Xbox Live has gone balls-out gay!  And balls-out straight!  Also, balls-out bisexual and transgender.  After seven years, Microsoft has finally amended their Terms of Use and Code of Conduct to allow users to include their sexual orientation in their Gamertags and bios.  Previously, words like “gay,” “bisexual,” “transgender,” and even “straight” were forbidden from user accounts due to fear of harassment.

In a press release, Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten announced the change;  “I’d like to announce an update to the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and Code of Conduct which will allow our members to more freely express their race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in Gamertags and profiles. Under our previous policy, some of these expressions of self-identification were not allowed in Gamertags or profiles to prevent the use of these terms as insults or slurs. However we have since heard feedback from our customers that while the spirit of this approach was genuine, it inadvertently excluded a part of our Xbox LIVE community.  This update also comes hand-in-hand with increased stringency and enforcement to prevent the misuse of these terms.”

Xbox Live’s policy on sexual orientation was a bit naïve and archaic, like an online version of  “don’t ask don’t tell.”  It wasn’t exactly discriminatory, since it treated “Gay” and “Straight” equally, but it still needed a change, especially after last year’s banning of a woman who identified herself as a lesbian and a man whose last name was “Gaywood.”  Of course, it remains to be seen how they’ll treat my specific sexual fetish.