259: Vaginophobia

[NamesAreHardToPick]

Consider the nominees for the 2009 Game of the Year at Spike's Video Game Awards: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Each game is combat-oriented, features male protagonists, and presents a world full of aggressive antagonists in which the player must become a savior. To whom are these experiences most likely to appeal?

I don't even have cable and I know Spike is the "guys" channel, cheesy old action movies and stuff. DUH of course they choose a bunch of cheesy action games. That doesn't reflect on the industry or fans as a whole, not more than it would if the W channel had an awards ceremony for videogames.

Speaking of which, why doesn't the women's channel - or more directly, feminists - have a videogame award show? Then they could present an alternative viewpoint instead of just trying to piss in everyone else's corn flakes, attacking male choices by insinuating that we're gay or afraid of cooties. All in the name of tolerance and understanding, am I right?

I can't say about the stuff in other games, but Johnny hesitating to kiss Meryl in MGS4 is a strawman argument ... he's the very opposite of some bad-ass fighter who shows an uncharacteristic moment of fear when confronted with a woman. He's a pants crapping loser who's been beaten up by both Snake and Meryl over the course of the story for comic relief. When Johnny proposes to Meryl she rejects him, so that SHE can be the one to propose. Johnny being hesitant to kiss is just another of the long line of jabs at Johnny's expense, and to be honest it's probably safer to try and make out with a mountain lion than Meryl if she doesn't feel like it at the moment... it's easily the bravest thing he's done in his life.

 

[Varun Garuda Maharaj]

Fear of women in videogames? that goes to show that your incredibly gay wierd

 

[hanako]

Speaking of which, why doesn't the women's channel - or more directly, feminists - have a videogame award show? Then they could present an alternative viewpoint instead of just trying to piss in everyone else's corn flakes, attacking male choices by insinuating that we're gay or afraid of cooties. All in the name of tolerance and understanding, am I right?

Feminists don't have tv channels. They have blogs.

I do know of a largish feminist videogame blog. Sometimes they're reasonable and have very meaningful things to say. Sometimes they're... kinda out there. And yes, they complain about games a lot more than they pick out games they actually like.

 

[viranimus]

Hanako you are absolutely correct, Yes women have their own disparity and deal with this just as much if not more. But there is a couple of caveats here.

First off, as long as there has been advertising, there has been self image manipulation for the sake of advertising towards women. Even today most market researchers still indicate that about 80% of most marketing is geared toward women, be that postively or negatively. However, the concept of trying to market to men via inferiority complex is more of a recent development within say the last 20 years or so. Quite frankly marketing via inferiority complex should not exist across the board.

Secondly, even with marketing and media corrupting the feminine self image, which again, I wholly agree is wrong, there not trying to turn women into men, now are they?

The point of my comment was not to say games should not show such fear of women, But more accurately to respect that the market of gamers is still as of this date in heavier favor of men vs women (which is finally starting to balance out) and what the dilluded author perceives to be fear of women, is just a manifestation of having an outlet to let men do manly things in the face of a world that around every corner increasingly wants them to be women with peni living in a world where fantasy is dominated by the concept of sex without penetration.

I wish to say I respect women and fully appreciate that yes they have hardships that need to be undone, but by pushing men to become women the war against such transgression is going the wrong way and if it continues men AND women both loose.

Beyond that, I am not trying to come off as a troll. I respect that everything I have ever wrote on any forum anywhere has always been misinterpreted. So ive said my peace, and I leave it at that. Bababooey!

 

[TazTheTerrible]

Speaking of which, why doesn't the women's channel - or more directly, feminists - have a videogame award show? Then they could present an alternative viewpoint instead of just trying to piss in everyone else's corn flakes, attacking male choices by insinuating that we're gay or afraid of cooties. All in the name of tolerance and understanding, am I right?

Feminists don't have tv channels. They have blogs.

I do know of a largish feminist videogame blog. Sometimes they're reasonable and have very meaningful things to say. Sometimes they're... kinda out there. And yes, they complain about games a lot more than they pick out games they actually like.

Psh, I know right? You'd almost think that a majority of mainstream games has issues with gender...

In all seriousness though, this was an interesting article. I'm impressed by how far it dared to go even if the author did feel the need to soften the statement with that joke on the end.

The reactions don't at all surprise me though.

 

[ShadowKirby]

"Our secular culture produces all kinds of fear, including fear of the female anatomy."

I literally lol'd at this and had to stop reading for a minute to regain my composure. Our secular culture does not, in any way, shape, or form, "fear" female anatomy. Quite the opposite, actually, to the point that it's hard to get away from it.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/5/7/

You are confusing culture with individuals. Individuals don't fear the female anatomy but let's just look at television. You can show some pretty violent stuff on tv but the second someone shows a boob, you get social groups (not individual members of the society, but groups) that are up in arms.

Which is scarier to find when you walk into a room, a sword hovering there whose menace is obvious, or a dark hole whose menace is completely unknown?

Nice question.

 

[carpathic]

Don't have a whole lot to add to the discussion here, but it does seem to me that "best of" editions likely might involve some retreads.

That said, an interesting article that tries too hard I think.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Men's reality is this: there is a very small percentage of men who are considered desirable by women. The rest are evolutionarily speaking buffers and meant to die protecting or providing for the women, children, and desirable men. The hard part is coming to terms the fact that chances are you are in the undesirable category.

Also most of us (us being western first world men) were raised on the bullshit romantic fantasy propagated by Hollywood, Madison Ave, and countless other hucksters. The idea that if a man tries hard enough he will eventually win the affections of a woman who is initially indifferent to him. And then at some point in our lives, we realize that if a girl doesn't like us there is nothing in the world we can do to make her like us.

When it comes to dating remember the immortal words of Tyler Durden: Losing all hope is freedom.

 

[LadyRhian]

I am a female gamer. I certainly don't play the "casual" games. I play mostly RPG's, and not JRPGs, either. Yes, I do play the Sims (and 2 and 3), but my favorite game of all time was Baldur's Gate. I also used to play the Gold Box SSI games back in the day. Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades, Pools of Darkness, Dark Queen of Krynn... I also have played Icewind Dale, Civilization (from the Original to 4, and Civilization: Call to Power as well). Older Games like Crystal Quest, Battlezone (from the Arcades) and Tetris were some of my past favorites.

When the game Baldur's Gate 2 came out, and I found out it had romance in it, I was thrilled. But to be honest, the way it was implemented left me completely underwhelmed. For male protagonists, you had three possible love interests: Aerie, the "Good" character, Jaheira, the "Neutral" character, and Viconia DuVir, the Dark Elf "Evil" character. For female protagonists, you had Anomen, and that was it. He started out Lawful Neutral, and could be turned to either Lawful Good (stuffy, arrogant guy), or Neutral Evil (in which case he became an asshat). Spoiled for choice, female characters were, hmm? Okay, there was a UserMod that allowed you to romance one of the Dark Elf male characters later in the game and have him join your party, which also involved something of reforming him, but it shows who the producers of the game thought were more likely to play it.

RPGs also have players who think it is "gay" if a male player wants to play a female character. It's not seen as strange for a female player to play a male character, but in the reverse, you start having other, immature players accuse the player of being "swishy" or even outright gay, which argues to me that a certain subset of players think that anything female is bad or "icky". Women can play men because that's what everyone wants to be (male), but in the reverse means something is wrong with the player.

 

[hanako]

Beyond that, I am not trying to come off as a troll. I respect that everything I have ever wrote on any forum anywhere has always been misinterpreted. So ive said my peace, and I leave it at that. Bababooey!

No worries, you weren't the one I accused of trolling. It's a complex world out there, and EVERYBODY has crazy expectations they feel pressured to live up to. I don't mean to knock your feelings, I know your stuff can be frustrating as well.

If there's anything I want on the subject, it's for people to be willing to live and let live, and to be more motivated to make their OWN stuff if they don't like what's out there, instead of trying to destroy things other people want. Because YOU (generic you, not you personally) are always the person best equipped to make a game/book/whatever that's got what YOU like in it.

 

[hanako]

Men's reality is this: there is a very small percentage of men who are considered desirable by women. The rest are evolutionarily speaking buffers and meant to die protecting or providing for the women, children, and desirable men. The hard part is coming to terms the fact that chances are you are in the undesirable category.

This isn't unique to men, though. Find me a woman anywhere who's never felt ugly and unwanted. Even a lot of supermodels are amazingly insecure. A small percentage of women meet the hollywood beauty standard. Most women can find *someone, somewhere* if they broaden their standards enough, but so can most men.

Also most of us (us being western first world men) were raised on the bullshit romantic fantasy propagated by Hollywood, Madison Ave, and countless other hucksters. The idea that if a man tries hard enough he will eventually win the affections of a woman who is initially indifferent to him. And then at some point in our lives, we realize that if a girl doesn't like us there is nothing in the world we can do to make her like us.

There's also the romantic fantasy that the *perfect* person is out there for you somewhere and you shouldn't settle for anything less. But people aren't perfect. A lot of girls (and guys) pass up all kinds of chances in their lives because they're waiting for The One, and they'll drop The Maybe at the slightest sign of imperfection... then look back on it years later and realise what a good thing they had going before they threw it away.

That's not to say that you should shack up with someone you hate just to avoid being alone, but most people as they grow up have to take a hard look at their priorities and decide which things really matter and which can be compromised on.

 

[Lucifron]

I don't understand how people can obsess over sexes and sexual stereotypes and insecurities and blahablahoblahargh. I really couldn't care less about "vaginophobia" in games.

The latter is rather indicative of the former.

Why yes, you are right. I am all but certain that there is a correlation between the two!

