Why Blizzard MUST Do More For Representation

Yes, it is important to see two women kissing on screen & in your favourite video games. Even Overwatch 2. Here's why.
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[@MrPep-yz5jg]

I wonder if the same argument can be made for religion? like Sikhism Islam Hinduism Buddhism Christianity Judaism

[@bruhcringe7552]

100% can and should

[@PieceOfCandyPS]

Nah, SoyVB, this is a horrible take. Stop forcing your indentity politics down our throats. We do not care. I main Lucio and I do not relate on a single thing with him yet I still love playing him. So why do you need to relate to a characters sexuality? Actual perverts. Can you people think about anything other than gender, sexuality, race and other identity politics?

[@ironman1458]

Lol I didnt realize your own experience was universal. So just because you like a character you dont relate with you speak for all of humanity? Indeed your take is much more smarterer edgelord

[@jonahkey9313]

I just have to say, you are honestly one of, if not the most inspirational overwatch creator out there. The way you constantly strive and fight, not just for the game to be better, but try to teach the community and the players to be better as well. The way the community rejected you over false claims and after a brief break you come back as strong as ever and still make content like this and shine light on important issues that don’t get spoken on often. As much as I appreciate what you do, PLEASE do not burn yourself out on this game too much, you are way too pure of a human to deserve driving yourself insane waiting for activision blizzard to fix their game.

[@thatFabulous]

this man is a national treasure

[@Siks7Ate9]

Can we make it global please? Not everyone lives in the same country:)

[@bexisdying229]

you speak and explain about this so well, while also maintaining that queer people are not a political stunt. Thank you

[@dohrraiquen]

What annoys me about representation, specially when it comes to sexual orientation, is that they ALWAYS go for the easy way, make 2 hot girls a couple. It's the most "socially accepted" type of gay couples. You'll never see gay men, specially if they're tough guys. No one would bat an eye if Tracer and Brig were a couple (Just to name 2 girls) but i would like to see what people would say if Doomfist was Reaper's boyfriend. Or if Reinhardt kissed Cassidy. That's why I feel like it's just to fill a "gay character check" list when it's always the 2 hot girls.

[@Wunchus]

Ngl would actually kind of like to see doom and reap together

[@tam18670]

ok, doomfist and reaper is reasonable, But REINHARDT?? and Cassidy?? Isn’t rein like, in his 60s lmfao?

[@tobviaxs]

i mean yer really right, Soldier:76 was confirmed gay back in the comics as he said he has an boyfruend but we havent even see them together, and even without seein' them together, Soldier:76's pick rate dropped back in the day.

[@insecticaa]

Well, I wouldn’t say no one bats an eye. Homophobes will still be homophobes, and often the reason why they’re more “accepted” is really just because a lot of straight men have a fetish for two girls kissing and not that they actually care for gay relationships (they’ll be the same people beating it to lesbian p0rn but also hating gay rights)

[@thefinalpam_]

I am so thankful to have your voice in our community, SVB! Thank you for using your platform to continue this sort of discourse!

[@Iloveidiots1]

What heterosexual characters have had a romance in OW?

[@BrenoGF144]

Reaper has a whole family, Ana had a husband (who she had Pharah with), Torb is married and has grandkids, Dva/Dae-Hyun is heavily implied to happen someday...

[@Iloveidiots1]

@@BrenoGF144 Fair, I guess I just missed all that.

[@thugl8653]

just because %5 of the community are gay doesnt mean the game should shove gay chracters down our throats and make it their whole personality. it will feel like shiity netflix shows that add charachters not because of their stroyline but because they're gay and they make it their whole persona which isnt fun. and also because not every player agrees with this lifestyle or supports it.

[@vex2960]

Ok so am i as a gay man with 96% of the media being shoved straight characters down my throat? Damn. Ever thought of anyone else’s perspective aside from yours? And idgaf if noe every player agrees with “this lifestyle.” I didnt get to fucking choose being gay as my lifestyle so who is anyone to “not support it.” This isnt someones favorite colour where you agree or not, this is my actual life.

[@thugl8653]

@@vex2960 both of your points and arguments are basically stupid with all due respect, why does a person's sexuality matters??? If I'm watching a show and there's a guy always waving a straight flag around if there even is one, and talking about tits always, And they make it the characters whole persona, that'd piss me off. Even tho I'm a normal guy and I like those things too, but for example we're playing overwatch Here why does a fictional cartoon characters sexuallity matter? Validation? is it insecurity? That's why you're trying to seek validation from the content you consume? If you make the point of representation then, every country should be represented by every show and game, every religion, every race ect... if you want representation then go watch gay porn that simple. Minorities dont make the rule, just because even 10% of the population are gay doesnt mean every show every game should "represent them" and just because a staight white prrson watching a movie and sees loads of white people, they dont get a fuzzy feeling inside and be happy theyre being "represented" that's stupid. So again if you wanna feel represented go watch netflix or any left wing agenda show or gay porn. And also as a person of color that's Muslim I'm not here crying for the developers to add a Muslim character and make it his whole persona, that'd be weird and I wouldn't like it. And I might view what you do as wrong and I wouldn't agree with your lifestyle or moralism, its your choice at the end of the day and it has nothing to do with me, but I wouldn't want something political like that in the content I consume, and I don't think sexuality should even be relevant in games, and that's why I wouldn't like it.

[@iirichtofen6310]

@@thugl8653 well said brother

[@artistryartistry7239]

Not the biggest, or the most popular creator (in this day and age, that's probably something to be proud of) but hands down, SVB is the most important and the most thoughtful voice in the OW community.

[@Jereonn]

Representation is also things like OW having characters from all over the world. I lost my shit and still love that OW is one of the few internationally known games that features a Dutch character. It's just cool to see something 'personal' like that be represented. I dont think anyone else bats an eye wehether he's Dutch or Belgian or German or whatever though. I guess the same thing applies with representation in other forms. You just have to be part of the 'minority' to appreciate it.

