A Hero's Quest

Good evening brave warrior, we've been expecting you! Our city is in grave danger. A variety of monsters and ghouls have been tearing apart the fabric of our peaceful way of life. They haven't done this with armies or sorcery, no. Sadly it is through something far more sinister: gatekeeping! Yes, these villians have been using disingenuous and even harmful representations of the queer community! Terrible I know, but we can't keep holding you up, you "MUST" help us!! What do you say? [[Sure, I am ready to fight!!->Education]] [[I can't help you.->Dead]]

Oh no! It looks like you failed to not only save the city, but to also create a more fair and accepting media landscape. Maybe we were mislead? Maybe you aren't the hero we were promised. For shame. For shame. [[Start Over->Opening Screen]]

Oh, thank you brave warrior! Your selflessness and determination to create a more fair world will not soon be forgotten, I can assure you! For your travels, you will need this "MAP". It will lead you to each monster that has been destroying our peaceful community! Good luck, and Godspeed brave fighter!! [[Follow the "MAP"->First Battle]]

After a long and taxing journey, you find yourself toe-to-toe with the first monster. You stand in shock as this ugly ghoul slowly open's it's mouth to say 'I'm Devilish Dan "MWHAHAAH"'. The scent of dead fowl fills the air, but Devilish Dan continues. 'Gender is a binary! Man and woman, that's how it has been since the dawn of time! "MWHAHAAH"' Devilish Dan then sported a wry smile as he stated 'Even if that wasn't true, who cares? It's just television! "MWHAHAAH"'. You raise your sword, ready to attack. What Do You Do? [[Rush towards the beast, and while swinging your sword, explain to him that gender is a construct and therefore not binary. Demand that no matter what one's gender is: cismale, cisfemale, intersex, transmale, transfemale ect. ect., their existence is true and valid.->Second Battle]] (Feinberg, //To Be or Not to Be//) [[Attack the ghoul and explain to him that the gatekeeping of noncis genders does have real world consequences. That the lack of representation of trans individuals in media can invalidate their existence and lead to real world harm for real trans individuals.->Second Battle]] (Feinberg, //To Be or Not to Be//) [[You raise your sword to high, becoming too top heavy and fall to the ground. While on the ground, you decide this isn't that big of a deal.->Dead]]

Devilish Dan withers in pain after you presented a solid understanding of queer media theory. You collect health from their rucksack and continue on your quest. Following the "MAP", you get confronted with Meant-Well Mort. Sympathetic eyes daze as a soft voice speaks to you. 'Hello dear.' Meant-Well Mort says to you with a smile. 'I promise I'm nothing like that that Devilish Dan, oh no, no, no. I always greenlight stories that speak about the struggles of the trans community. For instance, I just okayed a movie called //I Hate My Body!//, which follows the story of a transwoman trapped inside a man's body. It's got the best (cis) production crew money can buy! You're welcome!' You draw your sword ready to fight, What Do You Do? [[You charge Meant-Well Mort, and as you hack away with your sword, you explain how gender expression is far more complex than simply cis and trans. While you are happy that a trans story is being told, you are still disappointed since not every trans person feels like they are trapped in the wrong body, and not every story about trans people needs to be a sob story.->The Hut]] (McBee, //Not All Trans People Feel ‘Trapped In The Wrong Body//) [[While fighting them, you explain that another way to represent the trans community is by also hiring trans people to work within the production process of the movie.->The Hut]] [[You decide this isn't a very big deal, and you end your quest and go home to make some pasta.->Dead]]

As Meant-well Mona lies on the ground in pain, you grab some pain killers to relieve you of any pain you have sustained. As you follow the "MAP", you discover a small hut. Even though you remain outside, you can tell a ghoul lives within those walls. What Do You Do? [[You go up to the door. It's locked. You unseathe your sword and kick down the door.->Third Battle]] [[You do nothing and end your quest for a more diverse media landscape.->Dead]]

