2018
Sihvonen, Tanja; Stenros, Jaakko
Cues for Queer Play: Carving a Possibility Space for LGBTQ Role-Play
In: Harper, Todd; Adams, Meghan Blythe; Taylor, Nicholas (Ed.): Queerness in Play, pp. 167–184, 2018, ISBN: 9783319905419.
Book chapter
Abstract | Links | Tags: Larpent, Queer existence, Queer play, Role-playing games, Tabletop RPGs
@incollection{Sihvonen2018,
title = {Cues for Queer Play: Carving a Possibility Space for LGBTQ Role-Play},
author = {Tanja Sihvonen and Jaakko Stenros},
editor = {Todd Harper and Meghan Blythe Adams and Nicholas Taylor},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-90542-6_10},
isbn = {9783319905419},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
urldate = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Queerness in Play},
pages = {167–184},
abstract = {Representations of LGBTQ (or queer) themes and characters have been scarce throughout the history of role-playing games. However, there is a gap between source material of a game and the actual play of it. Our chapter explores this gap with two objectives: first, the authors review what kind of queer existence is possible in tabletop, online multiplayer, and live-action role-playing. Second, this chapter addresses how players negotiate with these “urtexts” in carving out queer potentials. Drawing from numerous examples, the authors conclude that the emergence of queer play necessitates the affordances of the urtext of the game, each player’s unique approach to play, and the core player group or online community in which the play is situated.},
keywords = {Larpent, Queer existence, Queer play, Role-playing games, Tabletop RPGs},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Representations of LGBTQ (or queer) themes and characters have been scarce throughout the history of role-playing games. However, there is a gap between source material of a game and the actual play of it. Our chapter explores this gap with two objectives: first, the authors review what kind of queer existence is possible in tabletop, online multiplayer, and live-action role-playing. Second, this chapter addresses how players negotiate with these “urtexts” in carving out queer potentials. Drawing from numerous examples, the authors conclude that the emergence of queer play necessitates the affordances of the urtext of the game, each player’s unique approach to play, and the core player group or online community in which the play is situated.