[@fractalelf7760]

Just remember the only places practicing this are NA and Europe. The rest of the world basically sneers at the suggestion. Minority is also relative, whites make up only 16% world pop and Asians a whopping 59%… context matters.

[@manlymanmann7592]

I appreciate diverse representation despite not being in most minority groups. It's refreshing.

[@ironman1458]

@@manlymanmann7592 Thats true but when a character reflects your experience it really makes you feel seen on another level

[@manlymanmann7592]

@@ironman1458 yeah I can relate because it's rare for me to identify with a character. When I do, they always kill them. Most recently the dude in Andor that wrote the book. Anyway, glad you found it in overwatch

[@gabelofi]

I am gay, a preppy/femboy, I have openly come out as transgender then replaced it with femboy due to the toxicity of the community, I'm also Native American, a dying dying culture and we have many dying languages, now I don't feel like every two seconds I need to beg a billion dollar corporation to use my minority status to make more money, and use them as a marketing scheme, also many billion dollar corps like Blizzard and Riot probably don't care whatsoever when they do this.

[@comedylyfe2113]

I won't be impressed with overwatch til they add a serbian, albanian, or romanian

[@ingenium2872]

This may bee a bit of a hot take and I genuinely apologize if I offend some people here. I'm all for Diversity/Inclusivity/Representation in all forms of media... but as long as they do it right and not just out of left-field. I say this in a sense that I would rather producers make new, original characters, that way it gives them all the room in the world to do whatever they want in order to make them represent a certain demographic. Rather than taking a character who as already been established for years, if not decades and then willy-nilly turn them into something different. To me, that's not true representation, that's tokenism. True representation would not only be making an original character, but introduce that character the exact same as you would anyone else. That way it would make it look normalized and would make the character fit in just as well with other characters. No need to make a giant hoopla about a character being LGBT of any kind, just treat them like everyone else.

[@SamWhite-pg7bj]

In the case of Raze and KJ they’ve been hinting about them for like 2 years now so it’s not out of the blue, and in terms of past characters coming out I see no issue if a love life was never previously stated. You’re under the assumption that a character is straight until proven gay, but if a character has never been specified to be with someone, making them come out as gay may not be turning them into something different. They might have always been designed as gay just not stated on release, it only feels like they were turned into something different for you because you assumed something about them that was never stated. Ofc they should continue to make new diverse characters but there isn’t an issue in clarifying and fleshing out a character we didn’t know something about previously.

[@apowolf1340]

@@SamWhite-pg7bj What you're saying is true, but the problem with most media nowadays is that they create a character, flesh them out, let them develop a big fanbase and then out of nowhere their sexuallity is revealed and it's something that had zero hints or set up behind it, that in turn causes all the fans that knew the character for years to have a quite a bit of whiplash and understandably so. That's why I agree with @ingenium2872 that if you are gonna have a character be LGBTQ+ it should be part of their conceptual idea from the start and not 2 years into them being released.

[@insecticaa]

⁠​⁠@@apowolf1340why?That’s your fault for assuming the character is straight, and society’s fault for assuming heterosexuality as the default. If they’ve never had a love life before there’s no reason to assume them as gay, straight, bi, aromantic, etc. And what’s wrong with being a fan of a character that turns out to be LGBT anyway? Gay people have enjoyed characters that turn out to be straight and they mostly don’t think it’s “out of left field” or “weird”. It’s because, even internally, you just feel uncomfortable with gay people, not because being gay is “weird”. Being LGBt isn’t some huge part of your identity. It’s something as casual as your last name, hair color and what shoes you wear. But because of its stigma, people complain no matter what if there’s a lgbt relationship/character. If there’s only a small substory like S76, people think it’s “woke” and “token brownie points”. If it’s hinted at for a long time like killjoy and raze, it’s “we’re getting the woke agenda shoved down our throats!!!” if a character is released and immediately presented as lgbt it’s also “WOKE SJW!!!” “TOKENISM!!!” but if a character is released and after several years announced as gay/bi/trans/whatever, it’s, like you said, “out of left field” and “gives whiplash”. The point is, it’s not the fault of companies or LGBT people to have to accommodate their literal identities because some gamers can’t handle people who aren’t straight or cisgender. The problem is that being queer is stigmatized, and LGBT, being an ethnic minority, a woman, etc, are all not considered the norm. They’re considered “extras”, or “not required” by people who don’t fit those groups and are literally not even considered as people - just political. Imagine how disgusted lgbt (or other marginalized groups) people feel when they finally see themselves represented on the screen after centuries of erasure and the anti-sjw angry gamers complain that “it’s just politics” or whatever while you’ve suffered years of discrimination for just being you.

[@kevingerstner9001]

Thank you SVB for being THE most positive figure in the Overwatch community. You’re the best buddy ❤

[@Poppinsyahear]

I’m a middle/high school teacher and never comment on YT videos. I just want to say keep up the good work SVB. You don’t have to be a licensed educator to be a teacher. ❤

[@fractalelf7760]

Representation is fine, biased over representation however is not. Inclusion is needed and good, but every variation needing representation at all times is not possible nor productive.

[@kyspace1024]

I agree with all, but ... Rein and ana flirting? And what other interaction example you would list as a proper "counterpart" of the LGBTQ+ representation? Because I recall little straight representations in OW as well?

[@PieceOfCandyPS]

We don't want straight representation or gay representation. Keep politics out of games.

[@urban_video5949]

fax

[@sherbaxpop5210]

All I’m saying, if you make gay ppl kiss in games, I wanna see normal ppl kiss too. Neither in OW nor in Val I don’t see normal ppl kiss.

