Some people think I like calling games sexist. This just isn't true.

[Erttheking]

Some people act like I get some kind of thrill out of seeing sexism in gaming. I don't. I hate it. I hate seeing these problems everywhere. I hate games I love grinding to a halt because the alarms in my head are going off. I hate not being able to enjoy the brilliant atmosphere of Metro Last Light as much as I could because there's a little voice in the back of my head reminding me all the female characters are prostitutes, caretakers or victims. I hate the fact that even though Persona 4 has some of the best female characters I've ever seen it still delves into bullshit by having it being understandable when Naoto is afraid because "She's a girl". I hate that Fire Emblem Awakening has a beautifully written mother-daughter relationship that is marred by the fact that there's a female exclusive class called the bride and that sexual assault is apparently funny when a woman does it to a man.

It makes me want to crawl into a crack and cry myself to sleep. In fact I've been doing a fair bit of crying tonight because of it. I just...I just want to sit down and be able to enjoy something without having the part of me that cares noticing another stupid flaw in an otherwise brilliant work. It tears me apart and it just makes me want to scream "CAN SOMEONE JUST FUCKING GET IT RIGHT ALREADY!?" It's just these little moments in otherwise great games, games that I love, that make me just want to scream "WHY!?"

I'm sorry if I'm rambling a bit. But I've seen more than one person say that people keep calling games sexist because it lets me feel self righteous. That's not true. It just isn't. Sometimes I wish I could just turn it all off and not care...but I just can't.

I love games. And it makes me want to cry when they fall short like this. They could be so much more...but they keep tripping. Please. Someone out there. Please get it right. I'm tired of cross examining every single game a play for stupid STUPID mistakes. They just bring the experience down.

I just wanted to share why I keep talking about sexism in gaming. Because I want games to improve so I can just lie down and breathe easy. So I don't have to worry about bullshit around every corner.

 

[Vault101]

erthking?

erthking wut u doin?

ERTHKING STAHP!!!

I get it, I really do, people get it in their heads that being aware and vocal about thease things means "we" sit around raging all the time unable to enjoy anything, which is completely untrue...in fact it could almost be the opposite

but I don't think you're going to be changing anyone's minds, not like this

 

[Dragonmouth]

I feel the same way. I'm always told that I'm looking for something to be offended by as if taking offense is fun and expressing offense doesn't make you a whole bunch of enemies. I hate finding flaws in stuff I otherwise love but I can't and won't turn my brain off.

 

[Erttheking]

erthking?

erthking wut u doin?

ERTHKING STAHP!!!

I get it, I really do, people get it in their heads that being aware and vocal about thease things means "we" sit around raging all the time unable to enjoy anything, which is completely untrue...in fact it could almost be the opposite

but I don't think you're going to be changing anyone's minds, not like this

To be honest it's not really about changing anyone's mind. I just need to vent out all my frustrations before I fucking explode.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Well said, ert. The reason I talk about bad portrayal and inclusions in gaming, and the occasional overt sexism, isn't because I love being offended, but because I love games and keep seeing them do stupid things. Keep fighting the good fight.

 

[Vault101]

I feel the same way. I'm always told that I'm looking for something to be offended by as if taking offense is fun and expressing offense doesn't make you a whole bunch of enemies. I hate finding flaws in stuff I otherwise love but I can't and won't turn my brain off.

[I/]righteous anger is fun[/I],

but when you see time and time again just how many people belive all kinds of BS (or read the comments of any article that deals with this) its not fun

its fucking depressing

To be honest it's not really about changing anyone's mind. I just need to vent out all my frustrations before I fucking explode.

welp....I can't argue there

if you want a nice big does of crazy lefty liberal "activism" I'd recommend r/SRS r/SRSgaming you might not agree with everything they say but its a nice change from the usual BS

[sub/]just don't mention youre a guy or say anything that defends the cis white male...cause that's nott he done thing[/sub]

but yeah....fuck the patriarchy!

