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Putting the Gay in Games

Cultural Production and GLBT Content in Video Games

University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, ashaw{at}asc.upenn.edu

This article addresses gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) representation in video games from a cultural production perspective. It addresses how members of the video game industry account for the relative lack of GLBT representation in this medium. Previous studies have shown that certain stakeholders actively invest in GLBT representation in media. Factors in the inclusion of GLBT content include (a) the presence of motivated producers in the industry, those that are personally, politically, or commercially interested in GLBT content; (b) how the audience for a text or medium is constructed; (c) what the public backlash from both the GLBT community and conservative groups will be, as well as industry-based reprisals in the form of censorship or ratings; (d) the structure of the industry and how it is funded; and (e) how homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender identities can be represented in the medium.

Key Words: video games • cultural production • gay • lesbian bisexual and transgender representation

Games and Culture, Vol. 4, No. 3, 228-253 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1555412009339729


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