EA's Gayming Panel - The UpStream

Last weekend Electronic Arts and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation got together with Microsoft, GayGamer.net and others to hold a panel on "how to provide safe spaces for LGBT people online, how to ensure the best policies are in place to prevent virtual attacks against LGBT people and how to educate the users of online communities about the effects of homophobia."

Anyone who has spent any time on Xbox Live knows that gay bashing in the virtual world is epidemic. Microsoft has tried to limit the exposure to the problem, but in a seemingly stupid way: by banning people from telling people on the profile that they are gay. While the goal is noble, the means are stupid. That being said, the stats are pretty staggering on how big of a problem this really is.

Hit the break for stats from the survey.

TheFeed gave these stats from a 2006 survey:

• 52.7% of those surveyed said the gaming community is "Somewhat Hostile" to gay and lesbian gamers, 14% said "Very Hostile."
• When asked what forms of homophobia people have seen in the gaming community, here are some of what the surveyed said:
  • 87.7% - Players use the phrase, "That's so gay."
  • 83.4% - Players use the words "gay" or "queer" as derogatory names.
  • 52.3% - Stereotypical representations of gay characters in games.
  • 42.5% - Refusal of game designers to include well-developed gay characters.
  • 49.4% - Invisibility of gaymers and/or the gaymer community.
• When asked how frequently players experience homophobia, those surveyed who responded "Always" or "Frequently" equaled 42%. Add in "Sometimes" and it brings up that total to 74.5%.
• When asked how often those players respond to the homophobia they witness - 50.9% total responded "Never" or "Rarely."

I am actually really glad to see that the big players in the industry have finally recognized that this is a major problem and are working to find a suitable solution. I look forward to seeing what comes of this meeting.