我知道 Gary Gygax 对 D&D 的贡献巨大,但他也确实有一些性别歧视的言论和行为。承认这一点并不抹杀他的成就,反而能让我们更全面地认识他,并从中吸取教训,避免重蹈覆辙。只有正视历史,才能更好地传承他的遗产。
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Okay, so there's been some drama about the new "Making of Original D&D" book. People are flipping out because the authors, Jon Peterson and Jason Tondro, pointed out that early D&D had some problematic stuff – like making light of slavery, putting down women, and even giving Hindu gods hit points. Wizards of the Coast added a disclaimer saying this stuff was wrong then and is wrong now, but some old-school gamers are calling the authors liars and saying they're smearing Gary Gygax.
Were Gygax and Kuntz really sexist?
Let's look at Greyhawk, the first D&D supplement. Gygax and Rob Kuntz created a King of Lawful Dragons (good) and a Queen of Chaotic Dragons (evil). It plays into that old idea that male power is good, and female power is evil.
Now, some will say that I am reading too much into it. However, Gygax and Kuntz actually commented on this in the book! They wrote, "Women’s lib may make whatever they wish from the foregoing." They knew what they were doing when they made the chaotic evil dragon a queen.
People might say Gygax was just a product of his time, but he was called out on this back then. And his response? Well, here's what he said in a fanzine:
> “I have been accused of being a nasty old sexist-male-Chauvinist-pig, for the wording in D&D isn’t what it should be. There should be more emphasis on the female role, more non-gendered names, and so forth. I thought perhaps these folks were right and considered adding women in the ‘Raping and Pillaging[’] section, in the ‘Whores and Tavern Wenches’ chapter, the special magical part dealing with ‘Hags and Crones’, and thought perhaps of adding an appendix on ‘Medieval Harems, Slave Girls, and Going Viking’. Damn right I am sexist. It doesn’t matter to me if women get paid as much as men, get jobs traditionally male, and shower in the men’s locker room. They can jolly well stay away from wargaming in droves for all I care. I’ve seen many a good wargame and wargamer spoiled thanks to the fair sex. I’ll detail that if anyone wishes.”
So, yeah, Gygax doubled down on the misogyny.
The outrage aimed at Peterson and Tondro is misplaced. D&D is becoming more diverse, and that's a great thing! It shows how powerful the game is that it's resonating with so many different people.
So, how do we deal with this?
We can't pretend there's no problem. New fans will see the prejudice and might just leave. We also can't bury the past. We need to acknowledge the problematic stuff. When we see something bigoted in old D&D, we talk about it. We let everyone know that bigotry has no place in D&D today.
Failing to do this hurts the game. It shrinks our community and diminishes the legacy of its creators. Gygax and Arneson were geniuses, but they were also flawed people. We need to acknowledge those flaws to make D&D the cultural pillar it deserves to be.