Amidst the controversy surrounding Sweet Baby Inc., another progressive DEI consultation company, “Black Girl Gamers,” has recently come under scrutiny.
BBC Gaming commentator Jules Hardy recently called for a “final purge” of those opposed to ESG and DEI content curation within the video game community. Jules Hardy made a strong statement in response to Black Girl Gamers, who were themselves reacting to criticism.
On March 15, 2024, days before Jules Hardy’s call for a gamer purge, That Park Place published an article revealing Black Girl Gamers’ race and gender-based hiring practices.
This information was based on a post from February, in which Black Girl Gamers specifically sought “Black Women Content Creators” that make Dungeons & Dragons content” for potential brand collaborations.
It’s not uncommon for activist-founded organizations to exhibit such behavior, as they often prioritize hiring individuals who align with their ideologies, because of course parasitic cancer will only ever hire themselves and multiply.
For instance, Dani Lalonders, a non-binary “game developer,” previously worked on a dating simulator called Validate. The game features character designs reminiscent of Tumblr aesthetics and emphasizes platonic LGBTQ+ relationships, with a diverse cast composed almost entirely of Brown characters, you’d be shocked to hear that there’s only one White character featured in the entire game.
However, the developers were taken aback when the majority of their players chose to play as this White character, perhaps because their design differed from the rest of the cast, which are characterized by obscene ugliness and overweight features.
Lalonders openly expressed her reluctance to collaborate with White individuals during the game’s development, citing differences in ethical perspectives. While certain aspects may be deemed acceptable by White developers, Lalonders considered them microaggressions and insisted on exclusively hiring people of color.
Previously employed at Sweet Baby Inc as a narrative designer from October 2022 to May 2023, Lalonders now works at Cliffhanger Games, where she is involved in developing a Marvel’s Black Panther game for Electronic Arts, and they say that failing upwards is a conspiracy theory.
And now Black Girl Gamers are throwing a tantrum on Twitter by refuting such allegations of discriminatory hiring practices made by That Park Place by openly proclaiming that they have initiated legal proceedings against That Park Place and the articles’ author, John F. Trent.
They also warned of taking similar action against anyone who shares such false allegations, in which case I too wish to be served.
After the legal threat was made public, former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern, also known as “Grummz,” investigated the alleged hiring practices of Black Girl Gamers’ consultation firm, which he claimed were “readily available and easily searchable.”
He mentioned that he couldn’t find a published hiring policy on their website and observed that the company’s job board section required a password for access.
Despite claiming evidence of commitment to diversity and inclusion in the fifth tweet of their thread, Black Girl Gamers’ actual hiring procedures and job board appear anything but “easily searchable.” Their website lacks useful information on hiring policies and seems convoluted, contradicting their statement.
Additionally, Grummz pointed out that Black Girl Gamers proudly state their consultation firm is 100% Minority Operated, yet they fail to clarify if this refers to their management or company-wide employees.
Founded in 2015 by Jay-Ann Lopez, the consultation firm aims to promote diversification in gaming and has collaborated with prominent companies like Facebook/Meta, Google, Twitter, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Twitch, and Samsung, it’s likely they’ve worked on such prestigious games as as Forspoken.
Black Girl Gamers’ website asserts they are an “influential agent of change” and are “partnering with brands to change gaming from the inside out” for representation sake. They are energized to “change the way people think about gaming.”
However, everything relating to Black Girl Gamers seems to lack representation of either males and White individuals of either gender.
It’s unsurprising that they would resort to legal threats against anyone who highlights their racial biases against White people or shares the information from That Park Place’s article.
After all, the firm is named “Black Girl Gamers,” their website proudly states that they are 100% minority operated, and their job board section is completely obscured.
The absence of any concrete hiring guide or practices contradicts their claims of accessibility and searchability, making them appear hypocritical and disingenuous.
The visible evidence strongly suggests that Black Girl Gamers prioritize hiring minority personnel, which raises concerns about their discriminatory practices under the guise of diversity, oppression, and representation.
Furthermore, their website proudly states that they cultivate a vibrant community exclusively for “passionate Black women and non-binary gamers.”
Prospective members are required to fill out a form that explicitly asks if they identify as Black, a woman, or non-binary. However, they explicitly state that self-identifying men will not be permitted to join their exclusive community group.
It remains unclear whether trans men and individuals identifying as transracially Black are excluded from joining Black Girl Gamers. However, considering the name of the company is “Black Girl Gamers,” one could argue that their actions serve as a form of gatekeeping aimed at Black women.
However, it’s worth noting that if the situation were reversed, and a company named “White Girl/Male Gamers” existed, specifically catering to and hiring within their demographic, mainstream media outlets like Kotaku and The Gamer would heavily criticize it, let alone the fact that any gaming company who deals with such an organization professionally would be under the microscope for being oppressive racists of course.
Discriminatory hiring practices are only ever allowed in one direction.
These individuals are clearly not genuine gamers; they are merely activists disguised as such. Their blatant outrage over being called out for racism and displaying prejudice against White people has led them to threaten legal action against anyone discussing or echoing these concerns. This reactionary response has proven to be their biggest misstep, as it has drawn greater attention to the malice and hidden agenda behind their facade of “diversity” and “inclusion.”
It’s worth mentioning that Black Girl Gamers were directly involved in Square Enix’s failure with Forspoken.
Black Girl Gamers have the freedom to hire individuals of their choice and to express opposition towards White people and the patriarchy. However, it’s important to note that they cannot compel White people, especially White men who form the primary demographic of the video game market, to support products produced in collaboration with entities such as Black Girl Gamers.
Even though consumers who actively avoid purchasing games associated with Sweet Baby Inc come from diverse backgrounds, such as the over 340,000 members of the Sweet Baby Inc Detected Steam curator group, who represent various cultural backgrounds, those who strongly oppose evident DEI/ESG pandering in gaming are more diverse than consultation activists who exclusively hire Black women.