[@clownavenger0]

I listened to the entire video hoping you would tell me something I don't understand but when it comes to race I really don't understand why I should care what a characters race is. I am a white dude who consumes next to no western media cause I prefer Foreign films and shows, Columbian drug dramas or korean love stories. I don't relate to somebody based on something as useless as race. The only time a persons race matters is when in a medical setting. I do relate to characters based on their backstory more than anything. Characters who have lost a younger sibling or very close loved one often allow me to relate with them. Seeing them overcome their own grief. I also seem to get a similar feeling from watching somebody struggle protect their own family to prevent the loss in the first place like in Nier for example. With that said I can understand how you may relate to a 2nd generation immigrant but if that same Indian character was just a gun slinging one man army without that backstory and you still related only due to race I would consider you at least slightly unconsciously racist.

[@davidchang905]

Relatable, SVB. Love you contents, it hasn’t been an easy year for you, keep up the good works!

[@MrUnknown-wo3zo]

Let’s not lie, if Blizzard came out and said Mercy was straight and in a relationship with Genji, the LGBT would be pissed and probably try boycotting Blizzard 🤣 If they came out and said Mercy was gay, a lot of people would still be pissed. This is why they won’t do it, they won’t win either way so I don’t blame them. We never know though… Maybe we will see some relationships in PvE.

[@insecticaa]

they’ve known tracer is a lesbian since the beginning of time and they still made a crazy large amount of p0rn of her 💀💀

[@samhhhhh]

Great video SVB. Hopefully this helps some folks understand better.

[@KingOfNebbishes]

Talks about representation, but doesn't want Diamonds in GM games. /s Seriously, though, people who complain about representation, I just don't understand them.

[@rizuwastaken]

The approach to this topic is something I find scary because it is always putting yourself at risk of criticism, over-analysis, and harrassment, but your execution was actually so thorough and well presented. I am in concurrrence with everything you had to say and it was great to watch this video, thanks SVB!

[@galev3955]

The whole video is really well said. Also that line about a talking monkey being a more likely part of the future than openly gay people was a deep cut, scince they are always talking about the OW world as "an optimistic future".

[@timman5989]

Do not use friends as an example. Although I love the show, it has very little ties to the African American community and a lack of representation to say the least. I’m fine with that as there are other shows available but terrible reference. Also I do not need to see characters kissing in a video game for it to fun. Most people play video games to escape reality. This is coming from an out gay man btw. I just think people like to make an issue out of everything when they honestly have no place to even speak on it or just make fools of themselves with their lack of knowledge and understanding of the topic.

[@momdad1818]

Friends was just used as an example because its popular and easy to relate to for many...

[@momdad1818]

It does no harm at all for out community to be represented why are you mad

[@timman5989]

It’s not a fair representation for African Americans as the entire main cast was white. How is that relatable. I’m not mad it’s just an ignorant statement to make to prove a silly point.

[@timman5989]

Never said it did do any harm but we are represented. There are multiple heroes that are openly gay/bisexual. Why do we need to see them kiss on the game to make it inclusive. Do any of the other straight characters go so deep into public displays of affection. If they do decide to have gay heroes kiss then they do and if they don’t it’s not necessary. No need to make it such an issue like they are purposely limiting these “requirements” by the LGBTQ community. It’s a friggin game! Get over it!

[@momdad1818]

@@timman5989 "We're represented" who's we? White gay men?

[@ramonchristopherramos2338]

I think the lack of inter-hero flirtation vooce lines from our two heroes more of boils down on the personality and lore. Tracer looking like she's in a monogamous relationship and Jack seems very damaged about letting go of Vincent that he's shut out any room for romance in his life. I do remember Tracer has inside-spawn voice lines about what she could bring home to Emily. So on this argument I'd want to point out that Reinhardt is a romantic and Baptiste a flirtatious personality and why they get flirtation lines. Nonetheless, I honestly would enjoy seeing a trans or nonbinary hero next. Really loved what Magic the Gathering with their nonbinary hero.

[@BagelBoi4000]

Im not trans and I also dont play apex but I was really excited when I found out one of the new apex characters was trans. I think when they changed mccrees name to cassidy they shouldve instead had that character be trans. Its a better in lore reason for a name change and also it would probably piss of the asshole the character was initially named after.

[@KodaCreates]

Unfortunately if they did add a nb character like Lynx 17 I'd bet loads of people would misgender them I've already seen quite a bit of misgendering towards them Unfortunately

[@MagnusMurder]

@@KodaCreates I think one of the reasons Lynx gets misgendered (although transphobia definitely plays a part, especially if they got added to the game) is because of the fact that them being non-binary is so vague in the comic. I don't think they get referred to with they/them pronouns even once, it's only on Twitter that their pronouns got mentioned.

[@KodaCreates]

@@MagnusMurder ohh I wasn't aware they were confirmed on twitter, welp I think that confirms they'll never be added to the game, if they wont use their pronouns in side material (a place that tends to have a lot more rep because only people that are already in grossed in the world/story are likely to bother reading side material so they don't have to worry about it affecting purchases of the main material) there's no way they're going to in the game which is sad because they'd be such a great addition

[@galev3955]

Onnthat note, I think we are all happy that Bap got a flirty line with Lifeweaver 😏

[@galev3955]

Representation can be such a blindspot when you are part of the majority and you dont even notice it. Something that completely blew my mind and was very eyeopening to me about queer representation is how natural it is to have straight copules in every story. Why is it ControversialTM to have a gay kiss in a kid's cartoon but it is mega normal to have straight kisses and relationships? What really is the difference? You dont want gayness shoved down your throat? Well maybe I dont want straightness in all my media. How about that? Anyway thanks for talking about this.

[@Ajsobrainsalot]

Wth why do u wanna see gay characters kiss in a KIDS show????? 😅 groomer and also too straight characters kissing isn’t normal anymore that’s really strange or offensive now days it’s like if anybody kisses now days it’s controversial!!!

