Why are people so against 'feminism' in gaming?

[aks100]

This may have been discussed before but a search of the forums didn't bring up anything that I was looking for so...

I've been asked to write about sexism in gaming and I know it's a subject that has been done to death. I want to make it as fair an argument as possible. As a girl you can probably figure out which side of the debate I'm on but I do want to know why people are so vocal AGAINST people speaking up against sexist slogans in advertising and reinforcing white male gamer stereotypes.

For example, the recent gamestation advertising campaign saying their pre-owned games were cheaper than your girlfriend. When people complained that it was offensive the minority of gamers told them to shut up and get over it. So..why are people so against gaming becoming more gender neutral and accepting of female, child and elderly gamers.

I'm not slating it, I would just like to understand the mindset a bit better to at least try and make this piece of writing fairer.

 

[Proteus214]

It's just the growing pains of a maturing medium. Gaming has been a boys club predicated on exclusivity since its inception. Main stream acceptance brings the interest of new demographics to the medium that shakes up that exclusivity.

 

[2fish]

I can think of a few reasons.

1. Have you ever been attacked by an extremist feminist? It will leave a negative connotation on the word.

2. Companies are still selling to 13 year old boys

3. Stereotypes make things easier and thus cheaper for the companies

4."It is not that i support sexism, I just don't like things that are different"

5. People write what they know a white male programmer may have issues writing a female Turkish woman.

6. Case of we won't fix it till it is broken syndrome. Until gamers demand it we will only see small changes.

 

[rokkolpo]

Because being a sexist douchebag is fun.
Look at Duke Nukem, case and point.

It's not that people are against gender neutrality, gender diversity is just more fun.

 

[Flauros]

Oh man, ive been running into this alot. Some people HATE when females actually do things like grown ups.


Theres this one video on youtube, about how this one guy looks like a girl, so when he talks some guys actually tell him he needs to be quiet and hes being a ***** for saying something. And he correctly points out how thats dumb, girls are allowed to talk, duh.

The comments are ASTOUNDING "HOW DARE YOU, YOU HATE ALL MEN! YOU WANT TO DESTROY MEN! ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ARRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
amazing.

Edit:

 

[oplinger]

Culture.

If it becomes more gender neutral, we lose the culture. We lose a lot really. Most of it doesn't matter. However, the gaming subculture would be a lot different if we let everyone in. Things change as they become mainstream >_> ask a fan of any indie band that got popular.

 

[firstxaidxkit]

Because sadly, we are the vast minority when it comes to video games (at least games that aren't the Sims or casual games). When it comes to advertising, the industry is still conventionally geared towards young adult men, even though female gamers like myself enjoy the exact same games with the same amount of gore and violence as they do.

Unfortunately.

On a side note, I don't understand the whole mentality that girls shouldn't like violent video games... all my guy friends LOVE the fact that I can game with them, and even though a lot of girls think I'm a nerd, others think it's cool that I'm into them. If I was a guy I'd totally want a girl that shared in my hobbies...

 

[Thaluikhain]

I've been asked to write about sexism in gaming and I know it's a subject that has been done to death. I want to make it as fair an argument as possible. As a girl you can probably figure out which side of the debate I'm on but I do want to know why people are so vocal AGAINST people speaking up against sexist slogans in advertising and reinforcing white male gamer stereotypes. .

Um...because people are like that in general?

I don't see why you'd expect gamers, representing as they do a broad spectrum of society, to be any less sexist than society at large.

Then again, being feminist involves being anti-sexism, and being "anti" any way of thinking isn't very popular, for some reason probably involving some bizaree misconception of equality and inclusiveness.

[small]Waits for inevitable horde of posts about how it's all women's fault, and that straight white males are much more discriminating against in the gaming community.[/small]

 

[RowdyRodimus]

Because as a male I am sick of hearing people try to demonize the male sex and feminize everyone. Women are portrayed as better than men in every media you can think of. Think about it, how many times has a man been portrayed as competent in any aspect from making coffee to making love in commercials, tv shows or most movies? None. Gaming is looked at as a male thing, just like diaries and romantic comedies are looked at as a female thing. Get over it and quit thinking everything has to show women as the dominant species (that wasn't directed to the OP, just the hardcore feminazis that want men to be subservient in everything.)

 

[Zaik]

Perhaps it was aimed at males AND bisexuals/lesbians? Didn't think about that, huh?

Are you suggesting that the opinions of lesbians/bisexuals are entirely irrelevant and not worth mentioning? Do you not see gay women as people? You're just a homophobic bigot.

Spoiler: And now for the rest of the story...

That, in a nutshell, is a mirror of your train of thought when being faced with a weak attempt at humor. Sexism in the video game industry is more or less gone, outside of EA's failure of a marketing division. You're hunting for ghosts when they don't exist, jumping at every shadow and blurry picture to declare it evidence.

 

[killcheese]

It's just the growing pains of a maturing medium. Gaming has been a boys club predicated on exclusivity since its inception. Main stream acceptance brings the interest of new demographics to the medium that shakes up that exclusivity.

You took the words out of my mouth, this x2.

