D&D 5E celebrating pride and lgbtq+ players 2021

[Faolyn]

For example, generic smiley... What gender is it? What race? What sexuality? Of course there is none, but our brains provide one anyways. And usually that identity is one that is already overwhelmingly represented in media.

Race: Lego. Sexuality: Lego.

 

[imagineGod]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. I will amend my statement to "You have definitely missed their point."
As in you didn't even understand it. You & they are talking about two entirely different things.

And what purpose is this clarification? To make you feel better that you failed to understand my point.

 

[bedir than]

And it'll only get worse.

What's worse about recognizing people's value and worth?

 

[BrokenTwin]

So since the article is about advertising about their Pride merch, what do people think they'll be selling? Rainbow dice seems like a given. Rainbow-faded D&D logo stickers, keychains, pins... maybe a limited edition PHB with a queer characters on the cover?

 

[Faolyn]

What's worse about recognizing people's value and worth?

I think they were joking.

 

[Imaculata]

So since the article is about advertising about their Pride merch, what do people think they'll be selling? Rainbow dice seems like a given. Rainbow-faded D&D logo stickers, keychains, pins... maybe a limited edition PHB with a queer characters on the cover?

That would be a bit tacky in my view, except for the latter. Because actual representation makes a difference.

D&D has introduced me to many more LGBTQ friends than I had before, so I am very thankful to it!

I think roleplaying can also be an excellent tool for exploring one's sexuality, and on the whole I get the impression that the roleplaying community is very open and inclusive. I applaud effords to keep it that way.

A close friend of mine often played male characters at larps, and I think that experienced helped him to come to identify himself as male, instead of female. It can be very liberating to play as the opposite gender for a change, and to have every player be completely accepting of that.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

You know how most gaming books, up until recently, used the male pronouns for everything, largerly because the default assumption was that the readers were guys. But then people realized that hey, women game too, and started including female or actually gender-neutral pronouns as well.

It's like that. Up until very recently, it was pretty much the default (in all media, not just gaming books) that a character was cis-gendered and heterosexual, because it was assumed that the reader/viewer was also cishet. Except that, surprise! There are plenty of people who aren't cis or het. So why not include them as well in the game?

Thankfully, White Wolf pioneered moving away from all this back in the 90's. It may have helped in some small way to get them more female gamers than otherwise would have been drawn to the whole Vampire thing.

 

[Gradine]

I'm as skeptical of rainbow capitalism as the next queer anarchist, but WotC has honestly done a pretty decent job of queer representation and inclusivity, as far as these things go. I've seen thinkpieces talking about why D&D has such a large queer following.

Now, race on the other hand...

To comment on other points:
*Queer is the preferred term of most of the folks that I know. I've most commonly seen pushback on that term because they don't want to lumped in with others under the same umbrella (transphobic LGB people; biphobic lesbians and gays, etc.) and if I'm being frank I don't think those people should get to have a stake in how we define ourselves/want to be defined as.

*Not that I was the person who reported it (I actually didn't notice it until I saw the red text), but I've only ever seen some variation of "alphabet soup" as a derisive and derogatory commentary on the queer community's admittedly somewhat overboard obsession with micro-identities (they say, as an asexual nonbinary transfemme lesbian )

*Not to be too pedantic, but if you've never played a trans (or otherwise gender noncomforming) character, then all of your characters have been cisgender. That's the literal definition of cisgender.

*It's also already been commented on, but the absence of even NPCs in relationships seems highly improbable, and even if you haven't given that much if any thought and fallen back of heterosexual relationships by default, your game is giving commentary on the prevalence (or absence) of non-cis, non-hetero individuals in your worlds.

*And again, relationships, even queer relationships, are not necessarily sexual in nature. Comments of asexuality aside, if your world has married people, there's not really any reason for there not be queer married people (or otherwise in relationships) in that world as well.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

To comment on other points:
*Queer is the preferred term of most of the folks that I know. I've most commonly seen pushback on that term because they don't want to lumped in with others under the same umbrella (transphobic LGB people; biphobic lesbians and gays, etc.) and if I'm being frank I don't think those people should get to have a stake in how we define ourselves/want to be defined as.

This is one you will find a huge generational divide on. When I was growing up in the 70's and 80's, Queer meant the exact same thing as Gay. But the generations that became adults in the 2000's have adapted the word to cover a much bigger spectrum of orientations, and as you say, has become the much more common term.

 

[BrokenTwin]

That would be a bit tacky in my view, except for the latter. Because actual representation makes a difference.

Yeah, it would be, but I'm deeply cynical about corporate pride efforts. I'll honestly be shocked if there ISN'T some sort of D&D logo in pride colors in the offering.