Sexism in video games.

[Ashyaria]

I dont stand for it



but adblock

[Asuiop]

Anita Sarkeesian has been doing a youtube series on the roles women play in video games, if you're interested.

Her video series is grossly ignorant of the real problem in games.

Women aren't involved in the business side as much as they need to be.

Women have been developing some of the best games ever (a woman produced Journey, which is fucking amazing, a woman wrote Portal's amazing dialogue, just to provide two shining examples), but they're just not involved enough on the business/marketing side to make a difference, which is disappointing to say the least.

I can guarantee that as more women inevitably get involved gaming, sexism will be on the decrease. Already, sexism is a bad business strategy, with some 48% of self-described “gamers” being female, as well as 51% of Call of Duty players.

(yeah, I don't know why 51% of CoD's fanbase is female either. I don't get it)

To be fair, most woman gamers use the Wii and occasionally Wii U. I saw a chart about that, I'll try to find it.

But sexism is the smallest problem with video games. They're violent, gory, filled with DRMs, oversimplified, and filled with sexual innuendo just to name a few problems. The video gaming industry can't sustain itself for much longer on this course. It needs to make reforms and soon, or else it will be the 1984 video games crash all over again.

[Asuiop]

Damn good soda, though.

Diet soda is horrible.

regular Dr. Pepper is great though.

[Asuiop]

Since the majority of gamers are males

Ever wonder why that is?

I think its partly due to the Nerdy Geeky living in your mom's basement stereotype of gamers.

[Asuiop]

I think its partly due to the Nerdy Geeky living in your mom's basement stereotype of gamers.

Why would that stereotype not repel males the same as females?

Well it does, just to a lesser extent. Plus theres also the only boys play video games myth working too.

[Asuiop]

yup

I never encountered that shit playing SW Battlefront. I saw a black male (his name said he was black, anyway) being harassed, though not in a sexual way.

Its worse on COD. Much much much worse. Oh, and were you playing on PC, Xbox, or PS3? The PC gamers tend to be more mature than console gamers.

[Asuiop]

Well it does, just to a lesser extent. Plus theres also the only boys play video games myth working too.

If you mean in this thread, it's clearly not.

If you mean as a repellent for women, then I think that reinforces the idea of sexist video game culture, doesn't it?

Well, most games aren't sexist, its usually only a few M games that are. Have you seen the tomb raider woman or the Halo 4 holographic woman?

[Asuiop]

Its worse on COD. Much much much worse. Oh, and were you playing on PC, Xbox, or PS3? The PC gamers tend to be more mature than console gamers.

PC, but I'd hardly call racial harassment "mature".

Not mainy gamers are truely racist, alot of them just yell racial, sexual, and just generally horrible slurs on games like COD just because they can.

[Asuiop]

PC, but I'd hardly call racial harassment "mature".

It happens. You have to remember that online video games are still a part of the Internet.

And 4Chan is part of the internet
*shivers*

[Asuiop]

Ever wonder why that is?

Because of social stigma saying that women shouldn't enjoy videogames, poor representation of women as characters in games, and the online gamers being douchebags.

Actually, its because we have gone into a positive feedback loop.

Sexism(Sexy ladies in video games) causes more men to start playing video games. The Industry responds to the increased male gaming sector by adding for sexism.

[Asuiop]

Actually, its because we have gone into a positive feedback loop.

Sexism(Sexy ladies in video games) causes more men to start playing video games. The Industry responds to the increased male gaming sector by adding for sexism.

How is it sexism? IT IS MARKETING. The game is supposed to be bought by teenage boys, and what is better for advetisment to teenage boys than TITS? Seriously, are you guys trying to find things to complain about?

I'm not complaining. I'm a man so I love it. I'm just explaining it to him.

[Asuiop]

I'm not complaining. I'm a man so I love it. I'm just explaining it to him.

Sorry but, by calling it "sexism" you remind me of those lesbian vloggers or the other "politcally correct white knight" vloggers

Oh, I hate feminist bloggers. They call everyone sexist and then claimmthat woman should get benefits over men.

[Asuiop]

No it certainly isnt a factor. People have been doing the same shit for centuries, long before video games were around.

Read this:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag.violent.video.kids/

I don't trust these links to be honest. They also linked pepsi to cancer and vaccines to autism.

[Asuiop]

How is it sexism? IT IS MARKETING. The game is supposed to be bought by teenage boys, and what is better for advetisment to teenage boys than TITS? Seriously, are you guys trying to find things to complain about?

Teenage boys are nowhere near the biggest market for video games (they make up only 13%). Most gamers are in their 30s.

Anyone under their forties and male likes the Halo 4 Cortana girl

[Asuiop]

Anyone under their forties and male likes the Halo 4 Cortana girl

Anyone?

Including the 45% of the video game market who are women? Or do we not count?

Wait, there are male women now? Wow. What will they think of next?

[Asuiop]

So hot women cant be consindered as idealization for females?

Not if you define "hot" to be tiny with giant tits. That's not in the powerful, competent, ass-kicking way.

