That's funny. My experience suggests the complete opposite. Do we cancel each other out or do we need to arrange for some kind of a showdown? This here website ain't big enough for the both of us.The Wooster said:
Are Men Allowed To Be Offended?
- Thread starter KissingSunlight
- Start date
To throw out a correction here, if you actually listen, he says Forfty percentBNguyen said:
(that episode was from the Season 5 episode Homer the Vigilante. Here's the clip)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpmDIP3Fn2Y
Anyway on topic...Yes, I think men are allowed to be offended. Why shouldn't they be? A boss calling her employees by what genitalia they have is completely unacceptable behavior, regardless of the gender of either party.
I don't get discriminated against that much (straight white male) except for the occasional bullshit when people find out I'm an atheist, but that's hardly been a serious problem in my life.
That being said, this isn't a question of gender equality, it's a dick boss. Being offended, or at the very least irritated, by being referred to consistently as "penis" isn't something that needs to be "mansplained" or whatever. That would piss me off too, because it's just a plain old insult, not a slur. Just like if my boss consistently referred to everyone in the office as "asshole", "dickhead", "moron", or what have you, you can bet I'd complain. You don't need to be a "protected class" to feel like you're being harassed by a rude boss.
That being said, this isn't a question of gender equality, it's a dick boss. Being offended, or at the very least irritated, by being referred to consistently as "penis" isn't something that needs to be "mansplained" or whatever. That would piss me off too, because it's just a plain old insult, not a slur. Just like if my boss consistently referred to everyone in the office as "asshole", "dickhead", "moron", or what have you, you can bet I'd complain. You don't need to be a "protected class" to feel like you're being harassed by a rude boss.
I get discriminated against a shitload, partly because I'm a man, but mostly because I have a disability.
And yes, men are allowed to be offended.
What I see from most of these women(and men) whine about female oriented sexism in games threads(completely legit btw) is that men(and women it seems) seem to forget that we have grown up with the whole men don't complain mentality.
Which is a bit funny, since we complain and complain the moment the women does.
I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but I'm going to show my stance on this.
I don't give one flying fuck about sexism in games, because I play games I like and not games I don't like.
Everyone keeps whining about scantily clad women and power fantasy, which I have problems understanding because I don't really play those games, exactly because of that.
Complaining on forums does fuck all when it comes to the problem.
Complain to the companies, make games yourself, start a fund raiser for making games that are more gender equal.
Do something with it. I do, I don't play sexist games. I don't play power fantasy games and I would love to see more female protagonists as they're generally more interesting than men.
This might be a bit contradictory, please point out anything wrong as I'm not a native English speaker and occasionally seem to word myself weirdly.
And yes, men are allowed to be offended.
What I see from most of these women(and men) whine about female oriented sexism in games threads(completely legit btw) is that men(and women it seems) seem to forget that we have grown up with the whole men don't complain mentality.
Which is a bit funny, since we complain and complain the moment the women does.
I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but I'm going to show my stance on this.
I don't give one flying fuck about sexism in games, because I play games I like and not games I don't like.
Everyone keeps whining about scantily clad women and power fantasy, which I have problems understanding because I don't really play those games, exactly because of that.
Complaining on forums does fuck all when it comes to the problem.
Complain to the companies, make games yourself, start a fund raiser for making games that are more gender equal.
Do something with it. I do, I don't play sexist games. I don't play power fantasy games and I would love to see more female protagonists as they're generally more interesting than men.
This might be a bit contradictory, please point out anything wrong as I'm not a native English speaker and occasionally seem to word myself weirdly.
I'm genuinely surprised by how people are classifying sexuality within this discussion as either a binary or monolithic system separated by sex/gender. More precisely, how they seem to be equating male and female sexuality, at least stereotypically, as functioning the same way with a singular visual trigger.
I find it deliciously ironic when the usual point of the discussion is to point out potentially damaging stereotypes and the desire for outside the box thinking. I also find it intriguing how many people seem utterly incapable of seeing how they are responsible for externally placing ideas of sexuality onto others (which disregards individual interpretations of others and more importantly, the opinion of the one in question).
The escapist forums:
Where white men, with all the advantages and all the benefits society can offer; feel at the bottom of the society's ladder and like to pick straws of isolated cases compared to everyday/everywhere cases and shout: OMG DOUBLE STANDARDS!!! See? SEEEEEEEE? ALL Women are feminazi devils, the worst sexist aliens with two row teeth vaginas that will eat my manhood.
