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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]
Anti-Aliased: Virtual worlds as the great equalizer
So apparently it's gay pride week. I, pretty literally, had absolutely no clue that gay pride week was this week, even though I was lucky enough to speak at Metaplace's Metapride diversity event. Yes, I'm just that oblivious to my surroundings, even when I'm directly participating in them.I know I don't hide the fact that I'm transgender, but I'm certain that not many people click on my author link here at Massively or really ponder the significance of my @sera_brennan Twitter username. That last sentence is probably the first time many of you long term readers even heard that I was transgender. (Although I remember someone wrote the site once and told them to correct all of the times in my author profile that I was referred to as "she" because it was obviously a typo.)I owe much to my online escapes, as they aid me in more ways than just providing a fun distraction. They give me the opportunity to appear as I truly feel inside, and let me interact with others without the stigma of being or appearing to be transgendered attached. Beyond just me, however, are hundreds of thousands, or perhaps even millions of individuals who have gained an advantage or some sort of insight thanks to virtual worlds.
9th Transgender Day of Remembrance Observed in Second Life
It's all too easy to dismiss those who are different as unworthy of consideration, respect, or even simple human rights. Growing up in Hawai'i and living in San Francisco, I've led a pretty sheltered existence, taking equality among individuals to be a given; it's when I travel outside of these environs that I'm always shocked how much antipathy and outright hate there is for those who are Not Like Us, whoever and whatever that might resemble.Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, an occasion to remember victims of hate crimes perpetrated upon them for simply being different. Cities worldwide will be holding vigils to commemorate lost friends, lovers, and family members, and Second Life is no different. Elysium Gardens, with the support of the Transgender Resource Center, will host its first service: "The service itself will consist of Second Life residents and their allies sharing their personal stories and memories of friends, loved ones, and members of the community who were victims of hate crimes or who committed suicide. Also included will be personal stories from law enforcement officials and service providers who are familiar with such tragic events including the refusal of emergency services from healthcare providers and medical personal because of bias against the transgendered. The service will be held at Elysium Gardens' new Transgender Suicide Memorial." For more information on this all-day event, contact Random Demina or Jani Myriam in-world.[Thanks, Jani!]
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
