RPG: Call Of Cthulhu Creator Faces Backlash After Transphobic Statements
Chaosium Inc., publishers of Call of Cthulhu issued a statement supporting trans existence this Sunday after transphobic statements by the game’s creator.
It is a sign of the times that, when a company issues a big statement supporting the cause of marginalized folks, the first inclination isn’t to think “oh it’s great that they’re saying it” but rather to wonder, “who stepped in it this time?” Which was the case when Chaosium issued a statement in vague support of trans existence:
Trans women are women, trans men are men, and you are the only one who gets to define your gender and your sexuality. Chaosium fully supports inclusivity and diversity — #WeAreAllUs
— Chaosium (@Chaosium_Inc) July 25, 2021
Trans women are women, trans men are men, and you are the only one who gets to define your gender and your sexuality. Chaosium fully supports inclusivity and diversity — #WeAreAllUs
This statement from Chaosium is clearly voiced support for the existence of transgender folks–and it also includes people of any sexuality for good measure–but if it seems to come out of nowhere, you might have missed the creator of Call of Cthulhu, Chaosium’s flagship game, making some very public statements with some very transphobic ideas at their heart. We’re going to show these statements below, which are still live as of press time:
I just want my granddaughters to be able to compete in track & field against people who don't have a genetic edge. Is that wrong?
— Sandy Petersen (@SandyofCthulhu) July 23, 2021
First of all, that’s not what a “genetic edge” means. First of all a second time, transgender athletes have been allowed in the Olympics since 2003, and the 2020 Olympics (which are happening in 2021, obviously) is only the first time a trans athlete has made it… almost as though having 4 Olympics without any qualifying trans athletes debunks that whole theory.
First of all a third time, this same sort of rhetoric has been used to keep cisgender women, and especially, cisgender black women, from competing in the sports that they excel at, which has lead to some very real harm and is weirdly misogynistic and oppresses the very people that these rules are claiming to protect. All of which is to say this line of thinking has been disproven time and again, and second of all, is incredibly transphobic.
After Petersen faced backlash on various social media platforms, Chaosium–who still lists Petersen as part of the company team after a much publicized return in 2015–issued their statement.
