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.

—Mereia Alston-Torres, 16, Staff Writer

Photo by Henry Hargreaves

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.

—Sam Dercon, 18, Staff Writer

Australia recently began offering a third gender category in addition to male and female on their country’s passports. In addition to “M” for male or “F” for female, people can choose “X.” This change was made to help fight discrimination usually faced by people who are transgender or intersex since they may not identify as male or female.

Although Australia is the only country who offers a third gender category, many countries, like England and the United States offer citizens the option to mark whichever gender they identify as. While it is great that the U.K. and U.S. have adopted policies that allow citizens to choose the gender that they identify as, I feel like these policies don’t compare to what Australia has done. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to explain to immigration or customs officials that although your passport states you are male or female, you do not identify as either, and instead feel that you are something entirely different. These kinds of situations degrade the individual involved and open them up to more discrimination and abuse.

Australia’s third gender category on passports grants intersex and transgender individuals a more comfortable way to identify themselves without having to worry about being forced to select a gender when neither male nor female feels right for them. Gender “X” will also hopefully help spread acceptance of transgender and intersex individuals. If other nations adopted this third gender, people might begin to see it as part of the norm. Hopefully, this will promote an understanding that not everyone identifies as either male or female, and maybe, just maybe, it will help promote a future where we openly recognize that we cannot all be classified into just two genders.

—Sam Dercon, 17, Staff Writer

Fans of the X-Men comic series, which debuted in 1963, might know that the mutants struggle against anti-mutant sentiment has been called a metaphor for the civil rights movement. The series has recently begun addressing the struggle for LGBTQ equality in the X-Men series, Generation Hope.

Commentators have pointed out the connections that can be drawn between gay teens and the X-Men. The X-Men come into their powers during puberty, and many LGBTQ people accept and embrace their identity during their teen years. And both groups feel ostracized for their differences.

Generation Hope #9, which came out this summer, even discussed the issue of gay teens who die by suicide. This is a sensitive issue, which has been in the national spotlight since the death of Tyler Clementi last year. Check out the comic for yourself to determine how well X-Men writers handle this difficult topic.

—Taylor McCabe, 19, Contributor

Several comic series have recently begun including lesbian and gay characters, including the new Batwoman. But I have to say that my favorite new character is Kevin Keller in the Archie Comics. Kevin Keller, who first appeared in the Veronica series of Archie Comics in 2010, now has his own collection of four comics.

Army brat Kevin Keller is the first openly gay character to hit the franchise, and the opening comic of his series deals with issues regarding his sexual orientation. Kevin tells his new Riverdale friends the story of how he came out to his family, and a visiting childhood friend jokes about a crush she had on him before she knew he was gay.

The inclusion of a gay character in this rather traditional comic-book world was done fluidly and well. Kevin and his friends talk about being gay very naturally. The only time where the dialogue seemed stilted was an awkward moment where the writers appeared to be trying to address the recently repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. Kevin’s father is a career military man, and while telling the story of coming out to this father, Kevin mentions that he has always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the military. If the writers are referencing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, they never quite seem to get to the point.

Before reading Kevin Keller, I had expected the Archie writers to tackle the inclusion of a gay character in an awkward and unrealistic way—maybe because the Riverdale I read about as a child always seemed old-fashioned and silly. On the contrary, however, the Kevin Keller series more than does the franchise justice, by taking Archie Comics from a series that focuses on how many hamburgers Jughead can eat to one that can adeptly address contemporary social issues.

—Taylor McCabe, 19, Contributor