RPGnet Columns
04-24-2004, 01:15 PM
Post originally by hero-fan at 2004-04-24 12:15:38
Converted from Phorums BB System
I'd have to disagree with the prevailing sentiment that sexuality seldom has any function in RPGs. (I agree that most RPGs do not deal with it outside occasional off-screen antics and comic bits involved failed seductions of tavern wenches and blacksmiths).
The best way to explain my point is to illustrate with a few anecdotes from games in which I've played and games which I've watched :
*** a Champions campaign which included homophobia as one of its many tropes. Players were able to take "homosexual" as a Victim of Prejudice reputation disadvantage, and one player even used it for a hunted by fanatical conservative religious group character disadvantage. The game master had made certain players were comfortable with the topic before offering homophobia as a possible trope in the campaign (the campaign's theme: interrogating the ethical dilemma involved in the various responses and coping methods for dealing with prejudice of all types).
*** a superhero/pulp hero campaign modelled on Alan Moore's WATCHMAN series in which the team's resident romantic couple consisted of two openly gay superheroes. They were played by two heterosexual best friends who had no problem roleplaying the lovers without ever resorting to stereotypes or nervous comedy bits.
*** a fantasy campaign in which the norm was bisexual polygamy. Players had to decide such things as whether they were related to the clan's sire by way of his wife or by way of his husband (through his husband's wife). The players were almost all straight men and women who asked their gay game master specifically to run such a campaign so that they could explore issues of gender and sexuality as a flavor to a more standard fantasy epic campaign.
*** a Star Trek campaign in which two female characters fell in love with each other. The campaign was not specifically geared to heterosexual or homosexual or bisexual romance, but the playing group was perfectly open to such things. The two players avoid the usual lesbian pornography for straight male viewers cliches.
I agree that not every group is comfortable with exploring such things. I've seen gaming groups who are opposed to having gay player-characters appear even if the player is gay. I've also seen gaming groups who are opposed to having black player-characters, and I recall one gamer who refused to play in a game which was not aggressively and overtly conservative Christian in outlook. However, there are groups which are open to such things, and they count as gamers as well.
Converted from Phorums BB System
I'd have to disagree with the prevailing sentiment that sexuality seldom has any function in RPGs. (I agree that most RPGs do not deal with it outside occasional off-screen antics and comic bits involved failed seductions of tavern wenches and blacksmiths).
The best way to explain my point is to illustrate with a few anecdotes from games in which I've played and games which I've watched :
*** a Champions campaign which included homophobia as one of its many tropes. Players were able to take "homosexual" as a Victim of Prejudice reputation disadvantage, and one player even used it for a hunted by fanatical conservative religious group character disadvantage. The game master had made certain players were comfortable with the topic before offering homophobia as a possible trope in the campaign (the campaign's theme: interrogating the ethical dilemma involved in the various responses and coping methods for dealing with prejudice of all types).
*** a superhero/pulp hero campaign modelled on Alan Moore's WATCHMAN series in which the team's resident romantic couple consisted of two openly gay superheroes. They were played by two heterosexual best friends who had no problem roleplaying the lovers without ever resorting to stereotypes or nervous comedy bits.
*** a fantasy campaign in which the norm was bisexual polygamy. Players had to decide such things as whether they were related to the clan's sire by way of his wife or by way of his husband (through his husband's wife). The players were almost all straight men and women who asked their gay game master specifically to run such a campaign so that they could explore issues of gender and sexuality as a flavor to a more standard fantasy epic campaign.
*** a Star Trek campaign in which two female characters fell in love with each other. The campaign was not specifically geared to heterosexual or homosexual or bisexual romance, but the playing group was perfectly open to such things. The two players avoid the usual lesbian pornography for straight male viewers cliches.
I agree that not every group is comfortable with exploring such things. I've seen gaming groups who are opposed to having gay player-characters appear even if the player is gay. I've also seen gaming groups who are opposed to having black player-characters, and I recall one gamer who refused to play in a game which was not aggressively and overtly conservative Christian in outlook. However, there are groups which are open to such things, and they count as gamers as well.