Pulos, A. (2013). Confronting Heteronormativity in Online Games: A Critical Discourse Analysis of LGBTQ Sexuality in World of Warcraft


Pulos, A. (2013). Confronting Heteronormativity in Online Games: A Critical Discourse Analysis of LGBTQ Sexuality in World of Warcraft. Games and Culture, 8(2), 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412013478688

Pages: 21
Peer Reviewed: Yes
Annotation Word Count: 329



Pulos analyzed how the World of Warcraft (WoW) community talks about and interacts with people who are a part of the LGBTQ community. Pulos argues that WoW’s community is based on a system that Blizzard created that does not support LGBTQ friendly content. Pulos found that Blizzard actively investigated their forums for content relating to anything LGBTQ and taking it down because it “violated their terms of service.”

Pulos analyzed 400 messages on the Blizzard forums that focused on “LGBTQ players and the Wow community.” Pulos also drew upon her own experience from playing WoW. Pulos spoke with Sara Andrews, who started an LGBTQ friendly guild. Andrews had her post/guild taken down and was told by Blizzard that “they were protecting her from harassment.” Pulos states: “The normative regulation of sexuality within this game is produced and reinforced by its creators and by the communication practices of the online communities that navigate this environment.” Pulos believes that Blizzards “we are protecting people from harassment” policy for LGBTQ content is doing more harm than good by normalizing the segregation and silencing of anything pro-LGBTQ. Pulos notes that MMOs like WoW are great places to socialize and that is why people involved in the LGBTQ community are attracted to them. Pulos analyzed the WoW forum for LGBTQ players and the WoW community and found the forum was filled with content that suggested that “sexuality has no place in the game” and that “real-world issues should not be implemented ever.” If any discussions about the problems the LGBTQ community faces while playing the game are found, the player is punished and the post is pushed to a separate/segregated thread.

Pulos’ research dives into how online games and social games mishandle supporting the LGBTQ community. Unlike Conns’ research, or Shaw and Friesem’s research, Pulos does not analyze mechanics or narratives, but how modern games that focus on social game play and the threads that come from that (community & forums) handle LGBTQ content.

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