You kick down the door and find an empty room. An open pit fireplace cooks a cozy vegetable stew. Someone is home. You survey the room until you hear something creeping up behind you. You turn around to see a disgusting goblin. It laughs and says 'I am Obnoxious Ollie. I run multiple television stations and have produced a variety of.....homo media. I just came back from a storyboard for the upcoming show //Scissor Sisters//. It features two butch dykes living together. Their abrasive qualities often lead to a variety of comedic shenanigans.' Ollie laughs as the look of disgust on your face becomes more apparent. You raise your sword, What Do You Do? [[Attack Obnoxious Ollie so they understand that these stereotypes can often lead to queer individuals to feel even more like outsiders if they don't identify with the stereotypically representation that is presented to them.->Fourth Battle]] (Dryer, //Stereotyping.//) [[While swinging your sword in attack, explain to Obnoxious Ollie that negative portrayls of queer individuals can lead people to hide they're true selves. In this case, butch lesbians may feel the need to appear less butch after seeing a problematic epsiode.->Fourth Battle]] (Dryer, //Stereotyping.//) [[As the concept of the show sets in, you find yourself laughing at the potential of this show. Who cares that there aren't any lesbians involved in this show? It's comedy baby!->Dead]]

While Obnoxious Ollie attempts to hobble into their bedroom, you quickly take the a container and fill it up with that sweet, sweet vegetable stew that caught your eye earlier. You exit the house, and follow the map. You walk through a variety of mountains and valleys. You find yourself in a deep mountain valley when you are confronted by Aggressive Abby. Aggressive Abby turns and speaks, 'Good evening, brave warrior. I know your quest, but I can assure you you are after the wrong person. We always produce queer content. I mean yes, it is always a depressing true story...but that isn't our fault! Camp isn't profitable, trust me! You're busy eating that great vegetable stew you swiped. It's a bit anti-climactic, but that's cool. What Do You Do? [[You continue to eat this stew. Get lost in it baby, you've worked hard, you can be selfish.->Dead]] [[You set your stew aside, and unseathe your sword. While fighting, you explain that Abby's gatekeeping has caused camp to appear unprofitable. Point out how camp can't be analyized if there's nothing to analyze.->Continued Quest]] (Babuscio, //Camp and the Gay Sensibility.//)

With Ollie defeated, you find yourself at peace. What Would You Like To Do? Continue eating your [[stew.->Stew]] You [[move on.->Fifth Battle]]

You enjoyed some more stew. After eating an adequate amount of stew, you continue your quest [[forward.->Fifth Battle]]

As To your surprise, you come across yet another monster. This one is the biggest, meanest, ugliest monster yet. It lumbers towards you, opening it's foul mouth and saying 'I am Respectful Ronaldo. We have heard and understood your complaints. We will do more to create a more diverse media landscape. But we're in control. It's gotta be respectful. We don't need any smut.' You raise your sword once more. What Do You Do? [[Attack them for once again missing the machine. Argue that queer experiences shouldn't be policed in such a manner, and that by doing this, you exclude a variety of queer content makers that can make great content.->Congratulations!]] (Michele, //New Queer Cinema: An Introduction.//) [[Point out that they're doing the opposite problem of Mona, and that when they avoid some 'unsavory' problems faced by the queer community, you create a fake representation.->Congratulations!]] (Michele, //New Queer Cinema: An Introduction.//) [[Thank Ronaldo for putting in the necessary work to be such a great ally. Obviously this is flawless.->Dead]]

Thank you brave warrior!!! You did far more than what was expected of you, and for that, we will forever be greatful! Children will forever sing your praises for saving our city and creating a more diverse media environment. Take care, brave fighter!

Woah, woah, woah. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we must make sure that enthusiasm doesn't lead to hubris my young fighter. Before you can combat these issues, you must understand the language that surrounds them. Do you understand the language that surrounds people's sexual and gender identites? [[Straight->Heterosexuality]]? [[Gay->Queer]]? [[Cisgender->Gender Identity]]? [[Transgender->Gender Identity]]? You must study and understand these terms before you can combat the bigotry that surrounds these terms. Once you do that, you may begin your [[quest->Intro screen]].

