For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of white privilege, shieldxmaiden provided me with this link to a little paper on the subject. There exists TONS of material on the subject, but it’s a good place to start.
Hyrule Chozo
RSSPosts tagged with "feminism"
If Bayonetta were an actual person, then it would make sense to proclaim that her sexuality is a choice and that she’s an empowering female figure. But she’s not a real woman. …When looking at fictional characters like Bayonetta, you can’t disregard the creator.
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“So. Bayonetta is a sexy character who technically goes around naked designed by a guy who is pretty sexist and coded by a studio of men who are all spending their time thinking about the types of sexy moves they want to see Bayonetta do. This for me is the biggest nail in the coffin.”
Bayonetta and the Male Gaze « Go Make Me a Sandwich
(via theoppositeofstupid)
The games industry is a sausage party. It's time to take women seriously...
This is an unfortunate title (and not entirely accurate, as it talks about individual gamers as much as the “industry”), but this is still a good snapshot of the current state of sexism in videogame culture as a whole.
Video-game designer Anna Anthropy describes the life of a radical, queer, transgender gamer
I’ve rolled in the same online gaming communities (‘sup, my SelectButton/Insert Credit/The Gamer’s Quarter people!) as Anna and she is fantastic. Dys4ia in particular is whoa. She even indirectly influenced my taste in games! I never would have discovered Jeff Minter and Tempest 2000 without her forum posts.
A Girl's Guide to Call of Duty: Black Ops II — What You Need to Know Because You Are a Moronic Female
Please check out this very funny (and obviously satirical) post that tries to give you ladies the information you will need to get into the very male world of the modern FPS genre.
I don’t know if rape jokes encourage rape culture. I don’t care. You still shouldn’t tell them.
Statistically, if you have told a rape joke to a group of more than five people, one of the people you told it to was a rape survivor, possibly of multiple rapes. They will not necessarily disclose this to you; rape apologism is endemic in society and most rape survivors are cautious about whom they tell. Some may even be too ashamed of their rape to admit it to anyone, or because of rape-minimizing narratives like “men can’t be raped” and “I consented to oral, so I couldn’t have been raped” may not admit it even to themselves. The fact remains: if you’ve told dozens of rape jokes in your life, then you have almost certainly told a joke that minimizes or trivializes rape in front of a survivor.
And if you put as your Facebook status “I totally raped at Halo today” for your two hundred Facebook friends to see, statistically, you have just reminded thirty-three people of one of the worst experiences of their entire lives.
To describe how well you did at a video game.
Good job!
Can’t remember if I’ve posted this before, but either way, it bears repeating.
(Source: rebel-against)
Fight Female Privilege: Females and Gaming
Lately, I’ve seen a lot of complaints against male gamers, especially in WoW and SWTOR and it’s really pissing me off! It’s like all guys are suddenly awful stalkers and horrible monsters who just want to see tits for loot, and don’t even realize that dudes who get sucked into this by one guild…
Oh boy. A new “mens’ rights/misandry” Tumblr has popped up, and the first post is about gaming. In case the title of the blog (“Fight Female Privilege”) didn’t tell you all you need to know, let me break down this first post for you.
The guy basically says that he’s sick of women complaining that guys in gaming communities are assholes. He then goes on to explain how women in World of Warcraft and similar games use their sexuality (“she’s e-sucking the GM’s dick) to get loot/gold/whatever people play these games for, implying that women can’t play these games well on their own, but must rely on their tits to get guys to do it for them.
And finally, without even the hint of irony, he complains that “bitches” aren’t interested in talking to him, because they think he might be a bad guy. Gee, I can’t imagine why. This lack of self-awareness is almost impressive.
How sexual violence gets treated in gaming
Interesting read… I think a further exploration of this theme in gaming is needed.
This article is in response to the fact (unknown to me before this) that the infamous Pyramid Head rape scene was removed from the HD version of Silent Hill 2. The article discusses how rape has been shown in games in the past, and also how language of sexual violence continues in gamer culture today. Here’s a quote:
Saying that you “raped” the other team, or “raped” a dungeon is not only disgusting, but also horribly crippling for a medium that is trying to get itself taken seriously. Just because you’re online and not going to get your teeth knocked in for saying you raped someone’s mother doesn’t mean you should feel free to say it.
Because I know SOMEBODY will bring this up: obviously, there are still differences in what we societally see as gendered clothing, and some things would look more ridiculous on a man but less so on a woman, but that becomes irrelevant if we’re talking heroic or military clothing (or space suits, or battle suits, or uniforms, or etc.)
The above still illustrates a great point, though. If it makes no sense for men to fight in, it makes no sense for women. We’re not going clubbing here.
I especially like the random thong straps because they seem to show up so much (Michael Turner seemed to draw them in on every woman he could, as if they were just a natural part of a woman’s body xD )
(Source: feminishblog)
Feminism and Video Games 101: Shooting Female Enemies Isn’t Icky
This article over on the Border House site addresses the “concerns” some male gamers have with killing female “grunt” enemies. The author argues that disallowing regular female enemies is sexist, as is the oversexualization of the few special female enemies in games.
i would agree with you in so much as i don't think that the 12 year olds on COD servers give a shit about gaming's image. However, if we take a look at that whole tekken x sf fiasco, i think a majority in that community wants to have a more mainstream audience (otherwise why stream the events), but they aren't willing to let go of the misogyny that is so extraneous to the game. It's really paradoxical, "we want to be taken seriously, but we also want to continue to ostracize women"
Yeah, I didn’t think about those guys (because I usually try not to), but they might be an exception. You may be right about them streaming to get a bigger audience, but then again, I’m not sure any “mainstream” audiences are going to watch a gaming competition online. So they may not be interested in a wider audience, but instead just broadcasting their niche misogynist shit to other niche misogynist shits.
I Like Women in Games Initiatives, but it's Complicated
This is one writer’s response to a GDC talk on “women in games” initiatives - specifically one that tries to put together all-female developing teams. As the title suggests, the author appreciates the idea, but also sees the problems with this type of solution. And I basically agree.
Male Gamer Sexism Deflection Bingo - fun for the whole family!
Nerds and Male Privilege 3: Cross Assault, Sexual Harassment And You | Paging Dr. NerdLove
Yes, this shit storm again. The article deals with it well.
This has less to do with the previous “Nerds and Male Privilege” articles, and is mostly about that fighting game community sexual harassment issue from last month. Definitely worth a read.
About Hyrule Chozo
This is the personal site of Shawn Trautman. Here I discuss videogames: why I love them; what we can do to make them better; and why it matters. Visit the tabs below to check out my reviews and other writing, and to ask questions or comment.
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