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strangetomatoGiven that this Sunday, May 17, is the International Day Against Homophobia, it's interesting that I was recently called out for being heterosexist. To my face, by a lesbian. I was pretty embarrassed. (Not that it would be any better to have this pointed out in another way, but I felt pretty careless.)
I had designed a quick little poster for a community Seniors Appreciation Day event, and all of the clip art used on it (yeah, go ahead and laugh at the clip art, but my job isn't as a designer - there's no time or money to make it nicer) featured elderly male/female couples.
In my defense, I was lucky to find anything that showed seniors being happy and doing anything besides sitting on a couch at home (no joke - many of them actually featured graveyards). We wanted dancing and eating and having fun AND elderly people, and I barely found that. There's literally nothing that tackles ageism AND heterosexism. It seems like you can only tackle one of these issues at a time (though there was a little racial diversity in there, I'll give them that much).
It's amazing how easy it is to be heterosexist. Unlike homophobia, you do it by default, by doing nothing. I like to think I'm pretty good about this stuff, because I actually think about it most of the time and even point it out to other people when they say something that assumes the world to be straight (you get mixed results when you suggest that someone's baby might actually grow up to be gay, let me warn you, true though it may be). So if I can do it by accident, then you can too. If you're constantly vigilant about it, then I salute you, but it can be tough to get it right all the time.
To relate this back to sims, it's got me to thinking about portrayals of LGBT characters in sim stories, just like any other media. I've read some interesting articles and posts on this topic recently (relating to different fandoms, but same difference), and it really is worth considering. I try to write about characters first and foremost, and so they have flaws and make bad decisions and all that, but I do try to be conscious of the messages my stories are sending, whether intended or not.
As for homophobia, I did make a very conscious decision to include that in my sim world, as much as I love the idea of a world without it. My sim world simulates the world I live in, and that includes most of its problems too. Also, there's no way to examine something if you ignore its existence, and I'm very interested in exploring gender/sexuality in my characters. It's something of a theme in my story, I suppose, if you want to put that much weight on it (which is probably a bit of a stretch).
So how do you feel about this as a creator or reader of sim stories? Feel free to discuss it in the comments, if you like.
Also, go ahead and critique the way I do things in relation to this topic, if you want to, so I can further consider and examine them. I know I could always fall back on "it's just a sim story," but I don't actually believe that excuses me in any way. I'm putting content out into the world, so I'm engaging in the way things are portrayed, even though it's a small and very specialized audience.
I had designed a quick little poster for a community Seniors Appreciation Day event, and all of the clip art used on it (yeah, go ahead and laugh at the clip art, but my job isn't as a designer - there's no time or money to make it nicer) featured elderly male/female couples.
In my defense, I was lucky to find anything that showed seniors being happy and doing anything besides sitting on a couch at home (no joke - many of them actually featured graveyards). We wanted dancing and eating and having fun AND elderly people, and I barely found that. There's literally nothing that tackles ageism AND heterosexism. It seems like you can only tackle one of these issues at a time (though there was a little racial diversity in there, I'll give them that much).
It's amazing how easy it is to be heterosexist. Unlike homophobia, you do it by default, by doing nothing. I like to think I'm pretty good about this stuff, because I actually think about it most of the time and even point it out to other people when they say something that assumes the world to be straight (you get mixed results when you suggest that someone's baby might actually grow up to be gay, let me warn you, true though it may be). So if I can do it by accident, then you can too. If you're constantly vigilant about it, then I salute you, but it can be tough to get it right all the time.
To relate this back to sims, it's got me to thinking about portrayals of LGBT characters in sim stories, just like any other media. I've read some interesting articles and posts on this topic recently (relating to different fandoms, but same difference), and it really is worth considering. I try to write about characters first and foremost, and so they have flaws and make bad decisions and all that, but I do try to be conscious of the messages my stories are sending, whether intended or not.
As for homophobia, I did make a very conscious decision to include that in my sim world, as much as I love the idea of a world without it. My sim world simulates the world I live in, and that includes most of its problems too. Also, there's no way to examine something if you ignore its existence, and I'm very interested in exploring gender/sexuality in my characters. It's something of a theme in my story, I suppose, if you want to put that much weight on it (which is probably a bit of a stretch).
So how do you feel about this as a creator or reader of sim stories? Feel free to discuss it in the comments, if you like.
Also, go ahead and critique the way I do things in relation to this topic, if you want to, so I can further consider and examine them. I know I could always fall back on "it's just a sim story," but I don't actually believe that excuses me in any way. I'm putting content out into the world, so I'm engaging in the way things are portrayed, even though it's a small and very specialized audience.
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-15 08:06 pm (UTC)Because here's the weird thing: I don't like watching my hetero sims kiss and make out all that much. Same goes for any homosexual sims that I have (for the record, I have Frances and Malcom as a couple in my main 'hood). Honestly, it has nothing to do with homophobia, and EVERYTHING to do with with not liking PDA; be it in real life or in simulated life.
I'm all for people choosing what gender they want to be with. It's their personal decision. And that is my point: it's their PERSONAL decision. Why should it be mine? Why on earth should I care what goes on behind closed doors? I had a gay friend back in the day and we had a deal: I don't give him details, and he doesn't give me details. Because it's PERSONAL!
Equal rights? Fine, more power to them. Awareness and sensitivity so there is less homophobic hate crimes? Awesome, the world has enough crime as it is. Announcing on the street corner who they are sleeping with and what they are doing behind closed doors? Too far, don't care, please stop telling me.
People should focus more on defining themselves by their merits and personality, not by their sexuality. Because quite frankly, nobody should CARE what so-and-so's sexuality is.
I think you, strange_tomato, have done an excellent job in portraying the 'realness' of everyday sexuality in S,HWC. F&B being gay is just a side bar, you focus more on their personalities and their relationship. They are 'people' (in quotes because they are really pixels) in your game. They are not defined by their sexuality.
I realize that this might be unpopular, but it really grinds my gears when accusations get thrown out because people, no matter how vigilant and sensitive they might be, get crucified for defaulting back to their own norms; even if it is only briefly.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-16 06:45 am (UTC)who is "announcing on the street corner who they are sleeping with and what they are doing behind closed doors"? oh, that's right. no one.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-16 04:45 pm (UTC)"Hi, I'm Rosie O'Donnell! I'm a lesbian! Here is my girlfriend!"
"Hi! I'm Ellen Degeneres! Here is my girlfriend!"
"Hi! I'm Angelina Jolie! Here is my current husband and our newest adopted foreign kid!"
"Hi! I'm Paris Hilton! I'm fucking Hollywood!"
"Hi peasant007 (insert my real name here)! I'm your LARPing friend that you've known for years! I'm gay AND a furry!"
"Hi! I'm peasant007 and I don't give a shit who you're sleeping with. Please stop telling me!"