Ah, heterosexuality. You've probably heard of this before since it is so often portrayed as 'the norm'. While that certainly isn't the case, it's still important to discuss what a heterosexual is. Heterosexuality, or as it is casually referred to as 'straight', is the term used for individuals that are attracted to people of the opposite sex. (Battles and Hilton-Morrow, //Sexual Identites and the Media//) Have you learned enough to begin your quest? [[Yes!->Intro screen]] [[No!->Education]]

Queer! Queer is simply an umbrella term for all sexualities that aren't considered straight. You've got homosexuals (people that are attracted to the same sex. Referred to as either gay (for men) or lesbian (for women). You've got bisexuals, which are people attracted to both the same and different sex. Pansexual, which are people attracted to someone regardless of their sex or gender, and Asexuals, who are people that don't experience any sexual desire. (Battles and Hilton-Morrow, //Sexual Identites and the Media//) Have you learned enough to begin your quest? [[Yes!->Intro screen]] [[No!->Education]]

Gender is on a spectrum just as vast as sexuality! It can be difficult to remember all the terms, but we'll be sure we knock it into you! Ha Ha Ha. There is Cisgender, which is used to describe people that identify as the gender assigned to them at birth. Transgender on the other hand is used for people that don't identify as the gender that was assigned to them at birth. There's Intersex, which describes someone that has a biological variation and therefore does not conform to the two gender male and female model. Then you have Genderqueer, which is a term used for people that fall outside of the binary of masucline and feminine. This label includes people who for example refuse all gender labels, or for people that occassionally feel masculine and occassionally feel feminine. (Battles and Hilton-Morrow, //Sexual Identites and the Media//) That's a lot, isn't it?? While gender is a social construct, and not technically 'real' or 'natural', it has left its mark on society, and has created a need for people that fall outside of the typical gender binary to find ways to identify themselves. (Battles and Hilton-Morrow, //Sexual Identites and the Media//) Have you learned enough to begin your quest? [[Yes!->Intro screen]] [[No!->Education]]

With a belly full of warm stew, you continue forward on your quest. You're tired, but you recognize the need for this fight. You come upon a particularly ugly beast. 'Good evening brave warrior, I have heard a lot about you. My name is Well-Mannered Mark. I understand your quest and have heard your criticisms.' He takes a pause as a gross smile comes onto his face. 'We create characters to destigimatize certain issues within the LGBT community. For example, our latest film project focuses on a white Wall Street executive that is not only gay, but he's HIV positive! We're all fighting the same fight, are we not?' You draw your sword prepared to fight, And: [[While charging to Respectable Randy, you explain that while such representatives are a step in the 'right direction', such representations only destigimatize HIV for 'respectable queers' and further stigimatize anyone who is HIV positive and falls outside of being white and affluent.->Sleep]] (Seidman, //AIDS and the cultural politics of sexuality and homosexuality//) [[Decide that that's basically all that needs to be done.->Dead]]

Man, you seem tired, you better take a break and [[rest->More sleep]].

You continue to [[rest->Sixth Battle]].

After a much needed rest, you continue on your journey. You come across a monster that addresses itself as Color-Blind Carrie. She snears and says, 'I'm a major executive at a large comic book company, and you're going to just looooove our newest project. It focuses on a white teen's coming out story. No one really expects it, however they still take the boy in with open arms. Yeah, some executives wanted to make the main character a person of color, but is that really necessary? Don't we all more or less experience the same problems?' You draw your sword and charge, what do you do? [[While attacking, explain to Carrie that the experiences for nonwhite queer individuals are not necessarily similar to the experiences of white queers. That one must understand that bigotries can be intertwined for minority races and sexualities->Final Battle]]. (Bilge, //Developing Intersectional Solidarities: A Plea for Queer Intersectionality//) [[During your fight, you explain that while it is uplifting for stories to show acceptance, it isn't the end goal. That especially within comic books, queer characters should be presented in a way that allows for their own individuality to be celebrated and explored, and not just seen as a different way of life->Final Battle]]. (Sewell, //Queer Characters in Comic Strips//) [[You applaud Carrie for doing the most possible->Dead]]