Tampons Are Weapon of Choice in Student-Made Tampon Run
- Thread starter BlameTheWizards
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I'm waiting for a concerned parents groups to flip out and blame this game now next time there's a tampon flinging incident.
Pretty much this. Ladies I don't know how you feel about it (obviously you certainly shouldn't be ashamed), but it is gross. It is a perfectly natural, healthy part of being an adult female, but it's also gross. Which doesn't make women gross... or at least not any grosser than men. In fact quite a few things about being alive are just gross. And that's okay, but it doesn't make them appropriate everyday topics of conversation.Silentpony said:
Like bowel movements, vomiting, or rhinorrhea (the technical term for a runny nose... which apparently is something the Escapist doesn't know), it's one of those topics where it's just polite to keep it to yourself.
So all in all I am not really certain about this game and its intended message. If there are any girls out there who feel any sort of shame or embarrassment, and this helps, then that's great. But I don't think it's a topic that ought to be, or needs to be, more openly discussed.
The only menstruation talk I want to have is why do girls who use tampons ridicule girls who use pads? Like seriously? Why does this happen? Yeah, yeah, I know "Hahaha it's like a diaper for adults!" but hey, lady, I ain't the one sticking bits of wool up my special place. I ain't the one who has to shift and squirm to find a comfortable sitting position. I sure as hell ain't the one who has freak outs over TSS because, hey, pads are a thing that exist and Holy God they are so much more comfortable than tampons.
Seriously, I want a game about that. Where all the tampon-sporting, pad-shaming jackasses get their comeuppance.
Seriously, I want a game about that. Where all the tampon-sporting, pad-shaming jackasses get their comeuppance.
I do not like toilet humor or really any discussion of bodily functions outside of a scientific context. I believe it to be the worst type of humor and cannot help but cringe when hearing it.
If anyone needed further proof at how driven we are to factionalism...Saetha said:
Thank you, I was thinking the exact same thing. You could pretty much substitute urine, semen, or feces as your projectiles and it would carry the exact same "message" as this game is trying to get across.Bolo The Great said:
Also, call me nuts, but isn't the fact that you dispatch your enemies by hitting them with tampons sort of killing their message, since it's showing that tampons are gross and you don't want to touch them?
Thanks to everyone who mentioned the same as what I'm about to say.
Gross bathroom humor in general is less acceptable than generic fake violence. No one is saying women are dirty or bad for menstruation. They're just saying that it's not a polite topic to discuss nor is it generally a necessary subject to discuss unless you're trying to explain why you just yelled at me for five minutes straight about something someone else did when normally you're a perfectly pleasant person to be around.
Real violence is also significantly less acceptable than bathroom talk...
So... are they trying to say that guns in games are bad? Or...?
I don't talk about my shit or piss. Blood and vomit are also usually vaguely discussed if ever.
Sorry ladies, bodily functions are just commonly seen as gross topics. You aren't bad for bleeding. It's just not something people want to hear about any more than you want to see pictures of my dookies or discuss other fluids that issue forth from my body..
Now, the thrill of taking down an obstacle with a power-fantasy-pistol, that is what people want.
Gross bathroom humor in general is less acceptable than generic fake violence. No one is saying women are dirty or bad for menstruation. They're just saying that it's not a polite topic to discuss nor is it generally a necessary subject to discuss unless you're trying to explain why you just yelled at me for five minutes straight about something someone else did when normally you're a perfectly pleasant person to be around.
Real violence is also significantly less acceptable than bathroom talk...
So... are they trying to say that guns in games are bad? Or...?
I don't talk about my shit or piss. Blood and vomit are also usually vaguely discussed if ever.
Sorry ladies, bodily functions are just commonly seen as gross topics. You aren't bad for bleeding. It's just not something people want to hear about any more than you want to see pictures of my dookies or discuss other fluids that issue forth from my body..
Now, the thrill of taking down an obstacle with a power-fantasy-pistol, that is what people want.
A side-scrolling platformer with attacks based on bodily functions? Kind of reminds me of "Boogerman" for the SNES. Anyone remember that one?
Women do treat their menstrual cycles personally; they don't like to talk about them with anybody but close friends or family. Not disgusting or weird, just... well, personal. And I don't think anyone in their right mind actually considers women dirty for it. I also happen to treat any fluids leaving my body rather personally.
