Kickstarter Video Project Attracts Misogynist Horde

[PiCroft]

What about by holding rape victims to the same standards of belief as any other crime?

Are you suggesting they aren't?

 

[Icehearted]

Wow, the shitstorm has really taken off here. Feminism had a point once, but is now more or less a thinly veiled excuse to get away with misandry. There are so many lies pushed by feminists, most of which mask very obvious and clearly uncomfortable hypocrisies, but ultimately, the radicals on both sides of this "debate" will see more of the spotlight than anyone with a remotely sensible viewpoint.

Where there's smoke there's fire. Think about it. The vitriol has to be coming from someplace, and while attacking a woman for being Jewish is completely uncalled for, there may be legitimate reasons why it took almost no nudge on her part to inflame the outrage of men across the world. There's a reason this is pissing men off, a reason it became personal really fast, and a reason why placing her ideal on a pedestal as an exemplification of the feminist ideal will have nasty consequences.

Invalidating men and getting paid for it is one thing, defending misandry or attacking misandry with misogyny is an uglier beast altogether.

As usual, I point to gamecrush and booth babes as proof men don't have to do a thing to objectify women or place them in a certain role in the game industry as women do this to themselves a whole lot more. For the nothing my opinion is worth, everyone looks to be wrong because nobody wants to really admit what's happening here.

 

[acosn]

3: She's actually sexist herself. Yes, women are shoved into caricatures in video games. As are men. Granted, there's room for both to move around, but you find it in every medium that when content creators try to build product for a mainstream audience they have to use very narrow character tropes. Video games introduced the silent protagonist, but even then there's a very narrow set of expectations. We can call it the Link or Gordon Freeman effect.

Focusing on one set of issues more than another does not make you sexist. Would you call LGBT campaigners "heterophobic" because they don't mention all the problems straight people have?

Apples, oranges. Kudos for not going to Godwin, but they're not the same issue. If she wants to go after anything she should be going after mainstream gaming and the AAA industry that feels it has to release very narrow character ranges to appeal to as many people as possible. An attempt to focus on just one aspect is as pointless as it is petty. We've seen enough of it. No one can rightfully argue that your average character trope for men as well as women in mainstream gaming is anything but some level of pandering.

The gaming community is no longer worth defending.

The gaming community isn't a cohesive block. It's the bros from the frat down the street, that 13 year old who can't make any friends, you, your best bro two states over, and yes, even your grandma.

No, there would be a video series that questions video games portrayals of women. One that you don't have to pay attention to, one that won't effect you in any way and that has no bearing on your life. If the thought of that offends you to the point of believing that widespread hate campaigns and rape threats are essential then you seriously need to reconsider your priorities.

Welcome to the internet. Controversy is a measurable page hitter. It's how websites like Kotaku make their bread and butter.

As far as the argument 'grah she stealinz monez for her site', a few things:
Anita Sarkessian does these videos for free, she has stated numerously that she doesn't put ads on her videos so she gets no ad revenue money for doing them. Her videos have been used as educational material in women's studies and universities. I myself got a good grade at UNI for referencing her work, she's got a Masters degree in media and social studies and a bachelor in communications. I'd say she's pretty qualified to do her job and I'd hardly say she's greedy either, if she has supporters who want to help her raise the money to get the licensing for video game footage or whatever else that she might need because she, again, refuses to put ads on her work then that's fine with me.
She's qualified to talk about it (for instance she spoke at a conference hosted by Bungie about women's representation in video games) and is being very reasonable, she certainly doesn't deserve rape threats or for her work to be considered 'terrorism'.

Qualified has nothing to do with it. Simple economics state that if you can't sell your product you shouldn't be making it. Most people who make these sorts of movies don't expect money from it. Do you know how many acts the escapist has picked up that got started making videos for youtube? Do you think they were expecting to make money on it except as a far off dream? I mean, if it gets funded my hat's off to her for finding people who value vacuous language. But it's still objectively speaking a waste of time and money.

People who don't like what someone is doing, and know there will never be any repercussion for what they do or say will often stoop to any level. This is basic psychology.

