Erasure From Within - Creating a better MOGII Gaming Community

This talk was originally presented on April 24, 2015 at AlterConf Austin.

Often, the 'LGBT gaming' label silences and excludes non-binary individuals, transgender gamers, gamers of color that are on the MOGII spectrum, and tends to focus on white middle class gay male gamers and their issues in gaming. While this is a good 'first step/talking point' there is much more to address about the overall inclusiveness of the 'LGBT gaming' space, and how it can be a very unsafe space for many on the MOGII spectrum, despite being labelled a 'welcoming community'. How can we build safer and more inclusive online gaming communities? This short presentation will discuss that and more.

Transcript

1. Erasure from Within: Building a Better MOGII Gaming Community Catherine [Kiran/Rin] Oliver @ckoliver_writes
2. Community • Building a better community is up to all of us, and should not be left to just one group. • In MMO gaming communities, we must be aware of others and their lived experiences while interacting with others. • Any gaming community is erasive if MOGII individuals are left out of discussion.
3. Privilege in Communities • In MMO gaming, often privileged women will use the ways in which they are marginalized to excuse them from being responsible for their behavior. • Example: Privileged women roleplaying gay male characters and co-opting MOGII struggles as their own in order to enter safe spaces. • Communities with a high ratio of privileged women in supposed MOGII safe spaces and/or guilds merely due to their objectification of QUILTBAG men can be full of misogyny. • This may result in erasure of QUILTBAG women and their lived experiences, resulting in them feeling unwelcome in their guilds/games.
4. Culture • Respect that everyone has had a different experience with 'gaming culture' and what someone defines as positive, another may have had a very negative experience with. • Understand that gaming culture has resulted in erasure of MOGII people from their own safe spaces in gaming as more privileged voices overtake the community and talk over those who speak out.
5. Consideration • We must consider the image that “MOGII safe spaces” present to those who are on the MOGII spectrum if they have experienced erasure from within the community previously. • Women who objectify & fetishize gay/bi/pan/poly/trans men shouldn't be running MMO guilds or communities that are supposedly "MOGII safe spaces" • Ideally, MOGII guilds should be run by MOGII people rather than allies or community members that have a history of problem behavior.
6. Combating Erasure • When creating a community or guild for MOGII gamers, ask users to identify what they find lacking or troubling about MMO culture/gaming culture and create a safe space designed to address those needs.
7. Conclusion Combating erasure from within MOGII gaming communities starts with all of us. • We must validate the lived experiences of others, listen, and create change together.