An Issue Regarding Sexism with the Game/Forums

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#92

I’ve got to say, for a topic so controversial and divisive, the discussion is pretty civil. Here’s my take on why I don’t believe diversity is such an important factor right now. And I when I say that, I mean it for this game Disney Heroes Battle Mode specifically. This game has plenty of issues that’s wrong with it already and even if we were to add more female characters for diversity’s sake, that won’t mean a thing if people stop spending and playing the game at all.

I get the impression that you feel there’s a connection with the male to female diversity in the game and the amount of sexism you’ve encountered in the game. I agree with you that the amount of sexism and misogyny is high, I don’t see a correlation with the lack of diversity and this issue. Take a look at the female dominated Ghost Busters reboot, Charlies Angels and Oceans Eight movies. I can almost conclude that adding more female characters to a media just for diversity’s sake is actually doing more harm than good.

If you want to tackle and prevent the amount of sexist abuse you’re experiencing then I’m afraid the solution is far more complex than just adding more female characters. And I think the responsibilities lies more in the hands of the upbringing and education of the offenders than a small gaming company like Perblue.

And another argument I have why diversity is not important for a RPG like DHBM, because in the end, you don’t necessarily make a team full of characters you ‘like’, you make a team full of characters that work well together. Sometimes it’s a time full of male characters, sometimes it’s team full of female characters, sometimes it’s a nice even representation. If it really matters that much, I can definitely agree that Perblue can make a bigger effort to make all the characters equally good so that people can indeed make their own diverse team of characters the way they want it.

5 Likes
#93

We won’t be getting the live action Ariel because of legal laws regarding a person’s likeness ingame, basically Haille Bailley would have to authorise that.
There’s a reason why we’ve never gotten Bree Davenport or Skylar Storm ingame, because Kelli Burgland and Paris Berelc would have to personally approve the introduction of those characters.
And likewise, any other live action Disney female will never appear because of that rule.

Well, we might also get Sisu from Raya and the Last Dragon.
We have no water power characters at this time, so she would be a very unique female to add.
Ice is not water.

The expanded universe thing is tangentially relevant, as I mentioned before, it’s the best source of strong independent females, which should go a long way to improving this issue,

Unfortunately, regarding the discrimination issue, there is no real way to fix that except with strict bans of those not complying with the code of conduct and applying a word filter bot to block certain inappropriate words for being used (as in, deleting the comment entirely if the word is used).

People on the other other, encouraging them to change is even harder.
I know because I have tried and they just act like I’m insane, like they’re the normal ones.

#94

I’m afraid it isn’t that simple. People can just type around censors. The game already has a basic censor screen set up.

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#95

Moana is such a joke that we don’t even acknowledge her anymore? :eyes:

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#96

And the fish in the room too…

#97

They don’t really have water powers, they just live there.

#98

But…I thought they blew magic bubbles and the seal makes a rock and circle of water materialize in the ground?

#99

Davy Jones can literally summon the Kraken, but I’m not sure that counts as true water power :man_shrugging:

This would be the solution to 90% of Forum’s problems, but equally is probably quite hard to enforce

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#100

Also like to add…From a science technical standpoint, snow and ice is frozen water so wouldn’t elsa, kristhoff, olaf etc that use frozen abilities be water power ? :man_shrugging:

#101

(Is that Polaris?)

We have summoned the most powerful being on the forums!

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#102

But from a science standpoint… water is kinda, well, technically, sort of… LAVA. So how about heroes like Mushu or Anger, too :open_mouth:

Lol, in any case. Nobody likes sexism. In the :wastebasket: it can go via way of flags and/or replying to people letting them know what they’ve done wrong.

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#103

Replying to offensive people won’t do any good, it just stokes the fires of their wrath.
They live for the fight and the enjoyment they get for making someone else miserable or acknowledge their presence.

Which is why the only solution is for a moderator to step in and block or ban them, since they lack the self control to cease when asked.

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#104

They don’t have to be fought, though :stuck_out_tongue: a calm reply suggesting that their language or general meaning wasn’t well received, and that they shouldn’t say such things or will get flagged again, will be enough to surprise and deter plenty of them - and if it doesn’t, they can fully expect to get repeatedly flagged & ignored. The examples of various bits of malcontent I see dragging on & on are because the conversation has become argumentative in nature, which you’re right, is what they enjoy.

It’s not an argument when someone is being sexist etc - that implies 2 sides. There is 1 side, they are wrong. Let them know that and then leave them well alone to ponder.

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#105

@Imagineer_V Thank you for this post. It’s important to feel comfortable in a community, to be able to speak up when something is bothering you, and to feel that the community will support you.

