fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2257 ]

[ SECRET POST #2257 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2257 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

#8 and 9 are moving gifs.

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[Jessica Alba]

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11. http://i56.tinypic.com/2ih02df.jpg
[porn... sort of. illustrated]

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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

13. [SPOILERS for A Song of Ice and Fire]

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14. [SPOILERS for Supernatural]

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15. [SPOILERS for Brave, Wreck-It Ralph]

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16. [SPOILERS for Persona 3]

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17. [WARNING for suicide, self harm]

[My Mad Fat Diary]

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18. [WARNING for rape]

[Far Cry 3]

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19. [WARNING for self harm and sexual abuse]

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #322.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - ships it ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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The first video of Anita Sarkeesian's controversial Tropes vs Women in Video Games as been released.

For those who don't know, Sarkeesian is a blogger who has been making videos on the subject of women in games for a couple of years. About a year ago she started a Kickstarter (a website where you invest money into an idea) for this web series. The outrage was...phenomenal, and as a result of the incredibly vitriol being spewed at her, she ended up receiving a lot more money than she had originally asked for, which further fueled the flames.

Now she's released her first video, on Damsels in Distress. Honestly, it's good. I think it suits an audience not used to thinking about these types of issues, but it's not exactly in-depth, hard-hitting stuff. Still, it's really disgusting seeing the sort of reaction this video is getting now.

I suggest a viewing. It's pretty informative.

http://bradofarrell.tumblr.com/post/44881549607/thedailywhat-tropes-vs-women-in-video-games

Oh for christ sake. At first when he was talking about markets I thought this guy actually made a semi-valid point (since he was neglecting the fact that increasing market share with new customers is not a wasted venture) but then he just kept going.

I can see some of his points, but there's so many bad or misleading ones I feel like he doesn't have actual criticisms beyond "there's nothing sexist in video games there's nothing sexist in video games there's nothing sexist in video games".

I hate how she keeps claiming this is a “critical analysis” but then she doesn’t actually critically analyze anything.

I agree that she doesn't really go into depth or detail, but I only have an issue with that if she actually claimed it was supposed to be that way, which I'm not sure of. I feel like this video was targeted towards a consumer who does not normally think of things like damsels in distress. I don't think there's many arguments that can be made about the topic that haven't already, so I feel like this was more of an introductory to get people to think about concepts they don't think about. It is probably not for you or me who concern themselves over video games and female presence, even if it is of interest.

The Krystal/Starfox thing is a complex issue and she’s not actually… looking into it… she’s just assuming it’s motivated by misogyny. And it’s not. At all.

And this is what makes me think he's just bent on undermining the idea games have sexist themes and ideas, rather than a rebuttal. I didn't see that as her point at all. She was using it as an illustration. I think she definitely should have brought up the point that Starfox is simply a more profitable brand, but her main contention was the topic of the video: damsels in distress. It was not enough that Krystal had her game taken from her, she also became the helpless sexed up prize of the game. That does really strongly highlight how women are often seen in games.

She’s literally saying, “don’t just make female-lead games...

She's saying that take risks. Investing in a new demographic is not a stupid idea. Playing it safe often doesn't lead the returns a risk might. If men often buy video games, I think it's mostly because culture has not made it acceptable yet for women to be the sole leaders in a story. That is not going to change unless other people change it, and yes, while gaming is a business and this is some excuse, our media is a part of our culture and we can criticize and expect better of it.

Games don’t have female support characters to bring down women.

I really don't think she was objecting to women being in supporting roles, but encouraging the idea that they can and should be in lead ones as well. This video is not 'ew, how dare women not lead every game!', it was 'when women are in games, they are often this sexist stereotype'.

There are psychological differences between men and women. There are different chemicals in the brains of men and women that affect their preferences in activities because evolution.

And yet women make up 40% of gamers--yes, this includes games like The Sims, but my point is that gaming itself is not anathema to women. They are just not encouraged and not given reason to like it that much.

Women don’t choose not to buy video games as often as men because they’re offended by the subtle sexism of Princess Peach being captured by a monster.

That's right. One example of sexism is not why women are not buying video games. It is a pervasive mindset and attitude about women and what sort of hobbies they should be enjoying that keep them from ever stirring an interest in video games.

I don't think this is a particularly well thought out argument. I almost feel like he's not even addressing the video made, but what he thinks it's about.

ETA: I just checked his blog and now I'm sure of it. He is claiming that she asked for the $150,000 she received, which is utterly untrue. She asked for $6,000 and ended up receiving a lot more. I don't think this person has any interest in what she's saying or the legitimacy of her arguments or lack thereof. He is only interested in shutting her up because he doesn't like his hobby being criticized.

Edited 2013-03-09 03:03 (UTC)

Yeah okay you lost me at "video games are inherently less interesting to female brains"

god her mouth is extremely distracting. in a not good way.

She blinks too much. When I was in 5th grade, I gave my first presentation that I worked very hard on (about medieval monks), and the teacher said I blinked and waggled my eyebrows too much. Now I'm very critical of people who blink a lot.

damn you. CAN'T UN-SEE.

Is that why your icon is giving me a stare down. To unblink in even non-irl 8(

Try looking at something else while listening?

I just watched the first video! I quite enjoyed it, it pointed out some valid things. Then I watched some of her other videos which I found just as interesting, although I disagree with her on some things about THG. Still was interesting to read. Alas, the rest of her videos so far are all about media or movies I'm not interested in or have not seen...

Let's be honest here, the hate was not surprising. The internet is full of idiots who think feminism ruined their sex life or ruined *their* women, or people who want to bitch about no longer having a ~gender place~ in society anymore. It's pretty sad, especially considering the people who cry "We don't need feminism anymore!" and then a viral post on Tumblr shows a bunch of guys talking about how rape is just a "struggle snuggle" and that women should just "get over it" if they are raped. And how wonderful it is.

That's probably the reason for some people, but I think the real reason why most men react poorly to it is for two reasons:

1. They are unable to conceive as criticism as being anything other than a complete disregard and dismissal of the thing in question.
2. (And this one is the most important) Privilege. Not in the way you think, but I think people feel inherently guilty about privilege. Every time they are reminded about how their group subjugated or oppressed another group, they feel guilty. And then they feel angry, because they do not feel like they ever did anything to deserve feeling guilty, because they have never personally treated a black man, a woman, a lesbian, etc poorly. They feel marginalized and they feel as if they're being treated unfairly.

Which leads them to dismissing the idea of privilege altogether, because that way they do not feel at fault. Which is why straight cis white men tend to be the worst of the bunch, because they have the most privilege, and therefore the most to feel guilty over.

I think this applies to most privileged groups. And it's why I don't think sexists, racists, homophobes and so on are inherently bad people. They just don't know how to deal with the emotion they have, and they turned it into something really negative and bad.

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[ SECRET POST #2257 ]

Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Re: Tropes vs Women in Video Games

(Trigger warning in the post, FYI)

Re: (Trigger warning in the post, FYI)