Homophobia On Xbox Live (and PSN)

9609The Consumerist is reporting that a woman who identified herself as a lesbian on her gamertag profile was banned from Xbox Live. In order to prevent offensive actions or harassment, Microsoft bans certain words, regardless of how they are used. This policy makes a certain degree of sense, but wasn’t the case:

The woman, who only goes by “Teresa,” claims that she was harassed by other XBL users. “They followed me into the games and told all the players to turn me in because they didn’t want to see that crap or their kids to see that crap. As if xbox live is really appropriate for kids anyways!” She goes on to say that her account was suspended. When she brought the issue up to Microsoft, the response was that other users found it “offensive.”

Simply saying you are gay, which has no affect on anyone you are playing online with, causes this kind of hatred. I think its really sad and it makes me ashamed that gamers treat people like this. Microsoft told MTV they are reconsidering their policy towards offensive words, which is good news.

Xbox Live and PSN are full of people who shout “faget” and other racist and homophobic terms. Gamers get so offended when someone portrays them as mouth-breathing neanderthals or violent-loving sickos, but this kind of portrayal doesn’t seem to bother most. I think its really wrong when people play a GAME and can’t even enjoy it without hatred and vitriol spewed at them.

This is Anthony, getting off his soapbox, in a bad mood because Morrissey canceled his concert, which was Anthony’s birthday gift.  We now return you to your regularly scheduled life.

Written by

Age: 34 PSN ID: Starkiller81. I've played games since before I can remember, starting with my dad's Atari and I haven't stopped yet. Keep them coming and I will keep playing them.

24 thoughts on “Homophobia On Xbox Live (and PSN)”

  1. I hear people do this all the time. It can only be stopped if people were banned on a minute basis. Saying that because most people on XBL can’t help but call someone a faggot as soon an their killed or teabagged.

  2. See, I love to trash talk, but calling people hate-filled names isn’t clever or fun.

    Call someone an assbutt.

    Never heard that one before,lol.

  3. Yeah, this situation is tough. On the one hand, I think the media is (again) sensationalizing the whole thing to absurdity, and on the other, I think it’s really awful for this girl.

    The thing is, the system is in place to keep idiots from using homophobic or racial slurs, and to keep them off the system altogether. Unfortunately, this time the system happened to nab somebody that was just expressing themselves.

    While it sucks for her, and this whole ordeal is really terrible, I just don’t know if the Internet is the right forum to be putting really personal stuff about yourself without inviting some kind of rude commentary from anonymous jerkoffs who can see your info at any time while they play with you. I certainly wouldn’t and don’t put that I’m hispanic on my XBL profile, because I don’t want to hear racists yelling about it.

    Not saying it’s her fault in the slightest, but still, you’ve got to be cautious about that.

  4. Yeah, Eddy, you are totally right.

    I wish we lived in a world where I can put that I am a pseudo-Catholic or someone can put that they are gay or Muslim or anything without being attacked.

    But we don’t. Maybe someday.

  5. It sucks but I think she’d rather have a system that doesn’t allow her to have “gay” in her gamertag as well as assholes having “gay” in theirs, but offensively. If it was a free for all with vulgar gamertags instead of this one case there might be hundreds of cases where someone is offended or hurt. However, gay people should rejoice, Sean Penn won an Oscar! Milk was a pretty good movie, except seeing Harry Osbourne kiss a man killed me a little inside, but there I go rambling.

  6. [quote comment=”4892″]Yeah,
    But we don’t. Maybe someday.[/quote]
    A lot of online communities are actually really great about accepting different beliefs…XBL just isn’t one of them. In fact, Kotaku made a good point about this, which is that it’s the XBL community that is the reason behind these issues. Unless Microsoft really starts cracking down on disruptive gamers based on their behavior, not their name, we can expect to keep seeing this. A lot.

  7. The thing is, a lot of people portray XBox Live that way, but I just don’t think it’s only that game. Any large sampling of a lot of people is GOING to seem like it has that much of a higher ratio of douchebags. It’s because more people equals more douchebags.

    Counter-Strike used to be just as bad if not worse back in the day, when it still was the most popular online game in the world.

  8. I got to admit, sometimes I say stuff like “What a fag” when someone does something I find that ruins the game, like glitching, but thats about it. Why fag, idk just alot easier to say then idiot. I dont give a damn if your gay, just dont do gay stuff around me, like literal gay stuff.

  9. As opposed to figurative gay stuff?

    While a lot of us grew up where words like that were just ways of saying stupid, it’s probably not a good idea to say something offensive just because we’re lazy.

  10. Thats just because I hear that stuff everyday, I just dont notice it, when I do I correct myself. No matter what you say, though, someone could take offense to it, and most gay people, that I know dont mind to much about the fag thing.

  11. I said fag when I was a kid.

    A kid.

