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Facebook's political ad policy also blocked LGBT messages
Facebook's tougher political advertising policy has had more unintended side-effects. The Washington Post has discovered that the social network inadvertently blocked dozens of LGBT-themed ads after its screening system (which includes automated and human moderators) deemed them political. Most didn't contain advocacy or obvious political leanings -- the only common link was a reference to LGBT keywords. When the ad runners complained to Facebook, it responded more than once that mentioning LGBT made it about civil rights and thus a "political topic."
Apple's Tim Cook calls state discrimination laws 'dangerous'
A number of tech executives have decried state laws that promote discrimination against the LGBT community by allowing companies to refuse service on religious grounds, but Apple CEO Tim Cook is taking his opposition to the next level. The executive has written an editorial for the Washington Post that says it's "dangerous" to enact these laws, which include Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Arkansas' tentative HB1228. To him, these measures not only "rationalize injustice" against fellow human beings (including himself), but are "bad for business" -- they could stifle employment and corporate growth.
Facebook now lets you specify a custom gender in your profile
Many in the queer community identify themselves through genders that don't fit into binary male and female definitions, but social networks typically don't allow for that kind of nuance. Thankfully, Facebook is more accommodating as of today. You can now specify a custom gender as well as a preferred pronoun. If you're not always comfortable with sharing that gender, you can limit who sees it. Facebook isn't accounting for every aspect of gender -- you still have to describe family relationships in binary terms, for instance -- but this is an important first step.
8th annual LGBT Proudmoore Pride celebration to be held this weekend
Here in the United States, the month of June is traditionally known as a month of celebration of pride by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Around the country, major cities are erupting in parades, dance parties, and excellent interior design. But it's not just the real world that celebrates -- June is a time for celebration in Azeroth, too. Sponsored by The Stonewall Family (Alliance) and Taint (Horde) guilds, the eighth annual Proudmoore Pride celebration will be held this Saturday, June 16 on the Proudmoore (US) server. Lineup for the Proudmoore Pride parade begins at 11:00 a.m. server (2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific). Horde characters will line up at the Mor'Shan Ramparts in Northern Barrens; Alliance will meet at Honor's Stand in Southern Barrens. The parade begins at 11:45, with both factions scheduled to meet up in Booty Bay at 12:30 p.m. for a massive Disco Dance Party. There will be a special Pride edition of the WoW Factor transmog contest at 2:30 p.m. at the Stormwind Cathedral. All Alliance characters are encouraged to attend to show off their fiercest fashion and try to win a share of the 100,000 gold prize pool. If you haven't been to a Proudmoore Pride celebration before, I would recommend it -- it's quite the spectacle. Full details about Proudmoore Pride can be had at the official website, ProudmoorePride.com.
Activists target SWTOR's future same-gender romances
It looks like the notorious Family Research Council has decided that it's again time to dust off its pitchforks and light some torches, and this time the organization has Star Wars: The Old Republic in its sights. In a post on the Family Research Council's website, president Tony Perkins announced that "in a galaxy not so far far away, Star Wars gamers have already gone to the dark side." Why are SWTOR players seeing a sudden influx of dark side points? Because, as the group states, "the new video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has added a special feature: gay relationships." Well, not quite -- fans of the game know that same-gender romance arcs have been slated to be a post-launch feature since last fall but are still not part of the live game. The FRC is calling on players to think of the children and claims that parents and forum-goers alike are bothered by this "Star Warped way of thinking," asking them to "show companies who the Force is really with!" Massively addressed the topic in a 2010 opinion column. You can read the organization's full statement at the link below.
