Do you guy's talk this much about Feminism outside the Escapist?

[The Artificially Prolonged]

I can't remember the last time I talked about feminism with anyone in real unless it specifically is brought up. I prefer to run out the off topic forum once the big controversial topic of the month takes up most of the first page.

 

[thesilentman]

Never. To me, when someone starts this topic, I respond[footnote]Okay it was actually Yahtzee, but the idea is the same.[/footnote] "She's a woman; all she has are two XX chromosomes, so deal with it."

 

[Rednog]

It doesn't come up in real life because people can't flame you and call you a misogynist in real life without consequences. And even when it does come up, it's most likely to come up in circles of like minded people.
You should realize from Kony 2012 that any political/social heated debates on the internet are simply that...heated debates on the internet. Most people are merely armchair activists.

 

[krazykidd]

Yes . Once . My mother in law told me she was a feminist . After knowing her for about a year , i blurted out : " your only a feminist when it's convienient for you ". The shitstorm that hit me afterwards was both halarious and scary . The truth brings out the worst in people .

 

[flying_whimsy]

Personally i think the amount of threads about Feminism on off-topic is getting a bit mad, but what's just struck me is i can't remember the last time (if ever) that i've debated or discussed feminism IRL with friends and family.

Intellectually speaking, i've debated politics, the arts, history and societal issues many times with the people i've known over the years but never feminism itself so much. Yet, whenever i go to off-topic it's flooded with threads about Feminism and it strikes me as odd that the debate on off-topic in this regard is so different to that of my friends who are in many ways typical Escapists. So really i want your thoughts on these questions:


1) Is the interest in Feminism just an Escapist thing?

2) Is the interest in Feminism an internet/nerdy cultural thing?

3) Is the interest in Feminism a North American thing? (I'm coming from a British European perspective)



And before anyone points it out- yes i am well aware and appreciate the irony in my OP.

It's not just an escapist/internet/nerdy thing, but it is becoming a more relevant issue as gaming matures and grows in both scope and audience. I can't really comment on it being a North American thing, but considering that in some countries women are fighting (and dying) just for the right to an education, I'd wager it's not.

I hardly ever discuss the topic online because it has roughly the same impact as playing loud music during a hurricane, but I do discuss it fairly often away from the internet. I don't just discuss it, either, as it also has bearing on purchasing and social habits as well. I avoid people, tv shows, and products that negatively portray women as much as I am able and actively call people out on discriminatory behavior (whether it is based on gender, religion, race, or class). With both Japan and Islamic countries making headlines, women's rights comes up a lot in my recent discussions of current political topics.

TL,DR: On the internet I mostly just listen, but in life I push a pretty hard egalitarian viewpoint; so yes, I do talk about it this much outside of the escapist.

 

[Nickolai77]

Fine, if you're going to be like that and take my chance away to act all smug...

If it makes you feel better i could seed my following post with punctuational and grammar errors so you can smugly point them out to me?

From reading the responses their seems to be a fair mix of people who do and do not discuss feminism in day to day life and on other forums. So its rather hard for me to draw any decisive conclusions really. But just to clarify i do personally feel the issue is worth debating especially in nerd culture which i feel does have issues in the way women are portrayed in games and comics (as also in mainstream films as well you could argue). The sheer volume of threads on Feminism though does get a bit repetitious though.

It's cyclical. I currently theorise that you could probably chart it but I haven't bothered yet. Basically The Escapist has a cycle, each phase of indeterminate length until someone kicks off the next one. It's a side effect of people wanting views and posts in their threads (possibly for badges?)

Having been on the Escapist for quite some time now i think you have a point here. I remember when nice guy threads were all the rage and now we seem to have moved onto feminism.