LGBTQ+ Representation in Video Games through the Eyes of the Queer Community

Abstract

This article discusses the questions of LGBTQ+ representation in video games through the eyes of queer gamers and creators. The methodology of this work is based on Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, which is applied to a corpus of texts primarily from the social website Reddit. Critical discourse analysis is used to contextualize the statements of the speakers in the wider sociocultural framework. The findings are supported by previous research done in queer game studies by authors such as Bonnie Ruberg and Gaspard Pelurson. The first part of the work focuses on the approach game creators choose when creating a queer representation, which can be summarized as balancing between inclusivity and avoiding conflict with conservative markets. The second part delves into the stances LGBTQ+ gamers express towards queer representation in games. They point out various is-sues, such as marginalization and stereotypization, which can be however used to improve the cred-ibility of characters.