GAMBIT Game Lab created a prototype of a video game called, A Closed World. The game was created in response to the lack of LGBTQ related material in the video game world.
In this game, the player is in control of a character who explores a forest that is known to have demons lurking in it. In order to overcome the difficulties of having a “prohibited relationship,” your character must battle the demons. The demons attack by forcing their beliefs on you, and you fight back by defying their views on love and the “ideal” relationship. Your only weapons are logic, passion, ethics and remaining calm. By using these weapons, you will be able to defeat the demons and rewrite the definition of a “normal relationship.”
After I read about this game, I was amazed I never thought that a video game would be created with an LGBTQ related theme. The video games that I grew up around always had characters with heterosexual relationships. I mean the closest I’ve ever gotten to seeing an LGBTQ theme in a video game was when I made my two female Sims characters get married. I never thought that someone would create an LGBTQ-friendly video game, but now something new is emerging.
I believe that A Closed World is going to be a trendsetter in the gaming community, and it is a significant step in making the very close-minded world we live in more open.
Recently The New York Times interviewed Simon Doonan, a major player in the fashion industry, about his new book Gay Men Don’t Get Fat. In the book, Doonan, a gay man, uses humor to talk about sexual orientation and food. In Doonan’s world, there are two clear categories of food: straight and gay. This idea made his interview over lunch with a New York Times writer very funny.
Doonan was critical of his interviewer for getting a panini loaded with meat and cheese, because this kind of food is typical of the way Doonan says heterosexual men eat. Doonan’s humorous play on stereotypes about sexual orientation included remarking that a baby arugula salad is a gay dish, while the meatloaf on the menu is “the Burt Reynolds of foods.” Doonan enjoys poking fun at both the heterosexual and gay and says that “bisexual eating” is the best way to “stay svelte” or thin.
Sadly his fashion industry mentality shows itself in his humor when he repeatedly remarks that “heterosexual foods” are the cause for the hefty nature of many of his heterosexual friends. Doonan’s fear of fatty foods isn’t so much about health as it is about looks. This is a dangerous line of thinking because it places too much emphasis on being thin and what you look like. Sure plenty of foods out there are unhealthy, but you should be wary of these foods because of your health, not the size of your clothing. Had Doonan emphasized that healthy foods were good for the heart, then his message would have been worthwhile. It’s important to remember that not everyone has the genes to look slim. What is important is to keep our bodies healthy.
In the end, I think Doonan’s humor far outweighed his unhealthy ideas about body image. And in spite of his obsession with being thin (what else would we expect from someone who works in the fashion industry?), I found the interview to be a delightfully funny read.
There’s an ad for Tide Booster detergent that portrays a prim-and-preppy mother, dressed all in pink, sitting in a frilly and ultra-feminine living room, while her daughter, dressed in camo and cargo shorts, plays with trucks at her feet. The mother says that they “tried the ‘pink thing’,” but that her daughter insisted on more traditionally masculine clothes. When the daughter’s clothes are saved from crayon stains by Tide Booster, the mother’s reaction is “…it’s kinda too bad.” And when she asks her daughter, “playing another parking garage, honey?” her praise (“It’s beautiful”) is so halfhearted that it’s almost tragic.
The daughter’s dress and behavior don’t fit or conform to our culture’s stereotypes of who a girl should be. While the mother isn’t forcing her daughter to conform to traditionally feminine ideals (which the mother illustrates to an almost humorous degree, with her preppy pink cardigan and oh-so-delicate pose), but she is clearly annoyed, as if her daughter’s choice of clothing is a cross to bear.
And sure, this is just a commercial, but it’s painful to think that this ad campaign was chosen because they felt consumers could relate to it. So, rather than sending a positive message about letting your child be whomever he or she wants to be, the commercial is letting parents across the country roll their eyes and nod in harrowed agreement, as they look at their son playing with his dolls or their daughter rolling her trucks across the floor, desperately wanting them to fit in.
As harmless as the commercial may seem, it presents the problem of continuing prejudice against those who don’t follow traditional gender roles. It would be much better to set the example of a parent who fully embraces and accepts his or her child’s gender non-conformity.
Most of us are aware of how fashion magazines and lipstick commercials too often depict women: We’re reduced to overly sexualized, dolled-up mannequins in skimpy clothes and lots of makeup. And the result is harmful: women are constantly exposed to commercial ideals of beauty and impossibly Photoshopped models, which can be extremely damaging to their body image. One way to combat this over-sexualization is comprehensive sexual education, which teaches young women about healthy body image and that they can combat sexualization.
Artist Yolanda Dominguez has come up with another, more unusual way to tackle the problem. Her latest project puts those unrealistic, sexualized magazine images in new perspective. “Poses” captures the ridiculous nature of many magazine photos and uses the humorous result to share an important message. Dominguez had women “pose” to recreate the positions and expressions seen in fashion spreads, then displayed the original photos and remakes side by side online. Her subjects are far from high fashion; the women are certainly much more like our moms and neighbors than supermodels. And her settings are everyday scenes.
The result is incredibly bizarre. Put into a real-world context, the images become ridiculous. It’s almost impossible to believe that they were shot to sell handbags and high heels in the first place. Dominguez makes us consider how lots of make-up and special lighting have made us forget that these poses are unnatural to the point of absurdity. That we hold them as a standard makes little sense—they’re impossible.
Dominguez hopes we will also wonder why men in magazines are rarely shown in such absurd poses. According to the artist, in photo shoots men emphasize their strength, standing up with broad shoulders and straight backs. In other words, they seem fit, while women—often emaciated, contorted, and wearing sour expressions—are portrayed as exactly the opposite. It would appear that the body image magazines promote in women is not only sexualized but also simply unhealthy. Whether or not this double standard exists across all fashion spreads, Dominguez’s chosen images of women seem to speak for themselves. “We don’t identify with this type of woman—we are much more,” explains Dominguez.
When is the last time your feelings were hurt because of someone else’s words? My answer is—not so long ago. For as long as I can remember, classmates have laughed about my last name, “Fung-Wiener,” and it took me years to embrace my name as a goofy representation of my culturally diverse background. Most teens deal with bullying in some way during their high school experiences. Haven’t you?
The Bully Project is a grassroots movement that uses local campaigns, video projects and social media “to build an alliance of students, parents, school staff, policy makers and engaged citizens to create a positive environment in schools where everyone feels safe and respected.”
At the heart of The Bully Project is a documentary of the same name, directed by celebrated filmmaker, Lee Hirsh. The film spotlights the stories of five different American teens and families in their homes and at their schools. Through these stories, The Bully Project searches for the answers to questions we’ve all asked ourselves: Why do we bully each other, and how can we stop it?
The Bully Project film is scheduled for broad release in U.S. theaters soon. But we don’t need to wait for the movie to learn how to make a difference! On the project’s official Web site, bold letters beckon teens across the nation to “JOIN THE MOVEMENT” by signing up to hear about their latest news and initiatives.
So think about it—when is the last time bullying affected your life, or that of a friend or family member? You’re not alone. It happens all the time to teens all over the nation, but bullying doesn’t have to go on like this forever. We have the power to stop it. So check it out. Speak up. Join the movement.
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