Stardew Valley Fans Harassed After Asking For Pronouns

thegamer.com:

Over the past couple of weeks, the Stardew Valley queer community has been calling on Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone to add pronouns to the character creator, allowing non-binary people to feel better represented in-game. However, others have responded by harassing LGBTQ+ players and content creators.

Twitch chats are being spammed with abuse, YouTubers such as Keemstar Show ex-producer ChrisTheNarc have tweeted about the calls for pronouns being an "insane take", while others are misgendering people in the community directly in their replies.

Some trans streamers, such as QueerlyBee, have locked their social media accounts down after being targeted due to the growing vitriol. There are even allegations that some streamers are being doxxed, so many are now warning others away from playing the game until the hate blows over.

As of writing, there has been no response from Barone. It's worth noting that he's a solo dev not just supporting Stardew Valley, but also developing a new game called Haunted Chocolatier. So, adding pronouns isn't as simple as it sounds, but many have tagged Barone online asking him to denounce the transphobia and harassment taking place within the community, to which he has also not responded. As such, some Stardew fans are calling for a boycott.

"I truly do not care about if ConcernedApe speaks on pronouns in the game anymore," one streamer said. "I want him to condemn the transphobia and violence against the trans members of the community he gained in creating Stardew Valley."

"The silence from ConcernedApe regarding harassment towards trans folks in the community is disappointing," another tweeted. "I will no longer be playing Stardew or making content on this game."

"Due to ConcernedApe's silence about the lack of gender inclusivity and the amount of harassment our friends from the Stardew community (especially from [the] LGBTQ+ community) are receiving, it does not feel right for me to continue streaming or playing Stardew