As a queer woman growing up, interacting with other girls felt like navigating a minefield. They didn’t seem to give it a second thought before reaching out for a hug, grabbing your hand, or touching your hair and exclaiming “How soft!” before the others swarmed in to see for themselves. In the same breath, they’d use “gay” as an insult and compliment each other’s bras as if it’d be rude not to. And sleepovers – oh god the sleepovers – were the height of my anxiety. I felt undercover, an unwilling secret agent struggling to follow the unspoken rules of acceptable physical contact the others seemed to know by heart. I spent many nights wide-eyed, reviewing my actions, wondering if I’d left any clues. If they ever figured out that I wasn’t straight, I was certain I’d be kicked out. Branded a pervert. Ostracized.
These themes of anxiety and uncertainty among queer women appeared again and again as I played games from this year’s Yuri Game Jam. Developer Huegor summed it up best in this quote from their light-hearted sleuthing adventure, Gaytective: “Let’s face it – there’s something inherently uncomfortable about womanhood, which all boils down to power dynamics and norms.”
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