I got my degree in cultural anthropology which translated to a lot of feminism classes. This. is. not. a. feminist. issue. It's a human issue. You need to cut to a much deeper level to really begin to approach the issue of why we go for these sorts of portrayals of women, but also men in video games. Why do we go for the Master Chiefs and the Gordon Freemans but not person who doesn't look like they moonlight as landscapers? Why does everyone like Samara and Tali but not Ashley? (that's rhetorical)

No, feminist issues are the sex trafficking in Europe. It's culturally accepted FGC'ing in Africa. It's the still-rigid gender expectations in Asian countries like China and Japan. Portrayals of people in mainstream media from your same gender feel degrading to you? How quaint.

And that is why I reiterate what I said before, if this truly is 'the gaming community' then:

THE GAMING COMMUNITY CAN GO FUCK ITSELF

Because I can't imagine many self respecting women would be about to.

And god bless you Anita, never stop fighting the good fight.

It is unwise to fight people who paint in broad strokes by taking them yourself.

 

[sethisjimmy]

The problem with arguing about modern day feminism is it's lack of focus. It's hard to pick one side over another when so many feminists have such different views and opinions on just what feminism is.

I have to agree somewhat with Therumancer's definition of "rape culture" as a phrase, as viciously as he defined it. Too many people use it inappropriate context to force people to take sides. On the base level, we have the fact that no rape victim should be blamed for being raped. Most people can agree with that. However after that, we get into issues like is seen here, when supporting the game industry and playing games is supposedly supporting rape culture. Well hold on, it really isn't that black and white. Sure I agree that females are pretty poorly represented in games, but because it's not my first priority to change that immediately, I'm contributing to rape culture? Again, it's not that black and white.
It reminds me of that "do you support our troops?" trope. "Do you agree with feminism? No? Well you are supporting rape culture" I feel too often it's used as a trump card in arguments with feminism, to ignore actual arguments.

Feminism is just too subjective these days, it's becoming more grey. There are women who like the booth babes being at e3, for example, and don't have problems with sexualization of women, but consider themselves feminists. That being the "sexual empowerment" wing of feminism. Other feminists, and entirely different groups disagree. Which side is right? I don't think there's a right answer, I think that if enough people feel strongly enough about the issue, it will change, if not, maybe reconsider the argument and change it, or drop it completely.
Personally I think it's a good thing that feminism is becoming more diverse. People are learning not to worry about conforming to gender stereotypes or being totally against them, just to be whoever you want to be.

 

[Kahunaburger]

My point: There's no conspiracy of all men going on to suppress all women, there are many factors involved, most of them involving religion, or own choices. A mono-explanation or a conspiracy theory is folly.

Yeah, and the notion of feminism as a conspiracy theory about how all men are trying to suppress all women is a pretty classic right-wing talking point. It doesn't resemble actual feminism.

Tell that to Susan Brownmiller. I believe she was the one who was quoted writing something along the lines of all men engaging in a conscious effort to oppress all women by threatening them with rape, or something to that effect? I can get the quote if you'd like, it's from Against Our Will.

Let's see if you can find the logical fallacy here:

A is a B.

A is C.

Therefore, all B are C.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

You were never interested in learning, only having your pre-baked opinion validated.

I wanted to learn but I didn't want to read an essay to do so.

The fact you turned down an "essay" in favour of a guy with a bias you agreed with, a guy who then bloviated about short attention spans and going with the short, concise over the long but substantial, which is something you yourself then did, is comical in the extreme.

I never said I agree with the guy, just that I recognize he has a bias and I take what he has to say with a grain of salt. I wanted a definition of rape culture and he gave me one, granted it had bias in it. On the other hand, you couldn't be bothered to summarize a term so you directed me to somebody elses work.

 

[Eamar]

3: She's actually sexist herself. Yes, women are shoved into caricatures in video games. As are men. Granted, there's room for both to move around, but you find it in every medium that when content creators try to build product for a mainstream audience they have to use very narrow character tropes. Video games introduced the silent protagonist, but even then there's a very narrow set of expectations. We can call it the Link or Gordon Freeman effect.

Focusing on one set of issues more than another does not make you sexist. Would you call LGBT campaigners "heterophobic" because they don't mention all the problems straight people have?

Apples, oranges. Kudos for not going to Godwin, but they're not the same issue. If she wants to go after anything she should be going after mainstream gaming and the AAA industry that feels it has to release very narrow character ranges to appeal to as many people as possible. An attempt to focus on just one aspect is as pointless as it is petty. We've seen enough of it. No one can rightfully argue that your average character trope for men as well as women in mainstream gaming is anything but some level of pandering.

