[game_edu] Implications of students going into a male-dominated industry?

[Ian Schreiber]

Are LGBTs underrepresented in the game industry? Only data I have is from the 2005 IGDA Diversity Survey (sadly the most current info we've got) which shows 92% straight, 2.7% L/G, 2.7% B, 2.6% refused to answer, which is a bit below LGBT incidence in the general population. So unless we've had a large influx in the last 6 years, yeah, it's still an issue. (Other more subtle clues would be the continued presence of an LGBT roundtable at GDC, and general lack of believable LGBT lead characters in games, even moreso than strong female or minority leads.)


I should also note that when Brenda and I were writing our "Breaking In" book, one of the questions we asked to the industry was specifically regarding LGBT issues. Of the three contributors, two specifically asked to be anonymous. Out of 100 questions we wrote on, this was the only question where we had such requests. Not scientific by any means, I admit, but it's all the data I have.

I'm curious - you mention "some of the most noted game designers" being transgender. Aside from Dani Bunten, who else? She's the only one who regularly comes up in my design classes, would love to include more.

- Ian



________________________________
From: William Huber <whuber at ucsd.edu>
To: Ian Schreiber <ai864 at yahoo.com>; IGDA Game Education Listserv <game_edu at igda.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 3:13 PM
Subject: Re: [game_edu] Implications of students going into a male-dominated industry?


Most of this thread is taking a rather predictable course in response to your post (if there's a record, and if I need to go on it, I'll just agree with taking dramatic and effective measures to increase the representation of the under-represented in all aspects of the game industry, and to create a professional environment that is respectful of all its stakeholders) but I do have two questions about one of the categories you mention.

Are gay men under-represented in the game industry? I actually think, on this regard, the industry is doing alright. That many places within gamer culture still feel like hostile places for LGBT gamers notwithstanding...

And, isn't the game industry, perhaps, something of a leader in providing a good working environment for transgender men and women (especially the latter?) It is my impression that some of the most noted game designers of the past few decades have been transgender. 

William Huber

On Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 11:22 AM, Ian Schreiber <ai864 at yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi all,

>

>This (long but worthwhile) article has been making the rounds on Twitter recently, so I thought I'd bring it up here:

>

>http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/22786_To_My_Someday_Daughter.html

>

>While it focuses primarily on the Magic:the Gathering player community (as that is what the author is closest to), I think the sentiment can be applied to just about any male-dominated industry, from video game development to mechanical engineering to business.

>

>Personally, in my industry survey class I make it a point to spend some time talking about gender/minority issues. Students in these groups need to be prepared for potentially unjust treatment. Students who are not, need to not add to the problem. (I would actually just as soon make Women's Studies or Minority Studies a required course for all game dev majors

 until such time as the industry fixes itself, but so far I haven't had the power to affect curriculum that much, so I'm left to just make a "strong recommendation" that my students will go on to ignore.)

>

>It makes me wonder though: the fact that the industry is predominantly white, male and straight, and that this lack of diversity is a problem in so many ways -- is this a problem on everyone's radar in the educational space? How do different schools handle this (particularly trade/vocational schools that are highly industry-focused)? Does anyone require students to take an entire class in understanding unequal societal power dynamics... or do you graft it on to a single class as an isolated topic, and hope it sticks... or do you try to integrate these discussions throughout the curriculum (say, by having game design students make games for target audiences other than themselves)... or does the topic never see mention in the classroom at all

 because it's seen to be outside the scope of game dev?

>

>In short: where are we now, as a collective? Is that where we should be? If not, what do we need to change to get us there?

>

>- Ian

>

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