Can Duke Nukem Become a Feminist Hero?

[ComicsAreWeird]

Heh, nicely done. I´d like to see how Duke´s image could be creatively used in pro-feminism campaigns. heh

 

[Dfskelleton]

Huh. I thought Duke Nukem was killing loads of enemies while spewing amusing one liners.
Also, I really don't like femenists. I can understand wanting women's rights, in that case I would support them, but they already have women rights, so now they're just trying to prove that they're superior, which is ridiculous. Everyone is equal, no matter what sex.

 

[2xDouble]

I can't wait to see this very issue being raised (and summarily dismissed) by FoxNews. I'll have my counter ready and tally how many times they turn the discussion back to porn. (Seriously, sometimes that's all they think about... heh). [sub]I've just invented a new drinking game... heh again.[/sub]

OT: I too would LOVE to see Duke used as a proper (read: not supremacist) feminist icon. The irony alone is worth it.
(OK, so it's not really irony. But the controversy circuit would have to eat some serious crow... and I find that hilarious)

 

[The Stonker]

First of all.
A feminist is someone who strives for womens rights, not equal rights, WOMENS.
Most of them believe that they should be superior to men and that men are well, pigs.
Plus I'm a equal rights activist not a feminist.


Well, good for Duke, let's just hope they don't let minorities bully them... All of a sudden we could get a gay Duke.
And we all know that's not Duke.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Of course Duke is all for Feminism, the babes are so much more into it when they WANT to be wearing 6 inches of fabric and rubbing erotically against each other

 

[duchaked]

so Pitchford basically said "it's funny, go ahead. Duke doesn't mind" haha? awesome

 

[UnderCoverGuest]

"In other news, Pathology Research doctors and specialists are using Duke Nukem as a promotional figure in their efforts to rid the world of all known diseases. Also, as reported earlier, when Duke was called upon for an interview with the medical institute, Cancer patients at a nearby clinic were enveloped in holy light and completely cured. We look forward to bringing you more as the story develops."

I'm glad to see Duke hasn't changed at all. He keeps getting better and better, the more he stays true to himself. Good work, developers. Good work...King Nukem.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

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

The whole "men as pigs" thing seems to advertise feminine superiority. Which is wrong - racial equality isn't a fucking scale, you don't make the supposedly lesser factor higher by lowering the supposedly greater one. Each one should have the same opportunities, although there are some things that men just do better and some things that women do better.

That's not to say women can't do what men do, or men can't do what women do (with certain obvious biological exceptions). I'm just saying men and women are equal, but different.

Oh for sure, but I hate feminist who take it that one step further, thinking men should ALWAYS pay for their meal, that we should ALWAYS open doors for them. It doesn't work that way...

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.

Hahaha...well, depends. I need that weird alien 8th button gun, you know the second most powerful one, if this is to work! xD

Oh my... This could turn interesting :|

 

[Namewithheld]

Huh. I thought Duke Nukem was killing loads of enemies while spewing amusing one liners.
Also, I really don't like femenists. I can understand wanting women's rights, in that case I would support them, but they already have women rights, so now they're just trying to prove that they're superior, which is ridiculous. Everyone is equal, no matter what sex.

I'm sorry, but with 1 out of every 6 women are raped, and only something close to...what? 60% of their crimes going unreported...women aren't equal.

They are MORE equal than before. Under our laws, they are equal, and our society has taken a HUGE step forward in the past 50 years...but we still have so very far to go.

It sucks, but we've still got a long, hard fight to go. The best way to make things better would be to battle rape culture. Challenge assumptions about women being weaker, don't objectify them (which is different from enjoying women aesthetically, but sometimes the two can be confused).

But hey, we've made ridiculously huge strides forward. But don't let those blind you to the facts.

 

[Alphakirby]

so i see that feminist our going to use this game to bad mouth videogames

No, that feminist is planning to use this game to further her agenda, video games have nothing to do with it

 

[dreamtime]

Based on the fact that Pitchford did not mention Bombshell in response to these allegations, I'm guessing she won't be in the game.
You guys do remember Bombshell, right?

 

[BanthaFodder]

I don't think anyone can take Duke Nukem seriously enough to use the game in any sort of intellectual discussion about gender roles.

I actually think Duke Nukem games are probably the only healthy way for society to vent it's overwhelming need to objectify women in media - a game so over the top and ridiculous that no one could possibly take it to heart.

eh, I've seen people say SPONGEBOB is mysoginistic, and try-hard activists for anything seem to make a living off of missing the point in a spectacularly embarassing way

 

[Alphakirby]

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.

Two words...tofu boy. Now I say that to pretty much explain that depending on how "far" the feminist's message spreads, Duke will as well, it could be cleverly used to advertise Duke Nukem Forever without paying money for actual ads.

 

[cairocat]

What I see is Pitchford completely screwing over the impending "Games are sexist and made by assholes" rant. I mean, really? Can you imagine them bad-mouthing Gearbox and being taken at all seriously after an invitation like that? It would just make them look like, well, dicks xD.

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

I can see Duke doing something somehow similar to this seeing as he DOES happen to save women,not just skyrocket populations after invasions

 

[OldGus]

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

There, job done. Its a satire or parody, and as many have said before, one that makes fun of misogyny. I'd take it one step further though, and say that it makes fun of extreme 50s-60s era male-female views. Men saw Women as baby factories (to an extent at that time, still) Women saw Men as pigs (and this one is not actually that extreme) but both valued the Macho Man saving the Damsel in Distress archetype. This just adds a little more and makes that Macho Man a completely hedonistic person, and almost make you wonder if he's killing just to protect his pleasure (and other people of course, still has to be the knight in shining armor) or if the killing is his pleasure.
And one way I could actually already see it as a little feminist. If anyone remembers in the original Duke Nukem 3D (I know, I'm really reaching into the past here) on I think the second level, yes, it did drop you into a strip club where you could tip the dancers for a flash. But you had to clear the club of aliens first. And, here is the kicker, what makes this sequence a little more feminist than it seems. It punishes you for killing the dancers by spawning more enemies near you ready and shooting.

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.

I really find it interesting when now many feminists actually fight against things that they fought for only 50 years ago or so. Like the pro-life feminists, and the feminists that fight against the pill. For both, abortion and the pill, both were violently fought for to be legally available because both were something women had complete control over to stop the birth cycle, or at least convince employers that they could stop it long enough to be valuable enough to the company to be promoted past secretary or skirt-that-serves-coffee.
On that note, oddly enough, the secretary, which many of us think of as a woman-only and very demeaning job pretty much, actually used to be a pretty prestigious job exclusively dominated by men, even well into the past century. Sure, a lot of the job was just paperwork, bookkeeping and planning, but a lot of that paperwork, bookkeeping and planning was for the top dogs in a company. If it didn't get done, the company could fall apart. Also, remember if you will the big Secretaries in the US government. That, demeaning job? I think not.

 

[internetzealot1]

"Well, no; the Duke's attitudes toward women, after all, are pretty appalling on just about every level."

Well, no; the Duke likes to have sex with women, and there's nothing particularly wrong with that. When has Duke ever statement about how all women belong in the kitchen?

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Feminism in the 21st century is just a way of trying to get sympathy and power out of being born into a particular gender. It's not about equal rights* anymore, it's about how women deserve better because... they're women.

If it were men at Duke's feet, they wouldn't complain in the slightest. Or maybe they would, bunch of attention-seeking morons. *The word "equal opportunity offender" comes to mind...