I’m a sucker for mass events in WoW.
I also find LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) issues to be important, especially due to how rampant the homophobia is, not only in WoW, but in gaming/geek culture in general.
This Saturday I get a chance to combine the two when the Proudmoore Pride Event goes off. It’s a yearly parade that has taken place since 2005, basically 8 years in a row – that is pretty impressive consistency for an in game initiative!
The event includes a duo-faction parade through the North Barrens to Ratchet to end with a party at Booty Bay. Details here.
Looking at pictures from previous years, this looks like a lot of fun!
The WoW Factor has also been invited by the organizers to host a transmog competition at 2:30 pm/server time/PST.
Judging from the size and theme of this parade, I don’t know what to expect in terms of trolling, maybe the worst? At our regular events, we almost always get trolls.
I get the impression some of them care about the competition and find joy in it, but feel the need to hide it under a layer of denial which comes out as trolling, because “it’s totally gay to dress your char up and go to a WoW fashion show“.
Others, I believe, are just bored and don’t give a damn. If it wasn’t this event they were obstructing, it would be roleplayers, or it would be messing up LFG groups, or it would be corpse camping low lvl characters, or it would be typing random crap on the forums. Regardless, the language of trolling is almost always anti-gay.
I’m thinking that since the pride parade has been carried out so many times, the organizers know what to expect, so the event will run smoothly. On the other hand, if there’s something that can bring out all the trolls, this would without doubt be their number one wet dream. But that proves the point of why the Proudmoore Pride parade has legitimacy in the first place!
Even though I’ll be there with the WoW Factor, I intend to join as much of the whole event as possible, I think it sounds like a cool initiative. LGBTQ matters seem to have only one expression in game, and that is as a slur, as a way of expressing disdain. Sometimes it’s as if the only people playing are white straight guys of varying ages, the image the industry worships. One thing is the marginalization of female players, I find any other issue to be even more invisible.
This event is a way to show hundreds of players in support, to raise awareness and to raise the visibility.
As usual I will have to attend on a trial account (as I’m an EU-player) so I’ll have to deal with the speech muzzle, but if you’re going, please whisper me to say hi! Otherwise, I’ll be the low level character dancing alone in the corner, sipping the last drops of my drink and checking the mobile phone I don’t have.
In other words, I would love to see some familiar faces!
