Monday, October 25, 2010

It's not just the game companies

I've been lampooning game developers here, but please don't think that it's just the developers that are guilty of sexism and that gamers themselves are totally innocent. No, gamers are just as guilty as the publishers. While you can find sexist gamers in just about any portion of the hobby, it's usually true that the most horrific behavior comes out on Xbox Live servers or in StarCraft II ventrillo servers.

So, first up: "Xbox Girls Get Revenge" (CollegeHumor). (Really, REALLY NSFW)

I found this to be pretty amusing, though I recognize that as far as satire goes it's still pretty offensive. I wanted to link to this, though, to highlight the kind of abuse that women can be subject to by their fellow gamers. Sadly, it's a trueism that Normal Person + Internet + Audience = Total Fuckwad, and this phenomenon only exacerbates the abuse that is heaped on female gamers when it comes to venues like blogs and official forums. But hey, don't take my word for it...

[Note: All spelling and grammar errors left as is. All links are added by me for emphasis.]

Dungeons and Dragons
from Gender violence in gaming (Astrid's Parlor)

I would love to see a ranger with favored enemy: women just for the lulz. It'd atleast be different. And would ward off those annoying chaotic neutral male playing females I hate so much...

...God-damn I wish there was a FATAL d20. I love that book, but I definitelly don't feel like attempting to run or play in a game with such draconic mechanics! As far as personal gaming experiences, no. I havn't had the pleasure of being an overly misogynistic or gay bashing game. And my gaming career has suffered cause of it. That sounds friggin' awesome.

... when there's demons attacking your soul and dragons eating entire villages. Smacking a woman around for speaking outside of form just doesn't have the sortof shock value it would have in a mundane world like ours...

-- "JimProfit", entire post

[In response to a post where a player objected to a campaign setting where misogyny and gender violence was common and the DM changed it as a result of that complaint.

Was the world really the problem or was it your problem and you decided to make it the groups problem?

As a PC you could have had a chance to change things if you could deal with it for a while. If your DM had said "This is the way things are and no one in the world could ever change it" I can see that being upsetting and warranting a discussion. But, hey, it probably made you feel really good forcing change of the whole world with no effort and making everyone else play in the mystical (b)land of "Everyone's Equal Because I Say So", which is what's unacceptable in my book.

--"RubicantX", entire post

[In response to a post questioning "Misogyny for the lulz"]
Oh ****. I thought the concept of the man-hating feminist was hyperbole. I now see that it is reality. I guess its time all of us men packed our bags and got ready to be put in death camps.


-- "MusicOfCre", entire post

[Editor's note: Oh! Godwin'd!]


World of Warcraft
from The New Fountain in Dalaran's Central Square [A complaint that a statue of heroes of the war against the Lich King has ONLY male heroes and not a single female hero]

How unnecessary. You're complaining about females being unrepresented in a fictional universe that bares little parallel to our own. It would matter if females were slaves of males in this game, it's not real life.
--"Emmelin", post #5


Women and their freaking opinions about everything just pisses me off, back to the kitchen I tell you.
--"Xiu", post #10


from ***ty Costumes at Blizcon

[On - why do women wear skimpy costumes to BlizCon?]

I'm not saying I don't enjoy the view, I just don't understand why girls like to do it so much.
-- "Maelan", post #10


StarCraft

from Are You Sexist? (Team Liquid forums)
Do you think women are intellectually equal to men? Do you think they have the same perseverence? Do you think they are as rational? I ask this because my experience stresses this claim so strongly, especially that they are not as perseverent or rational. ... they are also more emotionally impulsive about long-term loving and hating (guys will fight you then offer you a beer, a woman will pick at you for years then just come back).
-- "-_-", entire post

No they aren't equal. They CAN be intellectually equal to men, but only in book smarts. Street smarts? They have none. They are too emotional, too. They don't think rationally, but base everything on their emotions.
-- "SweeTLemonS[TPR]",entire post

I've said it before, ill say it again
ESTROGEN IS THE ANTITHESIS TO REASON.
-- "BigBalls", entire post

obviously it's wrong to judge an entire group of people based on a single person, but i find it that, in most cases, women are inferior to men intellectually. so i guess i'm sexist.
-- "ItchReliever", entire post

Yes, I am sexist. I do not believe they can are equals of men. They probably don't want that either.
-- "Cambium", entire post



...okay, here's where I have to stop for now - it's just getting too depressing.