Yeah, I don't think Hitchen's comment has anything to do with the subject. This individual was a representative of Microsoft. He decided to publicly humiliate a gamer based on their gender. It was unprofessional, unfunny and completely unnecessary.

I'm a big fan of the current trend of victim shifting. Forget the mistreated transgendered individual, will someone please think of the intolerant people?!

Let me guess, you're the real victim of discrimination?

Slurs and insults are not "jokes". If people laugh at them it is from malice, not amusement; that laughter comes at a person's expense.

A comedian made a joke? What joke was that, then?

This is an absolutely disgusting occurrence, and I wish this "comedian" the worst. I feel sorry for what Laura had to deal with. I'm really proud that she came out and put his name there for everyone to see. That's how this should be handled.

That aside, I have a little correction for Kotaku.

"Female" is a sex, not a…

What if their name is "it" though!?

Fuck that "comedian." Fuck everyone defending this piece of shit too.

he apparently said "it" and "thing". It was no mistake. You don't call any human being "it", not even by mistake

Doesn't excuse his behaviour, though.

I guess the difference here is they were at a console demonstration, not a comedy routine. There's certain expectations when you elect to go see a standup comedian. But when you're "tricked" (for lack of a better word) into seeing one those expectations are different. Some people may not like the insult comedy, and so…

Also, if someone dresses like a woman, presents as a woman, behaves like a woman and wants to be addressed as a woman, what is the benefit of addressing them based on their biological sex? What information does that give you? Unless you're trying to get in their pants, it really shouldn't matter at all.

Transgendered people have some of the thickest skin you'll ever see. They deal with this kind of shit daily and still continue trying to realize their true identity.

Some comedians try to get laughs anyway they can. Most likely his career isn't going anywhere.

Why the hell do people have to be such asshats? Not just in the video game industry (although quite a lot seem to congregate there) but anywhere? I just don't understand it.

Kotaku confuses me sometimes. I know you have different writers with different opinions, but one week we have an article saying a game is bad for over-sexualizing female characters, the other we have an article saying a game should have more of that. I don't know what's right or wrong anymore :p and is that really…

its the age of feminism, you cant release anything offending or even cartoonish offending ever again! fun is over. go home. we live in times where even lara croft isnt allowed to be a campy unrealistic nerd sex fantasy anymore.

Star Trek user interfaces also have a tenancy to explode. I see no one has copied THAT design element.

I smell an Apple lawyer

You can't do any of that. This summer should have taught us all. Apple owns the patents to everything Gene Roddenberry's shop ever conceptualized. You'll just get sued for billions if you do any of this.