Meet the gaymers: why queer reprentatn is explodg vio gam | Gam | The Guardian

Contents:

• MEET THE GAYMERS: WHY QUEER REPRENTATN IS EXPLODG VIO GAM
• WHY WE NEED MORE GAY CHARACTERS IN VIO GAM
• PRS A, BE GAY: LGBTQ REPRENTATN VIO GAM

MEET THE GAYMERS: WHY QUEER REPRENTATN IS EXPLODG VIO GAM

From beg a meangful NPC the ma gam to havg his own DLC, Sir Hammerlock is a great showse for how you n wre a gay man whose role life isn’t jt Sophie’s choice between sufferable and perpetual bt iend. Night In The Woods also don’t shy away om queer reprentatn, wh protagonist Mae beg pansexual and other characters beg gay, trans, and non-bary. Dorian isn't picted as beg shackled and havg to be rcued om homophobia, but stead actively seeks to change the systemic ials that make such prejudice so vilent the first place.

Dorian is proud of who he is, both as a gay man and as a Tevter mage. Vio gam are no different, wh characters like Lara Croft and Bayota often beg ced as gay ins — even Pokemon is known for s huge LGBTQ+ fan base. What’s changed recent years, though, is that gaymers no longer have to make do wh queer-dg or si characters that barely reference their sexualy – we now have fully-realized LGBTQ+ protagonists and optns for queer romance more gam than ever before.

Now for somethg a ltle different… Dream Daddy has gathered que the cult followg sce s release 2017, partly bee ’s one of the few gay datg sims out there, but mostly bee ’s really enjoyable, has a great art style, and is credibly well-wrten. The bt thg about Apex’s diversy is that enpass multiple parts of the muny, not jt gay men who have tradnally been the on reprented mass media – Seer is pansexual, Loba is bisexual, and Bloodhound is non-bary. While gay protagonists are beg more mon vio gam, ’s still que rare to see trans reprentatn virtual worlds.

WHY WE NEED MORE GAY CHARACTERS IN VIO GAM

Every entry is worth playg, and they all have some form of reprentatn for queer people; whether that’s a blossomg romance between Max and Chloe, or the sad story of Jab’s trmatic experienc wh gay nversn ‘therapy’. Inclus gay, lbian, bi, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, transgenr, polyamoro, non-bary, and others. Inclus gam that you n play both as a gay man and a gay woman.

The cis-normative stranglehold on vio gam has started to weaken wh the cln of gay, bisexual, tersex and asexual characters key rol the medium's biggt anchis. One of gamg’s most famo gay characters is Ellie om The Last of Us (2013). They also heavily imply that he is gay – somethg which chim wh historil rerd – as he tells Ez “women provi ltle distractn”.

As her story unfolds we learn about Sam’s girliend Lonnie, how the two sperately tried to pe the homophobia of ral 90s Ameri and fai who didn’t unrstand or accept them. While most of the game als wh them of self-acceptance terms of sexualy and genr prentatn, players should be warned that also has graphic mentns of abe and sexual asslt as well as homophobia and transphobia. MidBoss is associated wh the GaymerX nventn, and ma 2064: Read Only Memori orr to create a game where queer characters are prented on equal terms wh cisgenred and heterosexual unterparts.

PRS A, BE GAY: LGBTQ REPRENTATN VIO GAM

While the general tone of the game is lighthearted and fun, do discs heavy and triggerg topics such as child abe and homophobia, so players who uld be affected by this should be reful. From Caper the Castro to Raptor Boyiend, the fabulo gam let you exprs yourself and remember LGBTQ+ pri month to all the gaymers! The tle rd for Caper the Castro reads, “It’s not jt a game … 's a gayme!

This ronat wh what game signer Anna Anthropy lls “the gay button”, which is the ia that such reprentatns n be turned on or off at the whim of the player. If the player selects the rrect seri of qutns, is revealed that the hunter is gay.

The Legend of GayBla.