I would guess the lady just goofed and misinterpreted her job. Privateer Press promotes a "kick ass and take names, no whiners" image in their games. I am pretty sure telling people that they had to be "real men" had to do with fitting this kind of macho-ism, not sexual preference.

Personal decision: boycott. You just have to take responsibility for the people who work for you. And yes, we can tolerate all sorts of behavior from people in our lives, but when it comes to business, no harm in having some sort of responsibility.

You dudes are way too sensitive. And people say I have thin skin.

Y'all may want to turn the world into a PC brady bunch version of itself, but I rather not have that.

But I can understand why you all are offended.

A heterosexual man would laugh if someone made a crack at his manliness in a joking manner like that.

But you guys are real sensitive to your manliness being questioned, even in a joking manner.

Just a observation, people.

@pixelrevolt: I don't disagree that the woman working that booth was out of line, but boycotting them isn't the way to go. They are a PR group. Boycotting affects the people publishing the game, not the people running the marketing.

A better approach would be to write to the marketing group that she works for.

Alright, here's how I see it. She wanted to assure you that you are not a geek, but a MAN. Lousy Loser vs. Real Man. Something on that line.

I don't think she was interested in your sexual preferences. Unless she tried to come on to you... ;)

You should've tried saying no, you only like REAL MEN and see if you would've gotten the armband anyway. Heck, I would've tried after that comment from her, and I'm quite straight.

Besides, I've worked jobs like that... it's quite boring after a while, so you try variations on entertaining people.

Sometimes you get it right, sometimes not.

"No reason to flip out over this. It's just one chick's opinion. Yes she represents the company, but it's nothing to get all fussy over. One thing I hate is Political Correctness."

I sincerely doubt she was being paid to give her opinion. When you're acting as a paid representative for a company at a large public event your goal is to reach as many people as possible and send them off with a positive impression of your product or service. When interacting with potential customers or business partners you cannot afford to offend any of them. I don't consider this particular incident to be the end of the fucking universe but things will not improve if we don't confront this kind of ignorance whenever it comes up.

I do agree that political correctness can be a bad thing when taken to extremes but that doesn't mean that the exact opposite is any better. Freedom of speech comes with the burden of personal responsibility. I have the right to say whatever I want no matter how offensive it might be to others but depending on the situation there may be consequences. If I knowingly said something at work that violated my employer's code of conduct and got fired for it I would have no one to blame but myself.

I don't understand how any intelligent or sane person could think that a gay customer asking a business to show them a basic amount of respect is a valid example of political correctness run amok.

Oh, and I forgot, we're sort-of discussing this kind of thing in the forum right here.

So there.

Two kinds of wrong here... first off... they were supposed to be head wraps... like a pirate... but i guess they could double as an arm band... second, I am a gay man who used to work at privateer and I'm quite sure they never really had a problem with my homoness. Though, I always found it funny that when I would try to "man up" some of our products they would wuss out and whip out the "we're a family company" line...
Annoying...
But either way... she was a low paid (if paid at all) shwag kiosk who happened to have boobs. Can't expect much from a kiosk. And the boobs make it a 95% chance she didn't know much about the game in the first place. Privateer has VERY small female following, and they are mostly in it for the painting. (and VERY good at it I might add)

I'm going to try and be voice of reason here....

It's a woman that he was talking to. Now, in my experience, if a woman asks me "Do you like women?", she's usually coming on to me.

So... seems kinda sensible that this is the case here.

Sorry to let everyone down there ;)

@Marsten: Yeah, it was pretty clear she wasn't hitting on anyone. It was more than likely just a sad attempt to boost the ego of some gamers. Make them feel like...

"I haz a bandana. I r manly."

Anywho, I'm sincerely sure she didn't mean any major harm. But she definately just needs to consider the audience she's targeting.

Hi — this is Matt Wilson, Creative Director and owner of Privateer Press. This blog posting was brought to my attention by a concerned individual that contacted Privateer via our customer service email. I feel that this is a particularly important issue and wanted to address it myself. In the spirit of full disclosure, I'll note that below is an excerpt of the letter I responded with to the concerned individual noted above:

While the person in question was indeed a volunteer of Privateer Press, the volunteers are our chosen representatives, and we require that they conduct themselves according to the values of our institution.

While I am confident that the comment was not made with any malice intended, I can clearly see how this would be found objectionable by anyone sensitive to discrimination of any sort. Privateer Press, in fact, is a company made up of may different individuals covering a wide spectrum of lifestyles, and we pride ourselves on being a place where everyone feels comfortable being who they are without fear of criticism. Naturally, any conduct by staff or volunteers of Privateer Press that is found to be insensitive goes against these values we strive for and will be addressed expediently in order to make every effort to ensure that no such incident could occur again.

Let me add that I feel safe in saying that the individual who made this remark will very likely feel devastated that she in any way offended someone. I have no doubt the comment was made in fun and good humor. Regardless, we will make sure that both our staff and our volunteer program is aware of Privateer Press' stance on treating all people with the proper respect at all times.

Thank you for the opportunity to address this and inform you of our position.

All the best,
Matt Wilson

@Nox:

Thanks for adding the kind additional reply. I don't think you offended anyone and it's great to spur on the discussion. I'm assuming you're not gay or bi, and I have to say it's great to see you here reading and posting! :)

@ Privateer Press/Matt Wilson:

Just Wow! The fact that you both took the time to look into this and respond says a lot about how important you treat all of your fans. I'm sure you're right that the volunteer intended no harm, and that's part of a little bit of education that we all learn over time. THANK YOu for taking time out of your schedule to respond. Kudos!

Brer Dan

The organization I work with, the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, was one of the folks that brought this to Privateer Press' attention after hearing about what occurred at PAX.

I wanted to echo what others have said in praising Matt and Privateer Press for their prompt and direct response to this. It's been my experience that not all, and in my opinion not nearly enough, companies respond as appropriately when things like this are brought to their attention.

Again, kudos to Matt and Privateer Press.

-Greg Varnum
Acting Executive Director
National Youth Advocacy Coalition