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Racism in Gaming
by Bill Stark | posted at 2010-01-24 03:16:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Gaming, Bao Phi, Racism, Asian, Fantasy, Nerd, Geek
Bao Phi, an award winning Minnesotan poet, has penned a fascinating examination of racism and nerd culture for the Star Tribune. He examines what draws people into geekdom in the first place, then how the typical process of masculinizing and whitewashing geek (all) media impacts persons of color who identify with geek culture.
Approaching such topics in the world of gaming and geekery, like with the general public at large, generally leads to upset audience members displeased with someone for being "anal retentive," but Phi lucidly outlines the challenges with making these arguments and why they should be discussed. As a longtime editor and writer for gaming sites, I can speak to the challenges of addressing such topics with viewers first hand, even within the geek culture, often a victim of bias and prejudice itself. Bao's article is an absolutely fascinating read, and you should check it out regardless of your race (check out the Magic reference in the photo at the top of the page).
Read the full article here from the Star Tribune.
(Thanks to Daniel Aisaka on Facebook for the heads up on this article.)
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Bill Stark is the founder and editor-in-chief of TheStarkingtonPost.com. He began playing Magic in 1995 after being introduced to the game by his brother. Since then he has competed at all levels of play including the JSS, Grand Prix, Nationals, and Pro Tour. In addition to his career as a pro, Bill began writing about the game early on for TheDojo.com, the first website dedicated to Magic. Since then he has written and edited for nearly every major Magic website on the web. In 2007 he began work as an official coverage reporter for Wizards of the Coast, flying to Grand Prixs, Nationals, and World Championships to record the events happening at each. He was also hired for six months as an R&D intern at Wizards where he worked on the redesign for DailyMTG.com as well as helping to develop multiple Magic sets. After leaving Wizards, he started TheStarkingtonPost.com to utilize his many contacts in the industry to provide a better information solution for fans of TCGs, gaming, and Magic: The Gathering.