Intrigued as I am by jcrowl's most recent blog, I was also a little inspired by the title of his last blog, "Real-Life Game Immersion: Worldviews and Contexts". Instead of looking at the contexts and worldviews set up by the WODMMO, however, I would like to talk about the worldviews and contexts of the game's players in relation to the statement by the developers that they want to make the game friendly to all walks of life - in short, the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community and other disenfranchised groups. I want to get this squared away long before the game even starts, so I'm going to be blunt.
Let's talk about labels and their connotations for a minute. I've never liked them. (I am especially annoyed when they become so common as to turn into acronyms, like GLBT. "Glibbit? What the hell is 'glibbit'??") As soon as you put a name on something, you define it, and that means you put limits on it. Labels like "gay", "lesbian", "goth", "nerd", or "geek" all come with certain stereotypes and preconceptions, but what's more, they all come with social boundaries and expectations of behavior. Call me contrary, but I've never really bought into the whole social stratifcation of highschool. I pretty much did my own thing, and to my credit, nobody called me a nerd or geek to my face. It is only in recent years that I've taken to labeling myself as a "geek", as distinct from many other disenfranchised groups like nerds, goths, foreign-exchange students, and other weirdos. Nobody has ever explained to my satisfaction what these labels are in contrast against: What is this "normal" I keep hearing about? What is this "real life"?
Nowadays, long after highschool, I've noticed that certain trends are changing, and the definition of what is "normal" is becoming a little more inclusive. Now, playing PC or console games is an acceptable part of a teenager's or young adult's life. No more are we "those gamer geeks over there", we're the guys who know the trick to beat the boss on level 18. We're the guys who show up for clan events, to show those stupid Red Teamers what's what with a sniper rifle and a kukri. Biases left over from the 1950s are changing, adapting, and in some cases even being discarded. Geekdom is now a goddamn industry. So this brings up what is, to me, an extremely important question: Are people really becoming more accepting, or are the disenfranchised communities simply becoming more conforming? Is it "that gay guy is cool", or is it "that cool guy is gay"? From what little I see of popular media, I fear it is the latter: you have to be cool and popular before it's okay for you to be gay. If people discover first that you're gay, or a nerd, or a geek, or a goth, or a weirdo, it still taints your chances. This is not how I want things to go in the WODMMO. Just because I'm a geek doesn't mean I'm not cool. Likewise, just because I'm cool doesn't mean I can't geek out.
The geek has long been one of these disenfranchised groups I mention; the gamer geek is a further refinement of this, the roleplaying gamer geek another, and finally we have the World of Darkness roleplaying gamer geek. We are not the majority in any sense of the word, but - and here's the kicker - the so-called "minorities" almost always tend to outnumber the so-called "majority" if looked at as a whole group. We don't need to be disenfranchised by this surprisingly rare and obscure "normal" when we can simply team up together and play what should be a damn good game.
But now we put this in the context of the internet, where any jackwit with a computer gains complete anonymity and usually an unjustified sense of entitlement to go along with it. Bashing on any given disenfranchised group still occurs, and even more so on the internet. Anonymity is freeing for some, but for others it is a cage: sometimes you can't admit to be who you are online, because you'll get ragged on by people who buy into the whole labeling business and think that just because you're one thing, you have to be other things. I am going to wield their primary weapon against them and say that this is not cool. This is not a good attitude. This is not something that can happen to the WODMMO.
Now I'm going to be a little flippant and probably come off as insulting, so if you are of a sensitive disposition, or if you often feel like a Nossie stuck in a room full of Toreador harpies, skip the next paragraph or two.
It doesn't freaking matter what we are. I am not special because I am a geek; you are not special because you're a woman who hits on other women. You are not special because you like ketchup on your sandwiches. I am not special because I sit in the corner and brood. (And, ohh, how I brood!) None of us are special because - I reiterate - it doesn't freaking matter. There is a great quote from Clanbook: Gangrel that says: "on the Internet, no one knows you're a dog" - and frankly, I don't see why we should care. You can read whatever you want into "dog", but the fact remains that all that matters for the purposes of the game is that we pay our subscription and take up a spot at Elysium gatherings. Being one of any number of disenfranchised groups in no way prohibits us from becoming the most kickass bounty hunter on the shard, or the Primogen to whom everybody and their cat owes a favor, or the most successful information broker outside of Clan Nosferatu. What you do in the privacy of your own haven is - you guessed it - your own private business. Whoever decides to join that private business of their own free will can and should be able to without any real-life repurcussions. Hate is hate is hate, and I don't want to see it in my game.
