Fighting with your Allies

As you may already know if you follow the Game Dork's Gaming Corner page on Facebook (and if you don't, you should! You get to see some cool stuff over there!), I have helped to organise a series of special community events with Loot & XP, in conjunction with the local chapter of PFLAG. Specifically, there was some interest expressed in getting together for some board games. PFLAG does great work, and I'm pleased to be part of what they do, but one night, it was put forward that there are seldom any social meetings in the group. When there is a PFLAG meeting, it's either to support people who are having issues, or to advocate for people who are being marginalised, or to educate people. Rarely do group members get together to socialise.

Well, I took those ideas, and I ran with them. I spoke to the PFLAG leadership, and I co-ordinated with the owners of Loot & XP, and we hosted what we called the 'Trans Friendly Game Night.' The idea was to provide a welcoming space for a fun activity in an inclusive environment. The first session took place this past May.

PinkFae Archive #24: Divisive Behaviour in the Gaming Community

Today's article is another PinkFae archive. This article was originally published on 4 July 2018.

---

I was thinking about the way that people exclude one another. Once upon a time, humans lived in a society in which inclusion was essential. Before the advent of agriculture, humans did not tolerate behaviour that benefited an individual over the tribe. After we started farming, though, ownership became important, and it changed everything. Now we live in a society that stresses individual good over group cohesion. The divisive nature of modern society has a far reaching impact; it even affects the gaming community. Today, I would like to discuss the nature of that division.

PinkFae Archive #15: Discrimination in the Geek Community

It's time once again for another article that I wrote for PinkFae. As we continue to reproduce the writing I did over there so as to ensure that it is not lost to the annals of time, we come to the post that I wrote on 20 April 2016.

---

A friend of mine recently posted a link on facebook. This link led to an article about women experiencing harassment at gaming conventions. He also included a link to a second article discussing the same topic. Both articles were, I thought, well written, and described a common problem. The sad truth of the matter is that the geek community does include a lot of discrimination. Obviously, it's most commonly directed at women, but it's not limited to that demographic. There are examples of anti-LGBT+ discrimination as well. I would like to take a moment to discuss my thoughts on this matter today.

WARNING!

I'm going to be discussing some fairly bothersome topics in this post. In order to adequately talk about discrimination, I will have to provide some examples of that discrimination. This will include some language that will be offensive, as well as possible triggers. Please be aware that some of what I am about to say is going to bother some people. Use your best judgement in deciding whether to continue reading beyond this point.

Discrimination in the Geek Community (cross posted from pinkfae.com)

A friend of mine recently posted a link on facebook. This link led to an article about women experiencing harassment at gaming conventions. He also included a link to a second article discussing the same topic. Both articles were, I thought, well written, and described a common problem. The sad truth of the matter is that the geek community does include a lot of discrimination. Obviously, it's most commonly directed at women, but it's not limited to that demographic. There are examples of anti-LGBT+ discrimination as well. I would like to take a moment to discuss my thoughts on this matter today.

WARNING!

I'm going to be discussing some fairly bothersome topics in this post. In order to adequately talk about discrimination, I will have to provide some examples of that discrimination. This will include some language that will be offensive, as well as possible triggers. Please be aware that some of what I am about to say is going to bother some people. Use your best judgement in deciding whether to continue reading beyond this point.