Xbox Live bans gay gamer, uproar ensues

[Jon Tees]

Xbox Live bans gay gamer, uproar ensues
By Ben Silverman
Feb 27, 2009

Even in video game cyberspace, sexual preference is a hot-button issue.

According to a report by The Consumerist, an Xbox 360 gamer had her service suspended after identifying herself as a lesbian in her Xbox Live profile. The woman told the site that she was "harassed by several players" and "chased to different maps/games" once they caught wind of her sexual orientation. After those offended notified Microsoft, the company banned her account.

Gamers were outraged, prompting Microsoft to issue a terse apology by way of Stephen Toulouse, program manager for policy and enforcement on Xbox Live.


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"It is true that as a matter of policy, the expression of relationship preference in Gamertag profiles and tags is not allowed across the board, whether that's heterosexual or other," he told MTV. He went on to add that they were "looking into that policy," which he further deemed "inelegant."

Initially intended to curb the derogatory use of words like "gay," Microsoft's sexuality policy empowers the company to suspend any account that includes words related to sexual orientation in an Xbox Live nickname or profile. It's landed the company in hot water before, most recently when it led to the banning of a man simply trying to use his legal name, Richard Gaywood.

Toulouse went on to tell MTV that the company doesn't abide by user harassment, either, and urged anyone facing such abuse to file a complaint.

[Excaligore]

I'm dumbfounded at this... Microsoft banned her because she was a lesbian? I know they're a bunch of nazis and such but geez... You'd think they would wait a little bit more before revealing their Hitler worshiping ways.

[Judge]

Bit more to it then just that.  Some users reported her profile after they read that she said she was a lesbian.  The users were harrassing her in game, up to and including sending her nasty messages, chatting her and calling her a dyke or worse.   one of the users reported the profile to MS, and they, by their policy, banned her on that.

So the users were messing with her.  I'd go after the closed minded bigots before I went after MS.

MS is very accepting of gay/lesbian employees, including being one of the first to let domestic partners receive benefits, etc, long before other companies do it.  There's even a group of G/L employees that meet on campus once a month.

I think it's just the XBL divisions overly broad brush.  She did technically violate the TOS by including she was a lesbian in her profile, but some users harrassed her and reported it.

[jagilki]

I clicked this, thinking Honker was banned.

[Triple B]

I didn't know Skittles' husband was on X-Box....

[Jon Tees]

What gets me is when people brazenly enter into situations where they are outmatched on Xbox Live, and complain about losing afterwards including resorting to name calling and accusations of people cheating. My stance is this, you entered into a situation thus accepting the situation and lost deal with it and move on it’s just a fucking game after all.