I Like Information

[oudeteron]

I would like to know how we can get anything said at all if, before we even open the virtual equivalent of our mouths, we are judged by whatever forum or platform we use to host our statements on. Lately I've seen LJ users flinging mock-insults at Tumblr users, the internet at large tut-tutting LJ users, and so on, all based upon the assumption

Comments

[oudeteron]

Well, I have to take an issue with this. For one, the article writer isn't just "stating an opinion". It is not biased to point out that something is (as in this case) transphobic; it's just speaking against a kind of bigotry that has become so prevalent in mainstream culture that solely criticizing it/calling it out for what it is gets one labelled as biased, the way you've just done here. I am all for debate when there's something to debate - but there is no "other side" to respecting people's gender and not playing it up for cheap laughs that isn't entrenched in transphobic tropes. Either you do respect how others identify, or you don't. Putting their gender in scare quotes and making them the butt of a joke that has zero relevance to the actual plot isn't respectful by any stretch. That's not to mention that movies/games/books/etc. get a free pass on casual bigotry like this all the time by default, so giving it the benefit of the doubt isn't just being nice and seeing where it gets you, but actively contributing to a climate where picking on one massively disadvantaged group is the norm.

I'm not discounting the merits that series might have (and probably does) as a whole, just saying that the presence of this rather telling scene makes me gag to the point that I'm not going to give the developer my money. It is a little off-putting to have a complex series like this and find out that all of this complexity has the limitation of "for cis people only" written into the source canon.

I would buy this scene as parody if it were tied to something else in the game that subverted it, which by the looks of it being a standalone scene it is not. I would buy it as a portrayal of transphobia in the world if the game did anything else apart from perpetuating it further. I'm frankly shocked it's taken this long for these problems to be given the spotlight somewhere (though I shouldn't be, considering the average consumer of any media doesn't give two fucks about queer issues).

My point is this: nothing is going to change if we cling to looking for ways to excuse every piece of blatantly offensive/bigoted work. It is not rare or hard to believe that a game, or indeed any other medium, would incorporate a moment of token transphobia. I'll read the piece you linked but it's going to do nothing to mitigate the sheer amount of fail Bioware has shown regarding this issue.

[cowgirlmaxwell]

it's just speaking against a kind of bigotry that has become so prevalent in mainstream culture that solely criticizing it/calling it out for what it is gets one labelled as biased, the way you've just done here.
I don't really have much to say about this post, but I just want to pick up on what you said here- I am lead to believe you are implying that bias is a negative thing. I wasn't saying that because the article shows great evidence of bias that it is not saying anything worthwhile/true, I was just noting the fact that it is not just a factual piece. There's nothing wrong with bias! Yes, there is lots of factual evidence in the article, but it's not all factual information; it is important to acknowledge that there is a large amount of opinionated and emotive language used. I was simply trying to encourage you do give the game a shot regardless- and after you encounter said morally incorrect scenes/anything else you have issue with that wasn't mentioned in the article, you could contact Bioware about it, or write your own articles and publish them somewhere, or something. Grumping about behaviour that you don't approve of and simply wishing about the way it should be and doing nothing practical about it isn't really the way to go about social reform.

With all due respect, I don't really care either way if you play the game or not, I just wanted to express that this is probably the course of action I would take if I felt strongly about something socially unjust in media (so please don't take it as if I'm actually defending this sort of content, I'm just speaking generally). And hey, the game's been out long enough that you can probably find the game second-hand, thus acquiring a legal copy whilst not giving Bioware any of your money!

(I also find it hard to believe that this would be the first article/piece written about such a thing, so I wouldn't worry about that too much, either.)

[oudeteron]

You keep making the same suggestions: give them the benefit of the doubt, tolerate the bigotry until you're sure it really really is bigotry, don't "trust" articles that are "biased" against another more pernicious bias (it doesn't matter if you construe one bias as positive and another as negative; you're still implying that pointing out the wrong in gratuitous transphobia means that one is biased).

If someone gave me a copy of this game for free, yeah, I would play it and probably enjoy a great deal of the stuff that isn't entrenched in bigoted fail. But I am in no way obliged to invest that much, or to write letters to some faceless PR bureau that aren't even likely to be read by whoever wrote this scene, just to express an opinion on something that's been covered outside the game itself. I linked to the article in the first place because I think it does a good job of analyzing what the problem is and I wanted to spread the word; not to "grump" about behaviour I don't "approve of" (seriously?). This particular problem does not need to be reworded by several different writers until [general] you find its handling thorough and "fair" and acceptable, or even acknowledge that it's a problem.

I get that you're purporting not to take sides. Unfortunately, while that cautious approach may suit some people, it doesn't work for everyone and I am quite fed up with this trend that for every article that calls out something bigoted/ignorant/offensive and so on, someone has to pop out to say "but wait, maybe it's not as bad as it looks to you, stop overreacting and research it more and maybe then your opinion will count". That's privilege talking, derailing, and tone-policing, with the only result of detracting from the real issue yet again.

[cowgirlmaxwell]

Oh, and again: you've probably read it by now, but the article isn't all that related- it's just a big "fuck you" to the homophobic kids that think having homosexual romance options affects their masculinity. It's just a fun/interesting read.

[oudeteron]

Yeah, that's what I meant by saying they were different issues.