PRIDE ONLINE
Pixel Prides The Pride Movement in Cyberspace By Joshua W. Rivers In June 2004, a group of roughly 100 crimson-clad people met selves. Full of glitter, fireworks, and political chants, Pixel Prides are in front of their digital town’s city hall for a demonstration. Muscles the highlight of many MMO players’ Pride season. These virtual exposed, the demonstrators huddled together in a mass of rouge with pride parades exhibit the showmanship and extravagance of an actual but one goal in mind: to show that LGBT people exist in their world world parade, but with one unique caveat: they allow their particiand others like it, in the small corner of cyberspace known as mas- pants to remain largely anonymous. sively multiplayer online games (MMOs). This band of players and Although an avatar is a part of one’s identity, players are still able the accompanying queer dialogue drew a massive crowd of onlookers to remain largely anonymous in the actual world while attending a and participants. Using this momentum, Pixel Pride. In the game, there is a sort the group’s leader, Benjamin Bon Temps, of blur of names and digital faces. One’s As we continue to fight for a character name may be on full display decided to found a community in the game world in order to draw attention to world where no one needs to for anyone watching a Pixel Pride, but LGBT gamers and to create a space free no one knows what one’s actual world from the far-too-frequent homophobic fear coming out, Pixel Prides name or location is. By playing a video language and bullying that one encoungame, several closeted members of the provide a platform for clos- queer community have taken part in ters online. In the present day, this small group of 100 has grown into a global, alPrides. Bon Temps, along with the eted members of the LGBT Pixel beit primarily North American, organiother RTGC leadership, routinely rezation of over 3,000 members with a community to meet a group ceives letters of gratitude for the guild’s noticeable presence in six MMOs: The role in creating a space of self-expression Rough Trade Gaming Community of gamers willing to accept otherwise unavailable to those in the (RTGC). closet, due to family situations or, in one and to befriend them regard- particularly grave case, the threat of Every year since 2004, RTGC has organized a Pixel Pride in each of the criminal prosecution. As we continue to less of their circumstances. games they play. At its core, a Pixel Pride fight for a world where no one needs to is a pride parade held by LGBT gamers fear coming out, Pixel Prides provide a in an MMO, a march from one point of the game’s world to another platform for closeted members of the LGBT community to meet a by a procession of characters organized into various ‘floats’, both po- group of gamers willing to accept and to befriend them regardless of litical and colorful. While each Pixel Pride is unique to its own world their circumstances. Pixel Prides allow those who cannot attend a and shaped by ‘local’ tradition, they are united in their desire to raise pride parade in the actual world to attend one in a virtual world. awareness of the LGBT community in online games while also givOne of the aims of each Pixel Pride is to show that LGBT ing queer players a space to meet new friends and to express them- gamers are a part of the broader gaming community and deserve re-
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