Mainstream Support for Mardi Gras 2019
- March 13, 2019
Jess Zammit
Jess Zammit is a games journalist and a director of not-for-profit organisation Represent Me. Combining her experience as a bisexual woman with her background and honours degree in cognitive psychology and statistics, she is a passionate advocate for positive representation of queer characters and stories and mental health issues in games and the broader games industry.
As a community, gaymers have a history of backing each other. The videogames community at large may not always be in sync, but when it comes to queer or minority groups, we’re usually pretty good at stepping up and supporting our fellow players. But in a world where the landscape is still pretty bleak in terms of representation and support in games themselves, especially AAA titles, it can be easy to feel like the things we love don’t really love us back. That’s why, when support came from a major company in a very visible and very tangible way, in the form of a sponsored float at one of the biggest events for the queer community in Australia… it came as a welcome surprise.
That company was Square Enix, and in 2019, FINAL FANTASY XIV Online became the first videogame to sponsor a float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, partnering with Sydney Gaymers. Of course, it wasn’t the first time Sydney Gaymers marched—they’ve already participated in four previous parades, showing the world that queer game nerds are just as proud of who they are and who they love as all the other parade participants. And that alone is important. There’s no denying that the atmosphere surrounding the parade, where ordinary people who may be forced to leave part of themselves at home to go to work each day are finally able to not only be free, but to be cheered, creates a wonderful sense of pride in those who take part. I marched in that parade for the first time this year, and just seeing all the people on the sidelines reassuring me that it was okay to be me—the big, bisexual game nerd that I am—was powerful.
But the big Moogle that I marched beside was powerful too.
Apart from being completely adorable, it was a reminder that the future is bright for queer gamers. That communities, like the one built within the world of FINAL FANTASY XIV Online, can be inclusive and give everyone a space to be involved in games and be who they want to be without a fear of judgement or harassment. Mardi Gras attracts a colourful array of people from all over the place, and the the differences between one float and the next can be just as substantial as the similarities that tie them together. Being a quiet, stereotypically “nerdy” gamer, it can be easy to feel a little lost in the glitz and glamour of the spectacle that is the parade. But that’s what makes the title of this year’s float, “Realms United”, so apt. FINAL FANTASY is just that: a fantasy. For some people, their fantasy is simply to be able to do what we did on March 2nd, and to march beside people who are showing them that who they are is okay, and accepting all parts of them.
The tides are turning. Queer gamers don’t need to be ashamed of who we are—we need to be celebrated for it. But in a world that likes to beat you down, sometimes we need a big company like Square Enix to stand beside us and offer to aid us in the fight. It’s a gesture that hasn’t gone unnoticed, and a big step that I hope many games—and companies—take in the future. If you stand beside us, we’ll make your future brighter and shinier, too.
(…with all the glitter, obviously.)