Are queer women well represented in gaming?
With LGBT+ characters appearing in hits like Life Is Strange and The Last Of Us, gaming’s toxic side can still hold back representation.
Whoever we are and whatever we do, we all deserve to see ourselves represented in the things we love. For LGBTQIA+ gamers, a healthy amount of genuine representation can be hard to come by. While groups such as queer men and trans people have an equal amount of depiction issues, queer women’s inclusion in the gaming world presents an extra challenge. As gaming is still largely seen as a man’s world, the introduction of queer female narratives can have varying consequences – with the frequent danger of sexual objectification.
It’s still debatable if gaming is a safe enough space to explore queerness at all. ‘There is still a big mentality that gamers are straight men and straight men only,’ Twitch streamer and game voiceover artist Anna told Metro.co.uk. ‘Women still feel very unwelcome in gaming spaces, let alone queer people.’ For queer gamers, the experience is extremely subjective, and when positive is largely rooted in individual gameplay.
Games publicist Abbi recognises the problem is often found when playing online. ‘Personally I avoid things like online gaming, partly because a lot of the games don’t appeal to me, but also because the idea of having to interact with potentially homophobic and sexist people worries me. However, I think there’s a lot of changes happening, and outlets like Gayming Magazine are really shining a light on all the amazing queer games and people in the industry.’
As games take centre stage for female queer representation, titles like 2015’s Life Is Strange and 2020’s The Last Of Us Part 2 are well renowned for their success in integrating the queer female
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