    I am old enough to know words like that are harmful and are only used to make others feel bad.

    My brother says, “Thats gay” all the time. I told him, how would you feel if someone referred to something lame as, “thats black.” or “thats spic”.

    It is a slur. Curse all you want, but leave the hate terms for the bigots.

    The N-word is bad, no matter who says it, Kanye West or your grandmother.

    Fag is the same thing as that. Be better than that.

  12. What I say is that words are only offensive when you let them offend you. I get made fun of everday in school, im still 16, I’ve heard it all, fattass, nerd different stuff like that. I just learned to not give-a-damn anymore. My friends call me a pussy all the time, “Light you hand on fire like a real man” and when I dont they rip on me. So I get why people are offended by the words, but at the same time I dont get why they cant just let it go sometimes.

  13. Yup. This would never have happened if people left “sexual orientation” out of their info.

    I dont care if you’re gay, what color you are, or if you’re a girl or a boy. Im going to shoot you, kill you and possibly degrade your corpse. In the unaltered game, we’re all the same characters.

    Video games are just a giant metaphor for unity!!…. -sheesh-

  14. masseyguy, you are right, it would be nice if people just didn’t let it bother them.

    It would be better if they didn’t have to. If people didn’t say those things. I am hispanic and if someone calls me a spic, I don’t care. Doesn’t bother. But it might bother someone near me and people shouldn’t have to deal with that. All you can do is change yourself. So why not be better than those people, instead of stoop to their level?

  15. Thats true, we shouldnt stoop to there level. Just sometimes Ill say something like that and I wont catch it. And I never knew you were Hispanic!

    Masseyguy911 is my XBL gamertag btw.

  16. lol, yeah I am half Cuban, but I lived with my mom, so I only got the look. I act like a regular old white boy, I freely admit.

    Hey, accidents happen, when things slip.

    All I can control is what I say, so I just try to set an example by rising above it. Those words aren’t kind to my ears, so I avoid.

    But I curse like a sailor.

  17. lol I curse to when I play XBL, thats why my rep got put down…

    and your kinda like my friend Gabe, hes Cuban but acts just like a white kid.

  18. You do realize by saying “I’m half cuban but act white” is also saying that people of different races generally act different right? I mean I get what you’re saying but it just doesn’t come off right.

  19. I’d actually take a much different stance on this. I think the problem is not actually the people making slurs, or the fact that Microsoft is banning on a word basis from profiles on a system where 10 year old ignorant wiggas try to be tough over a headseat cursing out any and everyone. It’s not even the girls fault for putting the information up there for everyone to see. I mean, maybe she was looking online? You never know. Anyway, I think the problem is not any of those, but actually the fact that society has even labeled things as good bad/right or wrong, & has decided to acknowledge, by way of making rules, the negativity in the world. I actually believe that if you let the world go rampant & do as it wished, in terms of crime and all, people would probably be better off. Without going too much into depth with the argument (if you really want to know why I believe this/my proof then tell me) the fact that society acknowledges etc. etc. and etc. as right and wrong simply gives would be “wikka” here a bullseye to exactly what he should do to piss the world off. So what if she put it up there. Let her. Eventually she’ll either learn that people will hate on her for it, that some people will be like “OH YOU TOO?”, & that some people will actually be either accepting or not really care. And for the guys talking trash, let them. Give a troll no attention and he’ll go away, right?

  20. [quote comment=”4925″]You do realize by saying “I’m half cuban but act white” is also saying that people of different races generally act different right? I mean I get what you’re saying but it just doesn’t come off right.[/quote]

    Yeah, I realize how it sounds. A better way to say it would be: “People are shocked when they find out I am Hispanic”.

    That’s an interesting take. Problem is, people pay money to get on Xbox Live, so everyone feels they are justified in doing whatever they want, on both sides.

  21. I get a lot of stick for being Irish. Apparently all I eat are potatoes and drink nothing but Guinness. 1. I DO love potatoes, but I <3 pasta more, 2. I’m a law abiding citizen so being 16 I have 2 more years to wait. I’m not meaning to judge anyone, but when I hear racial abuse 90% of the time it’s Americans. That said, there are quite a lot of nice Americans on my friends list. It’s those idiots who give their nationality a bad name.

  22. Yeah, I was on once and this American dude was going off on this British guy, for no reason. So I started trashing the American dude and we all ended up laughing and adding each other to our friends list.

    cue “We Are The World”

  23. [quote comment=”4932″]I get a lot of stick for being Irish. Apparently all I eat are potatoes and drink nothing but Guinness.[/quote]
    Lol it’s the same for me but im Scottish, people normally tell me to go have tea and crumpets because im Brittish, then when i say im from Scotland i am automatically Ginger, eat haggis everyday and wear a skirt. It’s a kilt dammit and we dont wear them everyday, only for special occasions.

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