Gaming for Equity: The Power of Diversity within Gender and Race in Gamers

Video games can be a space of healing, entertainment, and socialisation for Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Trans-Queer-Intersex-Two-Spirit (LGBTQI2S+), women, Black-Indigenous-People of Colour (BIPOC), and accessible needs gaming players. Unfortunately, the overrepresentation of majority groups within video gaming spaces can overshadow this and even contribute to prejudice against minority groups within these spaces. It is therefore important to discuss the varying theories as to why this type of discrimination occurs within the video gaming space. Video game developers also play a large role in shaping their video games and communities and can contribute to reducing the manner of prejudice these groups face. Similarly, members of minority groups can also contribute to changing the culture of video gaming spaces for the better. This paper aims to highlight the current methods by which minority groups benefit from video games, it then discusses the methods that video game developers are aiming to take in reducing it and it then ends with what video game developers and the community at large could be doing better.