Media releases

• Brock research exploring impact of 2S&LGBTQ+ representation on young gamers

  Wednesday, June 29, 2022 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 28 June 2022 – R0074

  More than simply a thrilling adventure, video games for Dane Di Cesare were a safe escape.

  The Assistant Professor in Brock University’s Faculty of Education recalls turning to virtual worlds in his younger days to get away from homophobic bullying he experienced in real life.

  Games of that time, however, rarely showed positive portrayals of people from Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (2S&LGBTQ+) communities.

  Today, while 2S&LGBTQ+ representation is increasing in other media, such as movies and television, it remains limited in most video games, Di Cesare says, adding it is still often stereotypical, problematic or completely absent.

  That representation, and its influence on young gamers, is at the centre of his latest research project.

  Through LEVEL UP!, Di Cesare is exploring ways video games and gaming communities impact the well-being and identity development of 2S&LGBTQ+ youth aged 14 to 29.

  The study will examine 2S&LGBTQ+ representation in video game characters and storylines across all game genres and platforms, as well as positive and negative experiences while gaming alone, with others or on streaming channels such as Twitch.

  To accomplish this, the project’s research team — co-led by Di Cesare and Shelley Craig, Professor at the University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth — aims to survey 5,000 youth across Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Mexico, in addition to conducting interviews in Canada.

  “As a queer person, and as a gamer as well, this is something that I saw in my own experiences,” Di Cesare says of the lack of representation. “Growing up, I never saw myself represented in the characters and storylines within games.”

  That representation is key in games, he says, because players are active participants in the media they’re consuming.

  “If you’re watching a movie or a TV show, you’re there as a passive participant. If you are able to see yourself represented, that’s both powerful and affirming,” Di Cesare says. “Video games offer a bit of a different experience because you are controlling a character. Oftentimes, where the character ends and where you begin gets blurred as you project parts of yourself onto the character and into the storyline. There is the potential for representation to matter even more in this context, and this is something we are interested in examining.”

  The study, he says, can provide a better understanding of the needs of 2S&LGBTQ+ youth and, in turn, gaps in supports, to determine how to serve them better in all settings, including the classroom.

  “We need to make sure that we’re doing more than just supporting them, that we are helping them flourish and thrive,” he says.

  Di Cesare hopes the project’s findings will help game developers understand the need for representation in games and the teams that create them, and that the research will be used to help social and game streaming platforms create safe online spaces that eliminate hate raids, a type of co-ordinated harassment, and other forms of homophobia online.

  LEVEL UP! is an initiative of the International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience(INQYR), a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded interdisciplinary research partnership aiming to support the resilience of 2S&LGBTQ+ youth using technology-engaged research and practice.

  To learn more about the study and how 2S&LGBTQ+ youth can participate, visit the INQYR website.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases

• Canadians becoming ‘flag-phobic’ in wake of freedom movement, says Brock expert

  Monday, June 27, 2022 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 27 June 2022 – R0073

  Though they’ve never been known for their flag-waving patriotism, many Canadians have taken yet another step back from the national symbol after its recent affiliation with the ongoing freedom movement, says Derek Foster.

  “I’ve heard many people lament this shift in attitude toward the flag,” says the Associate Professor in Brock University’s Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film. “But I think we have to be careful.”

  Foster says people should consider context when they encounter the iconic red and white flag, before making any assumptions of its intended significance.

  On his regular commute, he passes by a property that each year puts out multiple stylized maple leaf banners in recognition of Canada Day — and this year is no exception.

  “Clearly, this is not meant to signify their connection with freedom protests,” he says, adding there’s a similar sentiment around flags flown at commercial centres and public institutions. “Meanwhile, if I see a vehicle with a full-sized Canadian flag flying from it, I am pretty confident this is someone declaring their solidarity with the freedom convoy and larger movement.”

  Traditionally, Canadians have been seen as more reserved than their American counterparts when it comes to using flags to express their patriotism. The use of flags in the recent freedom movement has created further hesitation among the masses, Foster says.

  “Aside from the exception of Canada Day, Canadians often only fly flags associated with countries competing in worldwide soccer competitions,” he says. “Now, some are flag-phobic.”

  Canadians are “far more comfortable with forms of banal nationalism,” that see, for instance, clothing from Hudson’s Bay Company or Roots, advertising from Canadian Tire and cups from Tim Hortons reminding them daily of the maple leaf’s prominence and subtly contributing to a collective identity, Foster says.

  Canada existed for nearly 100 years without an official flag, with the current design adopted in 1965 after significant debate.

  “It makes sense that it’s still open for interpretation,” Foster says. “And, given its strong graphical design, that it is often appropriated for different causes.”

  The maple leaf has been replaced many times over, for example, with a marijuana leaf at protests supporting the legalization of cannabis or a Toronto Raptors logo when the sole Canadian NBA basketball team contended for the championship. There’s also a widely circulated Indigenous version of the flag with swimming salmon on the sides and an orca inside the maple leaf.

  “As a symbol, the flag doesn’t simply exist; it changes with people’s understandings and uses of it,” Foster says. “Symbols get updated, they elude fixed understandings and transform over time, sometimes even withering and dying.”

  Flags become powerful symbolic vehicles depending on when and how they’re displayed, not simply based on their content, he says. For example, flags raised at schools or city halls to demonstrate support for causes or those flown at half-mast to indicate solidarity, support and to acknowledge loss.

  “What we’ve seen is a collapse of the flag as a symbol of national pride and national identity into a nationalistic symbol, and this is a relatively unfamiliar tradition in Canada,” Foster says. “We’re far more used to asking what makes Canada great or proud, or even asking what defines us as a country, rather than assuming or boldly announcing such things.”

  Canada, he says, is on a constant search for a complete, unifying and strong identity.

  “Perhaps that is why the flag has been taken up by the freedom movement with such vigour; if we are a patchwork quilt rather than a melting pot, the flag seems to cover up all our stitches,” he says. “Acting almost as a safety blanket, it smooths over open wounds and questions of who we are and what we stand for that actually define who we are, as a people and a country.”

  Derek Foster, Associate Professor in Brock University’s Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, is available for media interviews on the topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases