Gaming organizations gather with GLAAD to discuss online homophobia tomorrow, 7/18
Written by Alexis M. (Rivithed)
Friday, 17 July 2009
To address the issues of online homophobia and anti-gay harassment online, several communities and gaming organizations will have a discussion tomorrow, Saturday July 18th. The event is being hosting by gaming publisher and developer Electronic Arts (EA) along with several panelists from the ESA, Xbox LIVE, GLAAD and GayGamer.net. It's open to the public and free of charge to attend. The event will be taking place in San Francisco in Redwood City, California. While registration is currently closed online, you can still register by emailing your full name to
by 10pm PST today (7/17). The exact address of the event will be emailed to you. For those who are unable to attend, the event will be recorded and distributed following the event. Last month, the US recognized Gay and Lesbian Pride Month 2009.
Here are the complete details from EA:
This Saturday, EA is hosting an event for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization. GLAAD is facilitating a panel on Homophobia & Virtual Communities which will spotlight key issues and include the perspectives of both gaming companies and LGBT gamers. Discussion will revolve around the state of the problem in these communities, policy solutions that have been developed to address homophobia – what’s working as well as what’s not, plus challenges and opportunities.
Confirmed panelists include:
Flynn DeMarco (Alias: Fruite Brute), Founder of GayGamer.net
Dan Hewitt, Senior Director of Communications & Industry Affairs for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
Caryl Shaw, Senior Producer in the Maxis Studio (Electronic Arts, Inc.)
Cyn Skyberg, VP of Customer Relations at Linden Lab
Stephen Toulouse (Gamertag: stepto), Program Manager for Policy and Enforcement on Microsoft's XBox LIVE
Moderator: Justin Cole, Director of Digital & Online Media, GLAAD
Event details are as follows:
WHAT: Homophobia in Virtual Communities - Highlighting the Problem and Working Towards Sustainable Solutions
WHEN: Saturday, July 18th, 2009, 11am-1pm
WHERE: Electronic Arts, 250 Shoreline Drive Redwood City, CA 94065