[@Jynx54]

Couldnt disagree more. Representation in the manner you discuss doesnt matter, especially in video games. In video games you control the character, this is much different than story driven narrative and why videogames often translate terribly to movies/tv shows. Its far easier to see yourself in a character when you are literally looking through their eyes in FP style games, and thus blending the immersion and allowing you to relate and empathize with the character. Additionally what is the purpose of OW? Is it a story driven narrative where you have complex characters? No its a shooter game where the goal is to click heads. The closest thing to story you get in the game is the little voice interactions before the match starts. You cant compare OW to a movie. Additionally you assume that gays will identify with a gay character just b/c they are gay. Same for trans, or skin color or whatever minority group flavor of the month. This is beyond stupid. The whole concept of empathy allows you to understand the plights of others without having to be in the minority. One of the reasons Schindler's List is so popular is because it allows the audience, who largely are unjewish, to put themselves in the world. Same could be said for several movies about slavery in America's history or really any movie about any atrocity. Furthermore, is OW not marketed to the world at large? I know you feel as though you are right, that for instance, queers should be accepted, however there are whole swaths of the world that disagree with you and feel just as righteous about it as you do. In this sense you are arguing blizzard should intentionally hurt its product, potentially exposing it to bans or restrictions, to make a subset (maybe the largest subset, but a subset none the less) happy while potentially exposing the company to risk of violating fiduciary duties.

[@urban_video5949]

"Additionally you assume that gays will identify with a gay character just b/c they are gay." such a good point

[@lobete]

oooooh noooo, please don't put politics in my video game... Overwatch should be about non-political topics.... like... ...robot civil rights and race/species-based warfare, post-war agitation and poverty, corporate oligarchy, international peacekeeping and spy organizations, terrorism.... /s The kind of people that seriously say "keep politics out" have no skill media analysis because nearly all games (like stories/art in general) is political. You aren't looking for a game without politics, you are looking for a game with politics you are used to so you never have to be outside your comfort zone.

[@karl_margs]

They have zero media comprehension skills, which is why they're shocked and outraged when their favorite band or movie is suddenly "too woke reeeeee"

[@Torbjorn_Main]

11:16 - Pharah won’t be a LGBT+ character, because Blizzard doesn’t want to ruin Egypt’s reputation. This country has about 95% Muslim populations, plus don’t forget about their ancient history and cultures. If Blizzard make Pharah a LGBT+ character, then the Egyptian government is mostly likely to ban Overwatch from their country. They could do a Iran to their female military officers/soldiers to ensure that one of them wouldn’t end up like Pharah. Therefore, Blizzard is mostly likely to give Pharah a boyfriend to avoid this conflict with the Egyptian government.

[@nuorkousa4137]

No she is lesbian as a arab Im dispointed

[@Vrailik]

I feel like you have a good argument. The pride icon being called rainbow is dumb as well as other things you addressed in the video. However soldier and tracer not flirting with other characters makes sense. Lena already has a girlfriend and soldier is to busy seeking vengeance to think about such things. It also hasn't been confirmed that Pharah and Mercy have that kind of relationship. All there is is just voice lines like the "knight in flying armor" one to tease the Pharmercy shippers. You're probably right about them not doing as much as they could (only Emily Zero Hour picture) but most of these suggestions don't work.

[@Kurtos25]

I think it's dumb as fuck to sexualize characters in a video game that's rated for 12 year olds.

[@Angelwoozz]

It’s not sexualizing lol

[@Kurtos25]

@Angelwooz ok explain to me how it's not sexualizing.

[@iirichtofen6310]

@@Angelwoozz then why do we need to learn about their fucking sexuality? JUST PLAY THE FUCKING GAME

[@reverb2516]

I am so glad SVB is a part of this community

[@neapleo]

🍍

[@KaiTheAussie]

@@neapleo agreed

[@neapleo]

@@KaiTheAussie 🤝

[@255omega9]

It does but 99% of the time its forced becosue "relatability" there is like 2% of people who are gay so why force it everywhere??

[@bruhcringe7552]

Its not being forced, we are just supporting the lgbt+. Which is a good thing considering the lack of support and acceptance towards them even nowadays. It shouldnt just be lgbt+ getting this recognition, theres many other minorities that need this recognition and support

[@Velkin999]

I do agree it is important but inclusivity by corporate business is a neo-liberal way of gaining brownie points with the public. It's all posturing and doesn't do much to help any of the people they are portraying. It makes people aware of their existence but most people are already aware. They would better serve the LGBTQIA+ community by directly improving their material conditions.

[@kajsa6358]

Imagine thinking that including people is politics.. they exist even if you go out of your way to pretend otherwise Thanks for this video!✨️

[@GunzyHD]

i’ve always been of the group that doesn’t much care for the relationship aspect of entertainment, straight or gay, so LGBT stuff never bothered me, but i also didn’t care if was there or not. your explanation makes it apparent that these things matter. I love reinhardt and brigitte, because my lineage is from the northern european countries, specifically norway germany and sweden, and i find them the most comforting. great video, changed my perspective

[@anamerican5585]

thank you

[@IpoopHOTsoup]

You're going to het a lot of hate for this (as you certainly know), but I'm glad to see you promoting ideas that are important in the process of making everyone, especially those who exist in the margins of society, feel heard. It's not a political or sexual push for equality, it's a push for equality, period. We're all humans and we all deserve to feel like we have a place in this world. Thank you, SVB. ❤

[@jrodd13]

Why and how will he get hate? 95% of the internet is liberal he'll be fine lol

[@IpoopHOTsoup]

@@jrodd13 I'll be cautiously optimistic about that lol

[@Siks7Ate9]

​@@jrodd13 because 90% of the internet only says nasty things to eachother it feels like because they can get away with it without repercussions.

[@insecticaa]

@@jrodd13eh… there are very vocal anti-lgbt, anti-poc, anti-women, just generally neo-n*zism and alt-right spaces on the internet

[@vapour80]

Can we just remember that OW is a 13+ game. adding sexual content into the game would put that up. comics, lore and everything else is seperate to the game its self so would not affect rating . in that respect sure do what ever with it

[@hellthornsystem]

There is nothing inherently sexual about knowing 2 men are dating or 2 women are dating, neither is there anything inherently sexual about a trans person.