Ok, I said I was done with this thread, but I'm curious:

1. How on earth would I have "gone to Godwin" in this context? And really, there's no need for that condescending tone.

2. Why exactly is my example so different? How is this a case of apples and oranges? Is it because it's not convenient for what you want to say?

3. Who are you to say what she "should" be going after? If you want someone to make a video addressing those topics, why not make one yourself?

And while we're at it, please explain how she's sexist.

 

[JerrytheBullfrog]

I didn't ask you about compsci, I asked you about astrophysics and geology. Tell me how the study of rocks is a gender studies department. I didn't realize that learning about sedimentary and metamorphic rocks could be a basis for form a gender preference.

It isn't about the actual scientific stuff, but the people who did it. You'll probably study the contributions of male geologists and astrophysicists, see them quoted and referenced, much more than you will the contributions of female geologists and astrophysicists.

No, I'm just trying to grasp your idea of feminism.

Ultimately, equality of the genders, but since women are the marginalized gender, the focus of feminism is considering women more than men, since men are already considered by default. Not hard.

So then I was wrong before when I described your idea of feminism being about the equality of women, you believe that the ultimate goal of feminism is about gender equality, correct? If so, then the women should focus on how men are depicted in games as well.

No. She is under no obligation to focus on anybody else other than what she wants to. And she wants to talk about how WOMEN are specifically treated in games. This is again, not a hard thing to do.

Why should we force a woman to talk about stuff that harms men when WE AS MEN should take up that responsibility? It's derailing - oh, you aren't talking about guys, so you shouldn't be talking at all.

Really? It seems from looking at this thread that it just irritates people.

Yeah, it irritates anti-feminists and misogynists. I'm ok with that.

Then the point is shit. Me playing video games doesn't promote rape anymore than it promotes grand theft or genocide. You sound like Fox News right now.

What? How the hell do you get that from that article, or from what I'm saying?

No, you playing videogames does not promote rape culture. Me playing videogames does not promote rape culture. Similarly, me watching a movie does not promote rape culture.

You playing a videogame against a woman online and telling her "hey, hey suck my dick. I'm gonna fuck you in the ass" promotes rape culture.

The Street Fighter dude who says that sexual harassment is part of the fighting game community is promoting rape culture.

It has nothing to do with people playing videogames and everything to do with the things they do WHILE playing them and WHILE interacting with the culture surrounding them. THAT is rape culture. I think you need to read the article I linked again.

 

[Vrex360]

The gaming community isn't a cohesive block. It's the bros from the frat down the street, that 13 year old who can't make any friends, you, your best bro two states over, and yes, even your grandma.

And it in turn includes the spamming youtube commentors, the people responsible for the rape and death threats, the people who sabotaged her wikipedia page and the people who tried to hack her site and have her flagged as a terrorist.
Yes, there are good people in the game community but there are also repulsive turd beings like this. The reason I say 'fuck the game community' is that in over twenty years stuff like this keeps happening and is allowed to happen because there is no backlash.

The good people of the game community would rather shrug it off as 'eh it's youtube' or 'eh it's part of the culture' then actually seriously do anything about it. Any culture that is fine with behavior like this and is angrier at the victim than the perpetrators is a culture not worth defending.

Welcome to the internet. Controversy is a measurable page hitter. It's how websites like Kotaku make their bread and butter.

Given that she doesn't get ad revenue money for her videos I don't see any reason for her to WANT 'page hitters' nor can I imagine she'd be thrilled to have this many rape threats directed at her.

Qualified has nothing to do with it. Simple economics state that if you can't sell your product you shouldn't be making it. Most people who make these sorts of movies don't expect money from it. Do you know how many acts the escapist has picked up that got started making videos for youtube? Do you think they were expecting to make money on it except as a far off dream? I mean, if it gets funded my hat's off to her for finding people who value vacuous language. But it's still objectively speaking a waste of time and money.

Maybe so but-

People who don't like what someone is doing, and know there will never be any repercussion for what they do or say will often stoop to any level. This is basic psychology.

If I saw someone offering what I thought was a rip off deal that people were willingly paying for I'd sigh, roll my eyes, and walk away. I wouldn't threaten the seller with rape.

