Victim of Culture

In the land of gay Ewoks and lesbian Wookies

Now, there’s someone who’s going to read far too much into that headline.  If you’re one of those people, please swap the two alien species mentioned, or replace them entirely with Boba Fett or someone.  Now, feel better?

If you think I’m being slightly facetious, then you’d be half right.  You see, sexual orientation is apparently now an issue within the Star Wars universe.  The new online RPG title Star Wars: The Old Republic breached the topic recently when the Community Manager for the game’s web site said gay and lesbian “are terms that do not exist in Star Wars.”

Of course, he said this in relations to the game’s forums on the web site, but it still seemed to be a blanket statement on the Star Wars property.  So, why be upset?  There are a couple of ways to read his comment.  First, and least offensive, is the idea that sexuality is not labeled in the Star Wars universe, and therefore labels such as gay, lesbian, straight, etc. are unnecessary.  For many this is not only logical about the Star Wars universe, but an ideal for ours.

The second way, also know as the offensive way, is to interpret it as meaning that gays and lesbians do not exist within Star Wars.  In other words, everyone is heterosexual.  Offensive?  Well, it is a fantasy world where other things such as Christianity and cancer also might not exist.  In turn, some would argue that religion does still exist in the Star Wars world, and Christianity could not without Christ himself.  Cancer, on the other hand, is never directly ruled out and it’s assumed that there are genetic disorders present in the alien species of Star Wars.  But homosexual behavior, on the other hand, has been observed in most animal species.

A third suggested reading might be that the Community Manager was looking for a way to explain why they are blocking out such terms in response to message board trolling with phrases such as, “That’s so gay.”  In other words, making a minor justification for why they are addressing a major issue for some fans.

Why filter at all?  Why not just ban individual members as they post such comments?  The same reason that YouTube and Flickr might try to filter objectionable material before it ever goes public–saves work and headaches.  Of course, the issue at hand goes deeper into cultural identity.  When you start taking away the terms people use to define them, and simply say they don’t exist, those people feel they have been slighted somehow.  As if someone is calling into question their existence, or at least the need for their identity.

Sound ludicrous?  Try creating a game world where people can only be white, or there is no religion.  It has likely been done, but it has also likely been an instant turnoff to some users.  In a shifting world of cultural identity, the one thing you can count on is some bumps and bruises along the way.

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