Opinion We Need To Stop Pitting Queer Characters Against Each Other

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We Need To Stop Pitting Queer Characters Against Each Other​

Queer representation is only getting better and better in video games. While we still have a long way to go in the real world when it comes to universal rights in the LGBTQ+ community, it at least feels nice that gaming allows us to be fruity and feel seen in our favourite characters.

This month saw Venture added to Overwatch, a non-binary hero with a drill that can dig deep underground before bursting through the surface to get the drop on their enemies. I’m a big fan of their design, and so is the community, judging by the oodles of fan art and discussions which have warranted more fanfare than the past three heroes combined.

My favourite part of the whole situation is how the community has immediately made Venture into a non-binary gremlin who loves nothing more than to explore caves and eat rocks. If that isn’t an absolute mood, I don’t know what is. Better yet, Venture is authentically cast with the talented Valeria Rodriguez providing their voice. And, according to their TikTok at least, they go by all pronouns and have been a passionate follower of the game since its launch back in 2016. I’m yet to give Venture a proper spin (dig?) in game, but from their identity alone I can quickly see them becoming a firm favourite, not to mention how I see myself in them, too.

However, recent weeks also saw another non-binary character debut as a playable hero in a popular shooter - Valorant.
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Clove is a Scottish troublemaker with a luscious design and queer identity that isn’t dissimilar to that of Venture, so, of course, people have used this strange timing as a way to pit the two characters against one another.

Days after their respective releases, I’ve seen folks debating who “won” or can be labelled the best queer character. But this idea flies in the face of the fluidity that non-binary identities are supposed to represent.

It can be difficult to pin down what exactly non-binary means, because the term deliberately rejects being too tied to masculinity or femininity. People who decide to use this term to describe their identity often feel like they just don’t fit squarely into either of the boxes that society has demanded all people cram themselves into. But whether an individual decides to show themselves in a masculine or feminine light, they should never discount their non-binary identity.

It feels like as non-binary identification has become more commonplace in queer spaces, cis and queer people alike have inadvertently begun to try and define the term with parameters it's intended to deliberately subvert in the first place. There is no right way to present as non-binary, only a right way for society to respect those who do, regardless of how they’ve chosen to look or act. How non-binary people present themselves is none of your business, and we shouldn’t project weird expectations onto fictional characters either, since it only serves to highlight our own bias.
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Regardless of which character design you prefer or if you have more fun playing as one or the other, this evaluation shouldn’t factor in their queer identity and have it unfairly used as some sort of slight against them. You can’t do non-binary identity better or worse than anyone else, and claiming you can only further cement internal prejudice from within queer circles that we could really do without.

While representation in video games is still progressing in significant ways, there is value to be found in depictions we view as flawed, or even problematic, as we figure out the right path forward. Pitting us against one another serves to widen this divide, and allows toxicity that permeates so much of gaming to slip into spaces which should otherwise be inclusive and welcoming.
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Venture and Clove are both strong, fully-fledged, non-binary characters that represent the queer identity they stand for in dramatically different ways, but that doesn’t make one less or superior, purely because we might have a preference. If anything,

I love it when characters of this ilk aren’t afraid to lean into a feminine or masculine direction, or avoid it altogether, as it helps outsiders realise how big an umbrella non-binary identity can be. It doesn’t need to fit inside a strict box. No queer identities should, so stop turning Venture and Clove into enemies.
 
Not if there were only black people and white people on earth, in roughly equal numbers and representing one of two sexes! The "Bechdel test" is ridiculous bullshit for resentful, truly privileged women who have no real problems.
White people who are only capable of talking about the blacks?

Sounds like A&H.
 
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But can they beat Goku?

Clove is obviously a biological female. I wouldn't be surprised if the enby label was tacked on as an afterthought because there weren't enough alphabeticals on the roster. Venture looks like it was an intentional genderblobbification though. Therefore there may be no way to clock it accurately. The VA sounds kinda like Jimmy Neutron meets Timmy Turner. And the facial expressions are very male. But xe carries xirself in an odd way. The character sketch looks more feminine than the in-game model. It's a mess. I'm gonna go with stunted male though. Also probably has autism.

How the fuck do you manage to make something as cool as "BIG FUCKING DRILL" lame as hell? Shameful display, You ain't gonna pierce or create the heavens with this shit.

Also I agree with other people in this thread shove them "Queer rep" guys in the arena with everyone else.
 
We need to stop writing "queer" characters, period.
And black characters (at least for another 5 years). The queers and niggas, when it comes to this thread, have one thing in common: people bend over backwards for 'em, 'cos they're (game, tv, and film/movie producers/teams/whatever (whichever you prefer)) constantly shitting themselves that they'll get some kind of backlash, and "good people" will literally riot, and such and such.

@Aero the Alcoholic Bat
 

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And black characters (at least for another 5 years). The queers and niggas, when it comes to this thread, have one thing in common: people bend over backwards for 'em, 'cos they're (game, tv, and film/movie producers/teams/whatever (whichever you prefer)) constantly shitting themselves that they'll get some kind of backlash, and "good people" will literally riot, and such and such.
Activists and corpos will literally remove the black characters on their own. See what they did to Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben over completely unrelated shit involving George Floyd a few years ago. Somehow the Land o Lakes Native American girl mascot got axed too in the crossfire around that time period. Funny how "representation" either matters or doesn't depending on the whims of what they want to censor at the time.
 
Activists and corpos will literally remove the black characters on their own. See what they did to Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben over completely unrelated shit involving George Floyd a few years ago. Somehow the Land o Lakes Native American girl mascot got axed too in the crossfire around that time period. Funny how "representation" either matters or doesn't depending on the whims of what they want to censor at the time.
Yeah, I only know about the Uncle Ben knuckledraggery. Somehow, a Victorian, formerly enslaved black bloke doing alright for himself is a bad thing? Or am I missing some kind of point?
 
Yeah, I only know about the Uncle Ben knuckledraggery. Somehow, a Victorian, formerly enslaved black bloke doing alright for himself is a bad thing? Or am I missing some kind of point?

Black people cannot ever succeed because of raycism.

Any success story about black people overcoming the odds and improving their own lives, even at times more racist than our own, is a massive middle finger to woke ideology. And it's especially a slap in the face to people who blame their own shortcomings on systemic or societal racism, because it means that they are, at least partially to blame for, their lack of success in life.
 
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Black people cannot ever succeed because of raycism.

Any success story about black people overcoming the odds and improving their own lives, even at times more racist than our own, is a massive middle finger to woke ideology. And it's especially a slap in the face to people who blame their own shortcomings on systemic or societal racism, because it means that they are, at least partially to blame for, their lack of success in life.
Somehow, that reminds me of people in this country (over here, Blighty) who blame immigrants for taking all the jobs (which stereotypical trailer trash from the US do, too, of course, because a stereotype is basically a more grounded myth). That they didn't want. Because they're dole dossers (on benefits), who refuse to work (goes back to dole dossers/benefits thieves), and are likely to be some breed of scum, who may have done criminal stuff, and so on, blah, blah, blah...
 
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