That Time Warner Bros. Beat Up A Queer Character For Pride (The Jimquisition)

lol. Yeah I have a f2p game called Puppet Nightmares and that's a June boss/event. Primary story is a Toymaker stealing souls to manipulate in a nightmare world. I'm not as scummy about my business model as the big boys, and built most of it on my own before all these fancy html5 development kits existed. I'll admit, some of the stuff I created nearly a decade ago for it is cringe. Hey, while I've got your ear, Stephanie, my girlfriend Jennifer's been dreaming about seeing you in some tight pink pants. Hope you make it happen on your show one day. :P

PhoenixIgnis

Wait, what?

Jim Sterling

I hear that. I was excited enough that we made it into the acronym. Seriously, though, came back to the video to thank Steph for the little bit of solidarity. I've more and more been coming to realise just how privileged I've been in my own life to, for the most part, have friends and family who do see me so I'll always cheer for anyone doing their bit to make sure more people have that.

Kav

I remember growing up seeing gay used to mean "stupid" like "well that's gay AF" and it was always meant in an insulting way. So yes, it was used in a slur-type methodology. There's a reason for the existence of the slogan "We're here, we're queer", and that was because of reclamation. Then Tumblr's TERFs weaponized lack of LGBT+ history and turned it back into a "queer is a slur!!!" weapon because how many NB/Trans people were using it and they of course absolutely loath the NB/Trans community and want them Gone.

Kim Knister

Happy Pride indeed. It's important to stay positive.

kesseldarkfire

"Queer is a slur was invented by terfs".... they say to the man who was called queer as a slur and tries to explain why many gay/bi men aren't comfortable with it. Tumblr can't lose users quickly enough. Like, ya'll can find another term that wasn't shouted at folks as they took beatings for being gay.

Harry Moore

Gay has no origins as a slur. That'd be like saying "black is a slur". Fun facts are only fun when they're actually facts.

Harry Moore

Good Tumblr post about why Queer isn't a slur. https://banrionceallach.tumblr.com/post/623874816056967168/queer-is-a-slur-grow-up My own opinion is this, I'm an Ace Non-Binary person and Queer is not only shorter but safer than outing my specific identities even to other LGBTQ+ people until I know that they are safe.

Julian

I used to have a problem with "queer" too along with some other words until I found out what they actually mean. People will use any word they can to insult you, it doesn't need to actually be a slur. And often, it isn't. We must never give power to anyone using the actual name of something as a slur. That is the worst thing we can do. "Gay" is not a slur. We have relcaimed it. But "Queer"? Queer literally means "abnormal". Which... We are! Realising that, I find it a fine word to use for LGBT people. When it's used only for gays that still irks me though. I'd like to see it return to it's original old timey English use. To find something odd and just say "How queer". It's not a slur, and that's why it can be reclaimed. But for so long I honestly assumed it meant the same as the other british word for cigarette. I understand not wanting to touch it. Learning about it's real meaning depowers it as an insult though.

Minus Underscore

I've had something like this in my game for years. I balanced it out by letting you beat up a religious biggot that hates gays, then acts gay after being defeated because he was in the closet all along.

PhoenixIgnis

fun fact: gay is also a slur in fact it was the slur thrown at me more commonly, just like anyone who grew up during the 2000s. so by your own logic you can't call yourself 'gay' because that's a slur sometimes.

The bigots don't exactly lose when you take their branding willingly. It's why we're not walkng around using racial slurs.

Harry Moore

Im a bi person and have had the same happened even before I was out, and I know more people who want to reclaim the word rather than let the bigots win

Adult Sword Owner

I'm sorry some of yall really mad that someone objects to you using a slur.

Harry Moore

That sounds awful and I'm so sorry it's left you feeling vulnerable, but it was definitely not at "us", doesn't apply to "many gay men" as I know them, and seems rather threatening to equate that so directly with trans issues. I am sure you also meant no malice.

Stoey

Every single term used by the LGBT+ community has been a slur. Reclamation has happened to most of them. Queer being re-rebranded a slur was a trap by TERFs, starting on Tumblr and then spreading out from there after it proved successful there. It sucks to see people allowing TERFs to win.

Kim Knister

I had to skip this video since Sterling uses a slur a lot of the LGBT community has tried to convince Gay/Bi men such as myself that it's cool to just throw casually around. (queer) Like... this is a word that was screamed at us as violence was done to us, so it's kinda something a lot of us will never accept the casual use of or especially the promotion. Like imagine if gay/bi men ran around saying "it's cool to deadname and wrong pronoun intentionally trans people now #pride" Anyhoo, I'm sure Jim meant no malice, but in my lifetime I've had rocks chucked at me and an ex while the word was shouted at me, and many gay/bi men have had similar experiences so we're just not cool with it.

Harry Moore

All that they are sorry for is being caught being A piece of shit.

Shapie Starberrie

*video says the word asexual* Ah, I am seen.

Duck

Not thinking about things. The capitalist way.

Tinokel

That's the suggestion I see most often, is just... playing as Poison Ivy. Or you know, they could come out with like a... Batgirl event and reveal she's pansexual or something, add more people to the gay roster. But they'd never do that :P

KB

Maybe make the event around Poison Ivy doing the fighting? There are plenty of events in the Injustice games where playing as a specific character will net you rewards.

Question: I am a The Straight. Could this whole fiasco have been avoided if players were able to play AS Poison Ivy and beat up other characters, excluding Harley Quinn? Would that turn the narrative on its head, or are there problematic elements I'm missing there, too?

Charles Arthur

I commissioned a drawing from an artist friend (S. Harriet), portraying Poison Ivy growing flowers that have hormone phials in the middle, because she knows HRT should literally grow on vines.

Leaf

Don't give them ideas.

Benedict Holland

Thank you. I appreciate you using rationality and compassion to temper your views, rather than just immediately jumping to black-and-white polarized thinking.

Cyberweasel89

Jesus Christ. What's next, Red Dead Online having a "beat up freedmen!" event for Black History Month?

Harro

As you said, actual corporate PRIDE would be funneling their lobbying money into equality and pro-LGBTQIA2 laws. But equality and happy people are bad for business apparently. I'd guess happy, secure people are less exploitable and gosh how could corporations ever survive? 😡 Gods damned Disney and Warner Bros and nearly every other corporation on this planet. 😡 The shirt worked brilliantly with the green screen and thank god for you James Stephanie! 😃

Perpetual Noob

I am positive that the discussion went something like: "its June, let's focus on elevating those people again. Who do we have that is out of the closet?" "No one sir. At WB, we have no publicly queer faces in any of shows." "What about Dawson? Maybe a cartoon character. Did we ever say that Velma was gay?" "... well we do technically own DC and they technically have a single out queer person and we do technically have a mobile game were we can sell loot boxes but..." "do it. Next item on the agenda?"

Benedict Holland

Happy Pride Jim! Its pretty disgusting how corporations pander during this time of year. Great video.

Jarod

The fact that the event is called 'Love Conquers All' and is set so the more times you beat Poison Ivy the more collective rewards you get out of it as a community... during Pride month ?? it felt weirdly targeted.

DitisEmile

I'm not sure about this one. It is a fighting game after all. I'm not sure what else they could do.

Cishet and grey as they come here, the issue is still glaringly obvious to me. I mean the choice is so 'on the nose' that is almost unbelievable that it was borne of thoughtlessness rather than genuine hostility.

Fermin Ayucar

I didn't think this year could get any stupider. Good job WB!

What the actual fuck, WB? That is beyond braindead.

Liz Jackson