 

[Acidian]

First off, Extra Credits has touched on this subject, as well as the recent girls on female characters panel from pax, so check them out if you haven't allready. I am not exactly sure by what you mean with your thread title with feminism in gaming. I am all for a better portrayal of girls in video games, and I definitely wouldn't mind, nor skip, the ability to play, a game which does a better job of tacling 'female' topics like pregnancy and motherhood. The key thing for me is that the writing and story is well done.

As for pure sexism in gaming, it's there and it's bound to be there. Sex sells, and that's probably something that will never change. It's not just in gaming, it's something you see everywhere in all entertainment or advertisement mediums. The bigges group of gamers out there are still probably adolescent boys, and the developers/publishers will aim to profit on this for as long as they can. This is something that is turning around, as the percentage of girl gamers increase, and the software business is slowly realizing that roughly 50% of the human population is, in fact, female.

 

[RobCoxxy]

How many times you heard a dude ***** because the male protagonist is a walking slab of muscle instead of a glasses wearing, unkempt, cheeto covered, fat bastard?

I complained at my friends' copy of Smackdown vs Raw after character creator didn't let me build me - "The Underdog" - a tall and skinny British kid. Y'know, to punch Triple H in the face and win.

 

[Torrasque]

People are not against feminism in gaming. They are against feminists full stop.
Because femnazis dont understand the difference between humour and a attack against women.
Duke Nukem goes from this obvious self parody and gets turned into this evil propaganda game thats designed to make men treat women like property.
Besides, games are cheaper than your girlfriend. What is wrong with stating a fact?

Oh and white males are the core audience so it would be stupid to not make games with them in mind.
Besides, women get their panties in a twist over damn near every female character that is hotter than they will ever be. How many times you heard a dude ***** because the male protagonist is a walking slab of muscle instead of a glasses wearing, unkempt, cheeto covered, fat bastard?

In short. Males have to deal with bullshit in games too. We just whine less.

Wow, that saved me a few minutes of posting =)
I'm just gonna add that guys whine alot too, but its usually over game-related issues like balancing and why X game hasn't been released yet (but thats just getting away from the issue)

I'm fine with fems being in games, and I LOVE fem gamers, but I hate it when fems demand equality in the wrong places or for the wrong reasons.
Complaining about Other M: hell, even I complain about that.
Complaining about lack of female characters: I'd be into moar Samus-esque characters.
Complaining Peach wearing a dress, and Mario wearing pants: what the fuck...
Complaining about fems being scantily clad: its called marketing, get used to it.

 

[draconiansundae]

I liked the response David Gaider wrote about DA2 neglecting the "straight male gamer" which everyone assumes is 99% of the gaming community. Out of my extremely close friend group of gamers, which consists of six people, only one of us is a " typical straight male." Stereotypes like these aren't as true as they once were. And not every female character is over-sexed in games. Plus, how many male game protagonists are glasses-wearing, unattractive, overweight nerds? Male characters are just as idealized in games as females. But I don't hear anyone griping over Kratos' eight-pack.

 

[Vault Girl]

I'm a girl and feminism annoys me most of the time. i dont understand why were suppose to band together against men or something. i understand if sexism is involved and the comradship is great.

i get annoyed about being harassed by other girl games with the whole " Girl Power!" attitude, sometimes i just want to play a game with my friends and clan, which consist of guys and girls.

Sexism isnt prevailent in gaming culture, though it is a part of it. the industry is growing to accomodate the needs of the majority, which is growing to include girls too.

we covered this in my media studies class. many suggest that because many male dominated parts of society are being assimilated to become more socially acceptable, guys need violence, and video games are a large part of that.

6i like the comradship shown by the professional girl gamer team the Frag Dolls. its more then just being a girl who plays games.

 

[firstxaidxkit]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.273185-What-kinds-of-games-do-female-gamers-like#10548750

I'd also suggest looking at this topic, it's definitely relevant to the female gamers discussion.

 

[conflictofinterests]

People are not against feminism in gaming. They are against feminists full stop.
Because femnazis dont understand the difference between humour and a attack against women.
Duke Nukem goes from this obvious self parody and gets turned into this evil propaganda game thats designed to make men treat women like property.
Besides, games are cheaper than your girlfriend. What is wrong with stating a fact?

Oh and white males are the core audience so it would be stupid to not make games with them in mind.
Besides, women get their panties in a twist over damn near every female character that is hotter than they will ever be. How many times you heard a dude ***** because the male protagonist is a walking slab of muscle instead of a glasses wearing, unkempt, cheeto covered, fat bastard?

In short. Males have to deal with bullshit in games too. We just whine less.

Not so much bothered by how attractive the women in games are (being bisexual might be the cause of that)just at how dumb they are sometimes. About how angry I am at men in games being dumb sometimes. It's just that women in games tend to be dumb more often than men in games. Also, there is a significant amount of utterly useless women in games, whereas men in games don't do that so much. So, personally, I find the Capture the Babe minigame in Duke Nukem objectionable because the woman in it is being utterly useless. It might score some points back if player characters can elect to be women too. Still, a human being being effectively the ball in a sports game is kind of degrading in itself, no matter how you depict it. But whatevs, that shit is going to happen in a Duke Nukem game. It would be better if players could play as women.

 

[jowo96]

The joke wasn't that offensive, look at the advertising for womans products and men are depicted as being universally borderline retarded so to a certain degree I consider that people complaining about the Gamestation advert should grow the hell up and take a joke.