 

[mecegirl]

For me it's the opposite. I've sorta resigned my self to mainstream media having something I find off about it. I tend to go in with my expectations low most of the time and so it becomes common place when I notice (enter your favorite ist or ism here) and a pleasant surprise when the (ist or ism) is avoided. I guess its a coping mechanism? I'm not sure when I started viewing mainstream media in such a way.

 

[Vault101]

For me it's the opposite. I've sorta resigned my self to mainstream media having something I find off about it. I tend to go in with my expectations low most of the time and so it becomes common place when I notice (enter your favorite ist or ism here) and a pleasant surprise when the (ist or ism) is avoided. I guess its a coping mechanism? I'm not sure when I started viewing mainstream media in such a way.

I definitely felt a "shift" in viewing mainstream stuff differently, that's for sure

this is part of the reason I haven't watched a movie in a long time, comics and books fill more satisfying niches

 

[Smooth Operator]

Oh it's not that you rock your socks on sexism, that is just the speck of dust that makes you flip out uncontrollably straddle your drama steed and go for a wild emotional ride.
Which is all fine, many people like to do that on a regular basis, becomes a problem however when you start imagining that shit is rational and even more of a problem when you perpetually annoy other people with it.

Drama nonsense is the opposite of rational and only relevant to people who share your exact drama nonsense. To everyone else it just looks like monkeys having a flying poop showdown.

 

[hazabaza1]

Please take this into the advice forum or something. This is only going to spur more of the stupid discussion that we're all tired of seeing.
Also maybe think about taking a few deep breaths and sit down away from the screen. I get that you like games and that they're a big part of your life but if you are actually physically crying because of them that's... a problem.

 

[sanquin]

In my opinion if you constantly rage because of sexism in video games, and decide to vent said anger on the internet, you just love to hate. Even if it's subconsciously. Because otherwise you wouldn't constantly rage about little things or things that aren't even really sexist but part of the story/setting. (like in metro: last light's case.) Don't get me wrong, I don't see a problem with people getting angry about sexism in games, and wanting to call it out. But at the very least please be honest about it. Just be honest that you're passionate about the subject and -want- to call out sexism whenever you think it's there. (Not saying it isn't, just that perceived sexism might not always be as such.)

I personally draw a very thick line between having a discussion about a subject, and people getting angry about said subject, then venting it online. The latter hardly gets my attention, as nothing good comes out of it 90% of the time.

 

[endtherapture]

It makes me want to crawl into a crack and cry myself to sleep. In fact I've been doing a fair bit of crying tonight because of it. I just...I just want to sit down and be able to enjoy something without having the part of me that cares noticing another stupid flaw in an otherwise brilliant work. It tears me apart and it just makes me want to scream "CAN SOMEONE JUST FUCKING GET IT RIGHT ALREADY!?" It's just these little moments in otherwise great games, games that I love, that make me just want to scream "WHY!?"

Lol. You really need to get over this and stop being affected by the names of classes in an RPG if you are getting so affected by something that isn't having a direct effect on your life. It's incredibly unhealthy.

Just because there's a class called "bride" in an RPG or that boob jiggle physics exist does not mean that these developers have it out for you.

In addition, the policing of games as having to be entirely politically correct is ruining them as art. There does not need to be a black, an asian, an indian and multiple LGBT characters in games for it to be good. The PC police ir ruining this, art should be policed and it should only be policed it it literally promotes hatred or crime.

 

[Skull Bearer]

It makes me want to crawl into a crack and cry myself to sleep. In fact I've been doing a fair bit of crying tonight because of it. I just...I just want to sit down and be able to enjoy something without having the part of me that cares noticing another stupid flaw in an otherwise brilliant work. It tears me apart and it just makes me want to scream "CAN SOMEONE JUST FUCKING GET IT RIGHT ALREADY!?" It's just these little moments in otherwise great games, games that I love, that make me just want to scream "WHY!?"

Lol. You really need to get over this and stop being affected by the names of classes in an RPG if you are getting so affected by something that isn't having a direct effect on your life. It's incredibly unhealthy.