I got my degree in cultural anthropology which translated to a lot of feminism classes. This. is. not. a. feminist. issue. It's a human issue. You need to cut to a much deeper level to really begin to approach the issue of why we go for these sorts of portrayals of women, but also men in video games. Why do we go for the Master Chiefs and the Gordon Freemans but not person who doesn't look like they moonlight as landscapers? Why does everyone like Samara and Tali but not Ashley? (that's rhetorical)

She shouldn't have to always talk about men as well, that's silly. Her stance on women's representation isn't invalidated if she doesn't also mention men's issues as well. Her series is about identifying tropes in games that adversly effect women, she doesn't argue that there aren't issues that effect men (in fact she did the opposite at a Bungie Conference) and she doesn't think that no reverse study can be made.
She wants to focus on issues effecting women, these are valid issues even if there are issues effecting men as well.

No, feminist issues are the sex trafficking in Europe. It's culturally accepted FGC'ing in Africa. It's the still-rigid gender expectations in Asian countries like China and Japan. Portrayals of people in mainstream media from your same gender feel degrading to you? How quaint.

The existence of some things that are worse doesn't mean that bad things aren't bad. Anita Sarkeesian's work focuses on pop culture because she believes it does, in some way, influence how people think and behave and therefore she intends to address certain female centered issues she has with it.

In the words of Jim Sterling:
"I hope you don't cry at your mum's funeral, because there are some people in the world who have lost their entire families you privelleged little fuck!"

That quote there I feel explains why that argument is fundamentally flawed, it could always be worse but that doesn't mean things are inherently 'good' because of it.

It is unwise to fight people who paint in broad strokes by taking them yourself.

Fair enough, but like I said I know there are people who are good decent people but reading this thread makes me sad to think they may be in a minority.

EDIT: Also in case you hadn't noticed. I like Ashley. Irrelevant but I thought I would address it.

 

[JerrytheBullfrog]

Snip

Last I checked, there was no campaign to vilify the makers of Tentacle Bento by editing hardcore pornography into their Wikipedia page, and they didn't get threats of death or rape. It was fighting against a vile game that trivialized rape, and Kickstarter didn't want that sort of thing associated with its name, as it has every right to.

You have the right to free speech, and I have the right to speak out against your speech.

(Also, false rape accusations do occur. They're estimated at about 5% - pretty much exactly the level of false accusations for other violent crimes. So why do we automatically doubt rape victims so much?)

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

You playing a videogame against a woman online and telling her "hey, hey suck my dick. I'm gonna fuck you in the ass" promotes rape culture.

How does that promote rape culture if I would say the same thing to a guy? Why isn't that just considered me talking shit to somebody?

Again your not convincing me why she shouldn't focus on men as well.

 

[Schadrach]

What about by holding rape victims to the same standards of belief as any other crime?

Are you suggesting they aren't?

It's just about the only crime you can get someone a lengthy jail sentence for based solely on the accusation itself and the inability of the defense to prove that it was impossible. Corroborating evidence is often unnecessary.

Brian Banks is a good example of that. Louis Gonzales was almost one (you know what saved him? Having no gap longer than 6 minutes in his alibi for the entire day from beginning to being arrested.) In college "courts" (where they review complaints and consider punishments at the educational level, including expulsions), it's now required to set the bar for proof at "preponderance of the evidence", that is, slightly more likely than not, because holding the case to more stringent standards has been deemed sexist.

Actually the site I mentioned that apparently didn't turn itself into a link in my previous post, http://cotwa.info has plenty of examples if you dig through it for a bit. I actually agree with the author's position on these things in general (as opposed to the strawman version of it most of the detractors create).

 

[Vrex360]

Wow, the shitstorm has really taken off here. Feminism had a point once, but is now more or less a thinly veiled excuse to get away with misandry.

I always love when this argument comes completely out of nowhere. She did NOTHING man hating in the slightest and never did.

There are so many lies pushed by feminists, most of which mask very obvious and clearly uncomfortable hypocrisies, but ultimately, the radicals on both sides of this "debate" will see more of the spotlight than anyone with a remotely sensible viewpoint.

I like how an organized attack fueled by misogyny is now taking a backseat to the perceived 'lies' by evil feminists. What lie is Anita presenting here? That video game culture has sexist attitudes towards women?

Where there's smoke there's fire. Think about it.

Indeed the smoke in this case being the misogynistic attitudes of rape threats and harassment and the fire being misogyny.
Seems pretty straightforward to me.

The vitriol has to be coming from someplace,

Mean spirited women hating virgins I'm guessing.

and while attacking a woman for being Jewish is completely uncalled for, there may be legitimate reasons why it took almost no nudge on her part to inflame the outrage of men across the world.

I have a pretty valid reason, that they are aggressive insecure misogynist douchebags.

There's a reason this is pissing men off, a reason it became personal really fast, and a reason why placing her ideal on a pedestal as an exemplification of the feminist ideal will have nasty consequences.

Again, because the men involved with this are a bunch of entitled emotionally insecure man children who leap at the chance to sexually harrass and insult any women that they believe are 'speaking out of line'.
Basically any time a woman criticizes any part of our culture towards women, these guys get into a panic and get aggressive and vicious.

Invalidating men and getting paid for it is one thing, defending misandry or attacking misandry with misogyny is an uglier beast altogether.

For the love of-

[HEADING=1]SHE IS NOT INVALIDATING MEN NOR PROMOTING MISANDRY!![/HEADING]

She is highlighting sexist aspects of the video game culture, nothing more. This stuff exists and needs to be paid attention to.

As usual, I point to gamecrush and booth babes as proof men don't have to do a thing to objectify women or place them in a certain role in the game industry as women do this to themselves a whole lot more.

We also don't really offer much in the way of roles for women as anything but booth babes, very few game developers are women, very few writers are women and very few game 'celebrities' are women. Sure women may choose to be booth babes but it's not like there are a variety of options here.

For the nothing my opinion is worth, everyone looks to be wrong because nobody wants to really admit what's happening here.

All I'm seeing is a bunch of woman hating pigs trying weakly to convince themselves that online harrassment and death threats is justified because they are pretending she's an evil man hater rather than just someone making a critical video.

In other words, misogynists.

 

[JerrytheBullfrog]

You playing a videogame against a woman online and telling her "hey, hey suck my dick. I'm gonna fuck you in the ass" promotes rape culture.

How does that promote rape culture if I would say the same thing to a guy? Why isn't that just considered me talking shit to somebody?

Again your not convincing me why she shouldn't focus on men as well.

Actually, it would. Men can be raped too, you know. It's conflating sexual aggression with dominance. I beat you, ergo you suck my dick. But it's also just as common to, if you're against a guy, talk about "HEY I FUCKED YOUR MOM." Ad mominem, so to speak - but when against a woman, you don't go for her mom, you go directly for her.

Why can't you talk shit about their actual skills? "God, you're terrible at this game, learn to shoot." Why does it have to be "I'm going to rape you in the ass, boy!"?

The silencing of a woman trying to make a video to examine and educate about harmful stereotypes using *sexually violent threats* is rape culture. And unfortunately, it is prevalent in videogame culture.

Okay, I'm going to link you to something that I'd like you to read. What's wrong with Patriarchy Hurts Men Too (PHMT) comments [http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/phmt-argument/]? It's kind of the same thing as what you're saying.

[blockquote]Nothing in and of itself. The problem occurs when conversations about women can?t happen on unmoderated blogs without someone showing up and saying, ?but [x] happens to men, too!? (also known as a ?Patriarchy Hurts Men, Too? or PHMT argument, or a ?What About The Mens?? or WATM argument). When this happens, it becomes disruptive of the discussion that?s trying to happen, and has the effect (intended or otherwise) of silencing women?s voices on important issues such as rape and reproductive rights.

...

No one is saying that discussions on men and masculinities shouldn?t go on. It is absolutely important to have dialogue on men?s issues, including discussions on violence done towards men. The thing is, a feminist space ? unless the topic is specifically men?s issues ? is not the place to have that discussion and neither are spaces (feminist or otherwise) in which the topic is specifically focused on women?s issues.

What it boils down to is this: Men, not women, need to be the ones creating the spaces to discuss men?s issues. There are a lot of feminist allies who do this, in fact, and there also a lot of non-feminist (or anti-feminist, if you really want to go there) spaces that are welcoming to this kind of discussion. Thus, the appropriate response to a thread about women is not to post a comment on it about men, but rather to find (or make) a discussion about men.[/blockquote]

What you're doing is the equivalent of showing up to a discussion about violence against women (in real life), and saying "Hey! Men get raped, too! Why aren't you talking about that?"

Yes, men get raped too. (Yes, there are harmful stereotypes about men.)

Yes, it is important that we have discussions about it. (Yes, we need to discuss them.)

But it's interrupting the conversation that the women are trying to have about their own sex and gender, and trying to make it about men. It should not be their job to make it about us. It should be our job.

