When I’m not writing blogs, banging my head against the wall until I get a concussion, or wondering if the Sweet Meteor of Death will be coming back for the 2024 election, I like to play video games. For me, they provide me with an escape from the real world so I can continue to be a functional (and, more importantly, a non-incarcerated) member of society.
But as with most fun things, Leftists had to go and ruin it by creating controversy. Granted, the Left has been trying to insert itself into video games for over a decade now and have failed. But their repeated and often embarassing failures have not deterred them from trying again. Think “Groundhog Day” but with video games. Oh, and a lot less comedy.
The latest attempt came from our good friends in GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD recently released a report stating 1 in 5 active gamers are LGBTQIOUAEIOUSOMETIMESY and the gaming industry as a whole needs more representation of that community.
Son of a bitch…
representation
What the Left thinks it means – making sure all minorities can see a reflection of themselves in aspects of society
What it really means – superficial bean-counting without actually doing anything to help
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or trapped in Puddin’ Head Joe’s brain, you know members of the LGBTQMEANWHILEBACKATTHEHALLOFJUSTICE community exist and are prominent figures in society, mainly because so many of them can’t shut up about it. That community is slowly finding its way into various aspects of society and politics. Put simply, they’re visible and fabulooooouuuuusssss!
So, why aren’t they better represented in video games? The GLAAD report surmises it’s because the industry doesn’t think about them as viable protagonists. The exception to this is independent games where representation is much greater. But it also increases the likelihood this representation comes in really shitty games that a trained monkey could make better with an Etch-A-Sketch and a fifth of Everclear. Still, GLAAD felt confident in saying the gaming industry has to do a better job in making sure LGBTQIAIOUDEFENSE members get seen in their games.
And we can totally take an organization with a Board of Directors member named Peppermint seriously.
Unusual names aside, GLAAD is trying to come from a good place. They want everyone to feel included in video games. Is that so wrong?
Welllllll…it’s all about how that comes about that matters. That’s where I take issue with the notion of representation in this context. It’s not a matter of including a gay, lesbian, trans, bi, queer, etc. character in a game; it’s about making it make sense within the context. Trying to shoehorn a character that ticks off the flavor of the month box on the inclusiveness checklist makes it harder for gamers to accept him/her/it.
And here’s a fun little fact to consider: gamers are predominantly male. The numbers are getting closer to gender parity, but gaming is still a male’s domain. That means gaming studios are going to cater to where their cyber bread is buttered, as any capitalist worth his/her/its salt would. And make no mistake, game companies are in the business to make money, not to make social statements. If the social statement threatens the money, guess what’s going to be tossed aside faster than Hunter Biden goes through hookers and blow?
That’s where the calls for representation come into play. Since the community has a long reach when it comes to media and social influence, they can mobilize a PR nightmare within a matter of Twitter posts. And in that environment, nobody wants to be on the wrong side of a Twitter mob, so the game companies tend to bend the knee and comply. Just look at the template Anita Sarkeesian used to “help” women get more representation in video games.
Here’s the thing about Twitter mobs, though: they only have the power you allow them to have. Even as the GLAAD report gets mainstream traction (thanks NBC), the bottom line is still the bottom line, and no amount of virtual huffing and puffing from online activists will change that. Money talks, and bullshit walks.
And bullshit is the best way to explain the GLAAD report.
It turns out the gaming industry is already evolving with the times and has been since the 1980s. The early days of representation were less than stellar, but things have turned around so gay, lesbian, bi, and the other orientations are not only visible in games, but are sympathetic, realistic characters. And I’m not talking about low profile games, either. Some of the most popular titles of recent memory have represented the LBGTQAAAAAVVVEEEEMARRRRIIIIIAAAA community prominently and positively.
Including a game that was targeted by the aforementioned community, Hogwarts Legacy. After comments from J.K. Rowling that struck the trans community the wrong way, trans rights activists (including GLAAD, by the way) called for a boycott of the game. And the boycott, much like Fani Willis’s ability to not make herself look like a corrupt asshat, failed miserably.
I attribute the boycott’s failure to two factors. One, the game developers anticipated the controversy and created a transgender character. Of course, these Leftist idiots wouldn’t have known that unless they played the game. Oops!