Instead TRY being normal-honorable gamers and take the huge opportunities that your sex, skin color and race offer you and PLEASE stop complaining.
Making EVERY week a topic about HOW "bad" you white gamer males have it (which you don't, compared to he rest of humanity), wont change things. It will make you guys bitter in front of women and make women avoid you altogether.
Just be happy with what you have, dammit.
Where white men, with all the advantages and all the benefits society can offer; feel at the bottom of the society's ladder and like to pick straws of isolated cases compared to everyday/everywhere cases and shout: OMG DOUBLE STANDARDS!!! See? SEEEEEEEE? ALL Women are feminazi devils, the worst sexist aliens with two row teeth vaginas that will eat my manhood.
Instead TRY being normal-honorable gamers and take the huge opportunities that your sex, skin color and race offer you and PLEASE stop complaining.
Making EVERY week a topic about HOW "bad" you white gamer males have it (which you don't, compared to he rest of humanity), wont change things. It will make you guys bitter in front of women and make women avoid you altogether.
Just be happy with what you have, dammit.
I suppose its civil in the sense that discussing the high costs of owning and maintaining a plantation in front of your slaves is civil.BNguyen said:
Perhaps if I were to ask similar questions in similar context...
"Should women have the right to vote?"
"Should gays be allowed in the military?"
Either of those questions would have gotten me banned. But 167 posts later, here we are...
I'm losing my mind reading some of the posts in this thread painting straight white guys as the poor oppressed underclass of society. If you really believe this, take a hard look around you. Oh, and can we please stop using that awful Stephen Fry quote out of context?
I see it this way: Offense is a choice, not a right. Nobody's got the RIGHT to be offended, but they can elect to be offended by something.
First, I want to agree with you about the Stephen Fry quote. Even though, I agree with the quote. It isn't relevant to this issue.Gamer_152 said:
Just because men have a complaint, issue, or offense regarding gender equality. It doesn't make them a victim. They are simply pointing out something that has gone unrecognized. However, the victimhood mentality that always come up in debates about gender equality is one of the biggest obstacle in having productive discussions. When you view your position on gender equality (or any other social/political issues) as a helpless baby who is crying in pain. How can anyone dare to punch it in the face? (That was how Movie Bob described it in a blog about South Park.) Of course, you are going to think the other person debating you on the issue is a horrible person. We shouldn't be that precious about our political views. After all been said and done, it's just an opinion. I don't claim to know everything. I engage in debates to learn more about the issue. Unfortunately, not everybody feel the same way. So, most of the time, it turns into a pissing contest. In which, nobody wins and everybody is even more upset with the other person who has the different opinion.
Can't say I'd be offended by someone calling me "penis". It isn't really insulting on a personal level is it? I mean roughly 50% of the population could be referred to in such a way. It's hardly going to hurt my feelings.
I'd have just called her "vagina". See how she likes them apples.
Sueing over this is ridiculous and although I haven't checked my assumption is this is in the USA.
To answer the question though, yes men are allowed to be offended but to be offended by this is pretty fucking shocking.
I'd have just called her "vagina". See how she likes them apples.
Sueing over this is ridiculous and although I haven't checked my assumption is this is in the USA.
To answer the question though, yes men are allowed to be offended but to be offended by this is pretty fucking shocking.
that male power fantasy thing is all subjective - I don't feel as though a person can just explain away a male character's looks onto my being a male as a "power fantasy"Rainbow_Dashtruction said:
although men have more of a wide range of appearances in gaming, nearly if not all are muscular above the average man - some more able to be seen than others due to clothing hiding their physical forms, but like I said in an earlier post about Street Fighter - all of the men are above average in terms of muscular mass - large pecs, bulky arms and legs, etc.
about the only characters I've seen that would not fall into "power fantasy" were Little Nemo and Lester the Unlikely wherein Nemo is a young boy and Lester is a thin nerd
in the spirit of being a gamer, I'd like to know what a female power fantasy character would look like - not hidden beneath clothes so as to be able to judge muscle mass in regards to a male counterpart
I think the reason behind they're getting offended over this is their viewpoint in how their CEO sees them - not as individuals with thinking minds and emotions specific to each person, but by a single part of their physical anatomy - like nothing else matters in their existence to her except by what distinguishes them from her - like the CEO is looking down on them for what they have - thinking of Valerie Solanas and her views regarding males. Of course this view is merely speculation and in no way is meant to replace the actual feelings of the men involved in this situation.miketehmage said: