Rant Re: Video Games and Women
What the hell is this crap? Seriously!
The Victimization of Lara Croft
So, guys can't 'get into' Lara Croft. So, rather than let you play a strong, smart, capable woman, they want to cater to your 'protection' instincts by making her vulnerable, get beat up, and goddess help me, put the threat of having her raped into the game. What the hell.
Harassment for Wanting to Talk About Disparity in Gaming
This woman has started a Kickstarter so she can do a web series on how women are portrayed in gaming. And guess what? She's attacked, viciously, on the internet for wanting to state her views.
Add to this the crap that's happened to women gamers the last few months, and... good gods people!
You know, it shouldn't be so hard to look at this from the point of view that it wouldn't hurt to be nice to people! I've actually had to argue with these freaking idiots that treating people with common courtesy online isn't that hard, and that's effectively what women want. It isn't that "they want to be treated better than guys are" -- it's that "they want to be treated well". It isn't their fault that guys feel the urge to belittle and insult each other, and then they whine because (OMG!) women don't want to be treated that way. Equality doesn't mean 'treat women like crap because you treat men like crap'.
Seriously. Pages of tirades because (GASP!) a woman is going to write about how women are treated in video games. If you don't like the fact she's pointing this crap out, maybe you, on some microscopic level, realize what you're doing is wrong. But no, rather than admit your fault, you're instead going to rant at her. "Get back into the kitchen!" "Make me a sammich!" And the threats of violence. Cripes!
And the crap they put women through in video games and comic books. You know? The situations you're putting these characters in - would you do this to a male character? No? Then don't do it to a woman. Isn't that easy? Unless you're going to do covers of Batman showing off his crotch hair and ballsack, don't go showing off Catwoman's cleavage and ass on the front cover.
Seriously. You're adding to the problem. Women as pin-ups in the comic books, using T&A to sell comics rather than making decent covers or stories. Making women 'victims' in video games, rather than equal participants. A really good example comes from Archie Comics (of all things). People know the story - Archie has two girls who he can't decide between. They're friends / rivals with each other for his affections. But what happens when you swap the sexes? Archie's a girl who has two guys she can't decide between, and they're friends / rivals with each other for her affections. I know at least one person who gets dissonance thinking about it, knowing that it is the exact same story, but with sexes reversed. And you know? That these people recognize the double standard and know it's wrong is a good thing. I think that this is an excellent way to push the envelope and help people recognize that sex shouldn't matter.
Gah. Stress-induced headache.
The Victimization of Lara Croft
So, guys can't 'get into' Lara Croft. So, rather than let you play a strong, smart, capable woman, they want to cater to your 'protection' instincts by making her vulnerable, get beat up, and goddess help me, put the threat of having her raped into the game. What the hell.
Harassment for Wanting to Talk About Disparity in Gaming
This woman has started a Kickstarter so she can do a web series on how women are portrayed in gaming. And guess what? She's attacked, viciously, on the internet for wanting to state her views.
Add to this the crap that's happened to women gamers the last few months, and... good gods people!
You know, it shouldn't be so hard to look at this from the point of view that it wouldn't hurt to be nice to people! I've actually had to argue with these freaking idiots that treating people with common courtesy online isn't that hard, and that's effectively what women want. It isn't that "they want to be treated better than guys are" -- it's that "they want to be treated well". It isn't their fault that guys feel the urge to belittle and insult each other, and then they whine because (OMG!) women don't want to be treated that way. Equality doesn't mean 'treat women like crap because you treat men like crap'.
Seriously. Pages of tirades because (GASP!) a woman is going to write about how women are treated in video games. If you don't like the fact she's pointing this crap out, maybe you, on some microscopic level, realize what you're doing is wrong. But no, rather than admit your fault, you're instead going to rant at her. "Get back into the kitchen!" "Make me a sammich!" And the threats of violence. Cripes!
And the crap they put women through in video games and comic books. You know? The situations you're putting these characters in - would you do this to a male character? No? Then don't do it to a woman. Isn't that easy? Unless you're going to do covers of Batman showing off his crotch hair and ballsack, don't go showing off Catwoman's cleavage and ass on the front cover.
Seriously. You're adding to the problem. Women as pin-ups in the comic books, using T&A to sell comics rather than making decent covers or stories. Making women 'victims' in video games, rather than equal participants. A really good example comes from Archie Comics (of all things). People know the story - Archie has two girls who he can't decide between. They're friends / rivals with each other for his affections. But what happens when you swap the sexes? Archie's a girl who has two guys she can't decide between, and they're friends / rivals with each other for her affections. I know at least one person who gets dissonance thinking about it, knowing that it is the exact same story, but with sexes reversed. And you know? That these people recognize the double standard and know it's wrong is a good thing. I think that this is an excellent way to push the envelope and help people recognize that sex shouldn't matter.
Gah. Stress-induced headache.