D&D 5E D&D Promises to Make the Game More Queer

[Yunru]

Are you implying that things like this are OK when they echo some familiarity with popular culture or some other aspect of the real world?

Yes, in the same way I feel that racism is perfectly fine in the right setting (say, historical fiction, or settings like in Bioshock Infinite).

I mean, I won't disagree with you, but wouldn't this line of reasoning about source material apply to both Dracula AND Lestat?

There's a number of reasons it might not, but I think the most probable one is (or at least, was, it might now just be grandfathered in) fanservice. After all, Strahd is from another time, culturally.

Are you unfamiliar with the adventure? You don't even need to read ten pages to see this character relationship described with the following words: "love," "courtship," and "consort." Now I realize that this is an all-ages forum and that not all of the forum goers have had the talk, but this is pretty clearly a reference to carnal attraction.

Yes actually, I am
I'm not upset by what you describe though, any more than I would be with any other gender pairings.

Although personally I would find it uncomfortable in general (see: other posts on "in-your-face sexuality").

Do you mean: at what point does it go from "Character A likes Character B" and become an adventure hook that leads to some good questing?

I mean at what point does it go from "Character A is trying to force themselves onto Character B, stop them" to "Save the girl from the guy."
Although as I said, I'm not familiar with the adventure beyond the source material it draws from.

I trust WOTC to handle that on their end. Hell, one of the ways to resolve the danger of Argynvostholt in CoS is to get two gay revenants to rediscover their love for one another, which involves sneaking a gigantic dragon skull out of a haunted castle and hauling it cross-country while being harried by ambushes.

Now that's some mighty fine questing!

Now you see that I don't mind. They're not gay to be gay, the focus isn't on the fact that they're gay, they just... are.

But I don't expect that sort of subtlety (not the right word. Precision? Tact?) from anyone claiming to try and be "queer-friendly". (Maybe that's just me being jaded.)

 

[FrogReaver]

So you really don't think men feel comfortable announcing their heterosexuality? What planet do you live on?

They may not say the words "I'm straight" out loud, but men in most cultures certainly feel free to demonstrate how heterosexual they are by talking about how attractive they find women and how they want to have sex with them. In public, often loudly, often with numerical ratings.

So there's the real world and there's the entertainment world. Please separate the 2 for a moment.

 

[TwoSix]

I don't go around telling people I'm straight. I don't know hardly any straight male that does. Why gay men have to tell everyone they are gay?

It's weird, I just went to the mall and I didn't see a single person wearing a shirt saying "Gay Guy here" OR "Straight Guy here".

 

[Sunseeker]

So there's the real world and there's the entertainment world. Please separate the 2 for a moment.

I live in the Midwest. If you think that straight men don't like to announce how incredibly straight they are, you're lying.

 

[Caliban]

I'd prefer to only be told about the sexuality of someone I'm considering for a sexual/romantic partner (as part of the prospect vetting as it were). The sexuality of everyone else in the universe is irrelevant to me. What people tell me I have little control over however, unless I simply stop accepting information altogether.

Doesn't matter if you are comfortable with it or not. It still happens. Especially in cultures with a lot of homophobia, or that idolize "machismo".

Announcing or demonstrating your heterosexuality in various subtle (and not so subtle) ways is commonplace. You don't want people to think your gay, after all.

This is true for men and women, but it's much more obvious with men.

 

[Yunru]

Oh get off. If that's what you read that's on you.

Everyone who isn't completely ignorant of the topic at hand knows exactly what I was saying.

If it makes you uncomfortable that Bob is gay, that Bob mentions now and again that some guy has a cute butt or whatever, that's on you. Bob shouldn't have to worry about if you're uncomfortable knowing he's gay. Because Bob knows you're straight and there's no social pressure on you to worry about Bob feeling uncomfortable about your straight-ness. But there IS social pressure on Bob to worry about you being uncomfortable with Bob's mere existence.

Oh please, don't try and act offended (at least, I hope it's acting).

I wouldn't be uncomfortable about Bob's existence. I would be unconfortable about Bob pointing out a guy has a cute butt, and would expect him not to if he's aware of that. In the same vein that if Bob is uncomfortable with me pointing out a girl's got a cute face, I wouldn't. Not because of any social orientation, but because of being a good person.

 

[FrogReaver]

Because you don't have to. The default assumption in society is that you are. That's the whole freaking point that just keeps flying over your head.

Not really. If you dress a certain way or talk a certain way your pretty much lumped in as being gay or at least probably gay speculation arises... at least where I'm from.

 

[Nagol]

Doesn't matter if you are comfortable with it or not. It still happens. Especially in cultures with a lot of homophobia, or that idolize "machismo".

Announcing or demonstrating your heterosexuality in various subtle (and not so subtle) ways is commonplace. You don't want people to think your gay, after all.

This is true for men and women, but it's much more obvious with men.

You asked

Are you saying it's not OK for me to tell people that, because it might make them feel uncomfortable?]

My round-about answer was that your premise is correct. Telling me your gender preferences does make me uncomfortable.

 

[FrogReaver]

It's weird, I just went to the mall and I didn't see a single person wearing a shirt saying "Gay Guy here" OR "Straight Guy here".

Good start! See we don't have to announce our sexuality to the world. So why is suggesting that gays don't announce their sexuality to the world suddenly insulting?

 

[Caliban]

So there's the real world and there's the entertainment world. Please separate the 2 for a moment.

Why? That's kind of the entire point of contention here - making the entertainment world (D&D) a little more representative of the real world. In this case by including a gay couple in an adventure setting - neither hero nor villain, just part of the population.

You seem to be agreeing with the people who don't like that "because it makes them feel uncomfortable".