 

[Bosola]

If you play as men, and you can kill women, it's supposedly a rape fantasy game.
If you play as men, and you can't find women, then you're a misogynistic git to whom women are simple 'not-men', not part of your universe, of your 'symbolic order'.
If you play as women, and can kill men, you're lusting after a sexualized character, made erotic through her generic 'bitchiness' and strength.
If you play as women, and can't kill men, you're obsessed with 'babes'.

You'd think that after recognizing some of the most common double binds in history, the offspring of yesteryear's feminism would be able to spot them today.

One of the biggest issues is that, with enough pseudo-deconstructionist bullshit, it's possible to pose everything as phallocentric (or, as I should really say, phallogocentric). A weapon looks like a penis, so it's assumed to be an extension of one. What if a weapon was more vagina-like? Then, it would be an issue of 'containment' (hijacked from, but essentially kin to Bahktin's sense of the phrase) - 'containing' the threat of the vagina by reposing it as a phallic logos. Or, maybe the weapon's danger is more 'vaginophobia'. Either way, you're a horrid misogynistic bastard, and you should be ashamed of your testicles.

It's nice that people are getting worked up about at least *something*, but for Christ's sake, there's more important issues in gender politics. Like honor killings and female circumcision. Or widespread chauvinism in the developing world. Why not tackle *those*?

 

[ItsAPaul]

Psst, this article is still bullshit. Posting it again doesn't change that.

 

[hanako]

In their defense, there is *always* a more important issue, no matter what your current issue is. If you're saving the planet, you're not thinking of the children, if you're thinking of the children, you're not saving the planet. If you spend your time frantically debating which bad is worse you'd never get *anything* done, and for people who are actually involved with the games industry it's pretty reasonable to think about issues of representation within the games industry.

That said, I'm not sure how productive towards *anything* it is to only focus on deconstructing.

 

[XMark]

One big thing the article glossed over (Gears of War 2 spoilers)

In Gears of War 2, Dom doesn't kill his wife because she would be a burden. He kills her because she's been turned into a mindless vegetable with absolutely no hope of recovery, and the only good thing he could do is put her out of her misery.

 

[NicolasMarinus]

"It's not that the medium is in its adolescence, it's that you're a bunch of ****ing adolescents."

It's exactly how I feel about the gaming industry. Male fantasies of domination and frustration.

The only realistic portrayal of a woman in a game I've ever seen is Alyx Vance in the Half Life series. Here is a woman who does not have two oversized watermelons or an outfit that emphasizes them. Instead she has a real life physique with her strongest points being her intellect and humour.

People call GTA a game for adults, I call it a game for teenagers. The Half Life series are the only games that come close to a real adult game, which should be characterised by nuance and restraint instead of blood and gore.

 

[FFKonoko]

I know this is old stuff, but I just have to comment on some bits.

Consider the nominees for the 2009 Game of the Year at Spike's Video Game Awards: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Each game is combat-oriented, features male protagonists, and presents a world full of aggressive antagonists in which the player must become a savior. To whom are these experiences most likely to appeal?

Bit of an assumption there. If men can enjoy playing female characters, why would not some women enjoy playing male ones? I did hear tell of a Conan-like game that seemed to be secretly more aimed at being enjoyable beefcake for women...
A girl greatly expounding on her love of MW2, and how awesome she thinks Spoon is, before going online to enjoy some combat. I don't think its unusual. And I'm pretty sure that despite the nerd-chic feel that some people promote, Batman transcends such gender stereotypes.

"If you could kill male prostitutes in the game, then it would be different, but you can only kill female prostitutes,"

You can totally kill them. You just can't find them. =p I'm sure some of those passerbys are male prostitutes, they are just much more discreet, because they are not a gameplay mechanic due to Nicos character driven straightness. And by character driven, I mean, cousin, let us go see big american titties!

...Nico should have turned gay.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Ouch. Busted recycling your own articles. How embarrassing for you.
I am not gonna read the same article again but I do remember thinking it was a load of crap last time.

It's embarrassing to run an article in a "Best of" issue? That's pretty much the point of a Best Of - to rerun articles you might have missed the first time that we think are worth seeing and/or discussing.

 

[haaxist]

This article reminds me of all the guys who say girls either can't play games or only play games like "Farmville" and "Cooking Momma" and therefore aren't actual gamers. Maybe they should all read this article, then re-read it so they actually absorb the information. I think this is a really good article, but I'm afraid that many of the male readers won't be able to come to terms with the information, because it deals with deep-seated phobias that they can't admit they have. It reminds me of the term "doublethink", from George Orwell's 1984. They don't want to admit to having these fears, so they forget they have them. I think society would benefit from having a little bit more feminism injected into it. Not hardcore feminism, but more being in tune with your feelings, being able and willing to talk to someone about your problems, and not being afraid to show care and understanding, especially if you're a guy. And for girls, we should stop taking offence at everything guys say about us, and remember: it's been scientifically proven that girls mature faster than guys. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a fact.