BeholderBurger said:
All I wanna know is what I said earlier. Do you feel the need to abide by a set of core values and "life-pathways" that reflect an attempt to conform for more acceptance by the wider community ,you know, as if your only allowed so much non conformity and you have to make up for it in other ways. Or do you feel really liberated to actually do anything you want. Im not concerned with your actual choices, rather I am concerned with whether you feel pressure to do it.
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what it is you're asking.
Do I feel pressured to abide by a set of core values established by someone else (presumably some kind of social majority) in an effort to gain acceptance?
Not in the least. Frankly, my sexuality has very little to do with my gaming, save that I'm probably more likely to play a gay character. I think that there is an undercurrent among gamers that some gay men and women might interpret as homophobic, but is - at least in my opinion - simply xenophobic.
It's actually a pretty common phenomenon in other subcultures, as well - the gay one, and paganism, for instance. People in these cultures (which I also belong to), like gaming, have dealt with something of a stigma for their choices in society at large (though this stigma is wearing away for all three, it still exists).
When people have spent time being something of an "outsider" among "the norms," they tend to establish a pretty strong pack mentality when among "their own kind." Any divergence from the norm of that subculture tends to be met with bewilderment and furrowed brows in average cases, but open hostility in some. My personal opinion is that this occurs not because they actually hate that particular trait that seems at odds with the subculture, but because most such people have dealt with being the odd man out and are subconsciously reacting to that difference - only this time, they are making sure that they stay the "normal" one in that peer group.
It's actually not such a big thing in gaming anymore - in fact, it's almost more damning to be a gamer in queer culture than it is to be gay among gamers.
I guess that's why I've always thought of myself as a gamer that just happens to be gay, rather than vice versa.
Hope our input has helped.
