Equal Rights in Gaming

[Soviet Heavy]

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT MISOGYNISTIC, THIS IS MERELY AN OBSERVATION

I find it interesting how rare it is to find a game where men and women aren't portrayed as equals. I am all for equal rights between genders, but I wonder why more games don't touch upon social inequalities. We see plenty of criticisms of the treatment of lower class citizens in games, but hardly anything regarding gender roles.

One of the problems seems to stem from knee jerk reactions by gamers. I don't know how many times I've had to explain to people that the portrayal of women in The Witcher Series does not make CDProjekt Red misogynists. The sexism takes place within the context of the world, where it fits the overall tone. Dark, gritty, shit life for all.

So the Witcher is an example of a game that discusses gender roles, but it is derided as sexist for even bringing them up. I don't think that is really fair. Why is sexism considered a taboo in gaming? Why don't we see more stories or universes where such social aspects are apparent? Not everything has to be an ideal world.

I'm not saying I want more games to be sexist, I merely wish to see more games try to tackle the issues.

 

[DementedSheep]

The problem with the Witcher is not that there are sexist characters and sexism in the world. It?s the female characters themselves. In the first one most of the girls you can actually talk with throw themselves on you if you give them something pretty and shani and triss go stupid over you mid way thru the game (especially shani). I don't care if there are one or two characters like that. I don't care that there are prostitutes but the witcher takes it to moronic levels. The witcher 2 is better.

 

[SundayModulator]

Maybe a lot of it has to do with the developers being afraid of alienating their audience, I imagine. But how does one discuss such issues without coming off as sexist is sometimes difficult. Perhaps with subtlety? But I also think it's just not a priority for most game designers, thinking that it would detract from the game-play or they simply do not know how to incorporate such questions into the story in a clever way.

 

[Mr Thin]

MOUNT&BLADE, BITCHES!

As a women, you are treated with contempt and disregard by the gentry. Getting a castle and a flag to call your own is much harder than it is for a man.

Also, as a woman, you can marry a lord and use his castle as your own. So if you don't mind selling your body for political gain, you can get ahead in ways men can't.

I feel a compulsion to mention this game everytime I see the words 'sexism' and 'gaming' intertwined.

Example aside, I would say sexism isn't considered taboo in gaming, we see it all the damn time. I doubt I need to roll out examples of that.

Edit: I get what you're saying, mind. Don't think I missed the point.

I reckon game developers in general are simply bad at tackling any societal issues, with only the occasional exception.

And even with said exceptions, I doubt they mean all that much. For example, does The Witcher actually try and further discussion on sexism, or is it simply 'there'? The presence of something doesn't necessarily engender conversation or thought; something must be done with the idea.

That wasn't a rhetorical question; I actually don't know, because I haven't played The Witcher. Just saying, the presence of something doesn't necessarily engender conversation or thought; something must be done with the idea.

 

[Worgen]

Sexism in games is one of those strange beasts, on one hand women tend to be portrayed with one body type and almost always much more sexy then really warrants but on the other hand physically they are usually completely equal to men, in some ways games are sexist, in others they are very equal.

 

[badgersprite]

I'm not saying I want more games to be sexist, I merely wish to see more games try to tackle the issues.

I agree with this. I find it funny that usually the only time games address inequalities in society, it's through fantasy races or aliens. We can only tackle racism when it's oppression of elves and mages, or when it's asari discriminating against purebloods. We can only have sexism when it's done by bad guys or in the form of a completely different species. We can only address class struggle in the most banal archetype of an evil corporation taking over the world, or with it only being presented in terms of feudal and slave societies.

It would sort of be nice to have this addressed more often. Not necessarily blatantly or anviliciously, but just in a subtle way that kind of makes you think about how people are treated.

For example, I found it interesting in Dragon Age II that there's a quest where your "villain" turns out to be, well, blatantly mentally ill. He clearly has a mental condition, he's not acting, and he very clearly needs help. Yet, this is the first and only time in the entire game where literally every single member of your party sides against you unless you kill him. They all agree that he's lying or just evil. I found that an interesting yet subtle commentary on the fact that the Dragon Age society has absolutely no comprehension or understanding of mental illness. And why would they? Everything in that world is explained by magic and demons. It makes sense that they have little to no science and no understanding of mental illness that isn't caused by demons.

And they managed to successfully make that point about the Dragon Age society (and to an extent our own) and the lack of sympathy in all of five seconds. It didn't get dragged out to the overtly political extremes of the rest of the game, and it didn't negatively impact or sidetrack the story to hit you over the head with "YOUR FRIENDS ARE CLEARLY ALL UNSYMPATHETIC AND WRONG AND HAVE NO CLUE WHATSOEVER ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS. ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND LET THIS MAN GO OR GIVE IN TO PEER PRESSURE?" (assuming you're playing a good character. If you're playing a jerkass, killing him ain't no big deal).

It would be nice to have more little moments like that in games.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I'm not saying I want more games to be sexist, I merely wish to see more games try to tackle the issues.

I agree with this. I find it funny that usually the only time games address inequalities in society, it's through fantasy races or aliens. We can only tackle racism when it's oppression of elves and mages, or when it's asari discriminating against purebloods. We can only have sexism when it's done by bad guys or in the form of a completely different species. We can only address class struggle in the most banal archetype of an evil corporation taking over the world, or with it only being presented in terms of feudal and slave societies.

It would sort of be nice to have this addressed more often. Not necessarily blatantly or anviliciously, but just in a subtle way that kind of makes you think about how people are treated.

For example, I found it interesting in Dragon Age II that there's a quest where your "villain" turns out to be, well, blatantly mentally ill. He clearly has a mental condition, he's not acting, and he very clearly needs help. Yet, this is the first and only time in the entire game where literally every single member of your party sides against you unless you kill him. They all agree that he's lying or just evil. I found that an interesting yet subtle commentary on the fact that the Dragon Age society has absolutely no comprehension or understanding of mental illness. And why would they? Everything in that world is explained by magic and demons. It makes sense that they have little to no science and no understanding of mental illness that isn't caused by demons.

And they managed to successfully make that point about the Dragon Age society (and to an extent our own) and the lack of sympathy in all of five seconds. It didn't get dragged out to the overtly political extremes of the rest of the game, and it didn't negatively impact or sidetrack the story to hit you over the head with "YOUR FRIENDS ARE CLEARLY ALL UNSYMPATHETIC AND WRONG AND HAVE NO CLUE WHATSOEVER ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS. ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND LET THIS MAN GO OR GIVE IN TO PEER PRESSURE?" (assuming you're playing a good character. If you're playing a jerkass, killing him ain't no big deal).

It would be nice to have more little moments like that in games.

Which quest was that? The one with the Blood Mage Pedophile? Either way, its a good example. It might not be asking big questions or beating you over the anvil with "THIS IS BAD" plastered above it, it is simply taken as a social norm in the game's context.