A few weeks ago an interview was published about me and a few other people because we are advocating for accessibility in different parts of the video game industry.
I have been asking around to my fellow nerds who are not white Americans about a subject that’s rarely touched on. The subject I have been grilling everyone and bugging people about is the issue about diversity in games journalism, and I’m not talking about small websites, I’m talking about sites that represent the video game journalism niche, you know the big sites I’m talking about. I don’t want to name specifics because I want to address all video game journalism mascots. The sites that get traffic and now they get traffic.
Except for Caroyln Petit with GameSpot and Josh Straub at Game Informer I haven’t seen much open diversity in gaming journalism. I don’t see a lot of black writers when I know a lot of black people who like writing and playing games. Those groups of people, minorities, including LGBT gamers do not have many, or, in some cases, any models to look up to in the mainstream world or even reach out for career leads or constructive feedback. Where’s the open diversity?
That’s why I am here. I am here to ask where are the opinion of minorities because ours matter in a medium of entertainment. We should be a more noticeable body under the umbrella of more traffic flooding websites. The more minorities such as us give our opinions on games under the umbrella of a big site the easier accepting minority gamers will become because we will have already established a respectful presence on an established, respected, website.
I had an Email from a reader this morning that I want to expound on. I briefly talked about it in a YouTube video that I did but I want to elaborate.
Below is the text of the Email.
Hey Robert,
I read what you had to say on Polygon and I just want to say that you definitely spoke the truth about disabled people in mainstream media and in gaming journalism spots but I don’t know how having accessibility reviews would work. A lot of people who read game journalism websites are really shallow and don’t even read full reviews anyway. They just look at the score. With so many trolls in the video game journalism community, isn’t that just asking for those minority writers to get harassed and called names, not because they wrote a bad review or article or wrote something that isn’t immediately familiar to people but for the sheer fact they are minorities?
I don’t know how your suggestion would even be possible because our community has grown significantly dumber because of the Internet. I just know what will happen if that comes to pass. Try looking at comments in some of these articles. There’s a reason why the commentator’s on these sites are not writers and will never be writers.
Thank you for your time!
While there are certainly a lot of people posting comments on these bigger sites, even though they shouldn’t even be on the Internet, it won’t hurt anything bringing more minorities into the mainstream. Everyone will benefit from the inclusion. Sites would get more traffic and, even a bit more PR. Trolls will have no choice but to contend with different groups of people, broadening their horizons. Minorities can have a definitive platform for teaching people to embrace diversity and gamers will enjoy the representation and inclusion. Besides, some people just need to be taught how to have an open mind.
Behind the mic diversity is frowned upon, even very crudely. Do a quick YouTube search for gay gamers and videos will pop up of mockery and taunting with a select few videos about being a gay gamer, and even fewer still of gamers who just happen to be gay. Do a YouTube query for black gamer to find slightly better videos, but videos of gamers being racist or exhibiting racist behavior inside the wall of a lobby and microphone.
Some gamers are on their way to acceptance but that’s few and far between and does not happen in a lobby often, if even at all. Friends are made outside of the chat room and within specialized groups such as the gay Chicago gamers Facebook group. While these are excellent steps to reach a hand out to those who are looking for a loving community of gamers there are those select want to be gamers who believe that if they harass, and taunt, and hate minority gamers then they will go away. A more active effort within the media to bring minorities onto teams would shine a message brighter than any complaining or taunt or hateful YouTube video and It’s something that needs to be done just because it benefits many with continuous growth.
As a journalist within the minority It’s astonishing to see how quick someone points out that I sound “like a retard,” when I greet my team in a game of Madden or Call of Duty. The knowledge that I will be mocked because of my stutter keeps me from turning my microphone on when I enter new parties and lobbies. In a world that is connected in more ways than ever this is a kind of irony that I wish I didn’t have to see. Wishing or not, the reality is here. Minorities are not given a welcoming greeting inside of a lobby or many opportunities to show the mainstream gaming community who they are and what kinds of talents come packaged with each difference in media.
This should change with the expansion of mainstream media first because that’s where the influence is. The sooner it happens the better future lobbies will become for all.