Can Duke Nukem Become a Feminist Hero?

[Truly-A-Lie]

Did Randy Pitchford just persuade a bunch of femmenists to buy the game, or am I missing the point over here?

Let's be honest, that's impressive. Not to mention hilarious, the thought of a room of feminist activists playing through Duke Nukem Forever to find points for their argument is the funniest mental image I've had in a long time.

 

[GiantRaven]

"The downside for the men in Duke's universe is that the aliens have the ability to convert men into pigs. So that's where you get the pig cops and the pigs in the game. That's what happens to the males of the species. The males get converted into pigs and the women just get used as breeding factories to make alien babies," he said. "Are men pigs or not? I don't know. I don't really care. I think people are people. But that's a joke in culture - men are pigs, haha - so you play with that joke."

Personally, I think this a really stupid point to try and make. The negativity put upon men within the game appears to be completely fantastical and unrealistic, are men likely to be turned into alien pigs in real life? Have the same considerations been given towards the portrayal of women in the game? Judging from the footage I've seen so far; I'm having my doubts.

 

[Quaxar]

Well, all hail to the Duke then, aye?

I think women's right groups should use the Duke Nukem theme played in the background of their equality speeches so more men will be actually listening!
Btw is youtube down for anyone else or is it just me?

 

[Kiefer13]

I've always thought of Duke Nukem as being a parody of macho culture and misogyny anyway, rather than a straight example of it.

 

[Erana]

I'm going to quote myself here:
"Not only does he watch Oprah, he's a personal friend of hers in the Duke Universe.
He has to be more than just what we see in-game for her to regard him in that manner.

The thing about Duke is that, yes, he is this rugged, crude man who indulges in women's sexuality, but unless I missed something, he's not bad about it. Sure, he's going to accept a horny young girl throwing herself on him, but when these same people are in danger, he rushes to their rescue, facing an empire of terrifying aliens single-handedly.
Is there any instance of Duke actually abusing a woman?
(Well, yes, in earlier versions of Duke Nukem, he may play Kevorkian to a few terribly mutated women, but when they're begging for a mercy-kill, I bet a lot of people would oblige)

What I see is that he's an intelligent, but coarse horndog with a fierce sense of chivalry."

If people can use him to promote feminism, (Real feminism, of course. Not this female-supremacist nonsense who claim to be femenists) then great!

Still, though, I don't see him as necessarily so mysogenistic. I mean, in his universe, he's extremely attractive. If an extremely desirable man went and saved my life and I was a horny, scantily-clad young woman, I'd prolly throw myself at him, too.

(I am a young woman, mind you. But asexual and quite modestly dressed.)

 

[Frankster]

Duke, defender of women's rights. Why the heck not?

If DN was a serious character then he might be an offensive figure in relation to gender equality but as he is a living joke...Then it goes full circle and thus might actually make him a suitable representative, perhaps acting as a foil for another, more reasonable character with his "stereotypical" (notice the quotation marks) attitude.
Dunno if i explained myself well...

Ok just imagine, say Alyx Vance or Zoey from l4d (we all agree they are good female role models yeah?) doing an advert talking about an issue relating to gender equality (that term in itself is debatable...but lets just roll with it), duke would act as their foil or comedic relief to help get the message across or just make the message seem less corny.

I think Duke Nukem deserves more of my respect now. Needs more bubblegum!

In the unlikely event where gamers get pulled into an alternate virtual land a la tron where all the videogame characters coexist in 1 place, I imagine based on this and our previous exchange you might be the one to conquer ol duke's heart Duke loves it after all if the lady has bigger guns then him.

 

[Scout Tactical]

I've always wondered which duchy the good Duke presides over. Having never played previous titles, I didn't realize men were converted into pigs.

I suppose he can take control of whichever region he wants.

 

[Fanghawk]

Hmmm.... you know I'd never really considered Duke as a hedonist before, fair enough. And the point about men being turned into pigs does make it seem like the portrayal of both sexes is exaggerated. That said, the way women are presented is a lot more noticeable than how men are presented, steroid-using-manly-man-gaming-hero notwithstanding.

I would be curious to hear what Oprah has to say about it!

 

[bob-2000]

I hate feminists, always trying to "right wrongs" when they honestly have no real idea what the fuck their doing.

That's an unfair generalization. Of course, there will always be the crazies who get angry at every little thing, but there's nothing wrong with wanting equality.

 

[Drakmeire]

What's the point of adding morals were they don't belong, Duke is a satire of the 90's action tough guy. he is supposed to be that way, it's not offensive to women, it's offensive to no one unless you don't understand satire.
Also, at least Duke is trying to protect woman, he tends to kill every guy he comes across.
Which would you rather have feminists?

 

[MGlBlaze]

Duke will do double good. One by killing the bad guys, and 2 by spreading awareness by being himself?

I think Duke Nukem deserves more of my respect now. Needs more bubblegum!

As long as he's being used towards the cause of feminine equality and not feminine superiority if they sit there and say "This is why women should be on top" then I'm kinda against that. The genders should be equal, not one superior to the other

I agree. I see both genders as equal, and even certain physical differences can be matched I think. :3

There are women who can lift staggering amounts of weight (A lot of women who work as firefighters would likely qualify, for one example) and any sort of training can let a woman kick just as much ass as a man in a fight; not to mention averages are just averages and it's more than possible for a man to be weaker than the average woman or for a woman to be stronger than the average man; so basically, I agree.

Not to mention a lot of social/cultural perceptions about men and women alike are just plain wrong.

Men and Women for most situations should be treated the same.

 

[Verlander]

Well, the answer to your title is no. I see what he's saying, but that's not the same thing as a feminist hero

 

[Frankster]

I'm still not of the opinion that Alyx Vance is this great ideal feminist icon.

Haha, john I 100% agree with you on Alyx, but countless threads i've lurked upon seem to hold her in high regard so I tailored my examples to my presumed audience

Also agree with you about seeing more then there actually is in regard to social commentary, but I'm guessing feminists fear DN's attitude to be representative of a male ideal or perceived role model.
What makes DN possibly useful as a somewhat feminist icon is that while his attitude is over the top and definitly not pc, he can do that because he is the duke. It's his thing and done for entertainment purposes only.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Wait, I'm confused. How can a well known misogynist possibly be used to further the goal of feminism? Don't get em wrong, I'd be very interested if such a thing happened, but I'm very confused as to how it would make the slightest bit of sense.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Cheap dodge, Randy..

That's like saying The Rapeman furthers the cause of feminism. A parody is only a parody if it's actually cutting. If you're just repeating the same trope for the amusement of the audience, it's pretty damn cheap to come out and claim you're doing the world a massive favour.

 

[manaman]

Equality as most people see it is a myth, sexual dimorphism is not. What everyone should be looking for is equal opportunity, and equal standings under law.

I only bring this up because people sometimes (as is showing in this thread so far) have a slightly messed up understanding of equality.

 

[Namewithheld]

The character is a work of satire, isn't he? If the game is promoting the message that his behaviour is laughable, outdated and crass, it's promoting feminism.

Sadly, there will always be the kind of moron who takes it as a template for how he should act. But that risk exists in most situations.

Pretty much. Even more, its a curious deconstruction of the dangers of patriarchy. It was once said that rape culture hurts men too: It expects them to be "macho", forcing them to conform to a kind of idealized man, when they would rather find their own form of being a man.

Women as scantily clad bimbos who needed to be saved, with men being turned into mindless psychotic pigs.

Sounds like a satire of rape culture to me!