Game Journalism
Unfortunately the video game industry
and video game journalism can look fairly homogeneous. While the market has
improved and we do see more and more diversity in both games and those who report on them, there is still a
great deal to be done. Through simple ignorance or malice, video games too
often come across as a medium solely for straight white cis males ages 15-35.
The market is clogged with games that seem to only cater to this specific
group.
Protagonists are virile young white men
fulfilling power fantasies. Women are often sexualized eye candy in games
also for the benefit of straight men. The female characters that do exist tend
to be present for the male protagonist to conquer romantically or physically.
People of color tend to follow stereotypes, if they appear at all. Black
characters in video games are cops or soldiers. Asians are engineers and
scientists. Native Americans are shown with mystical connections to nature, and
Latinos are portrayed as passionate and emotional. Gay characters are very
scarce in video games. Transgender characters are virtually non-existent.
Much of video game journalism
reinforces this homogeneity too through overwhelmingly straight cis white male
authors who seem to write exclusively for a similar audience. Even sites that
make an honest try to reach broader audiences are limited by the lack of
diversity among their writers.
As a straight cis man, I will never be
able to reproduce the experience or perspective of my female or gay or transgender colleagues. While I can sympathize with fellow people from a
different ethnic or religious background, I cannot speak for them. Even if I
support the message, I cannot replicate or replace a voice that is not mine.
Publications that claim to support diversity cannot rightly do so while leaving
people voiceless through the construction of their staff.
The "boy's club" mentality
thrives among in-game communities too. While active on game forums and working
with in-game groups, I have seen calls for more focus on a diverse audience met
with derision and hostility. Women in game guilds are often treated like
privileged guests rather than full-fledged members. I've seen online game
groups constantly define racial, gender, and orientation minorities by their
differences rather than anything related to the game that brought players
together. I have friends whose guildmates refer to them as "that black
guy" or "the gay guild leader." Some players online will even
seek to force minorities out of what they feel is an owned straight white cis
male space through continual verbal harassment.
I contribute to a blog called
Pixelkin.org, which is focused on bringing families together through gaming. The
idea that games are a straight white cis male space is a barrier to families
gaming together too. It's hard to ask a parent to play a game where they might
be alienated simply for their gender, age, orientation, or ethnicity. Likewise
it's difficult to bring kids into a gaming world where parents know they might
be targeted and harassed for the same reasons.
Games, however, are a cultural reality
now. They help shape and define our culture and will continue to do so.
Children need the help of parents to
address diversity issues and make sense of an improving but still intolerant
and prejudiced society. We must give children the tools to take ownership of
their world to make it a better place. Parents can use games to show kids the
ways spaces can become exclusionary to the detriment of everyone. Kids need the
guidance to learn the importance of helping others feel like a game is
everyone's space - not just a space people are invited to by straight white
boys.
Learning to question the art we love is
a life skill we all need.
The anonymity of online communities can
free bigots of social filtration to reveal just how ugly and violent
exclusionary sentiments are at their core. While encountering Internet trolling
can be a harrowing experience, it is a window to how ugly the world can be
beneath the surface. The presence of an adult when a kid encounters this
behavior or considers engaging in it, is invaluable. It's a chance to stop
societal pressure to bully or be bullied, and provide that love and support we
all need sometimes.
Recently, an editing position at a game
journalism site with a predominantly white cis male staff was filled by yet
another white cis man, despite more diverse alternatives. I do not know what
went into the decisions that led to this choice, and I have no wish to single
out to disparage the man they did choose. Nevertheless, this decision was
disappointing to those hoping for a change. What was even more alarming,
however, was the hostility people encountered after voicing their
disappointment over the decision. The backlash was so aggressive that one
writer stated that she would not cover video games at all anymore. In other
words, the backlash from those seeking to preserve homogeneity in games
successfully created even more homogeneity.
The lesson from this episode and others
like it, however, should be that diversity in games and game journalism is too
important for anyone to stand up alone for it. The impact of diversity (or lack
thereof) in the video game medium on our culture is too crucial to leave as the
job of a few isolated brave pioneers. It is the responsibility of all of us who
believe in it. If we only quietly support these pioneers, we leave them to bear
the brunt of resulting abuse alone. The people trying to stifle diversity are
many and vocal. I believe those who favor diversity are also many and should
make their voices known.
If you feel this is an important issue
to address, speak out. Let your opinions be known on the web or just to your
friends and family. If you happen to be on Twitter, please use the tag
#GamEQuality to mark any statements or links to your articles in support. Game
companies and journal publishers need to see this matters to many of us. It's
about games, equality, and quality, because diversity just makes games
better.