Jim Ryan And Sony's Stance On Abortion Is As Disappointing As It Is Predictable
thegamer.comLast week, we wrote about our pleasant surprise that Bungie had taken a firm stance on abortion rights, standing up for women to have the freedom of autonomy over their bodies. Double Fine followed shortly after. For all the complaints that gaming has become too woke, too obsessed with politics, the fact is that gaming at large is still afraid of politics. Sure, there’s now a greater variety of protagonists than straight white men, but that is not inherently political in the way trolls and naysayers claim it is. Likewise, we see a lot of studios change their profile pictures in support of Pride Month, but the bravest and most political act most studios have ever done is tweet Black Lives Matter, often while continuing to promote white men to positions of power because their face fits. Shortly after Bungie and Double Fine took two steps forward, Jim Ryan took two steps back.
In an email sent around Sony, Ryan reportedly told staff to "respect differences of opinion" on abortion rights, with neither Ryan nor Sony taking a stance on the issue. The reason for this, Ryan argues, is because "we owe it to each other and to PlayStation’s millions of users", and folks, that's the jackpot. Sony has millions of customers, and therefore sells to millions of opinions, and therefore cannot have one itself lest it risk upsetting someone and losing a customer. This, however, overlooks a fatal flaw. Having no opinion is actually a very loud opinion to broadcast.
Related: If We Want To Talk About Diversity In Gaming, We Need To Be Intersectional
The apparently imminent overturning of Roe vs. Wade is an attack not just on the right to have an abortion - itself in defiance of the supposed separation of Church and State - but an attempt to
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