Dragon Age 2 writer responds to complaint about BioWare neglecting 'straight male' demographic
For the second time in under six months, Dragon Age senior writer David Gaider felt obligated to step among the Darkspawn in the BioWare Forums to defend the sexual politics of Thedas. A post on the forum declares that "Bioware Neglected Their Main Demographic: The Straight Male Gamer" in Dragon Age 2. The author's thesis (which you should totally read) posits several interesting arguments. Our favorite: "It makes things very awkward when your male companions keep making passes at you. The fact that a 'No Homosexuality' option, which could have been easily implemented, is omitted just proves my point." "We have good numbers, after all, on the number of people who actually used similar sorts of content in [Dragon Age: Origins] and thus don't need to resort to anecdotal evidence to support our idea that their numbers are not insignificant," Gaider wrote, echoing previous sentiments in his response. We think BioWare should seize this opportunity and release some DLC: the big, gaudy, golden "Necklace of Nohomo" that grants +2 against "unwanted advances" -- then donate the proceeds to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Anti-Aliased: Even virtual relationships are hot button issues
Before I even begin this column, I need to give a shout out to Interitus. This week's topic was inspired by an e-mail he recently sent me, regarding the ongoing debate on the Star Wars: The Old Republic forums with their "romance" story arcs. So, thanks Interitus for the idea! So, to recap for everyone before we dive into the discussion for the week, here's the deal -- Star Wars: The Old Republic will let you romance your companion NPCs much like Mass Effect. Using dialogue options, you can form a romantic relationship with your chosen follower. However, BioWare has neglected to state how far this system will extend. All we know is that only you'll be able to see your romance storylines and there won't be any explicit sex. Star Wars is all about understated sexual tension, AKA Han Solo and Princess Leia. So what about romances between two characters of the same-sex, like Mass Effect? Well, we're not too sure about that at the moment. BioWare has said nothing confirming or denying their existence. And, because gay romance is a huge hot button issue, the SWTOR forums are aflame regarding the addition of same-sex romances. Should we include same-sex romances? Are they appropriate for the Star Wars universe? Are they appropriate for the target audience? Well come along everyone, and let's discuss.
Xbox Live Code of Conduct updated: sexual orientation terms now permitted in Gamertags and profiles
The times, they are a-changin'. In an open letter to Xbox Live members, Microsoft's Marc Whitten has announced that the Xbox Live Code of Conduct has been altered to allow members to "more freely express their race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in Gamertags and profiles." Looking over the updated code, it appears that the major change directly affects references to sexual orientation. Specifically, the terms "lesbian," "gay," "bi," "transgender" and "straight" are now allowed in both Gamertags and user profiles. According to Whitten, the change has been made as the result of customer feedback. Early last year, something of a controversy erupted when an Xbox Live user was allegedly banned from Xbox Live for identifying herself as a lesbian in her Xbox Live profile. The report brought to light an ongoing conversation on the matter between the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Microsoft. At the time, Microsoft claimed that it didn't allow users to express any form of sexual orientation -- including heterosexuality -- in an effort to prevent player harassment. Obviously, Microsoft's stance on the matter has changed, though the company is still wary of possible harassment. Whitten states as much in his letter, noting that the new Code of Conduct also includes "increased stringency and enforcement to prevent misuse" of the newly allowed terms. Whitten concludes his letter by stating, "I truly believe that our diversity is what makes us strong: diversity in gaming and entertainment options, and diversity in the people that make up this amazing community."
New 'gaymer' survey explores sexual identity, interest in games
A new version of the gay gamer survey is making the rounds, years after the first-of-its-kind, academically approved study attempted to "quantify the existence of an invisible minority." The results of the original were interesting, with one the more surprising aspects being the large heterosexual sample who decided to participate.Now Paul Nowak, a student going for his masters at gaming school Full Sail, is seeking participants in a similar study (also academically approved), which focuses on "questions of content: such as plot, genre, customization and other in-game experiences."The survey takes about 20 minutes and none of the questions seemed offensive to us -- then again, we live on the internet. We also spoke with Nowak about what he hopes to learn and why he decided to do this survey. Check out our discussion after the break.Participate in the "New Gaymer Survey."
