Never On Sunday

David Gaider’s response to a fan irked at the implementation of romantic relationships in Dragon Age II is one reason why Bioware deserves your money. It’s worth reading in full, but for those in a hurry, here’s the synopsis:

Player Bastal thinks that, since maybe 80% of DA2 players (a number he pulled from the air) are heterosexual males, Bioware ought to be catering to them—it’s not clear whether he means exclusively, or merely giving het males lots of sex content to enjoy and only singular “token” choices for everyone else. Gays are being openly and unfairly catered to. There’s an implicit suggestion that het males such as himself shouldn’t even be put at risk of witnessing males so much as flirting, but again, it’s not clear whether this is part of his intent. Gaider pauses first to tell the hecklers to shut up if they can’t contribute constructively, then clinically demolishes Bastal’s position. The crux of his response lies in the statement:

“…privilege always lies with the majority. They’re so used to being catered to that they see the lack of catering as an imbalance. They don’t see anything wrong with having things set up to suit them, what’s everyone’s fuss all about? That’s the way it should be [in the minds of the privileged majority], any everyone else should be used to not getting what they want.”

While I agree with the general thrust of that characterization of privilege, we should pause to remember that it does not always lie with the majority. Sometimes it lies with a distinct minority, such as nobility, ecclesiasts, or (here in America) the very rich, all of whom are in a position to write the laws to suit their narrow demographic. The exchange over romance in DA2 came to my attention at about the same time I was wondering what to do with a story on tearing down a mural to celebrating labor. I was about to let it go as yet another leftie rant when Gaider’s characterization of privilege struck a chord.

It’s not majority status that causes a lack of catering to privilege to be perceived as an imbalance among the privileged; it’s simply the enjoyment of privilege at all, long enough to become habitual. Just as Bastal, above, considers the presence of homosexual content itself both personally offensive and unfairly catering to his group, and wishes to make sure no one can be exposed to it even in passing, corporate greed has grown so used to holding all attention that it finds the very idea of celebrating labor threatening, offensive, and suitable for removal from the public eye. This isn’t a mural encouraging the Soviet-style overthrow of the capitalist oppressor, mind you; it merely recognizes labor’s contribution to society. And Governor LePage, alongside whatever super-wealthy agitators raised the issue, can’t fathom why anyone else should even want to see pro-labor art, much less be allowed to see it outside the privacy of their own rooms, hidden away like something shameful.

Postscript: As a heterosexual male myself, I for one am happy to see all four potential romantic companions available to both sexes. I figure on playing three times, once for each class. I’ve already bedded Isabela and romanced Anders as a female mage; maybe I’ll woo Merrill as a male rogue and Fenris as a male warrior. Why not? I’m secure enough to know I’m not going to catch “The Gay” from a video game.Besides, as one het-male friend observed of another third-person hack-n-slash game: “If I’m going to have to stare at somebody’s ass all day, it may as well be a hot one.” Homophobic het-males ought to be glad of the opportunity for hetero relationships when they prefer to play a chick for that reason. Or are we still stuck in “fags are creepy but lesbos are hot” territory?

For all the sexual inclusiveness, though, I can’t help but notice that Bioware won’t stand for polygamy or incest. You only get one fuck buddy, no matter how hard or successfully you woo anyone else (or how loose Isabela’s morals may be), and fanboys eager to get their hands on sister Bethany have been slapped down in no uncertain terms. Another case of “my kink deserves recognition; your kink is sick.”