Comments on: Is Penny Arcade homophobic – Nah probably not

By: Thefremen

Thefremen — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:05:51 +0000

“Companies”? Penny-Arcade is two men. One kinda chubby the other skinny. Not chubby like Scott who writes pvponline.com but still. They’re both fathers and given the contents of their creative work are in no way homophobic.
Also, Dylan, you seem to be ignorant of the work of Dr. Alfred Kinsey or wholeheartedly disagree with it. I would like to know what expert studies support your assertions about the “conventional” thinking of Males.
BTW, using terms like that seem to betray a bias towards thinking of gender roles in a manner similar to that of Protestant/Catholic norms.

By: Dylan

Dylan — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:15:13 +0000

I think it would be naive to imagine that homophobia doesn’t exist in these companies to some extent.
They’re notoriously male realms for a start, and though no…I’m not saying all men are homophobic, I do feel that the masculine persona leaves little room for anything but conventional, hetero thinking.

By: Michael Abbott

Michael Abbott — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:14:56 +0000

I can easily see how, at first glance, this could be taken as offensive. But considered in context with PA’s history of thoughtful, progressive work, I read it as just another clever assault on gamer culture, prejudice, stupidity, self-absorption…you name it, they’ve all been targets of the satirical PA pen. I value their honest approach, and I personally didn’t respond negatively to this particular comic.
As always, I appreciate the fact that you encourage us to think about this stuff; which, ironically, is probably just the reaction Gabe and Tycho are going for too.

By: Thefremen

Thefremen — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:24:37 +0000

They made a similar blog post or comic about the original Guitar Hero: On Tour commercial.
The On Tour commercials have been horrible and are almost certain to cause someone to vomit.
Given their commentary and comics over the years (been reading since 2001) I think its safe to say that they are not in the least bit homophobic. Hell, you could make a stronger case for Buckley being homophobic and he did an interview with you gals.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the blogger is hoping to get a link in the PA forum and eventually the PA frontpage.