Author Biography

Alejandra Vitela is a contemporary art and video game enthusiast. She aims to explore the Technical Communication and Rhetoric field and has aspirations of becoming a social media executive of a video gaming company (or possibly something else, she doesn’t know yet). She also enjoys walking through gardens and eating eclairs.

This essay was composed in November 2023 and uses MLA documentation.

The creation of video games has proved to be a complicated odyssey—an ever-evolving culture that carries with it numerous social problems. I have been gaming for several years, and I, along with millions of others, have witnessed the marginalization that people face just for participating in the video game industry. Marginalization, such as misogyny, racism, and queerphobia, has been apparent through insensitive and dangerous depictions in the video game industry since its creation. Now more than ever, the video game industry negatively affects marginalized people because of these social constructions manifesting in new ways. In order to counteract this phenomenon, a collective realization of this discrimination must occur. If there is no action taken, this discrimination will only increase. So, the aim of this paper is to explore this marginalization and take a step in bridging the gap. That is the gap between the people who harm others based on their identity and the people who are harmed because of it. Through the exploration of these perspectives, we examine the denial and recognition of this marginalization, learning how each perspective is formulated. One perspective is the wish to exist as one is; the other one is the fomentation of hatred. In order for us to become fully aware of these perspectives and make a change, we must become fully educated about the specifics of how each marginalized group gets hurt. We must recognize each problem’s full scope so we can understand the effect of marginalization in video gaming as a whole. To start, we are exploring how women have especially been discriminated against in the video game industry.

Detailing what women experience in online gaming, the study “Sexist Attitudes in Online Video Gaming. . . [. . .]” by Bustos-Ortega and company does a deep dive into how exactly women suffer from misrepresentation or complete omission of any representation in the gaming community. The study reports that misogyny in gaming is so normalized that people mostly devalue it when sexist incidents occur (Bustos-Ortega et al. 323). It also mentions one of the most popular situations called Gamergate, an online campaign against women in gaming where the misogyny was so dangerous that threats of rape and death were sent to women, with several doxed (Bustos-Ortega et al. 322). If threats on such a large scale do not convince people to recognize the harrowing reality of discrimination in gaming, it is uncertain what will. This suggests how detrimental the effects are not only in the gaming community but also in our world as a whole. This is because it is a reflection of normalized social constructions that have existed for centuries newly manifesting in modern contexts. Thus, if we do not realize this damage, we cannot realize the normalization of the damage. This calls for a widespread education of women’s experiences in the gaming industry in order to combat the misogyny they face. For example, the culmination of this misogyny appears to be, for many, the previously mentioned infamous campaign known as Gamergate.

Through an immense number of threats towards women, Gamergate has become a prime example of the denial of hatred and the festering of it. This brings up the idea that Gamergate represents how any discrimination gets treated on the internet, serving as a “major turning point” for many (qtd. in Romano). It represents the transformative power that discrimination has on society. This is proven through the act of aggressors sweeping such a blatant exercise of hatred under the rug. It shows the disparity of understanding that people face and just how normalized discrimination is. Thus, it is a revealing demonstration of how the normalization of hatred affects people who are not straight cisgender white men. If situations like this are continually not recognized in their full proportions, people will definitely find themselves in real-life trouble. And scarily, it’s a sign of what is likely to come. Because of the increase in outright discrimination against marginalized groups, people will be faced with even more ultimate consequences. Consequences such as not only getting doxed, not only having livelihoods threatened—consequences such as people getting killed. Take the narrative from the realistic fiction novel SLAY by Brittney Morris.

SLAY, written by Brittney Morris, is about a young Black woman named Kiera. Kiera is the creator of a video game called SLAY, which was made as a place for Black people to play in a safe and welcoming space. However, her game gets subjected to much hatred when someone gets murdered in an online turned real-life altercation. One of the big turning points of the story is when Kiera gets harassed by someone who turns out to be her boyfriend. Her boyfriend had hacked into her computer, doxed her, and threatened her life. She had to, with convincing, call the police to get the guy arrested. Situations like these are not far off from the disastrous consequences that Gamergate led to and could have led to, accurately depicting marginalization reflective of real life. Thus, this book is an excellent representation of exactly how marginalized people are subject to the fomentation of hatred—because hatred kills. And while the information presented thus far is overwhelmingly depressing, please bear in mind that there are many women who have been able to speak out, with support.

The fact here is that in addition to overwhelming hatred such as Gamergate, there is also quite an amount of support for women in the gaming industry. Recently, there have been more women speaking out about the discriminatory treatment they have faced, meaning it is becoming more normalized for women to speak up (Lorenz and Browning). This is excellent because it provides us with perspectives on possible solutions we could reach in combatting this misogyny. For example, some people have apologized for their actions in recent cases of discrimination, such as the former CEO of Online Performers Group, a talent company (Lorenz and Browning). He had acted unprofessionally to a woman working on the video game Overwatch. If we are able to manifest the realization of harm such as this, we can start to create truly safer spaces for women and other groups in gaming altogether. Therefore, as long as people continue to speak out about the misogyny in the video game industry, more people will realize how much of a problem it is, furthering us to reach solutions. However, it should be aptly stated that the levels of representation other marginalized groups get are much different than what white women get. For example, racism is endlessly rampant yet especially misunderstood in gaming.