[@vapour80]

@@hellthornsystem personally agreed. But i would see what rating boards think about it. its easy to say dont worry about this or that and they are only doing to keep china happy,etc. but they have done the same thing in keeping it a 13 rating to reach more potential players. i dont care if they go full on and end up with a AO rating but that would get them banned from all consoles and several countries too

[@hellthornsystem]

@@vapour80 are you implying a ratings board would percieve 2 men holding hands and being affectionate as inappropriate for children?

[@vapour80]

@@hellthornsystem in a game that no one holds hands in the first place?

[@hellthornsystem]

@@vapour80 it's an example. Not the point of my arguement. Don't twist my arm over misunderstandings.

[@nopeumad]

No it wouldn't. Tracer has somebody. Why would she be flirting with other people?... dumb argument. Same with Morrison. It simply doesn't fit his persona. These don't make sense. It's as though you're on an agenda to push more queer into overwatch when there basis behind the game falls behind a story that's a bigger issue than this.

[@ImABozo-pg7wy]

I don't know why people are crying over this, tbh, it's scientifically factual. People enjoy seeing something they can relate to, and subconsciously they appreciate it. (Yes, there are scientific studies that prove this, but I'm not willing to put in the effort to quote them right now.) Personally, I'd love to see a trans character, it would motivate me to play a game where my favorite role became so miserable that it's playing a different game in itself. The reality is people on the F2P side are coming in, and they aren't used to the fact our community actually has a lot LGBT people in it, and they're probably thinking about how it's over mentioned on representation, but the reality is anybody thinking like that ALREADY HAVE that representation. As said earlier, I would appreciate a trans character, and it would probably motivate me to main them, especially if it was another support character, and honestly I just don't get how we have a flag icon, and we celebrate pride month, but lack any representation at all. But we're talking Blizzard, the one linked with the COD franchise, and a company that was full of HR and Sexual misconduct, so what should we even expect anymore? Considering COD encourages toxic behavior in tournaments, I don't think faith is worth putting in them anymore, even if it's another part of the company, but this is from someone who's mained support since OW1, then mained tank for the end of OW2 s1. But, I would definitely appreciate a trans character, considering it would help people to finally put that we're human in their brain as well. 100% agree with SVB here, had a lot of complaints with OW recently, but this is smth I think we always want. Also, I definitely think we need more gay characters even, considering companies are fine with lesbians, they post and have more lesbian characters than gay men representation as well, it's reflected in society, same for those of us who are trans, under representation shows the effects in society's statistics.

[@mayo0006]

Tldr but homophobes aren't very empirical in their world view, so of course they don't care

[@SureFire0711]

Man, i just don't really like the fact of the sexualization of characters, it just makes me feel uncomfortable considering that people had to draw this and really were proud of it, like seriously even if it was male and female it doesn't matter just the sexualization of things just don't need to be sexualized and that's just annoying

[@Jay-rl8vt]

Nah I’m good bro. This video is not it.

[@lypreila7913]

"He's a bit like Ross" Damn I feel sorry for that guy.

[@meat.]

🤓

[@Folkeregor]

Strong characters and plot should always come first in a story, but representation is useful in fleshing those aspects out. Not everyone can be a specific race or sexuality, but everyone can relate to the feeling of not being able to fit in, or being judged unfairly, or even harassed for reasons beyond your control. These experiences are invaluable, but especially so for those who don't have many opportunities to see representation in media. As long as the quality of the media doesn't diminish to achieve those ends, I do agree with you - Arcane being perhaps the most popular example done correctly.

[@ac7314]

Very valid points however it's worth noting that the reason companies do this is purely economical: the more people talk about and associate positively with a brand the more likely sales are to increase. In places where things like LGBTQ+ issues are not marketable, companies won't publish this. Riot didn't publish this on the South Asia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia accounts on twitter because it is either illegal in some cases or would actively hurt sales in most cases. While I still think showing equality is incredibly important, remember exactly WHY they're doing it and crucially, the places they AREN'T doing it.

[@bruhcringe7552]

Why do these comments not realise lgbt+ representation doesnt equal everything is lgbt+. The point he makes is that representation matters for normalising things such as the lgbt+ community which saddly is still frowned upon by many. This point in the video should also be put towards things like race, religion, ect. These things are not normalised and honestly i feel we definitely need it, BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN ITS BEING FORCED DOWN OUR THROATS OR TURNING EVERYTHING "ABNORMAL".

[@bruhcringe7552]

Also as someone who isnt represented I dont feel comfortable telling people about who i am/what i am because its such a little known thing or people will be against such.

[@Yaetora]

It's pretty easy to feel like representation doesn't matter when you're the one being represented 95% of the time. Thank you for this

[@awesomeassassin3989]

Very nicely put together video SVB. I havent seen such a good explanation of representation before, thank you

[@richardhenry9844]

You genuinely make some of the best content in the community. You have such good views, and express them perfectly. You have put so much effort into make this game the best it can be, and clearly have so much love in your heart. Keep it up man, you have my complete support.

[@matthewseymour6457]

i think u telling overwatch to "step it up" makes it sound like they SHOULD have gay people in their game. this insinuates that its not okay for all the people in their game to be straight. doesn't seem right to me.

[@nycempirestate4689]

I don’t think that’s what he meant. Being straight is normalized in every single culture and society on the planet. What culture do you know of goes, “we don’t allow straight people here.” It’ll always (no matter what happens) be ok to be straight. Gay people play OW, that’s a fact. Should that community not have a HERO that may mirror there own path in life, a hero that they could more easily relate too? We have all at one point or another, wished we were a specific hero. Maybe we like their costume, or their politics, their moral code, maybe they looked like you, or maybe they struggled to love like you. The word is a melting pot of different people. Imagine how lifeless a game about a worldwide war between machine and humans would be, if every hero was straight and Asian (example). SVB never said that it wasn’t ok for a game to only feature straight characters. However, a game that features people from all over the world… well, that could be anyone!

