Queer As A Three-Sided Die: Round Table From GaymerX3

At the GaymerX3 convention in December 2015, several well-known tabletop roleplaying industry members took part in a discussion called "Queer as A Three-Sided Die" which dealt with issues of queerness in the tabletop community. The participants were Tim Motishaw (D&D Adventurer's League Regional Coordinator), Joseph Carriker (Changeling: The Lost, Relics & Rituals, Stormwrack), Jeremy Crawford (lead designer, D&D 5th Edition), Steve Kenson (Mutants & Masterminds), Donna Prior (OrcaCon, Green Ronin), and Wesley Schneider (editor-in-chief, Paizo). The YouTube video is below (51 minutes), but I've also borrowed a bunch of bookmarks from Wesley Schneider's website so you can drop in at points which interest you.

[video=youtube;xCQCO5ZCONo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCQCO5ZCONo[/video]

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[h=4]Bookmarks[/h]

• General Introduction (00:13)
• What is this Panel? (By Q3SD creator Steven Kenson; 1:11)
• “My Name is Joseph Carriker…” (05:00)
• “Hello Everybody, My Name’s Donna…” (07:36)
• “I’m Steve Kenson…” (11:10)
• “I’m Wesley Schneider…” (“Secret” Gamer Illuminati; 13:56)
• “I’m Jeremy Crawford…” (17:45)
• Coming Out Through Roleplaying (22:44)
• “Why Aren’t You Writing for Us?!” (24:19)
• I’m Not a Writer. How Can I Help Make Tabletop a Safe Space for Queer Content? (27:32)
• “…So Far in the Closet I Could See Narnia.” (30:46)
• Pushing Past Barriers to Participate in Tabletop (31:40)
• Dungeon Bears (33:16)
• The Experience of the Nerdy Queer (33:27)
• Donna Demonstrates Queer Tabletop Event Coordination (34:14)
• “It’s Hard Enough to Get ANYONE to Play Tabletop…” (34:36)
• Gravitas vs Safe Space (36:31)
• “There is Absolutely Nothing Wrong with Creating a Fantasy World Where Being Queer is Totally Okay.” (“Anyone Who Tells You Otherwise is Wrong”; 37:19)
• Queer Villains (39:09)
• I Love the Female Characters, But the Men… eh. (41:42)
• “Isn’t that $#%&ing Refreshing.” (41:27)
• “It is Truly an Issue.” (43:08)
• Men Get to Be Fabulous (44:42)
• Do You Find/Erase Homophobic/Misogynistic/Racist Content? (45:46)
• Moving Beyond Placeholder Characters (46:54)
• Diversity is Something We’ve Got to Always Be Considering (47:44)
• Descriptions of Male and Female Characters (49:12)
• Adventures We’re Excited For (50:54)
• Clapping (51:27)

 

[Jester David]

Well that was just boring, I am just here to play and forget about all the politics and PC correctness don't need it force fed to me by yet another medium.

I bet they wish they could just forget the issue and just play.

It's because they can't *just* be gamers without returning to the closet (aka lying) that we need panels like this.

 

[Jester David]

Added to "Watch Later". Always good to remind myself to think diversity.

I do love that two of the biggest names in the two biggest companies in our industry are openly gay. I think it helps encourage us to be better and make actual change.

 

[hardvice]

The most delightful part of being gay: your very existence is somehow considered "politics". *Eyeroll*

Interesting panel. Thanks for posting this.

 

[daveb22]

Never played with anybody gay/queer at the table (that I know ha) but would have no problem with it at all. Great find

 

[GameOgre]

I bet they wish they could just forget the issue and just play.

It's because they can't *just* be gamers without returning to the closet (aka lying) that we need panels like this.

I don't want to know that they are Gay. I don't want to know if anyone is strait either. I frankly just do not care and do not really want any sexuality in my rpg games and if someone just HAS to bring a tiny bit in, it better be in character.

Really this issue is just a non issue with any games I have been to.

We don't care if you are strait,gay,boy,girl,young,old,black,white,religious or atheist,Democrat or republican!

All those things have nothing to do with the things that are important at the game table.

I realize that not all game tables feel that way. That is a sad thing.

I just think there are a heck of a lot more game tables like mine than the other.

Just be happy and get your game on.

 

[jacktannery]

Thanks for posting this Morrus, great panel.

 

[Jester David]

I don't want to know that they are Gay. I don't want to know if anyone is strait either. I frankly just do not care and do not really want any sexuality in my rpg games and if someone just HAS to bring a tiny bit in, it better be in character.

Really this issue is just a non issue with any games I have been to.

We don't care if you are strait,gay,boy,girl,young,old,black,white,religious or atheist,Democrat or republican!

All those things have nothing to do with the things that are important at the game table.

I realize that not all game tables feel that way. That is a sad thing.

I just think there are a heck of a lot more game tables like mine than the other.

Just be happy and get your game on.

So... none of your kings have queens? No one flirts with the barmaids? There's never been a wedding, arranged or otherwise?

Cool. That's fine.

 

[hardvice]

What Jester said. Everybody has a sexual orientation. Straight people talk about theirs all the time, usually without even realizing they are doing it, because it's perfectly normal to talk about your loved ones and family.

Besides, "I don't want to have to know somebody is gay" is basically the same as "I want to be able to assume everyone is straight". Like it or not, we divide the world into defaults and others. And if somebody isn't explicitly declared to be other, they're assumed to be default. Look at all the chaos that ensued with, for example, the black actress cast to play Hermione in the new Harry Potter play. Hermione's race is never stated, so therefore everyone assumes she's white, and clings to that assumption even when the creator says it isn't necessarily so.

Same thing with sexual orientation. If we really did agree to just not talk about it, gay people would become entirely invisible, and everyone would assume everyone was straight. Suggesting that nobody should acknowledge their sexual orientation isn't a neutral position.

 

[evilbob]

"I don't want to have to know somebody is gay" is basically the same as "I want to be able to assume everyone is straight".

Suggesting that nobody should acknowledge their sexual orientation isn't a neutral position.

Thank you for saying this in a constructive way. I couldn't come up with one.

 

[WesSchneider]

Really strong commentary by Jester and hardvice, thank you both for eloquently hitting on topics that regularly come up in these discussions. And huge thanks to Morrus for posting this! If you want to see more of these panels, you can check them out on the Inclusivity & Diversity in Gaming YouTube playlist here.

Steve's been the mastermind behind the Queer as a Three-Sided Die series since, easily, the late 1700s and it's been a fantastic, growing series of discussions. Plans are to have the next one at Gen Con 2016.

So please, if this is a topic that you're interested in, that you have questions about, that you see a need for, that you *don't* see a need for, by all means, take an hour and stop by the discussion in Indy this summer—everyone, regardless of orientation is welcome.

Because that's the point: to let everyone who loves this this hobby, regardless of orientation, know that they're welcome.