@KungfuKitten said:
I think it's the Harry Potter thing all over again, where the writer tried to score cult points by elaborating on sexual interests outside of the material. When the creator goes out of their way to make characters LGBTQA+ where gender identity or sexual interests don't even come into play, I think it comes across like they're using that group of people to score points. That there is no substance to it, and that they are just using this façade to appease the extremists who we don't want our developers to listen to. Just guesswork on my part but I think that's what upsets people about it.
I doubt that gamers don't like LGBTQA+ characters in general. The gaming community is incredibly diverse and I just don't see that being the cause for a backlash in itself. I don't buy the theory that gamers are full of sexists and bigots. Female characters were always beloved and now they suddenly wouldn't be. Because of Trump? The world is much bigger than the USA. That cannot be the truth of it. It's something else, and I think it's the concern that developers are listening to an evil group of people, who are already affecting so many other facets of life that should be impervious to double standards. Like universities and children's education, the news media and in some cases the law.
Nearly your entire first paragraph is based on your feelies. Do you have anything concrete to prove Harry Potter was to pander or "score points"?
Does every character have to fit in with the story? NO they don't. Character driven plots are meant to be driven by characters, not the plot. And later Harry Potter Novels got increasingly character driven. Not every character trait will impact the plot, and adding small details to characters can be good characterization, not appealing to some imaginary cult. Giving characters traits outside of what comes into play enriches them and makes them more... alive. A gay character makes just as much of a point as a straight one does.
As a whole, the gamers are pretty fine with LGBT rights, but that doesnt mean there isn't a problem within the gaming community (most muslims want to live their lives, but that doesnt mean that wahhabism isn't a problem within Islam). Novels are SIGNIFICANTLY more progressive than games (just look at the number of pro-transgender novels out there). And despite that, there is significantly less backlash. If anything, they are pretty encouraging. Remember how gamers collectively lost their shit when you had the option to play as a female soldier in call of duty? Granted this is based on anecdotes. But you aren't seeing Readergate or similar cults arise. Heroines were tolerated in the past, and still are in modern games to some extent, but back then, this outrage youtube culture we see today, wasnt exactly normalized. Nowadays, you see people crying like little toddlers because Civilization 6 had an overrepresentation of female leaders. There is a reason there is a saying going "Gamers are the worst".
What am I saying with all this?
People who bemoan SJWs, yet act exactly like them are utter tools (albeit cheering for the opposite). The world doesnt have to cater to anyone's thin skinnedness. Especially not when their thin-skinnedness is rooted in their indoctrination and ignorance.
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