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#Gaming

Edited by ProwlyB: 9/1/2014 1:57:26 AM
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The Threat of Feminism to Gaming?

Having been born in the 80's, I remember the attitude people had about video games growing up. Most people didn't understand video games, especially adults. But, not fitting in with most people didn't really bother me much. I learned to live with it and embrace my differences. I accepted the fact that most adults and even most of my peers didn't really "get it." Particularly, I remember being mostly ignored by girls and being told I was weird when I admitted to liking video games. Even to this day, to be honest I STILL don't mention anything about video games when initially asked "What are your interests?" by an attractive girl. The stigma still exists, though admittedly it has lessened over the years. Today, I think we're seeing a new trend - girls are becoming a more active part of the "gaming culture" and embracing the same great experiences we had growing up. I love women...and I'm thrilled when I notice them taking an interest in the things I enjoy. I feel wonderful when I see my two nieces for example, playing video games like Skyrim, Sims, Mario and Zelda because it reminds me that they'll more easily relate to and understand boys who might otherwise be thought of as weird or too geeky. Unfortunately, there's a downside to all of this. And that is that with the influx of women into video games, we're starting to see an influx of "self identified feminists." Not all women are feminists mind you, and to those who aren't feminists - I congratulate you! You're most probably an intelligent beautiful and wonderful person who deserves my deep respect and admiration. Bravo! Thank you for what you do. However, it's unfortunate that the trend of feminism's influence over gaming is increasing. What does that mean for us? It means that feminism is attacking games for not having "strong female protagonists" or "excessive nudity" or "violence towards women." Feminism is intruding on the culture of gaming. It's attempting to censor, limit or judge the entertainment consumed by those of us who call ourselves gamers. If it succeeds, video games will never be the same again. No longer will the content of our entertainment be determined by what appeals to us, by our rights as gamers. Instead, it will be determined by the coercion of feminists using political legislation, and social shaming. Feminists will use the threat of being labeled "racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, or bigoted" when someone says something they simply don't agree with. And when men are no longer free to just simply be themselves...they'll eventually abandon forums like these. They'll slowly abandon video games altogether and leave the devices to women. They'll move on to doing something else, somewhere else. They'll go where they're free to exist without shame or censorship or oppression from the gynocentric perspective. [i]Edit: Some of you are mistaking this as a direct call for action, or paranoid doomsday rambling on my part. It's neither of those things, more like a reflection of feminism on modern gaming culture (from the perspective of a non-feminist). I think it's important to combat the false narrative put forth by feminists. Also, some of you keep asserting "feminism is about equality between the sexes." While I agree that traditional feminism was originally about that, modern feminism necessarily evolves into female supremacy. If you disagree, I challenge you to name even one social or political challenge facing men today that modern feminists care about.[/i]

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  • Edited by Rothnihalias: 8/30/2014 7:12:44 AM
    I think we can all agree that artistic censorship is bad. I can remember a few games where because of an outcry over a detail it made a product better as a whole, but that is not the point. The point is that militant feminism has caused an increase in self-censorship and hindered the artistic potential of games. That is, at the core, what I hate about what I learned through the Zoe Quinn scandal. I think you're going overboard with that last point. It not only isn't just men but you're not considering the backlash that will most definitely come. The most power this abhorrent militant feminism has is in the Indie gaming scene and through tabloid-style articles. You really do have to take into account the concept of the vocal minority. As can be seen with real-world news pieces criticizing the low degree of diversity in companies with jobs that minorities statistically are not prominent in training for, the reaction to the fallacy that in order to represent a race group you must hire someone of that race, and the Zoe Quinn scandal, common sense is alive and well within the general population. What will always kick back at militant feminism are cultural standards, the belief in equality, and artistic integrity.

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