Identity Exploration through Dungeons and Dragons
If you ever wondered how does it feel to have a tragic backstory, magical powers, the ability to fight, the sensation of saving a world, or how it feels to simply be of different gender or sexuality, you don’t have to look any further; all you need is a pair of dice, a character sheet and a group of friends to bring on an adventure. That is what Dungeons and Dragons is all about.
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop roleplaying game that includes a lot of rolling of dice, fun and drama, as well as gaining meaningful memories and connections. Set within a fantasy world full of magic, fights of the good and evil, and the perfect opportunity to try out and take on different identities. Of course, there are the more obvious possibilities- try out how life is for the various races, such as Elves or Dwarves to name a few, how it would feel to wield magic or be able to fight with sword and shield, however it brings up a more nuanced opportunity, for example to be of different genders or sexualities.
Genderbending in D&D (or in other roleplaying games, computer or tabletop) is quite a common phenomena that gives various results. Sometimes it simply might be interesting to live a life of a different gender and/or sexuality and see how that will unfold. The magic capabilities are a bonus, or maybe that was the real magic of D&D all along. There have been players who explored their identity through D&D and came to a realisation that the identity they have created simply feels right. There are stories on the internet about how players found out they are trans or non-binary because of their characters, including myself.
When I first made my non-binary character, I didn’t think much about it, just wanted to bring some inclusiveness into the table, practice on pronouns and see how the experience would unfold. However, what I did not plan was to actually find myself within that character. After that, I was curious whether others had similar experiences, and to my delight I found out that it is not as uncommon as I at first thought.
For other players, it is also a place to live out their true queer identities freely without the fear of abuse, in a world where the queer community is not marginalized, and being queer is as common and tolerated as being straight. These are the reasons why the game has found a liking within the LGBTQ+ community, as a way to escape their everyday problems as well as find new friends and allies.
These stories can be explored through subreddits r/DnD and r/DungeonsAndDragons, which have around 2.9 million and 470 thousand followers respectively, and as such are the central hubs for the D&D community, where people not only share tips and tell fun or exciting stories from their campaigns, but also share their experiences with the game on a more personal level. The players talk about their queer identities and the corellation with the game, what the game had brought to their lives and how it helped them to live out their true selves.
I’ve been playing D&D for about 3 years now and I cannot think of a more life changing experience than what the game and the people associated with it had brought me. Everyone can find something in it for themselves, whether something more personal, or just great fun. If you haven’t, you should try it :).
Hi Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am really not into playing games at all, reading your article (and watching the show Community) is wanting me give D&D a try!
It’s interesting to see how in the frame of this game is providing a context to become more conscious how we actually perform various aspects of gender identity. Without knowing the game that well, it actually seems to invite you to fully develop a character, thinking about mannerisms, interests, backstories etc. And it is really powerful to read your account on how this playful way of trying out identity performances can be translated into actual life!
Hi Rebecca, thank you so much for sharing your personal game experience, it sounds really fun and interesting. I have never played game like this, that you create you own role and storyline, but I do have some small game experiences, something from murder mystery games, which was to play in the role of murder or detectives. It is true that, D&D is very different than those murder mystery games, but at here I would like to emphasize is that the sensation of being able to jump out from your own identity and play a role in a reality you would never have a chance to play, that is something really indescribable. Therefore, I can understand with how such a roleplaying game like D&D can provide life-changing experience. I would def love to try it one day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca for the post and the personal story you shared. It reminded me the quote of Stuart Hall for popular culture: "Popular culture is one of the sites where this struggle for and against a culture of the powerful is engaged: it is the stake to be won or lost in that struggle. It is the arena of consent and resistance". The biggest challenges to hegemonic discourses come through imagination and creativity and this is what D&D is all about. It is very interesting indeed how board games influence the identities we acquire. Now I'm intrigued about your final paper haha
ReplyDeleteOh what a pleasure it was reading your blog Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteWhile i've never actually played Dungeons & Dragons before, i've interacted with D&D media and have grown up with plenty of D&D-inspired video games. I love delving into this topic of identity exploration, escapism and games, especially for how much it does for people in understanding who they are and/or who they can be. I have had those types of experiences as well playing online multiplayer or fantasy/adventure games, creating characters of different races and genders just to allow me to have different experiences embodying a different identity.
I'm quite intrigued in how discussions on this topic will advance or change as we go further into VR. For example, imagine we could play D&D with friends in VR, except we, as the players, are playing as the characters we had created, possibly furthering that embodiment and immersion we have with our created characters and worlds.