The second, and more prevalent, reason was…gamers really don’t give a fuck about LGBTQIUDCANWEMILKTHISJOKEDRY representation. They care about…get this…good games. Sure, there are assholes who will make the biggest deal about “protecting games from woke culture,” but most of the gamers are more interested in whether a game entertains them more than who gets represented in the game. The Left completely missed the point by not understanding the audience they wanted to persuade.
And now they’re repeating the same mistake with the GLAAD report. At the very least, Leftists are consistent in being wrong and committed to recycling, albeit with bad ideas.
The point of representation in Leftist circles is to demand compliance instead of asking for consideration. But the thing to remember is no matter if you bend over backwards like a spineless yoga guru, it will never be enough. There will always be another goal to meet, milestone to achieve, or mountain to climb. So, the best way to win the game is not to play.
Say…that could be a great line for a movie! If only there was a plot, maybe involving a teenager who hacks into a government computer and almost starts a nuclear war with Russia…nah. Too implausible.
Anyway, the Left’s commitment to representation is skin deep. Notice how they don’t demand a slow, out of shape white guy be showcased in the next NBA video game. (By the way, I am available for consultation if you want to go down this road, 2K Games.) It’s always about the representation they want to push. And that’s why we need to take their calls for representation with a grain of salt.
The size of Mount Everest.
Tag: glaad
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
First, we had homophobia, which is the irrational fear/hatred of gay people (according to the Left). Next, we had transphobia, which is the irrational fear/hatred of trans people (also according to the Left). Now, thanks to the people at GLAAD, we have…dragphobia.
According to the…well, I repeat myself.
The latest phobia has roots in a group affiliated with the LGBTQPXBNOTHATISADIFFERENTBAFEWMORELETTERSADDEDEVERYWEEKCHECKBACKDAILYFORUPDATES community and a trend that seems to keep popping up: drag aficionados appearing in what some people consider inappropriate locations in front of all ages. Namely, where there are children congregating. And, well, some people don’t take too kindly to that.
Congratulations, kids. You got another phobia!
And I got another Lexicon entry!
dragphobia
What the Left thinks it means – the irrational fear or hatred of people in drag
What it really means – the real fear and hatred of Leftists trying to warp the younger generations into supporting the Left
If the Left is to be believed (and at this point, it’s a pretty safe bet they shouldn’t), hate speech of all kinds is on the rise, not just on Twitter, but in America. Gays, lesbians, trans people, bisexuals, queer, and now people in drag are all victims of this hate, and, dammit, we need to do something about it.
Like…Tweeting about it?
Or at least podcast about it like GLAAD did. Because as we all know the only way to fight hate is to put it on blast on social media! No need to even put on a pair of pants, or in some cases a garter belt that matches your wig and eye shadow as you prepare for Drag Finger Painting Day at the local preschool.
Okay, so that was a bit excessive. Drag queens haven’t held finger painting day at a preschool, mainly because the paint could get on their sequined dresses and ruin their nails. But if current trends continue, we are not that far away from this becoming a thing.
“But, Thomas, how do you know this is going to happen?” you might be asking. Others might be asking, “Why do you care about drag queens so much?” Still others might be asking, “Would you like fries with that?” Trust me, gentle reader, all will become evident in time.
The first question is easy to answer: it’s been done before successfully. The Left have a standard framework when they want to indoctrinate…I mean educate people.
1. Swing for the fences. Push for exactly what you want and see if you can get it. If not, move to step 2.
2. Find out which groups agree with you and work on a strategy to get more of that group to agree.
3. Introduce a step towards the primary goal that would appeal to that particular group and make it sound like it’s perfectly normal and right to agree.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until enough people agree to sway public opinion (perceived or actual) towards normalizing the idea introduced in step 2.
5. Introduce the next step towards the final goal and repeat steps 1-4.
6. Repeat until you get what you want.
The Left did this with homosexuality and with the idea gender is fluid. Today, anyone who isn’t on board with gay men and women or think there are only two genders can get you “on the wrong side of history” as the Left likes to say. The Left is still in the early stages of getting trans people accepted as just one of the guys…or gals…or something, and it’s having some success.
Since this process works so well, why wouldn’t Leftists try it with drag?
To answer the second question, I really don’t care about drag queens on the whole. I don’t dig it, but I don’t judge anyone who does. Those who do drag and do it well are talented and often can fool the untrained eye. That’s how I met my first girlfriend, Tyrone.