Also thanks to those of you with differing points of view who have been civil in this engagement and are trying to understand and engage with the topic. Diversity in all it’s aspects, including diversity of opinions and experiences are important to a strong and thriving community.

We should all strive for empathy. When someone talks about an experience they’ve had, we shouldn’t dismiss it because we ourselves haven’t experienced it. We should believe their experience and try to understand their feelings and position. We are all formed by our own personal experiences and social surroundings. We need to recognize that we might not share someone else’s experiences, but we should be self-aware enough to try to understand.

Be an ally. If we personally don’t share an experience being reported, it can be hurtful to the person reporting if we say “I’ve never seen that as a problem!” Instead we should think of how to give them space to share and validate their feelings.

Representation matters. There’s tons of research on this available. Being able to see someone like yourself in media/society has a significant impact on your own views. It’s totally possible and normal to relate to characters who don’t look like you, but as someone said above, it’s powerful to see a character that looks like you.

No, it shouldn’t be. We should strive to make improvement, not just accept what is.

If you experience sexism, racism, or any other abusive behavior in the game, please Block and Report. We get all those reports and do take actions against toxic people.

On the forums, flag. I do take action on bad behavior here too. Accounts can be silenced for a time as a warning or permanently for repeated behavior.

Carry on. :heart:

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#111

I wish we lived in a world where we could all just see people as people. But saying you don’t see race, gender, or sexual orientation is you saying that they don’t exist and not acknowledging that there are still barriers between race, gender, and sexual orientation. Instead, you should say that you do see color and gender and race and sexual orientation but that doesn’t affect how you will treat someone or what you would think of them.

I know this doesn’t really connect with what this topic is about, it’s just something I wanted to say. Also, I hope PB adds more female characters because they will be a significant character and not just because there needs to be more females in the game.

And sorry, one more thing, WHY was Mr Big and Koslov added. Like I loved them in Zootopia, but there are waaaaayyyyyy more characters that they could’ve chosen.

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#112

Thank you so much for adding your (and thus PB’s) input!

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#113

So glad you got to see that message from @Polaris before your departure. Hopefully they will “mend all their ways, repent, see the light and switch”. Ya know.

#114

I have edited the main post to help reflect the real point of the post. While representation is important, that is really not something we can solve as a community because we do not exist for that reason. While, as I did say before, it is always good to see yourself in movies and characters, it can be in many ways. I would like to say that I never denied that you can connect with characters for inner qualities and struggles and on top of that even if you do not look like them.

The main misunderstandings or differing viewpoints that came from this was because nobody asked for clarification or elaboration on what I meant from some statements, which have since just been edited out because that should not be the focus of discussion. More female characters should come into the game and not just so there are more of them (because my point is it really is not a bad thing), but because they are cool and great in their own ways despite some not so modern things that can be found in them and flaws. I like to argue that flaws make them better.

I deeply apologize for the words that were said to hurt some of you. I was overwhelmed by what I received on the thread and that got to me. As the leader of the discussion that was not the best thing that could have happened. What I did notice though is that generalizing statements were made of both males and females. Perhaps that could be something to discuss here.

Not all of you are a part of the problem, but can become part of the solution once you know how. If you need suggestions let me know! I got lots of them!

Can I suggest a function that would allow people to explain the reasoning behind reports to help the process run more smoothly while we are at it?

Anyway… Happy Women’s History Month! Since it is that month of the year, I especially encourage you all to do some research that relates to what you enjoy (for example Disney) but also highlights women that relate to that particular thing. I will be doing my own and I would love if we could share our findings! Disney is doing this across their social media accounts and even in the parks, so why can’t we do the same? Just a thought so we can be more lighthearted and positive, because that is something I strive to do - spread joy.

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#115

It is going to happen regardless as people are individuals. Unless you can create a way that detects negative behaviours before the person creates an account, then it’s pretty much inevitable.
I agree that the system could be improved with more efficiency when filtering negative behaviours. I also believe that people need to find ways to cope or become more resilient to the negative behaviours in the mean time.

I have also been bullied on one server just because I bought a deal to improve my characters instead of building an account using no money. I just worked hard and improved my account and got way better than them so they didn’t bother me anymore lol.

Usually the reason that people strike out at others is because they either feel inferior or threatened. These feelings are a normal basic intinct of human kind. It’s not the be all and end all.

#116

I actually did, you always have and still are welcome to elaborate!

I know it wasn’t on purpose. It is just good to remember that this isn’t a ‘male vs female’ problem. We’re on the same team here.

I agree!

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