On Tuesday we participated in a class discussion regarding Lorde’s, “Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.” While the reading itself was very interesting on its own, it was also fascinating to discuss it in its relation to games. The reading discusses Lorde’s experiences of being part of multiple minority groups. She mentions not only the struggles she faced as a minority but also the issues she faced within her own minority group.

One of the issues mentioned is that Lorde’s belonging to the LGBTQ community caused some tension with those in the black community. How there was a general consensus on the correct way to be black and being a lesbian was not the correct way. One of my group members brought up an interesting parallel in the gaming community. In the gaming community, sometimes there is a determined “correct” way to play a game or there is the “normal” gamer and if you deviate you open yourself up to harassment and ostracization from the community. This has a large effect in the gaming community, for example, casual players feeling they have no place because they don’t dedicate more time to the games or they aren’t “real” gamers and also a lot of female gamers try and hid their female identity to fit in more with what a gamer should be. This reading, along with the class discussion on the mythical “normal,” lead to a very engaging class discussion.

Sources: Lorde, Audre. “Reading Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.” Sister Outsider, 1984. Pg 114-123