But just like how drag artists use makeup and costuming to tone down elements that ruin the look, there are a number of people using drag as a cover for what they really want, which is apparently as many young boys as they can get their well-manicured hands on. These are the bad apples that are turning an adult activity into a poisonous applesauce.
I have known people who like to dress in drag, and underneath the make-up and clothing, they’re human beings. For that reason alone, I can’t cast a wide net as some. After all, there is Lady MAGA, a drag artist who was and may still be unabashedly a fan of Donald Trump. Granted, Lady MAGA is an exception rather than the rule, but there are bound to be others who quietly support Trump and the GOP or who don’t say anything because of what would happen to them if anyone found out they weren’t Leftists.
Only in Leftist America can someone be supported if they come out as gay, but be reviled for coming out as conservative.
Now, for the part that may get me some hate mail. Drag performances in and of themselves aren’t necessarily sexual in nature. They can be adult in nature, but that doesn’t make them sexual. Even when they get sexual in nature, that’s not automatically bad…when the target audience is fellow adults. When the target audience skews more towards eating boogers than eating caviar, that’s when members of the drag community crosses the line.
Take Drag Queen Story Hour, for example. Supporters say drag artists reading to children is a way to spark their imaginations and get them interested in reading. This approach has some merit, as children (and even some adults, like your humble correspondent) enjoy seeing colorful characters they recognize or like hanging out with them. Detractors say drag artists are trying to groom children into getting into drag, pedophilia, homosexuality, and other adult subjects they’re not intellectually or emotionally ready to understand yet. This approach also has merit, as children are impressionable and may try to imitate what they see and experience.
While both sides have points in their favors, there are still enough niggling points that I can’t support either. If a drag artist is reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, it’s not necessarily an attempt to get your child into becoming the next RuPaul. If a drag artist is reading How To Get a Gerbil Out of Your Ass, that’s a different story altogether. For one, different creatures. But more importantly, different subject matter that wouldn’t be appropriate for m0st adults, let alone children.
Ah, there’s the vital concept: age-appropriate. Drag by its very nature is not age-appropriate for children because it requires a level of sophistication to understand and appreciate. Having it appear at events geared towards children is going to piss people off instead of fostering the aforementioned understanding and appreciation. Even if your goal really was just to get kids into reading, someone has to understand how it might be a shitty way of going about it.
Then, there are the “all ages” or “family friendly” drag shows. Both sides are guilty of mischaracterizing what goes on at drag shows. The anti-groomers want to make it sound like a significant number of these events actually involve children based on video footage of some of the more egregious examples. The pro-drag side want to make it sound like these events are family friendly and put the responsibility of children appearing at them on the parents. For those well-publicized events where drag artists are barely dressed around or actively encouraging lewd behavior from children in attendance, the only family friendly activities are those of the Mansons.
That quip would surely get me labeled as dragphobic and I would deeply care about how to respond to that…if I gave a fuck about what the GLAAD dipshits think about me. I neither fear nor hate drag artists, but I fear for their futures if the Left continues to sacrifice them to advance an ideological goal.
One of my Immutable Truths is “A movement’s worst enemy is the movement itself.” Right now, the worst enemies of the drag scene are the members who are using drag as a way to get close to children for sexual gratification. These are the ones getting all the attention and, thus, shaping the public image of what drag artists are like. Bad publicity may still be publicity, but it’s a letting-Joe-Biden-work-without-a-teleprompter level of horrible idea if the end goal is to get people not to care about drag.
And true to their core, GLAAD isn’t helping matters any by creating the dragphobia label. Drag artists, along with gays, lesbians, and trans people, don’t need GLAAD to help them gain acceptance. They need good PR, and GLAAD ain’t interested in that. They have an agenda to push like a drug dealer working straight commission, and they don’t care who gets hurt along the way, even if those being hurt are the people the organization are allegedly trying to help.
The truth is there are very few people who actually hate and/or fear drag. Most people on both sides of this issue are operating on a lack of knowledge, which is used to gin up an abundance of fear. Under those conditions, there can’t be understanding since there is no real trust between the sides. They are automatically conditioned to believe the worst in the other side because of what misinformation is getting released. To break this cycle, we need people to understand the issues and facts and then reach out with a genuine intent to fix the problems together. A pipe dream, perhaps, but it’s the only one that makes sense to me.
Oh, and as for that third question, I do want fries with that, and I hope you find use for your gender studies degree soon.