Send News. Want a reply? Read this. More in the FAQ.   News Forum - All Forums - Mobile - PDA - RSS Headlines  RSS Headlines   Twitter  Twitter
Customize
User Settings
Styles:
LAN Parties
Upcoming one-time events:
Redding, CA 06/22
Tampa, FL 06/26
Tampa, FL 10/04

Regularly scheduled events

Op Ed

Ars Technica - In gaming, everything is amazing, but no one is happy. Thanks Ant via Slashdot.
I once made a joke on Twitter that if you only paid attention to the comments on gaming news stories, you would think every pre-order has been cancelled, every game is a rip-off, and every major publisher is being boycotted by everyone. When a publisher makes a little bit of money, that's it for them; it's selfish to continue to turn a profit. If a company does anything to try to stem the flow of piracy, they are screamed at by people who will allow no form of DRM, not even Steam, to touch their systems. And legions of people seem to scour news stories for any excuse to justify their piracy.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Actually, It’s Okay To Complain.
The flipside is, well, it could always be better. If people didn’t strive for better then we wouldn’t have all that amazing stuff in the first place. And the first step in striving for better is often the complaint. “This isn’t good enough. Something has to change.” And that is why gamers complain: they are smart, imaginative people, who can quite easily imagine how things could be better. Whether those imaginings are right (or even feasible) is another matter, but no one should say that they are unacceptable.

VG247 - Dead Island’s “Feminist Whore”- The Tip of the Iceberg. Thanks Draugr.
So throw me a bone here and accept that it is problematic, because we’re already moving on. What makes the appearance of this term in a mainstream game like Dead Island so troubling – even when it was never meant to be seen by the public, even when we very generously assume it was some sort of very poor taste joke – is that it is indicative of a much broader, consequential issue plaguing the entire games industry, to whit: sexism.

View
30. Re: Op Ed Sep 11, 2011, 14:22 Yifes
 
Dades wrote on Sep 11, 2011, 10:46:
Draugr wrote on Sep 11, 2011, 01:13:
But most men AND women would agree male characters aren't sexualized.

Then most men and women are idiots. Nearly every game features ridiculously brawny men who live by war. Those that don't are often instead all about the weapon imagery. If you think there is nothing sexualized about the depiction of men in videogames then you're aren't even trying. Just because men happen to be the ones directing it doesn't make it less outrageous as how women are depicted. If anything its even worse because the average man is completely unlike most videogame characters. It's vicarious self-insertion fantasy at its best.

His point is that sexualization of male characters is about gender identity, creating the ideal macho superman, whereas the sexualization of female characters is deliberately meant to be provocative and sexually arousing. These are two very different kinds of sexualization, in a medium that's primary designed by men, for men. Unless you're insisting that there's some pervasive underlying homoeroticism targeting young boys in the videogame industry.

This comment was edited on Sep 11, 2011, 14:38.
 
Previous Post Next Post Reply Quote Edit Delete Report
 
    Date Subject Author
  1. Sep 10, 14:16 Re: Op Ed space captain
  2. Sep 10, 15:30 Re: Op Ed Cutter
  3. Sep 10, 15:53  Re: Op Ed TurdFergasun
  4. Sep 10, 16:12 Re: Op Ed space captain
  5. Sep 10, 17:31  Re: Op Ed Prez
  7. Sep 10, 18:44   Re: Op Ed Beamer
  8. Sep 10, 19:56    Re: Op Ed Prez
  6. Sep 10, 18:20 Re: Op Ed space captain
  9. Sep 10, 20:22 Re: Op Ed eunichron
  14. Sep 10, 22:02  Re: Op Ed Draugr
  18. Sep 10, 23:18   Re: Op Ed eunichron
  20. Sep 11, 00:01    Re: Op Ed Draugr
  22. Sep 11, 00:28     Re: Op Ed Jerykk
  23. Sep 11, 01:13      Re: Op Ed Draugr
  26. Sep 11, 03:09       Re: Op Ed Jerykk
  27. Sep 11, 10:21        Re: Op Ed Slashman
  28. Sep 11, 10:46       Re: Op Ed Dades
  29. Sep 11, 13:18        Re: Op Ed Sepharo
>> 30. Sep 11, 14:22        Re: Op Ed Yifes
  31. Sep 11, 14:52         Re: Op Ed Slashman
  32. Sep 11, 18:05        Re: Op Ed Kedyn
  10. Sep 10, 20:31 Re: Op Ed space captain
  11. Sep 10, 20:40 Re: Op Ed Wallshadows
  13. Sep 10, 21:39  Re: Op Ed Prez
  15. Sep 10, 22:07   Re: Op Ed Jerykk
  12. Sep 10, 20:58 Re: Op Ed space captain
  16. Sep 10, 22:16 Re: Op Ed MrBone
  17. Sep 10, 22:54  Re: Op Ed DNForever
  19. Sep 10, 23:36 Re: Op Ed ^Drag0n^
  21. Sep 11, 00:08 Re: Op Ed space captain
  24. Sep 11, 01:34  Re: Op Ed eRe4s3r
  25. Sep 11, 02:01 Re: Op Ed Silicon Avatar


footer

.. ..

Blue's News logo