Don't get me wrong, here: I'm not worried about your fragile ego or self-image. Nowhere on the internet is a safe place for the squeamish or soft-hearted, a World of Darkness MMO much less so. Not to abuse the phrase here, but if you're the kind of person who cries themselves to sleep because of what some idiot stranger on the internet said as part of a mean joke to make themselves feel better, then man up. You're not going to survive in the World of Darkness if you're subject to crazy emotional swings based on the uninformed opinions of strangers. Just like we don't matter, they don't matter. Nines Rodriguez had it right when he said to find yourself some people who aren't complete assholes and put your feet up. Make an example of somebody if you have to, but don't turn it into a reverse-hate situation. Hate is hate is hate. Don't prove that you're not to be messed with because of something that doesn't matter - prove that you're somebody to be worried about because of things that do matter. None of us are here for the exclusive purpose of being the crutch for your ego, and if you're playing the game for the exclusive purpose of being the hammer to somebody's ego... man, you just wasted a lot of money. Be Kindred, not kine. (Unless of course you want to play a mortal. Then you can go ahead and be kine.)
With this attitude, however, we are in danger of falling into the normalizing trap. What shouldn't I matter? Where do we cross the line from "being one of the guys" to "being one of the herd"? These are questions I don't have an easy answer to. All I can say is that you have to draw the line somewhere between being able to work with people, and not being able to work with people. When somebody says "I'm gay", the only appropriate answer is "So? What generation are you?" (Now, if you are also stupid enough to actually answer that question for a stranger, well, my friend, you deserve what you get. Bigotry, favoritism, and stereotyping are all well and good in the WODMMO, but only for things that matter.) Here I need to put the disclaimer that if you are one of those types who finds "cybering" or otherwise indulging via the internet acceptable, then it DOES matter what somebody's sexual orientation is. But for practical gameplay, the Prince is still the Prince even if he's a raging homosexual. That being said, if you take this to an annoying extreme, and keep hitting on me when I have already made it clear that I do not reciprocate, I reserve the right to treat you like anybody else who was harassing me - that is to say, a quick jab to the nads with Feral Claws. You're still not special, just rude. (Kind of like this blog, actually.)
So what I have to say is really very simple: play the damn game. Anything else is of secondary importance. None of us are special because we're oppressed members of a disenfranchised group. Have some empathy, but don't let it turn into pity or hate. Maybe, just maybe, the raging idiot who has decided that you're evil and must be insulted over the internet from the cowardly protection of anonymity is a member of some other disenfranchised group. We are all of us weirdos in some way or another, so in that way we are all equal and normal. Focus on what matters, and don't let your worldview be tainted by things that don't. Adopt the World of Darkness's version of the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have done unto you - at least until their cash runs out.
10 Comments
-
1 Merits
Malena
343 days ago
The sexual orientation shouldn't be such a problem, as kindred are no more (/should be no more) concerned about sexuality in mortal manner. Their bodies and minds are now focused rather on blood-connected issues, and even when they think they feel love/lust, the ways of showing it should be more kindred-like than mortal. Of course, if you can't directly invite that stunning kindred on candlelight dinner, you can still offer her a stunning prey tied tightly with red ribbons. Though, the Elder vampires should be able to have their own prejudices, mirroring their mortal times - even if that won't be 'politically correct' today. Even if all the PCs would be embraced in modern nights, WoD is by itself directed by elder creatures and in result it shouldn't be a place of common agreement to modern thought and current streams everywhere expcept players' mentality.
Reply
-
0 Merits
342 days ago
I think on this note we'll be dealing more with people-who-play-vampires than the vampire personas themselves. Sex on the internet isn't exactly an uncommon thing, even/especially in RPGs, and I don't think too many players, even hardcore roleplayers, are going to go so far as to go for total abstinence. Even an asexual elder knows the power of control sex has over mortals and young vampires. They may not be enjoying it themselves, but they know it's a political tool, as mentioned in the previous comment. ---- On another note, however... Mental note: red, red ribbons.
Reply
-
0 Merits
Shasta
343 days ago
Am I the only one who sees the unwanted sexual advances of a city's Prince as a way of currying favour with said Prince? I mean, okay, I'm straight, but it's a game... Perhaps I'm just a little more mercenary with my sexuality than most...
Reply
-
0 Merits
Morpheus
342 days ago
Well if the Prince cannot see through the mercenary attitude, perhaps the Prince does not deserve to be Prince at all... No? Or maybe even sex will be seen as a mutually benificial agreement by the Prince. And if that is the case, it would be prudent to prepare oneself to be "dropped on the ass on the cold asphalt" when the Prince finds no more use for one.
