Every year, we celebrate Pride Month in June, when people of all kinds come together to celebrate individuality. This also applies to video games. Why some people are uncomfortable with this, what people are excited about, and where worlds collide.
Every year, June is Pride Month – people celebrate diversity, and video games also take up the theme. Today, we take a closer look at why this upsets some members of the community, what others look forward to every year, and which worlds collide here.
First Things First: What Exactly Is Pride Month?
In 1969, a raid took place at the Stonewall Inn gay club. Even before that, the police had repeatedly justified investigations and, in some cases, arrests on the grounds of “indecent behavior,” which led to sudden outbreaks of violence in the club.
Even before that, the LGBT community had been speaking out loudly against the oppression of homosexuals with their "Annual Reminder", but these "Stonewall Riots" provided the impetus to hold an annual demonstration for the rights of people of different sexual orientations and to celebrate individualism every year since 1970.
Official Since 1999
Bill Clinton officially declared June Pride Month in 1999, and Barack Obama expanded it. At a time when we are all connected, Pride Month also grew to a whole new level. Originally, it consisted of small runs, celebrations, and demonstrations, mostly in the US, although it also gained popularity in Germany in 1971. Now, however, the month of June has taken on a new significance worldwide.
All A Matter Of Time
In an age where we can stay in touch with each other worldwide through online games, it was inevitable that Pride Month would also find its way into the virtual world of video games. The game celebrates with skins, profile icons, short comics, and everything else that goes with it. Players should feel heard, understood, and seen, no matter which minority group they belong to.
But not everyone is happy about this, and even that is nothing new. In the past, religious groups and people whose worldview does not include homosexuality and other sexual orientations have spoken out against Pride Month. But the age of digitalization has brought with it a whole new set of criticisms.
Capitalism At Its Finest
These days, pretty much every company changes its logo to a rainbow flag on June 1. "Look, we're LGBTQ+ friendly!" Only to change their logo back at the end of the month and dissolve everything in hypocrisy – this phenomenon is called "pinkwashing" or "rainbowwashing" when it happens purely for marketing reasons.
The colorful event, which was supposed to celebrate people who had been severely oppressed for the longest time and how we have developed into a better, more inclusive society for everyone, is often exploited by mega-corporations to line their pockets even more and improve their image in terms of inclusion. Gamers feel this every June, fueling the already existing frustration in society. But why should that stop the community behind it from celebrating what has been going on for 55 years?
Criticism of Pride Month in video games – "Think of the children!"
Many video games offer Pride-themed items to their player base in June. Here, too, the LGBTQ+ movement is often highlighted. But there is a downside to all this: pop culture from the rainbow community is picked up on, which is often not understood by other parts of the gaming community. Everything is super colorful and flashy, and other media, such as comics related to the month, are published.
The fact that these games are often played by children upsets many people—because for them, sexuality should have nothing to do with the virtual world. In these worlds, individual champions are not discriminated against on the basis of sexuality anyway, so what is there for them to celebrate?
But... Nothing Has Changed?
But let's be honest with each other. When it comes to video games, nothing has really changed. People say, “This shouldn't be forced on children!” as if video games hadn't been creating the most attractive, lightly dressed women and ultra-masculine men since the dawn of time, only to later function as money-making machines – and not just for adults.
The "fear" that children could "drift" into the community themselves due to the portrayal of LGBTQ+ content seems very unfounded against this backdrop. Young men don't suddenly start taking anabolic steroids because they emulate their characters, and young girls don't jump through graves doing somersaults because they emulate Lara Croft and wear the shortest shorts possible. A similar argument can be made for LGBTQ+ content: just because a rainbow flag appears in League of Legends doesn't change anyone's sexual orientation.
Back To The Roots
Yes, huge companies are sometimes hypocritical and want to sell us colorful stuff to make money. And yes, the colorful, often intrusive advertising can be annoying if you don't feel like you belong or are simply not in the mood. But maybe we should all focus on the essentials again:
We have arrived at a society where no one has to feel bad about who they are. Perhaps the moral of Pride Month has also changed somewhat over time. Be proud of who you are, no matter who you are!
Let us celebrate together, whether in the real world or virtually, that everyone can experience the strongest emotion we humans have to offer without prejudice: love.
But what about you? Are you annoyed by Pride Month, do you celebrate it, or did the discussion even pass you by? And don't forget: we love a good discussion, but whether it's June or December, we ask you to treat each other with respect.