BioWare Flap Raises Questions of Homosexuality in The Old Republic
BioWare has spent the last couple of days in hot water with the homosexual community, thanks to banning certain words from their forums. Kotaku recently reported that the company locked threads dealing with homosexuality in The Old Republic, and censored the words “gay,” “lesbian,” and “homosexual.” Community manager Sean Dahlberg simply said, “As I have stated before, these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars.” Insert C-3PO joke here.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. Following the controversy from the banned words, VG247 now reports that the words are usable again. Dahlberg has clarified that “no one was suspended or banned from this website for any discussions on the subject with the exception of individuals who were being derogatory and insulting to others.”
The censoring has raised the question of whether BioWare will allow homosexual relationships in the actual game. The company hasn’t shied away from these relationships before, and this controversy on the forums may have shown them that people care about being able to express themselves. We’ll have to see what happens with The Old Republic when it comes out.
Like Microsoft’s recent controversy, this was probably a well-intentioned attempt to curb abuse, and got out of hand by seeming to muzzle users. And technically Dahlberg’s initial comment is only half-right. Terms like “homosexual” are never literally used in Star Wars, but the so-called Expanded Universe does have homosexual characters, like one of Boba Fett’s best lieutenants.
Source: 1UP