[@matthewseymour6457]

@@nycempirestate4689 Very well said!

[@blackomega34]

Fuck yeah, love me some ProgreSVB.

[@adrianpavone6722]

SVB continues to be the GOAT of the OWCC community

[@YeaNah_]

I am very grateful to see someone speak out about this, as a new (and bi as well as gender fluid) player I thought that no one was queer and that they were all straight, I had no idea that tracer and soldier 76 were gay at all and it made me feel a bit disconnected from the game as most games I play do (or did) have some representation in them! this video made me feel supported and represented and like a part of a community I love.

[@insecticaa]

seeing urself being represented is just so nice

[@coreyharding6421]

SVB you are brilliant man, you are so concise and respectful in how you approach these topics I have watched you approach these topics and other hard topics that go beyond Overwatch over the years, and I both and love and appreciate you and your attitude you bring Please keep being you bro and keep up the brilliant work

[@kay-g326]

I don't comment much so just dropping something for the algorithm on this one :)

[@therealzahyra]

SVB. Thank you. This is why you're my favourite creator. You're literally the only creator I have ever hoped to meet in person. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.

[@TrojanManSCP]

Quality must come first. Shakespeare’s work survives where his contemporaries’ have not because it is superior in quality. Marvel movies may not be exceptional, but the underlying story arcs (eg The Hero’s Journey) are all retellings of tried and proven stories. As you note, stories that resonate most with us tell us something about ourselves. But then that’s just it… That lens of judgment must be calibrated according to some standard. A comparison by nature requires two things. If your standard of comparison is that which is like yourself, then not only are you thus limited in available material, but also restricted in growth as the only absorbable aspirations are ones you already hold at least partially. Good stories - true quality literature - tells us something about the nature of mankind. It describes the human person in body, mind, and spirit, and the most powerful stories deal with the spirit of man. Stories about the body and pure worldly existence are often trite and boring. We should aspire to higher stuff than that. But competitive video games, while they may have a veneer of story for marketing, aren’t truly “about” the story. They are about placing your manual inputs against others in competition, and it is enjoyable when skill and challenge meet in equal measure to produce flow. In the same way, the game of soccer does not have a “story.” The players do, an individual game or series or tournament will… but the game itself exists as something which can only be directly experienced. In that regard, it doesn’t matter if the avatars of player agency are people or aliens or gundams.

[@iStorm-my5fp]

You must have never played Apex. Half the characters are gay

[@frea2191]

I love ur perspective, but to be frank, as a trans i would love to see a good representative in a marvel movie. Sadly all the Marvelstuff that came out recently that touch this matter a bit, do it in a aweful cringy way. They just ruin both parts, they shove the LGBTQ-representation so much in your face, that they completly discard the person behind it or the hero-part. It just oozes being "woke" for the sake of "wokeness" and u can really feel the corperate engineering behind it all. I hate Tracer from the depths of my heart, but i love how they just told us she was gay, by telling a cute christmas story, where she gets a present for her gf, or just show a picture in a cinematic on her console on the plane. They dont put it so upfront and go like.. "Hey this is Tracer she is gay" and then talk about her coming out for 10min, and how much hardship she had to endure becasue of it... as if its her whole identity.

[@SamWhite-pg7bj]

Marvel is soooo dependent on the writer sadly, characters like Wiccan and Hulkling are either written beautifully or stripped to their most barebones archetypes😓

[@bexisdying229]

people and what they love is not politics. never has been, never will be. Its ridiculous that people say having a queer character is POLITICAL. me being gay isn't political, its who I am.

[@ke20edlg]

Overwatch already has gay characters. I think?

[@David-ix3jz]

Ur talking about the lgbtq people when u should rlly be talking a bout black people kinda funny how u never see a black couple in any movies or shows but there’s more gay people in movies in show I’m not trying to spread any hate this is just my opinion gay people already have there rights where are the black peoples rights u never see any gay people being killed on the streets but u see blacks BLM ✊🏿

[@vex2960]

did u just say u never see any gay people being killed on the streets? What streets are you om

[@David-ix3jz]

What do u mean

[@Ajsobrainsalot]

I almost agreed with this but now that I read the whole thing this is dumb u have the same rights as everyone else and all characters r black all of a sudden 😂😂😂

[@123456pilsner]

Great video. Superb explanations and arguments and gives you stuff to think about. Thank you and may you produce such great content for another decades to come.

[@tubz]

Sorry you're getting so much hate in the comments. Representation matter. And the people who don't say it matters have never had to think about their own identity

[@Ajsobrainsalot]

Why would we have to think about r identify we r not spy’s lol 😂

[@kontenerking]

The fact that this video might've been the reason Blizzard made Lifeweaver flirt with Bap is amazing! Thank you SVB! But as you know yourself you predicted that the people would hate on it. Thank you for being so open minded my guy! You are a real open mided person! You don't act like "I theoretically dont care" or "I don't want to make anyone mad". You actually try to understand people that are different than you. Huge respect

[@dontfightmenow]

Snowflake take

[@mayo0006]

And yet you were offended enough by the existence of LGBTQ people and other minorities to comment this

[@PieceOfCandyPS]

@@mayo0006disgusted* not offended

[@supern0is349]

instead of talking abou representation, i think we should actualy talk about racism every argentin player i've played with calls me monkey as soon as i speak portuguese.And this is not the first game that i've experienced this, it was the same thing in R6 siege. They are the most racist people on earth, i saw with my own eyes during the world cup here in brazil, how they were vandalizing the subways and fighting the police. Absolutely horrible people.

