"Opening A Can of Worms" or "Minorities in Video Gaming"

Given d20Sapphire's previous posts about racism in videogames I felt it was time to throw my two cents in on minoroties in videogames... but I hope to cover a bit more then she did. But first we have to cover the basics.

The reason people are rascist in my opinion is inherited ignorance. People are afraid of the unknown, the different, and it's from their very few glimpses into the unknown that a stereotype is created. They live in communities that segregate them from these undesirable people, and when they finally procreate they imbue this form of thinking on their children.

The majority of this country is white and of christian faith. In 2006 White people accounted for 221M people, 74% of the total population. Second highest is Hispanic or Latino at 44.3M, 14.8%.
According to an article in New Media & Society with research done by people at the University of Southern California, Indiana University, Ohio University and Virginia Polytechnic:

Latino children play more video games than white children. And they're really not able to play themselves. For identity formation, that's a problem. And for generating interest in technology, it may place underrepresented groups behind the curve.

Ironically, they may even be less likely to become game makers themselves, helping to perpetuate the cycle. Many have suggested that games function as crucial gatekeepers for interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
~More Info Here

When was the last time you saw a Hispanic player character in a videogame? Unless you made them yourself in a game that allows character creation you really don't see them except on the business end of weapons pointed at you in a action game set in a contemporary setting.

For that matter when was the last time you saw a black player character who wasn't in a gang? It's a rare occurrence. I think the most recent one that come to mind is Jacob from the iPhone Mass Effect game (who is supposedly in Mass Effect 2 as well, so that's good).

The problem is those stereotypes to work their way into development houses, as they do all aspects of society. People create what they know or feel, most game developers are white, just like most people in the country. Most game developers are also men, which explains why another minority, women, are still treated in a frankly shallow manner.

Think of every woman you see in gaming... a large majority have huge tits, and wear clothes that are generally inappropriate for the scenario they are put in. In Unreal Tournament females have generally wore midriff, neckline, and cleavage revealing armor, which is great for stopping bullets... where it covers.

I can understand fantasy gaming, I can understand visual appeal and marketing... but has there ever been a female in a videogame that was normal looking? Luckily the answer to this one is yes, character from numerous games are starting to look more real and normal, in the aforementioned Mass Effect series character might look good, but they aren't super models, they have realistic figures, especially for people trained for combat and special ops. Also another great series Half Life made great stried with Alyx Vance, a normal looking half Asian/African-American.

Playing as a Hispanic character or an African-American character wouldn't be a problem, nobody would be up in arms if the option was given. Same goes for a female character, wether she;s huge breasted of normal looking... the options only have to be given... but...

What about a homosexual character? I will bet cold hard cash there would be a shitstorm just from the press release. Mass effect was banned from certain countries because of a lesbian sex scene in the game (which is no worse than anything anyone has seen on primetime TV). Jade Empire had a homosexual relationship possible, but it was so mired in circumstances most people still don't know about it, it was practically a cover-up.

Homosexual characters in games are generally used for humor, and almost never taken seriously. Even though I'm straight... why can't my Mass Effect character attempt to start a relationship with Kaiden? Why can't my female vault dweller in Fallout 3 hit on Amata without being chastised?

Brokeback Mountain caused a bit of an uproar when it came out, V For Vendetta got chastised for portraying gays in a favorable light, and CSI teaches us that homosexuals are flimsy in their relationships and kill their new partner's lover. But they have them, favorable light or not, and the tide is slowly turning I think in media to more equality... yet games are far behind other older media (which is to be expected), but I think it's time for the industry to grow up.