New ad campaign attempts to discourage use of 'gay' as disparagement
In today's society, "gay" is often used as a pejorative, losing all meaning and gaining a negative slant. ThinkB4YouSpeak is on a mission to change that, with a new campaign targeted to raise awareness throughout schools in America about anti-gay bias and reduce the use of ignorant, homophobic language.The statistics may startle you; according to ThinkB4YouSpeak's website, "9 out of 10 LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students report being harassed at school in the last year," with over one third being physically harmed. ThinkB4YouSpeak's campaign consists of three posters, replacing the unfortunately common phrase, "That's so gay" with a generalized remark on specific types of students: jocks, cheerleaders and gamers. It would seem the purpose of the campaign is to be hurtful, to showcase how hateful speech is often based on stereotypes.Gamers are no strangers to hateful speech. Xbox Live user know of the well-documented hate mongering in online multiplayer titles like Halo, and while the majority of players across all platforms are smart enough to know hate speech is wrong (we hope!), it's never pleasant to see it rearing its ugly head.[Via GamePolitics]
GLAAD fights homophobia in online communities like WoW
We've talked here on the site before about this issue -- the anonymity in online communities like World of Warcraft often leads to people throwing out offensive statements that they usually wouldn't in normal company. Most people shrug these off as just what happens in online games ("kids will be kids, and idiots will be idiots"), but this type of undercurrent behavior still signifies and perpetuates prejudices and hatreds that affect society at large. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has recently started up a campaign to try and stamp out hatred and homophobia in communities like World of Warcraft, and they've published an op-ed on exactly why this is such a problem and what we can do to stop it. They don't mention WoW specifically, but we're one of the biggest online communities out there, and if nothing else, here's a chance to show just how tolerant we as a community can be.The good news is that as the practice of online gaming grows, both players and policymakers are becoming more and more aware of the problem -- Microsoft met earlier this year with representatives from GLAAD to determine how better to combat offensive statements on Xbox Live, and the organization held a panel recently to discuss exactly this issue.Thanks, Joshua!
EA and GLAAD to host a panel against homophobia in online games
Tomorrow marks an interesting event in Redwood City, CA as Electronic Arts teams up with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD) to host a panel regarding homophobia in online games.The panel will be featuring some major industry players, including GayGamer founder Flynn DeMarco (AKA Fruit Brute), senior director of communications and industry affairs for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Dan Hewitt, senior producer Caryl Shaw from Maxis Studio, Linden Lab's vice president of customer relations Cyn Skyberg, and Xbox Live's program manager Stephen Toulouse (Gamertag: Stepto.)Stephen Toulouse's presence at the panel is especially interesting, as Microsoft has come under fire for some rather inflammatory anti-gay policies.The panel will be moderated by GLAAD's Justin Cole, their director of digital and online media. The panel will take place tomorrow, July 18th, from 11 AM to 1 PM Pacific time.
BioWare's Old Republic policy on homosexuality reconsidered
Recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic's Community Manager, Sean Dahlberg, stated that he'd filtered out words like "gay" and "lesbian" from the game's forums because "these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars." ... And the internet gasped.Turning things around faster than the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel Run, Dahlberg issued an apology to accompany BioWare's removal of the filters. Although Dahlberg likely had the best of intentions in forming the policy, it helps if MMO community managers learn from a time not so long ago nor far, far away -- World of Warcraft tripped over a similar drama three years ago. More recently, Microsoft's Xbox Live handled a less clear case of discrimination just this year.
