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We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for me to comment on a hot topic that’s been floating around the gaming world lately.

I’ve been running TekkenCanada for 8 years. I’ve been heavily involved in the Fighting Games Community (FGC) since 1999, first in Europe, and now in Canada. I host weekly gatherings at my place, and I am the heart of the Tekken scene in Montreal. When I lived in Toronto, I showed up to as many tournaments as I could, and although I couldn’t be as active as some other members, like my good friend Neorussell, I pitched in to help whenever I had the time.

I’m also an avid follower of most large FGC events, either participating in and/or organizing the ones in Canada, and watching most of the ones in the USA. I’ve written 7 articles on why I love fighting games, the beauty of tournaments, and why the FGC has been my home for over 13 years.

And now my home is under attack.

Well, I won’t stand for that. Let’s talk.

Ready, Set, Trash Talk!

Trash talking is an integral part of the FGC. It’s fun, and 99% of the time, it’s completely harmless. We laugh, we joke about how one player sucks and another’s amazing, and we make fun of each other to create hype. In general, its purpose is to spice things up, and get rivalries going.

If two players have an upcoming tournament match, and they just show up and play, shake hands, demonstrate good sportsmanship and all, that’s interesting.

If those same two guys trash talk each other for weeks beforehand, hype up the rivalry, and build crazy drama, all of a sudden, the same match becomes riveting. Think of Mike Ross and Andre “Twisted Jago” Lambert’s recent rivalry.

That being said, trash talking should NEVER be taken seriously, and most of the time it isn’t. Mike and Andre are rivals, but they don’t hate each other.

The problem arises when you cross a line. It happens all the time, in the heat of the moment. I’ve done it before. I remember trash talking a new friend of mine, and bringing his mom into it. He paused the game, looked at me and said “whoa dude, no moms, that’s not cool.” I apologized, we unpaused the game, and I proceeded to insult his weak style of play. No harm, we talked, life goes on.

In the case of recent events, where a gamer crossed a line with a girl on stream, she didn’t bring it up. Why not?

I think, fellow gamers, that it may be our fault. I have a feeling that she felt, as a woman in the predominantly man’s world, she needed to suck it up and take it. Perhaps so that people in the ultracompetitive environment she was in didn’t see her as weak. Unfortunately, this happens a lot more than people assume it does.

The thing is, as a female, when you’re entering a male culture and community, you’re bound to get objectified. It sucks, but it’s truth.

However, as a woman, you must NEVER feel that you can’t fight back because of your gender. In fact, if you were to draw a line somewhere, most guys would listen, because FGC members are some of the nicest folk you will ever meet.

The Changes

I think there need to be some changes in our communities. Not in the way we treat people, but in the way we speak to them.

Female gamers shouldn’t be treated like porcelain dolls that can’t protect themselves, or they’ll never really be accepted as part of the community. They also need to learn to stand up for themselves, and be just as assertive as the male gamers.

But the only way that’ll happen is if we create a safe environment for them. And we do this by modifying our language around them. No “whore”, “bitch”, “slut”. No “I’d fuck her”, or “can I smell your panties”.

On the other hand, male gamers need to change the way they act around females. She’ll be your buddy, and training partner, and share a laugh when she beats you down. But she’ll also be a member of a minority in a community that’s filled with minorites, and as such, you shouldn’t call her on that. Just like you don’t call your black friend “my nigga”, just like you don’t call your gay friend a “fag”, don’t objectify her and think of her as “some dumb bitch.” She’s human dude.

More importantly, I resent the fact that some people believe trash talking has to be racist, sexist, homophobic, or any other negative thing. Mike Ross and Peter “Combofiend” Rosas, two of my all time favorite players, trash talk constantly, in a highly entertaining fashion. But they rarely use any of the above categories.

In fact, if you listen to Mike Ross talk, he never even swears. Ever. He doesn’t even say “goddamn”, replacing it with the child friendly “gosh darn”.

The Language We Use Is Important

“Gay is not an insult.”

I’ve been saying it for years. You hear a lot of geeks say “that game is gay”, “you’re so gay”, “this movie is gay”, meaning that it’s unenjoyable, or it sucks. I’ve never liked that language, and have constantly admonished friends of mine that used it. I mean, how would you like it if your sexual orientation was used as an insult? Or the color of your hair? Or skin?