[@BrenoGF144]

You can give representation for POC too, Apex did a nice job with their BLM and Stop Asian Hate campaigns, and their POC characters, like Crypto and Bangs (who doubles as a Queer POC woman)

[@mikeyrestori3507]

I get his points, I do, but honestly I disagree with some of these points. not exactly against him, but I rlly don’t think blizzard needs to change their game around for these reasons, or add new characters just so certain people can relate to characters, it’s just a video game in the end. good video tho

[@nickjohnson7666]

Respectfully, as a gay person myself, you don’t speak for all of us. I couldn’t care less if OW includes more representation. I play the game because it’s fun especially with my friends. And frankly, Im really happy with what they’ve already done for inclusion and national representation in the game. Basically people need to stop being offended for a group you don’t belong to. You mean well, but it’s patronizing as hell...especially videos like these. We can speak for ourselves 🙄

[@hellthornsystem]

As another gay person, i respectfully disagree. His point is that our relationships, our lives being represented in media is a form of normalization. Much like it is expected of a man in an action film to have his "hot babe", the idea that someone could have a boyfriend OR a girlfriend is important because it normalizes our existence. There is an endless social stigma against LGBT people literally just being born different, especially now in america where we are being called groomers for speaking out about our issues and hosting public events. Now, more than ever, GOOD representation matters, like in the new Dragon Age show. I think his point is completely valid, and you might hold this to a completely different standard, but I value my behavior and life being seen as normal and acceptable. Media can do wonders for normalizing behavior, that's why we have so many evil billionaires, so i would not underestimate the value of representation.

[@nickjohnson7666]

@@hellthornsystem Agree to disagree then, all good. But like I said, he doesn’t speak for all of us which is an undeniable truth, and I’m tired of seeing patronizing straight people insinuating they do, which SVB most definitely is here…even if it’s unintentional. And my points still stand that if we have a problem with it then we can speak for ourselves, we don’t need another white-knight patronizing our entire community so they can feel good about themselves. “Gay people exist! Trans people exist! Shocking I know hah” 🙄 Really lol? The whole vibe on this video is so unnecessarily cringe.

[@hellthornsystem]

@@nickjohnson7666 yeah i get what u mean, maybe i don't see it like that. To me the message is important, not the one saying it, but i entirely understand your point. Respect

[@nickjohnson7666]

@@hellthornsystem all good, respect to you too sir 🤝

[@koleglobal]

Real tbh

[@svmwasthesheet1971]

If representation truly matters as you say, why does lgbtq representation trump old disabled Vietnamese women being represented?

[@BrenoGF144]

Why not both? Maybe she has a wife? Maybe she has a trans son? Representation is not token, you can make your character as diverse as possible if you expand your horizons

[@mayo0006]

You can have one with the other, having LGBTQ representation doesn't mean you can't have other representation despite what racists would tell you…

[@BrenoGF144]

@@mayo0006 truu

[@cokeyblokes6541]

BASED

[@mrscandinavian5053]

I don't agree. The act of saying there needs to be more means it will be forced. I hate the forced nature of the legends in apex legends etc and their constant pandering. Focus on character rather than gender and attraction

[@mayo0006]

You're saying pandering to audiences as if this is somehow problematic, when in reality, companies have always pandered to specific demographics so they can get a hold on a specific part of the market, that isn't an argument at all

[@RacingSnails64]

Tracer & Emily are still one of the absolute best queer couples I have seen in modern fiction. They were handled so well. They weren't pushed on us, they're wholesome, and that makes me want to see more of them! Jack's past fling before he joined the military in Ana's official short story was also quite intriguing. Grumpy gay grandpa lmao.

[@ruisuthefallen4716]

Honestly it doesn't matter, realistically you will never find a character that is just like you and if you do your lucky. Im a bisexual puerto rican and thats a combo thats not found in any videogame or major comic. When we do get a puerto rican hero its a tokenized one like Miles Morales, would I love to see a character that fits this criteria? No......cuz it dosnt matter you see yourself in the character not their sexuality or traits. I love naruto and blade but im neither a yellow haired ninja or a black badass vampire hunter, it shouldn't matter and If you care that much about seeing rep in media chances are you're are just searching for personal acceptance and not representation. Also bringing up marvel was just a bad take the characters already exist and changing them is just wrong, leave them as is and just make new characters.

[@Angelwoozz]

You missed entire point of the video 💀

[@ruisuthefallen4716]

@@Angelwoozz I did not, I simply stated my opinion towards said subject. If you disagree then state why or just move on.

[@tiecho]

Each day my respect for you grows. Great content, especially this video. Keep fighting the good fight

[@kingheadshotjr1821]

See I don't care what people spare time I'm still cool with but it's a dangerous thing when you implement this stuff in games because you may not realize it but a lot of gaming companies a lot of companies in general we'll use this representation to get sales and they're using people of the lgbtq because sorry to say it some of them are gullible when it comes to stuff like this it's also dangerous when you implemented into the lure of the game because then they'll make the entire character personality based around it so now the game's getting flack because the characters overly flamboyant (not sure if that's a slur) or masculine it really doesn't matter but when you do that it makes people who are playing the game uncomfortable and then your wrongfully representing

[@kingheadshotjr1821]

Them because you're exaggerating how they are when they're not really all like that it's just a hard thing to balance it could use a make-or-break sales-wise if you're going to do it do it like how Apex is letting you know it's there but not shoving it in your face and having homosexual bisexual pansexual aromantic straight really shouldn't matter yeah there might be a character that I want to get with another one but people also make a cringy and stuff like this leads to ships and I don't want to play the game because I can't go five minutes without hearing it anyways thanks for listening to the guy with no life decided to write this ( ps stay up Kings and Queens and non-binary in-betweens)

[@iP1sano]

I hate how Overwatch is retroactively making their characters LGBTQIA+ just for inclusivity's sake or for easy brownie points.

