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Aired Sep 9, 2021

LGBTQ+ Represenation in Video Games

Looking for ways to keep the conversation going about LGBTQ+ issues with your ERG, community group, or PFLAG chapter? Welcome to Something to Talk About, a series designed by PFLAG National’s Straight for Equality program to create conversation about LGBTQ+ issues. Each week we’ll offer an article on LGBTQ+ topics and suggest a few questions you can use to lead a discussion. 

We hosted a conversation about this article as a part of PFLAG Connects and Something to Talk About Live on Thursday, September 9. Did you miss it? You can still watch it here!

Have feedback about how your conversation went? Let us know by e-mailing [email protected]. 

Article: Damning study shows how LGBT+ representation in games is practically non-existent 

Source: Pink News 

Author: Ed Nightingale

Questions for Discussion:

  1. We’ve been talking about the hostility that is characteristic of gaming spaces for years, so little in this report is unexpected. What is surprising to many, however, is the fact that efforts to improve these environments have been ongoing and nothing seems to be working. What’s the disconnect, and why have past efforts failed? 

  2. One of the questions that “The Double-Edged Sword of Online Gaming” addresses is why gaming spaces are so attractive and popular, especially with male-identified gamers. More than 80% said that online gaming spaces said that this gives them a place to connect with friends, and a significant portion noted that gaming spaces allow them to be their authentic selves. But given the report’s negative findings about what happens in these spaces, is this reason for concern and action in the gaming world?

  3. Many of the report’s recommendations are rooted in increasing visibility of marginalized characters (e.g., have more LGBTQ+ characters in games). Do you think that representation is an effective way to overcome this problem? Is it more complicated than that? And if yes, what else needs to happen?

  4. Focus typically falls on what’s wrong in certain industries, and this conversation is no exception. But we rarely get to elevate games and gaming spaces that are getting this right? Can you identify games and gaming communities that are changing the climate and how gamers are treated?

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