“There's Power in that Y”: How Gaymers Manage Imbricated Stigma through an Equipollent Identity

Abstract

Abstract Portmanteau identities, such as “Gaymer” (gay-gamer), can shed light on the important social work that identity labels do for those who choose to adopt them. In this article, I analyze how “Gaymer” is not just a convenient portmanteau, but an identity used to manage stigma and advance inclusivity for people inhabiting identities often viewed as mutually exclusive. I demonstrate this with data gathered through actual world ethnographic research with Gaymers at a monthly meetup in Houston, Texas, and virtual world ethnographic research with two Facebook Groups. I found that Gaymers are often excluded from both the gaming community and the mainstream gay community, however, rather than try to minimize contradictions in their identity, they seek to create contradictions by gaming in gay bars, performing in drag shows as video game characters, and advocating for more inclusivity at gaming conventions, among other tactics. My results show a critical need to move beyond an examination that multiple stigmas exist, toward a study of how they interact. I build upon Russian linguist Nikolai Trubetzkoy's concepts of privative and equipollent markedness to show how the interaction between “gay” and “gamer” has resulted in the creation and performance of a “Gaymer” identity, what I call an equipollent identity. Recognizing the existence of equipollent identities, like Gaymer, invites consideration of the potentially positive and productive ways that stigmatized individuals manage stigma and build community.