Okay, no more cut and pasted rants from the past months that I haven't posted here. Time for something new and awesome enough - game related! Unfortunately, we have to tread water in the lake of
uber-feminism, so remember: It's not mankind, it's humankind.
http://www.feministgamers.com/?p=466
Read the above article first. The whole thing (yes it's painful and full of anger but we'll get to that).
Okay, so as anybody who knows me already knows, I'm a tolerant man. I want to see the day men, women, blacks, whites, Indians, Muslims, Jews, and Christians all get along. The only problem is that I'm a realist, which means I know this will never happen. Another thing I am, is an "
Excessivist" or "
Extremeistist" or whatever made up word best describes someone who can't stand others who prefer to be on the very end of one spectrum or another in social viewpoints. Feminists, Conservatives, Liberals, Evangelicals, I don't like a lot of them. I think it's just incredibly ignorant to stay so far from the middle. Perhaps it's because I value balance and I think people should strive for some middle ground but alas that will never happen.
On topic of the article, it rubbed me the wrong way right from the start. The author,
Mighty Ponygirl, starts off with a lovely, sweeping assumption about the population of
Playstation users, claiming, "
...if I didn’t care one whit about the objectification of women or fat-bashing, I would think this was the best thing since… well, Team Fortress 2. And I’m quite sure that this describes 99% of the PSN players out there, so I’m sure the game will do very well." I'm hoping I interpreted this wrong but it seems like she's suggesting that all
Playstation gamers are sexist morons. Like I said, it already began to rub me wrong even though I'm for the same equality she is. I'd love to see more women in gaming.
The next part that angered me quite effectively was this passage:
Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest. The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry.
Oh, but that’s not as “cute” as cake and fat chicks. Right.
No, actually it isn't as cute. The game isn't called "Rape the Ugly Fat Whore" or "Fatten up The Big Bitch" so why is it being treated this way? I appreciate her inclusion of an alternative but to be honest with you, it sounds . . boring the other way around. At least with a cute little avatar of a princess, you get a goofy atmosphere because of the comically exaggerated characters. That's all they are, comically exaggerated! Besides, since when was it against feminism for men to bring women food? I thought it went the other way around? Also, what about games where men are objectified? Never mind, I'll get to that later.
All intentional thickness aside, I just don't see what she's so upset about. I think this is similar to the Resident Evil 5 Racism bullshit that has transpired over the last few months. People see something touchy like racism or feminism and then cry rivers of tears from the tallest e-Towers they can reach (Ponygirl's tower is about two floors at most with no basement).
So how about layering, Karamari-style, a bunch of random shit on top of the chest, like shrubbery, rocks, bison, etc, that would also weight it down. That could be cute, and silly, and not reinforce nasty stereotypes about women and the obese.
What nasty stereotype about obese people is being presented? That it takes an army to carry some of them? That's not stereotypical, that's fact. Huge, gut grumbling fact. Also, I can see the problems she's talking about with the princess in regards to the images of women. It shows them as lazy, helpless damsels who need men for everything. I can dig that sentiment, it's wrong and quite disturbing to a chivalristic man like myself who can't help but hold every door, offer any layer of clothing, or resist the chance to help any person in need, male or female.
Amusingly enough, that's the end of the article. She's got nothing else to say. In my mind, it was nothing but troll bait because not only does she take some serious joy in calling every single person responding to her post a troll, but she does it with over-defensive glee. One person responded quite well, making a few valid points such as a shared sentiment of mine that we coddle certain folk too much:
http://www.feministgamers.com/?p=466#comment-7684
However, her response was swift and as graceful as an epileptic at a rave with one good leg and poor depth perception.
Sexism and fat-bashing go hand-in hand. My post was meant to point out that a game, no matter how interesting the game mechanic is and how “play-worthy” it is can still be harmful and reinforce harmful stereotypes. And your concern trolling about how oh we shouldn’t celebrate those poor unhealthy fatties can go away: people suffer from obesity for a number of reasons, including genetic reasons (like, say, being born black).
Then like all poor debaters, she brings racism into the issue.
Great.
A conversational red flag. It's a national signal meaning, "Stop discussing and walk away" because no one wants to touch it with a ten foot pole. Well, I'm going to touch it. As a matter of fact, I'm going to date it, fuck it, and splurge in it's goddamn face. Why? Mainly because I love my grinding humor but also because I'm not some guilty white guy who thinks that I can't talk about racism because of it.
Blogs like this posted by people like Ponygirl are the reason I play violent video games because with so many idiotic and ignorant self-absorbed people in this world, it's impossible to not have a vent of sorts. I think I'll make a game myself, just to get some anger out of them. Perhaps I'll call it "Bitch Sucks me Off Then Bakes a Cake" or "The WNBA Sucks and Other Facts". You know, real wholesome names that people like her expect.
Before I end this lovely discussion, I'd like to point out that men would never get away with this (ho ho and boy are men objectified and stereotyped in games). Why? Because men aren't "in". It's cool to be a feminist now, it's no longer about rights movements like it used to be. Most feminists today are snooty coffee shop intellectuals who only believe in the cause because it was in a magazine or one of their friends told them about it. Uh-oh, looks I pulled a Ponygirl with that sweeping generalization, my b. It really is quite disgusting that many important rights movements such as racial and sexual (both gender and sex issues) are being reduced to Myspace blog chatter rather than serious political and newsworthy issues. The worst part is that no one else seems to realize this.
Want to do something that matters? Why don't you go out there and actually change something rather than sniping at preteen boys for playing a game revolving around a woman the size of a small continent? Are you afraid or something?
I understand the power of messages sent through gaming being a gamer myself now for 17+ years (since I was 4). I understand also that games reach a massive audience. However, what people like Ponygirl do not understand is the simple truth that a childish game like this does not do as much damage as they think. Shouldn't you be targeting these trashy magazines and musicians who act as nothing more than meatbags? I played Mario a lot when I was little but that didn't teach me that women are submissive princesses who get kidnapped easily and must be rescued by men. There's a strong air of equality these days and I think kids today are more tolerant than ever.
So I guess my bottom line here is that there are much bigger fish to fry and that games like this don't do nearly as much damage as the ear raping sirens that go off whenever people like this get ahold of non-important issues and squeeze any controversey they can out of them.
Possible headline:
Sonic the Hedgehog: A Symbol for Male Genitals?