Lets compromise, in Skyrim the ladies have giant tits, while still being able to brutally murder you. I think thats a good compromise.

[Asuiop]

I get that. I'm just saying that Skyrim isn't exactly a good example of gender equality.

I will say that most feminist activist do need to look at newer games to compare and on a broader spectrum too. The video that Dakini linked showed games that are made pre-2010. It made good points, it just seems outdated to me. Considering newer games like Bioshock Infinite would make it more relevant to modern times.

Skyrim does certainly do better than most games in that front. In the main quest and all four faction quests, we see a pretty good mixture of males and females in plot crucial roles. We get good examples like Mirabelle, Aela, Dauphine, Astrid, Vex, and Karliah. In both the main questline and the four factional questlines, the character is forced to, at one point or another, rely on the help of a woman. It's not the greatest progress, but it's certainly further than most games.

The second in Command of the Thieve's guild is a woman, a master of magic is a woman, almost every housecarl follower are women, 2 different jarls are woman, the unofficial leader of Riften and leader of a ultra-sucessful brewery is a woman, most owners of inns are women, etc etc.

I'd say Skyrim is a decent example of what most games should shoot for.

Skyrim also has a parody of feminists in Markarth, just go into the building on top of the mountain in the middle of the city.

[Asuiop]

I think that's different. I think that's not what feminists want. Certainly not what I want for a plot oriented game (Skyrim is good, but it's not exactly a beacon of gender equality because of it's lack of story). Because for one, the main character, you, is devoid of any personality whatsoever.

I could only remember a few games that forces you to be on the opposite role and I'm not even sure if it's good enough. Beyond Good & Evil is one. Dreamfall. Those are obscure games at that.

I want games in which I can play as a fully fleshed-out, preexisting character who happens to be female, rather than an endless string of "in this new, innovative game, you play as a muscly white
*I recognize that this one, unlike the rest, can't just be slotted in to any character, but there are absolutely game concepts in which the PC could be in a wheelchair or missing a limb or something and it would in no way harm and quite possibly enhance the game.

I feel the need to mention that in happy wheels, you can play as an old man in a wheelchair. It has rocket boosters as his special ability.

[Asuiop]

*I recognize that this one, unlike the rest, can't just be slotted in to any character, but there are absolutely game concepts in which the PC could be in a wheelchair or missing a limb or something and it would in no way harm and quite possibly enhance the game.

I now want a survival horror game where the protagonist is in a wheelchair.

That would be awesome.

[Asuiop]

People also complain about that. They're just not complaining about it now, because this is the thread about sexism in video games.

It's doubly-irrelevant because the appropriate response to "Wow, that's really sexist towards women" isn't "Men suffer too!" without any sort of admission of the criticism being valid.
(I'm getting this from "People always complain about [...] but" since the implication is that the complaints are invalid due to males also being harmed by stereotyping)
[Can't remember the technical term for- displacement? Think that's the one.]

How about this. Life isn't fair so stop complaining about things which barely effect you when there are so many larger problems to deal with.

[Asuiop]

How about this. Life isn't fair so stop complaining about things which barely effect you when there are so many larger problems to deal with.

The existence of greater evils, does not makes lesser evils no longer evils.

I'm sorry, but since when did enlarging a woman's boobs in a video game become an evil?

[Asuiop]

Frankly, this is why I've been saying that most of the worthwhile posters here should just fucking make one.

That requires effort. *whine*

If I'm unemployed after grad school and sitting around in Japan with little to do, I can look into something because that could be good, but I'm sort of hoping not to be in that situation (and I also don't know how much work is actually involved in that kinda thing).

Well, as long as you get some decent mods its not too much work

[Asuiop]

I love that there is a wikipedia entry on this and I am going to throw it at people until they interleave more.

I think there's a wiki on almost everything. If you can think of something that wiki doesn't have, you should make the page.

Your style is classier though, with your hard rules and all.

There's a wikepedia page about wikepedia.

[Asuiop]

To name just a few game that have strong female characters.

The Portal Series
The Elder Scrolls Series
The Fallout Series
Donkey Kong Country 2, 3, (and the upcoming game Tropical Freeze), along with their Land counterparts
Any Mario RPG
The Disgaea Series (although this runs heavy with sex appeal too, but there are plenty of "positive female role models")
Most MMOs where there is decent character customization
The Tomb Raider series
Perfect Dark

I could go on. You really have to be blind if you think there are no games with strong female characters.

"Strong female characters" does not automatically equal a lack of sexism. Also, by the by, trying to pass of Mario as lacking sexism really makes me doubt your credibility.

[.

Mario has sexism? Seriously? Unless you think the princess being kidnapped thing is sexist, which is ridiculous, then I don't know what you're talking about.

[Asuiop]

Not inherently. It's sexist if it is too prevalent as a representation of the proper place of women, though what level of prevalence is necessary is a matter of debate. Female characters in need of rescue is not simply wrong by definition.

All the fucking time? When the male character never is?

Please, name some modern games in which the woman are always needing saving.