A report from the Anti-Defamation League explores the ways that racism spreads through gaming, how it affects people, and how white supremacist ideology is at its core. Alarmingly, white supremacist ideology in gaming showcased toward adults increased from eight percent in 2021 to twenty percent in 2022 (Anti-Defamation League). With even more normalized white supremacist ideology on the rise, the safety of people of color becomes even more dire than it already is, in a daunting new way—which says a lot. Thus, it is crucial that we take action in order to stop the evolution of racism online. To relay how far-reaching and deep-rooted racism is in gaming, let’s consider how people of color and women are represented as characters in video games.

There are various examples of how video games have normalized the depiction of people of color and women in discriminatory manners. This ranges from Tom Sawyer, a game developed by Square in 1989 that has a horrible stereotypical depiction of a Black person, to modern games fetishizing and sexualizing women of color such as Def Jam: Fight for New York (Public Broadcasting Service). Vilification, sexualization, you name it—the discrimination has been done. Any false justification of this “representation” is insignificant altogether due to the undeniable dehumanization of people. It just goes to show that either way, whether marginalized groups are shown in games or not shown at all, they are, in a majority of times, mistreated. As a consequence, this bigoted “inclusion” and specific ousting of marginalized groups furthers the agenda for white supremacy and sexism in gaming. If we are to make a change, it should start with getting people to recognize that the video game industry should not be dominated by only straight, cisgender white male groups.

With the increasing instances of white supremacist ideologies in gaming, the ways it has been spreading amongst aggressors should be explored in depth. For example, Gamergate is apparently presented as an idealized example of an uprising against women, justified through the perception of women as a threat (Wells et al. 8-9). It was also found that racism becomes normalized through language that is so plain, such as joking or convoluted rhetoric, that it can only be understood if you are in the niche, so to speak (Wells et al. 10). This further shows that aggressors in the video game industry have a continuous theme of normalizing discrimination through creating what appears to be a welcoming space when it is actually a mirage founded by hatred. This goes to show what happens if we do not look outside of ourselves—if we do not have empathy and recognize that we are all human. For me, this helps us get to the bottom of how and why discriminatory ideas get popularized, and specifically why white supremacy gets popularized.

We’ve established that white supremacy is contributing to the evolving practice of what is basically modern-day witch-hunting through the medium of the internet. White supremacy and patriarchal ideas get normalized through the establishment of these ideas in innocent ways (qtd. in Beauchamp). If white supremacist propaganda and groups tell people they are being attacked because of other people standing up for their rights, it is the perfect lure. This creates a mirage against what is actually happening, becoming a convincing paradox because of what is offered to people. This represents a highly effective and highly dangerous weaponization of people. People become accustomed to white supremacy through this because it gives them the space to make their fears heard. In consequence, it creates normalization for those thoughts, creating a lack of accountability and manifesting into discrimination. When people accept you, it can become easy to groupthink and start to idealize things such as what is going to become, and is, the suffering of other people. The prevalence of this ignorance asks us to consider how other marginalized groups get hurt by this hatred, such as the LGBTQ+ community.

The article “LGBTQ+ Gamers Are Facing an Epidemic of Online Harassment” by Giardina shows that for the LGBTQ+ community, it is extremely difficult to navigate the discriminatory world of gaming. The article uses statistics from a recent study by the Anti-Defamation League showing that 88% of LGBTQ+ people when playing video games, experience harassment when their orientation or identity is shared (qtd. in Giardina 2021). According to the same study, 35% of people feel that they cannot share their orientation or identity safely (qtd. in Giardina 2021). This really reveals how the LGBTQ+ community is very targeted in the gaming world and how the views of the community manifest in yet another medium. Bringing this discrimination to light helps other people realize the impact the current state of gaming has on the LGBTQ+ community. So, to reform gaming—to change anything—you must change the social structure that it is made of. The only way this is going to happen is if we fully portray and spur the realization of the systemic effect that queerphobia has. This brings us to think about how specific groups in the LGBTQ+ community are subject to hatred—gay people are especially targeted.

Homophobia has a colossal amount of unrecognized marginalization in gaming. In gaming culture, it is a widespread phenomenon to see men making fun of other men by using gay men as a stereotyped insult (Close 3-4). Exploring the patriarchal control over society as a whole, it is explained how the mistreatment of gay people is reinforced in gaming, how it has been ignored, and the steps we can take to ensure safety for gay people in the gaming community (Close 1). When we recognize how gay people get overlooked and further marginalized, we also continuously realize how ignoring this blatant hatred makes it so widely normalized. We all have to band together in order to make the realization that discrimination like this regularly occurs to create a better understanding of how the LGBTQ+ community suffers in gaming. Thus, more action needs to be taken in order to protect gay people in the gaming community. As for another highly targeted specific group in the LGBTQ+ community, transgender people, in particular, are especially hurt through depictions in gaming. But there seems to be a step that has been taken in the right direction.

