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Twitch’s debacle with anti-trans group shines an ugly light on the realities many LGBTQ+ gamers face

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A collage of the Twitch logo and the LGB Alliance logo.

Streaming platform Twitch recently added thousands of charities to its fundraising initiative, giving creators easier access to new charitable causes worldwide. However, a handful of the organizations selected for inclusion — including the transphobic hate group LGB Alliance — have landed the platform in hot water.

For any not in the know, the LGB Alliance is a (currently contested) charity purporting to advance the rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people almost entirely by advocating for the oppression of trans people.

Since its founding in 2019, it has opposed a ban on conversion therapy in the UK, are currently fighting against Scotland’s trans self-identifying Gender Recognition Reform bill, and regularly attempts to erase trans people’s contributions to LGBTQ+ history.

As many fringe supporters as the organization has over on TERF Island, countless more recognize the group as an active, harmful opponent to LGBTQ+ progress and unity.

The charities available also feature The Salvation Army, Autism Speaks, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which many recognize as queerphobic, ableist, and racist respectively.

These new additions sparked fierce backlash from users of the platform familiar with these organizations:

Related: This popular trans Twitch streamer was just banned for an awful reason

A week after adding the offending organization, Twitch has officially removed the LGB Alliance from their roster in response to user feedback.

“Following a thorough review, we have removed the LGB Alliance from our list of approved charities,” Twitch posted in an official statement. “Twitch does not allow charities that violate our hateful conduct policies on Twitch, or whose organization or leadership engage in or promote behaviors that violate our Off-Service policy.”

While the move worked to alleviate tensions, many are calling for reevaluation of the other organizations mentioned, with Autism Speaks drawing specific ire:

Related: Twitch streamer Blizzbear on community, hate-raids, and his biggest inspirations

The inclusion and subsequent ousting of the anti-trans foundation brings the status of the LGBTQ+ community’s place in streaming/gaming into question.

The group’s abuses to trans people being overlooked by such a large platform is disquieting, while the swift and decisive public response against the move speaks to the desire of many to protect the community in these spheres.

Queerphobia in gamer culture has been a running phenomenon, alongside issues like misogyny and racism. For the longest time, entering any popular game’s chat meant opening yourself up to any litany of slurs and personal attacks on these bases. While most spaces have cracked down on abusive language, the ramifications of queerphobic attitudes in gaming are still felt.

Weeks ago, a small study was published in Scientific American claiming that players still shy away from playing as queer characters, both out of homophobia and reluctance to be targeted by it.

Just this week, Valorant confirmed a relationship between two of its female characters, sparking a stark mixture of celebration and rage. The responses of support were predictably interspersed with statements like “time to uninstall this sh*t” and “stop trying to make everything gay for marketing”.

While representations improves in places like Apex Legends‘ impressive LGBTQ+ character roster or League of Legends notable partnership with Lil Nas X, negative attitudes towards queer people can still be seen ingrained in parts of gaming culture.

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