Gamerisms

Nerds and Male Privilege Part 2

In a continuation of Kotaku’s discussions on male privilege in gaming/comics/geek culture, the writer takes the time to dissect and deconstruct many of the common excuses that men make for not considering the role that sexism plays in geek culture, in what he calls, “The 3 Ds of Arguing.”

Dismissal entails denying that the issue exists at all in the first place, evidence be damned. This often involves long and tortured explanations about how something really isn’t sexist at all and is perfectly rational and egalitarian. Occasionally it involves explaining to someone how they’re completely misinterpreting things, they’re oversensitive or overemotional.

No, you’re sexist! You’re trying to oppress men!

Deflection is all about verbal judo and flipping the accusations around on the accuser. In terms of arguing male privilege this usually appears as variations of “No, women have all the power, they’re more manipulative than men” or “You’re discriminating against us!”

Derailing is the most common version of these arguments and serves to change the subject of the conversation, usually by the people in question. Suddenly, instead of discussing geek culture’s implied accepted roles for women, we’re discussing the hierarchy of oppression or why we’re talking about this instead of, say, female circumcision (which is, like, way worse). Or dealing with assertions that, by extension, anyone who agreed with the article wants to ban all “sexy” characters from video games forever.

Note how the 3 Ds are actually very applicable in many conversations about how male privilege functions in different cultures and sub-cultures.

Although on Kotaku, it can be a face-palming experience to read the comments section, this time around, there is definitely more support for what the writer is articulating, even despite the usual privilege-deniers. The more that influential sites like Kotaku talk about these issues, the more that people can feel comfortable with talking about their own experiences without fear of being immediately shut down by the very culture these articles are trying to get us to look at and dismantle.

Nerds and Male Privilege

This great article from Kotaku, (that’s right, Kotaku) functions as a kind of introductory lesson to its mostly male readers about male privilege in the gaming world, breaking it down piece-by-piece for the men who have ever refused or ignored talks of male privilege in gaming culture. Now, many of us gamers who already understand the ramifications of a cis-straight-male-dominated gaming and geek culture will not be surprised at all by the writer’s words. However, this 101 on male privilege features important and vital information for those gamers who have lived their lives as geeks blissfully unaware, or defiantly ignorant, of the privilege that they hold within gaming, and how that privilege manifests in all areas of their lives.

Now with this in mind, consider why being a girl first may be a hindrance to geek girls. A guy who plays a first person shooter – Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield, what-have-you – online may expect a certain amount of trash talking, but he’s not going to be inundated with offers for sex, threats of rape, sounds of simulated masturbation or demands that he blow the other players – but not before going to the kitchen and getting them a beer/sandwich/pizza first. Men will also not be told that they’re being “too sensitive” or that “they need to toughen up” when they complain about said sexual threats.

Men also won’t have their opinions weighed or dismissed solely on the basis of how sexy or attractive they are. The most common responses a woman can expect in an argument – especially online – is that she’s fat, ugly, single, jealous, a whore, or a lesbian – or any combination thereof – and therefore her opinion is irrelevant, regardless of it’s actual merits. This is especially true if she’s commenting on the portrayal of female characters, whether in comics, video games or movies.

It seems rare when an influential and popular site as Kotaku features an article like this as their top story, and hopefully, more will come.

As usual on Kotaku, whenever there is an article directly relating to critiquing the cis straight male culture, be careful when reading the comments, as although some are indeed supportive of the article, and some feel enlightened, many comments are men defending the culture and upholding the status quo of the straight male gaze.

Dark Souls Review + Feminist Analysis

A review of general gameplay on its own, but also narrative and character reviews based on representation of race, gender, and body type.

submitted by enviablememory

Texas Battlefield 3 launch LAN bans women from attending

feministgamers:

[image description: Battlefield 3 logo of a man in a soldier’s uniform facing forward as he is partly lit with an orange glow and has smoke coming from off his shoulders and helmet. Planes and a cityscape are in the background]

A large launch party and LAN for Battlefield 3 is being held in Texas, and women are disallowed from attending in order to protect them from misogynistic insults. While the original text in the FAQ has now been removed, the FAQ declared that women are not invited with the following statement:

Nothing ruins a good LAN party like uncomfortable guests or lots of tension, both of which can result from mixing immature, misogynistic male-gamers with female counterparts. Though we’ve done our best to avoid these situations in years past, we’ve certainly had our share of problems. As a result, we no longer allow women to attend this event.”

After being called out on this behavior on Reddit and on Kotaku,  the text was removed and replaced by declaring the event as a ‘gentleman’s retreat’.

I wanted to get this post up for discussion as soon as possible, and as a result I do not have a lot of personal commentary to add.  I will say that preventing women from attending gaming events doesn’t solve the problem with misogyny and hate speech towards them.  Instead, it puts the blame on the women for even being present, and removes the obligation for men to be decent human beings who respect women gamers.  It basically is saying that the organizers either don’t want to put the effort into policing language at their event, or don’t trust the men to be mature and responsible enough to adhere to event policies.

Kotaku’s Owen Good said it well:

This is a large, private event and its organizers certainly have the right to associate with whomever they please. But given what I usually hear over my headset in military shooters like Battlefield, I wonder if this party would so outwardly ban any black gamers from registering. Because it would be so, you know, uncomfortable to hear them being insulted.

Or maybe the answer here is to forbid that kind of obnoxious behavior, and kick out anyone who breaks the rule, $49 registration be damned. Or maybe this event is more about the comfort of the organizers than the participants.

I certainly wouldn’t want to go to this LAN party anyway at this point, but is the answer to creating a welcoming space in gaming for women to segregate them and forbid them from attending game launch parties to prevent misconduct?  I certainly don’t think so.

So the makers of Battlefield 3 know that misogynistic comments are happening, but instead of actively telling men to not engage in such behavior or punishing them if they do, the real “solution” is to just remove women altogether? Because apparently, the problem is not that men are overtly sexist, it’s that women get offended and need protection from the mean name-calling. Benevolent sexism much?

I would think that, rather than “protecting” women from misogynistic comments, this “gentlemen’s retreat” is actually fostering a place wherein men can openly express misogyny without repercussions. This “solution” is not a way to prevent misogyny, it’s a way to prevent lawsuits.

- Aria

(Source: )