The article “The Video Game That Made Me Feel Seen as a Trans Person” by Millington is an excellent example of how the gaming industry should represent transgender people in gaming. In the video game Tell me Why, the representation of marginalized groups is not the focus of the story. There is no tokenism. It is made to be a detailed coming-of-age story without misrepresenting transgender people and people of color (Millington). Millington goes on to present a firsthand perspective of transgender marginalization in the gaming industry. The article does an excellent job detailing how transgender people have had their identities made only about their gender identity in gaming. So, the game Tell me Why is used as an emphasis on how the gaming industry can take measures to ensure correct transgender representation (Millington). All of this gives us a very good example of how a big gaming development company should aim to spur change for marginalized communities.

In order to spur change in gaming overall, we should consider how the accurate representation of marginalized groups is the solution to stopping discrimination and the development of discriminatory mindsets. As said previously, video games can contribute to the recognition of marginalized people based on how they are portrayed as characters in video games. We can piece out how this change can occur through present video games such as Celeste and Assassin’s Creed Origins, where the main characters are part of a marginalized group. For example, the main character in Assassin’s Creed Origins is Black and accurately represented (Paano 3-4). Though there are other examples, if gaming industries were to accurately represent even more people from marginalized groups, we could start to change people’s perspectives through meaningful storytelling. We could create more social change. This is an excellent point on why the arguments people make about marginalized exclusion in gaming hold no actual meaning. And even though we’ve listed many, these are just some of the ways people get marginalized through gaming.

Throughout this paper, I have listed many instances of the tragedies and triumphs marginalized groups have had in the world of gaming. Through the consideration of how marginalization in gaming manifests, the effect of hatred towards marginalized groups is represented, as well as how that hatred manifests in the first place. All of these situations provide an equal amount of value because they aid us in fully considering the scope of discrimination that marginalized groups face. I am wondering about other ways people are thinking of solutions to combat marginalization in gaming, besides the potential ones listed in this paper. Though some solutions were discussed, there is still, as I said, no large-scale consideration of it. So, going forward, I hope there will be more measures to ensure the safety and accurate representation of marginalized groups in gaming. Right now, gaming is a reflection of what currently holds power in our world, showing us a dangerous path that we could keep going down if we don’t do something. We must remember that change can only happen when all of us try to make the world a better place. So, from here on out, we should all give more thought to the effect the gaming industry has on marginalized groups.

Works Cited

Beauchamp, Zack. “White Supremacists Are Trying to Recruit American Teens through Video Games.” Vox, 9 Apr. 2019, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/9/18296864/gamer-gaming-white-supremacist-recruit.

Bustos-Ortega, Mariela, et al. “Sexist Attitudes in Online Video Gaming: Development and Validation of the Sexism Against Women Gamers Scale in Spanish and English.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 3, 2023, pp. 320–342, https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843231162837.

Close, Samantha. “Esports Cannot Defeat Homophobia with Capitalism.” Games and Culture, 18 June 2023, pp. 1–17, https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231181462.

Giardina, Henry. “LGBTQ+ Gamers Are Facing an Epidemic of Online Harassment.” Them, Condé Nast, 5 Mar. 2021, www.them.us/story/lgbtq-gamers-facing-epidemic-of-online-harassment.

“Hate Is No Game: Hate and Harassment in Online Games 2022.” Anti-Defamation League, 6 Dec. 2022, www.adl.org/resources/report/hate-no-game-hate-and-harassment-online-games-2022.

Independent Lens in Lifestyle. “Leveling up Representation: Depictions of People of Color in Video Games.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 22 Dec. 2020, www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/leveling-up-representation-depictions-of-people-of-color-in-video-games/.

Lorenz, Taylor, and Kellen Browning. “Dozens of Women in Gaming Speak out about Sexism and Harassment.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/style/women-gaming-streaming-harassment-sexism-twitch.html.

Millington, Ceridwen. “The Video Game That Made Me Feel Seen as a Trans Person.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 June 2023, www.theguardian.com/games/2023/jun/30/video-game-trans-person-tell-me-why.

Paano, Christine. Knowing the Player and Questioning the Game: Challenging Diversity and Representation in Video Games, OCAD University, 1 May 2023, pp. 1-98, openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/4034.

Romano, Aja. “What We Still Haven’t Learned from Gamergate.” Vox, Vox Media, 20 Jan. 2020, www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/20/20808875/gamergate-lessons-cultural-impact-changes-harassment-laws.

Wells, Garrison, et al. “Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the Literature.” Games and Culture, 11 Apr. 2023, pp. 1-24, https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231167214.