Regardless, the expression caught fire in the geek world, and has become incredibly widespread. So is a lot of the other bad language used in the FGC. The community is full of racial minorities, and a lot of them use the word “nigga” when addressing each other. And perhaps to them it’s ok, but not to me. I’ve never enjoyed racial slurs as a way of addressing my friends.

In any case, my point here is that the large majority of these gamers use this language, in their minds, “harmlessly”. They’re not actually racist, or homophobic, or sexist, it’s just words. And I know it sounds paradoxical, but it’s true, they’re not bad people. And therein lies the problem.

The words you use are important. If you’re not a racist, don’t use racial slurs. If you’re not a sexist, don’t tell a woman to “go back to the kitchen”. And stop calling things that suck “gay”. People that don’t know you will naturally assume you are a hater of the things you insult.

If you’re a regular reader of my site, you know I’m very careful about the words I use to describe women. I never, ever say “bitches” (unless she’s actually a bitch), and will rarely use the expression “chicks”, because words are important. They’re representative of who you are.

In other words, watch your fucking language.

Why I Love The Fighting Games Community

The irony is this: although the language used in the FGC is pretty crass, and a little bit brutal, I can tell you right now that you will rarely find a community as kind, loveable, and caring as ours. We are constantly coming together to help each other out.

When Team Spooky’s computers and streaming equipment was taken by homeland security, the community rallied to get them cash to buy new gear.

When Chris Hu’s home burnt down and he lost everything, the community put together a fund to raise cash for him.

More personally, when I moved to Toronto from Montreal with 5 days’ notice, I called everyone I knew in that city for a place to stay. The only people that got back to me were members of my FGC. They also let me stay free of charge, for as long as I needed. That says a lot.

Bottom line is, I wrote this article because I am disappointed that people would claim the FGC is not an inclusive, open environment. Anyone that says this is the case has never been part of the FGC.

Do the haters know that our communities have almost no history of violence? Probably not.

Have they seen the age, racial, and class diversity present in our communities? In most North American FGCs, we have players from nearly every single religion and ethnicity you can think of. I myself am an anomaly, being the only Arabic Buddhist I know, and it’s never been a problem. In fact, for years the only community I was ever accepted in, and perhaps the only safe place for me to be myself, was in my local Montreal FGC.

If you walk into my house during a Saturday games gathering, you will meet players that are Arabic, Asian, Black, Caucasian, and Latino. There will be Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and Muslims. There will be gay, straight, and bisexuals. And sometimes, there are girls.

We all come together to play games and have fun, regardless of age, sex, creed, class, money.

Because in the end, the only thing that matters is to us is how you play the game.

However, until we begin to show the outside world how much we care, they won’t believe us.

In a world where everything is recorded, tweeted, streamed, posted, and documented forever, we can’t afford to mess around. Words are everything.

Let’s use ours in a way that aptly describes who we are.

Like this.

If you liked this article, please take a minute to share it with your friends by hitting one of the share buttons, and leaving a comment below. Also, check out my friend Emily’s brilliant post on the same subject for a female gamer’s perspective.

5 comments add your comment

  1. As one of the few girl gamers, I can honestly say I considered the guys in MTL as warm, welcoming, and completely inclusive. Many of the guys in the MTL community became great friends of mine, and I never once felt attacked or belittled because I was a woman playing a “man’s game”. The FGC is a great place to meet friends, and challenge yourself and each other to play your best!

  2. Honestly, I don’t like so-called derogatory terms to be absolutely condemned.

    As a gay person, I call people fags all the time, I call things gay all the time, and personally I’m more offended by those implying that I’m offended by such things.

    I don’t want anyone to stop me from using what words I want in front of friends that aren’t offended by it.

    • Yup me too, I call other people niggers, call things black and I’m offended if someone said I was being offensive.

  3. If the FGC has to point out this simple bullshit, maybe it’s not as great as you think lololol.

  4. Lol this post is a joke. The FGC is your home? The community is a glass house, and everyone inside throws stones…

    “Our community has almost no violence”, hate to break this to you buddy, but the last EVO had 4 documented incidents of sexual misconduct. Not to mention all the knife pulling and waiting outside people’s cars these clowns did when I used to attend local events. Decent people act decent;y, the FGC acts like neanderthals that are entitled to win every game they touch, and throw a hissy fit when they lose.

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