[@bustin9938]

When did they do that

[@michaelg1778]

Serious question, but do we know they are retroactively making them LGBTQIA+? I may have missed something but for all we know the story of Tracer or Soldier 76 (for example) was always intended to be the way they are now? And couldn't the same be said for Killjoy and Raze in Valorant then, that it's just a retroactive change to come off as being more inclusive?

[@MFZBitch]

@@Farmlover453 So hes bi? Or was living a classic issue many gay men in the US, especially with military background, were/are living?

[@3U9ENE]

@@Farmlover453 When was his wife and family revealed? Actually asking for the lore since this is legit the first time I heard about this.

[@nrdscott]

Who are you to say it was retroactive?

[@Shzl47]

Gonna clip that last 30 seconds and send it to everyone that says "keep politics out of video games" in regards to LGBT characters.

[@mayo0006]

Media is inherently political, idk why people say that even

[@twgok3162]

I like being represented but pandering is not representation, and pressuring people to add representation will just be pandering

[@thuggwaffle8825]

I’m all for representation but what I don’t understand is that Blizzard is an American company. America is over 60% white and over 95% of people are straight. If I move to Russia and demand equal representation that would be extremely weird

[@theymi]

SVB you're the man! I can't explain how much I appreciate your voice of reason and goodness!

[@kdjets]

When Lifeweaver flirted with Baptiste, I smiled ear to ear. I was so happy to see something so open and adorable between two men on the cast. That was a really good start for some open representation and then what they're doing with Venture. I mean it shouldn't feel revolutionary but it kind of does. People are asking about venture and blizzard is just insisting that the only info that's necessary is that they go by they/them pronouns and I think that's beautiful. It's so completely front and center. You cannot deny that Venture is non-binary. Technically it's their first gender and non-conforming hero, and it's absolutely the front and center part of the marketing from anything I've seen in text form. I really like how they put tracer's girlfriend in the d&d campaign that they had in that one season. That was super cool. The fact that the bigots and the ignorant people are coming out misgendering Venture and insisting that non-binary people do not exist is exactly the point. This is not normalized in our culture though it should be. I came out as non-binary only a few months ago and I had no idea Venture was supposed to be the first non-binary hero and when I found out. And now that I see they've casted a non-binary individual for the voice work. I can't begin to understand how important that is. It means that so many more people questioning their gender has another example of a great character to look up to and understand themselves through. It matters to me because so much of my life, I never had examples of this stuff and I believe I missed out on a lot of my identity because I didn't understand who I was. If there was more representation it would have been normalized for me and I would have been able to come out so much sooner.

[@Korvmannen]

8:32 About romance options in RPGs... I remember finding Tali in the first Mass Effect game extremely endearing (and many will agree), but feeling arbitrarily locked out of a romance option with her felt really odd. Her character in ME1 is about the only character I've genuinely felt I wanted to romance (on a personal level). She was delegated to staying down in the engine room, off to the side, as if not important enough. I think she might be a good demonstrative example for straight men to relate to how it would feel if every character romance option was straight, and therefore similarly arbitrarily locked away behind a developer decision to include a romance option or not.

[@insomniaddictesp]

Two people being together isn’t political. Where the hell is this bizarre notion coming from?

[@SoopCanSam-EthoPlaylists]

Beautifully said. ❤

[@edenwilde2719]

This was a thoughtful and insightful explanation. Thank you for sharing these kinds of videos.

[@gabelofi]

You're begging, and asking a billion dollar corporation who barely knows any of us to represent minorities, allowing them to use them as marketing to make more money. You're endorsing the marketing and money-making, further fueling companies because you simply want a random billion dollar corporation to recognize a group of individuals? I'd much rather ask this corporation to donate to major charities of minorities and support us and represent us this way, through fundraising instead of using their platform to use minorities as an advertisement.

[@konplayz]

Because heterosexuality is the normality.

[@fizzlock]

This is so beautifully put, and I wish I could have explained this as well as you did here, SEVERAL times in the past. I will be saving this one to send to people, thank you 💚🏳️‍🌈

[@griglog]

I am pretty sure corporations just estimate the amount of lgbt and anti-lgbt people in their audiences and do what is expected to be more profitable. You can't persuade them to lose money just because of your moral grounds. Btw it would make me uncomfortable if my main character suddenly turned gay and started flirting with another male characters. Why would the majority of players have to tolerate something that would make the minority a bit more comfortable? This way we get less fun in total. And another thing: Overwatch is not a sexualized game. Its nothing like Mortal Kombat 9 or Bayonetta. And I like it this way, nobody thinks about sex in this game except a few people who try to shove politics everywhere. At the end of the day, kids play it too.

[@MaasdamMike]

I get your point and I am all for the representation but leave it up to the creators. I don’t like how it is being forced upon them to the point where they have to check an entire list of people who demand to be heard/seen based on their personal identity, sexual preference, race or what not. Even worse, if you don’t include it in your game/movie/book/whatever, you’re instantly labelled a racist, bigot, homophobe etc. and cancel culture kicks in. Pure political woke virtue signaling. You want to have a gay lead in a Marvel movie? Fine, let’s do it. I have zero issues with that. If the character and acting is good it shouldn’t matter anyway. But don’t make them gay for the sake of being gay so we can check that box on the demand list and let’s stop celebrating it like it’s some kind of superpower.

[@GallusOW]

I think it’s good when they contextualise it with a good story, the way blizzard has done it comes off as tone deaf and only so they can toot their own horn and go ‘look everyone!!!!! representation!! Now buy the product’

[@Urvuturama]

Overwatch has always been a game defined by diversity. People whining about that fact are just babies.

[@TurtleDucki]

Love how well you can get a point across SVB. I aspire to be as well spoken as you. 💕 What’s the background music? Sounds like something from undertale. Also do you have superchats enabled?

[@cromwellsfather2499]

What you said about marvel was deadpool both had LGBTQ characters by 2022.

[@light4532]

or just make them all aliens so nobody can relate to them

[@denesleal7930]

Good stuff, commenting so hopefully more people can see it