As if it weren’t clear by now, we love talking about gender and race issues in videogames. Recently, people like Anita Sarkeesian have shown us that the greater gaming community is simultaneously willing and unwilling to discuss these issues seriously. 

In addition to all the sideline commentary, though, a movement to take the problem to gamers and game developers has begun to take root. Gamers Against Bigotry, for instance, simply asks you to pledge not to use or tolerate pejoratives online.

The pledge is meant to be a source of external reinforcement for positive behavior.  I think we can all agree that games would be more fun for folks if various aspects of their identity weren’t tirelessly targeted and attacked, but we can all probably also agree that it’s hard to break a bad habit.

Bigotry isn’t part of gaming culture, and never has been; it’s just unfounded hatred, masked by anonymity.  It’s something we need to get rid of.

Radically changing the culture of gaming is not easy, so the project is currently asking for volunteers to spread the word and raise funds to pay for a 501(c)3 designation.