Reply
-
0 Merits
342 days ago
Oh, if the Prince is female, then I'm going to "milk" it for all it's worth, you betcha. I'm not opposed to advancing politically however I can - being a man-whore has worked for me before *cough*cough* - but I still have my own preferences, and I still factor those in. I wouldn't make a good boy-toy if I'm not into the Prince in return, y'know? But if a Prince of either gender is going to cross it over into HARASSMENT... A man needs his personal space, too. ---- Morpheus also has a good point about the perspicacity of the Prince... I was just watching "Queen of the Damned" again, and I kept thinking to myself "Lestat isn't thinking ahead, here - the odds of him ending up just like Akasha's first 'one true love' are pretty high..."
Reply
-
0 Merits
jlcrowl
344 days ago
Hey, Rick! Thanks for the reference, man. :) Yeah, I can see where you're coming from, that this is a game, and games are supposed to be fun. Being hated-on by anyone for any reason other than strictly game-related reasons (eg "You just burned down my haven! AGAIN!!") isn't fun, nor is being subjected to a topic of conversation you have long-since accepted as "no big thing." I hear you. ...And I take something different from CCP's statements about embracing the LGBT community is more about acceptance and tone than a suggestion of any kind of special treatment or the like. Though I, like you, consider myself to have zero homophobic tendencies, remember that the world at large hasn't quite caught up with us yet. Here in the States, there's a lot of hatred on both sides of the isle around the same-sex marriage issue. Not every state recognizes trans-folks by their real gender/sex. Even in gaming, it's pretty rare to see openly gay, bi or trans characters, and when they do show up, it's often more of a gimmick. Bisexuality among female characters illustrates this trope quite well, demonstrating a stereotypical male fantasy, and an additional avenue to sexualize (and dare I say, "objectify") feminity. Recall, for instance, how often your female character in Bloodlines could seduce female characters, versus how seldom male players got to seduce male NPC's. To have a gaming company make a statement like this is simply their way of reaching out to a population that doesn't always feel welcome or represented. People sare still going to bring their issues into a game about irrational, brooding monsters, whether it's about race, gender or orientation. What remains to be seen is what kind of impact this is going to have on the behavior of the players themselves, and what kind of culture(s) emerge from the mix. If your Prince decides to sexually harass your avatar, I'll be right there with you, regardless of the genders involved.
Reply
-
0 Merits
In some cases - in the realm of roleplaying - irrational, brooding monsters have their place. One of the things I really liked about the Victorian Age novels was their portrayal of realistic vices, prejudices, and bigotry. (Theo Bell got whipped because a white woman said he raped her, even though he barely looked at her. It didn't matter what happened, it just mattered what color his skin was.) There's also a bit in the Clan Novel: Toreador with Prince Benison. ---- The difference comes down to that being part of who your character is, and being able to separate them from your real-life issues. If people are going to indulge in bigotry online, then it should be fake bigotry, and they should make sure that all people attending are comfortable with it and know it's not real. I've had to apologize in advance before when doing roleplaying online. There was a case in Warhammer Online where my character was pitted against a female Magus, and he had to riff on both "those weak magic-users" and the fact that here was a woman trying to play in a man's world (war and violence). Warhammer Fantasy Northman culture is still extremely mysoginistic. (Even though there's a female Champion of Khorne running around the Chaos Wastes.) ---- The point is is that that bigotry made sense for the character and the setting, and I made sure that my fellow roleplayers knew that it was the character. (For those of you who are familiar with the setting, my approach towards women is definitely more of a Slaaneshi bent. ;) ) It would be nice if everybody already accepted things that make sense for a character, but especially in "emergent roleplaying", the line can be blurred.
Reply
-
0 Merits
jlcrowl
343 days ago
PS: Oh, and I just can't help but also refer back to the article I'd written on this very topic: http://www.wodnews.net/Blogs/tabid/82/Article/601/another-heterosexual-white-cis-man-talks-about-gender-identity-and-gaming.aspx: Thanks again, Rick!
Reply
-
0 Merits
CookieMonster
346 days ago
"You're not going to survive in the World of Darkness if you're subject to crazy emotional swings based on the uninformed opinions of strangers" What if you're a Malk? Wouldn't that make you liable to crazy emotional swings for the smallest, simplest reason? XD In all seriousness, I understand what you're saying and I agree. If people go on there to insult other people about their sexual orientation, then they truly have no life at all... And not in the "vampire" kind of way :p
Reply
-
0 Merits
346 days ago
Yeah, Malkavians are subject to crazy emotional swings ANYWAY, so... kind of just adding fuel to the fire, there. >.<
Reply
Add Comment