Just because there's a class called "bride" in an RPG or that boob jiggle physics exist does not mean that these developers have it out for you.

In addition, the policing of games as having to be entirely politically correct is ruining them as art. There does not need to be a black, an asian, an indian and multiple LGBT characters in games for it to be good. The PC police ir ruining this, art should be policed and it should only be policed it it literally promotes hatred or crime.

The fact that your precious medium is stagnating like hell isn't helped by people like you pissing and howling every time someone wants to get it moving again.

 

[endtherapture]

The fact that your precious medium is stagnating like hell isn't helped by people like you pissing and howling every time someone wants to get it moving again.

Wow.

Stagnating. No way. What is causing things to stagnate if anything is that a lot of games willing to push the medium of videogames forward like The Witcher series are being called "sexist" by people who are just too uptight and easily offended.

Not everything has to be some super inclusive experience with characters for everyone. Sometimes people just want some escapism and to play as a cool bearded adventurer like Nathan Drake. There's nothing wrong with that and people have a right to make games like that.

 

[softclocks]

Oh it's not that you rock your socks on sexism, that is just the speck of dust that makes you flip out uncontrollably straddle your drama steed and go for a wild emotional ride.
Which is all fine, many people like to do that on a regular basis, becomes a problem however when you start imagining that shit is rational and even more of a problem when you perpetually annoy other people with it.

Drama nonsense is the opposite of rational and only relevant to people who share your exact drama nonsense. To everyone else it just looks like monkeys having a flying poop showdown.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

It's one thing to be irked by these 'problems', it's another to go ballistic over them.

If he'll accept nothing less than complete 100% unmarred equality, then he won't see many victories in his life, because that's still a long ways off (especially in America).

 

[Zontar]

The fact that your precious medium is stagnating like hell isn't helped by people like you pissing and howling every time someone wants to get it moving again.

Uh, now I've only looked deeply into the past 35 years of the medium, so there MAY be some long forgotten golden age that I've missed in my looking into it all, but in what possible way is the medium stagnant? Despite what some rose-glass wearers may say, there hasn't been a time where the medium has been more diverse in gameplay, storytelling, setting, or really any other element to what makes a video game a video game.

The only thing that really risks stagnation is the attempts at censorship by some to make the most popular brands of storytelling and/or gameplay be removed from the medium with no regard for the consequences it would have. And what's worst is that the bulk of those trying to censor it are those who are not participants in the medium, and even if the changes they wanted where to be implemented (and cripple a large swath of it) they STILL wouldn't care one iota for it.

 

[Zontar]

If he'll accept nothing less than complete 100% unmarred equality, then he won't see many victories in his life, because that's still a long ways off (especially in America).

It's not a long way off, it's impossible. I'm not saying that to be pessimistic, things are getting better and are better then they where in the past, but true equality for all if just impossible. That's not to say we should try to improve things, but there's always going to be something out there that needs improving, at let's face it the precieved problems of the video game medium are pretty low on the list of "issues which need addressing" even in the most egalitarian societies.

 

[Halla Burrica]

It makes me want to crawl into a crack and cry myself to sleep. In fact I've been doing a fair bit of crying tonight because of it. I just...I just want to sit down and be able to enjoy something without having the part of me that cares noticing another stupid flaw in an otherwise brilliant work. It tears me apart and it just makes me want to scream "CAN SOMEONE JUST FUCKING GET IT RIGHT ALREADY!?" It's just these little moments in otherwise great games, games that I love, that make me just want to scream "WHY!?"

So wait..... You actually cry real tears, because pieces of media & entertaiment contains elements you believe to be sexist or misogynistic? And the elements you've mentioned are rather minor, too. That's kind of worrying on your part.

 

[Halla Burrica]

Well said, ert. The reason I talk about bad portrayal and inclusions in gaming, and the occasional overt sexism, isn't because I love being offended, but because I love games and keep seeing them do stupid things. Keep fighting the good fight.

"Fighting the good fight"? What does that even mean? What fight? What enemies?