Conservative Christian site decries Game of Life's 'gay agenda'
Uber-conservative Christian site WorldNetDaily recently published a hard-hitting investigative report into Hasbro's downloadable PC title The Game of Life, an adaptation of a board game created by Milton Bradley in 1860. Their qualm with the game stems from the fact that it allows players to have same-sex marriages. A WND representative elocuted his or her hang-up with a review on the game's hosting site, explaining, "Many sections of society accept this as normative, but many also would consider this too mature a theme for children. Others would consider this downright offensive."According to the WND report, one unnamed "concerned mother" found that the inclusion of same-sex marriages raised questions in her six-year old daughter that she wasn't ready to answer. She posted a similar review containing these concerns, which was quickly deleted by an administrator for being "inappropriate." Her response to this censorship is where the story really jumps the shark -- "I had no idea how insidious they were being with pushing the homosexual agenda," she explained to WND.It's great when parents keep an eye on their youngsters' gaming habits, especially when they play said games with them. We understand a parent not wanting to discuss sexuality with a toddler -- what we don't understand is how the mere inclusion of same-sex marriages in the PC version of Life is the same as endorsing, or insidiously pushing, an "agenda." As WND concedes, even the original Life board game allowed players to bond two same-colored (and similarly gendered) pegs in holy plastic matrimony.[Via GamePolitics]
15 Minutes of Fame: Proudmoore guild plays out GLBT pride
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Proudmoore_guild_plays_out_GLBT_pride'; 15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.If you've made even the occasional pass through the Blizzard forums, you're likely to have run up on at least one of the periodic flamefests with players stomping their virtual feetsies and pointing in horror at the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) guilds clustered on the Proudmoore server. Never one to ignore the elephant in the room, we got curious about what these guilds are all about and how they ended up on Proudmoore.Our interview with Venfelder, a long-time member from the rank and file of Taint, paints a picture of a mature, friendly, open community of players making the most of WoW's many opportunities for raiding, PvPing and just plain hanging out together.
Singapore un-bans Mass Effect
The Singapore Media Developmental Authority has reversed its decision to ban Mass Effect from the country. The game will go on sale next week and have an M18 rating. According to The Strait Times, the Board of Film Censors will selectively use game ratings on high-profile games until January, when they expect to initiate a game classification system.The decision to ban the game earlier this week spurred from a lesbian love scene found in BioWare's anticipated RPG. The Strait Times also noted that Assassin's Creed was released this week with a rating for graphic violence.
Mass Effect banned in Singapore over lesbian scene
If a human female and a humanoid alien who is classified as female want to express their love in a physical manner, who are we to interrupt the natural order of the universe? According to Singapore newspaper The Straits Times, the government's Media Development Authority has banned BioWare's Mass Effect from sale in the country.As reported by Reuters, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, "the city-state should keep its conservative values and not allow special rights for homosexuals." The lesbian scene was posted on GameVideos earlier this week before Microsoft asked them to remove it. [Thanks, Mitchell]
Gay gamer survey results with large hetero inclusion
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Gay_gamer_survey_results_with_large_hetero_inclusion'; In the summer of 2006, after receiving academic approval from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jason Rockwood opened up the "Gaymer Survey" to the public. Rockwood expected 600 participants -- if he was lucky -- for the first-of-its-kind approved study exploring the social and behavioral demographic of gay video game players and the role of sexual orientation on gaming habits. The survey was discussed in some regional lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) publications and filtered out to the gaming press. The survey, with over 10,000 respondents, became a sexually inclusive survey of gamers -- gay, straight and bi.The study originally broke new ground for not only being the first study exploring LGBT gamers, but it was the first academic study of any gamer group. There is currently no academic studies of female gamers or gamers of color. In a 2006 interview, Rockwood said, "The main purpose of the survey was to be a census. Before we can ask more intelligent questions we need to know who we are dealing with. First, we need to prove that homosexual gamers even exist. Yeah, it sounds ridiculous, but that's where you have to start on something like this. This survey is an attempt to quantify the existence of an invisible minority."Continue after the break for some highlights from the survey
Univ of Illinois conducts "Gaymer" survey
Ever wonder how sexual orientation might affect one's gaming preferences? A recent graduate of the University of Illinois, under the guidance of professor Dmitri Williams, is conducting a survey to find out to what extent (if at all) one's sexual preference can determine or affect what one plays. People of all sexual preferences are being asked to take this survey. All participants are anonymous and survey is estimated to take 25-45 minutes to complete (we finished in around 30 minutes). Game Politics has a brief interview with Jason Rockwood, the graduate conducting this survey, on why he thinks it is an important study (we are pretty interested, too, since a few Joystiq readers vowed to not buy Twilight Princess after Link was voted hottest male character by Out magazine). The chat with Rockwood also gives us our vocabulary word for the day: heteronormativity. Try using that phrase in conversation today.You can take the survey by clicking on the link below or by clicking on the adjacent image.