Can you really not understand that? If you want desperately for this to exist (and I think it should), why not fund your own kickstarter? And then, nobody's saying you have to talk about female characters, either.

 

[Icehearted]

Wow, the shitstorm has really taken off here. Feminism had a point once, but is now more or less a thinly veiled excuse to get away with misandry.

I always love when this argument comes completely out of nowhere. She did NOTHING man hating in the slightest and never did.

There are so many lies pushed by feminists, most of which mask very obvious and clearly uncomfortable hypocrisies, but ultimately, the radicals on both sides of this "debate" will see more of the spotlight than anyone with a remotely sensible viewpoint.

I like how an organized attack fueled by misogyny is now taking a backseat to the perceived 'lies' by evil feminists. What lie is Anita presenting here? That video game culture has sexist attitudes towards women?

Where there's smoke there's fire. Think about it.

Indeed the smoke in this case being the misogynistic attitudes of rape threats and harassment and the fire being misogyny.
Seems pretty straightforward to me.

The vitriol has to be coming from someplace,

Mean spirited women hating virgins I'm guessing.

and while attacking a woman for being Jewish is completely uncalled for, there may be legitimate reasons why it took almost no nudge on her part to inflame the outrage of men across the world.

I have a pretty valid reason, that they are aggressive insecure misogynist douchebags.

There's a reason this is pissing men off, a reason it became personal really fast, and a reason why placing her ideal on a pedestal as an exemplification of the feminist ideal will have nasty consequences.

Again, because the men involved with this are a bunch of entitled emotionally insecure man children who leap at the chance to sexually harrass and insult any women that they believe are 'speaking out of line'.
Basically any time a woman criticizes any part of our culture towards women, these guys get into a panic and get aggressive and vicious.

Invalidating men and getting paid for it is one thing, defending misandry or attacking misandry with misogyny is an uglier beast altogether.

For the love of-

[HEADING=1]SHE IS NOT INVALIDATING MEN NOR PROMOTING MISANDRY!![/HEADING]

She is highlighting sexist aspects of the video game culture, nothing more. This stuff exists and needs to be paid attention to.

As usual, I point to gamecrush and booth babes as proof men don't have to do a thing to objectify women or place them in a certain role in the game industry as women do this to themselves a whole lot more.

We also don't really offer much in the way of roles for women as anything but booth babes, very few game developers are women, very few writers are women and very few game 'celebrities' are women. Sure women may choose to be booth babes but it's not like there are a variety of options here.

For the nothing my opinion is worth, everyone looks to be wrong because nobody wants to really admit what's happening here.

All I'm seeing is a bunch of woman hating pigs trying weakly to convince themselves that online harrassment and death threats is justified because they are pretending she's an evil man hater rather than just someone making a critical video.

In other words, misogynists.

Quite a reaction, loaded with even more vitriol, hypocrisy, and needless hyperbolic hostility. Thank you kindly for proving my point.

 

[Vrex360]

Quite a reaction, loaded with even more vitriol, hypocrisy, and needless hyperbolic hostility. Thank you kindly for proving my point.

Well I apologize, but this debate is really grating on my nerves.

Also how exactly have I proven your point? Can you elaborate?
(No hostility, I just really want to know).

 

[Eamar]

Quite a reaction, loaded with even more vitriol, hypocrisy, and needless hyperbolic hostility. Thank you kindly for proving my point.

Hahaha good one, you almost had me for a second... wait, you're serious? Ok, just re-read your own groundless accusations of misandry and invalidating men based on nothing more than some woman's desire to talk about stereotypes she's observed.

Pot, meet kettle...

 

[Mouse One]

Wow. Is it possible for a woman to talk about a problem that affects women without a bunch of guys screaming "But guys have problems too!!" Of course they do. Make your own video about that, if you like.

More and more women play videogames (40% of the market, last I checked). It's not a boys only culture anymore, and it's unsurprising that women are going to speak up and say "We want more Chells and FemSheps, not just supporting roles, and certainly not bimbos". It doesn't make them man haters when they say that.

 

[Kebabco]

Wow I didn't know the escapist's members were such wusses. Games are a product made for a specific market and that market's storyline features protaganists (often the same sex as the player himself) solving a problem and saving the grateful victim (commonly the opposite sex to the protagonist).
That's a fine storyline with works because most gamers can easily identify themselves with the main character's goals.
Sooo stop bitching and enjoy