Overview
Positive Play brings together aspiring game designers, public health students, sexual health experts, and gender-equity organizations to explore positive depictions of sex and sexuality through games. Participants in this two-day jam (March 24-25th) will work collaboratively to develop games with learning outcomes related to one of the following topics: sex positivity, LGBTQ2S+ inclusivity, consent, and destigmatizing sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections.
Register
HERE. (30 places)
Download our info sheet
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What is a game jam?
A game jam involves people coming together to explore novel game ideas and topics. Typically jammers work in teams to collaboratively design and prototype a game in a relatively short period of time. Here at WLU’s Game Design and Development program we practice sustainable jams, meaning fixed hours, regular breaks, and healthy food and drink options for all participants.
Why host a jam on sex ed?
Games have often struggled to depict sex and sexuality. In fact, sex is rarely present in games as designers tend to view the subject as taboo. When sex does appear in games it’s often cumbersome, crude, vulgar, and/or misogynistic, perpetuating negative stereotypes and practices. At the same time sexuality is often encoded in games as masculine and heteronormative—the view that heterosexuality is normal or preferred. Few games, for example, allow players to play gay or to pursue polyamorous relationships; rather they presume their players are straight men such that gameplay involves a form of what Adrienne Rich calls compulsory heterosexuality. This view of sex in games exacerbates our culture’s treatment of sex and sexual health as a taboo topic, which can lead to unsafe practices, discrimination, and a reluctance to seek care out of shame or embarrassment.
And yet how designers have approached sex and sexuality is at odds with the medium of games themselves. Play, for instance, is an inherently consensual act as being compelled to play would undermine the very concept of wilfully participating in an activity. Furthermore, flirtation, romance, and sex itself are at their healthiest when they’re viewed as consensual, fun, and playful. With this jam we’re looking to utilize this relationship between games, play, and consent to open up conversations on sex, sexuality, and sexual health. As a result the games designed during Positive Play will help mobilize public health and gender equity policies that advocate for safer, more equitable views on these topics.
Partners
We will be working with the Canadian Public Health Association and No More.
The Canadian Public Health Association promotes health equity, social justice, and evidence-informed policies and practices.
No More is a community-based organization that speaks out against gendered violence and advocates for gender equity.
Speaker Slides
Introduction by Steve Wilcox & Emily Flynn-Jones (BGNlab)
STBBI & Stigma by Rachel MacLean & Laura Bouchard (CPHA)
LGBTQ+ Sex Positivity by Taylor Berzins & Karly Rath (ASCC)
Consent by Jess Doroschenko (No More)
Resources
LGBTQ2S+ Resources
Can I Play Gay?
LGBTQ Video Game Archive
Games
Dream Daddy - a dad Dating simulator
The Tearoom - A historical public bathroom simulator
Mainichi - A game about the average day in the life of a trans woman
How Do You Do It? - A game about exploring the mechanics of sex
Freshman Year - A game about sexual assault and consent
Katawa Shoujo - A game about disability and sexuality
Analogue: A Hate Story - A lesbian romance
Thank you to our partners the Canadian Public Health Association and No More.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at 7:00AM