Now let's make a game where a guy kills women with condoms. We'll get critical acclaim.
Now let's make a game where a guy kills women with condoms. We'll get critical acclaim.
Hey, hold on, stop right there. The very first sentence needs some serious back up. Since when and in which universe is gun violence more socially acceptable than menstruation? It's a gross bodily function like many other gross bodily functions, but how is it socially unacceptable? I guess it's socially unacceptable to go around making bloody finger-paintings in public spaces, but even that is more acceptable than gun violence.
Games /can/ be a great medium for conversation on any subject, the problem is that developers too often fall for the idea that "If our product has a thing in it, then it's discussing that thing."Silentpony said:
This is the root of all pretentious bullshit.
Re-skinning basic combat mechanics as 'throwing tampons' doesn't discuss anything. At /best/ it's a cheap reminder /of/ the things they supposedly want to discuss and why they want to discuss them. But it offers no perspective, no insight, no /thought/ on the subject of any substantive worth. That's not because it's a game, it's because it's a production born of a single question and no consideration.
Menstruating doesn't make women "gross" any more than nocturnal emissions make men "gross". The thing is that we really don't talk about either one in polite public conversation.
My last girlfriend actually knew less about the subject than I did and I didn't mind educating her; there's a woman I talk to who sometimes comments about the "cup" she uses, and it doesn't bother me in the least. But these aren't conversations we'd have in a restaurant, any more than jock itch or shrinkage. And the thing about guns in video games is that they're the easiest method of conflict resolution- "use gun on man" is a lot easier to simulate than "sit down and discuss our differences".
My last girlfriend actually knew less about the subject than I did and I didn't mind educating her; there's a woman I talk to who sometimes comments about the "cup" she uses, and it doesn't bother me in the least. But these aren't conversations we'd have in a restaurant, any more than jock itch or shrinkage. And the thing about guns in video games is that they're the easiest method of conflict resolution- "use gun on man" is a lot easier to simulate than "sit down and discuss our differences".
I was unaware that this was an actual "thing". Do the tampon-users doing the ridiculing not know about the (low but non-zero) risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome from tampons? I mean, it still happens [http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/real-life/girl-almost-died-from-toxic-shock-syndrome-caused-by-a-tampon-285440.html]....Saetha said:
Oh, it's a thing. It's not staggeringly common, but common enough that I just don't bring up my preference whenever it's mentioned. The first incident I recall was in the girl's lockroom in gym class. I have a friend who gets a lot of heat from her sorority sisters for it, too.The Rogue Wolf said:
It's the stupidest thing, too. Many girls are aware of TSS. In fact, it's one of the most common negatives I hear about having a period. And every time it's brought up I think "Well, maybe if you swallowed your stupid pride and just wore the pad, you wouldn't have to worry about it."
I've been friends with a lot of girls in my life and never had a problem with tampons or periods being bought up in a discussion.. it's never bothered me, and probably never will.. it's natural, so i don't see the big deal with it
They're teenagers. It's not an "art game" or a game designed to change the world, it's a "we had X time to do a small game, and we thought we'd do this" game. And it's actually pretty cute and fun to play. So yeah, stop expecting this to be some great piece of social commentary; Just enjoy it for what it is, and IMO it is pretty enjoyable for about 3 minutes.
Oh yeah, also re: menstruation. Personally, if I had a periodic condition which makes me more stressed and easy to explode, I'd want to tell people about it so they can be careful at "that time of month". Yet, women don't seem to do so. Now, I'm not sure if the reason for this is a taboo, or something else(after all I'm not a woman), but I can certainly see why such a taboo could be a problem.
Oh yeah, also re: menstruation. Personally, if I had a periodic condition which makes me more stressed and easy to explode, I'd want to tell people about it so they can be careful at "that time of month". Yet, women don't seem to do so. Now, I'm not sure if the reason for this is a taboo, or something else(after all I'm not a woman), but I can certainly see why such a taboo could be a problem.
I now feel comfortable talking about menstruation and tampons because a game exists where you throw tampons at people.
Really though, I've never had a problem talking about any of this with any of my partners (or even friends). I don't think I'm particularly alone in this either.
That said, I'm not sure menstruation is ever going to be dinner conversation. Much in the same way most people don't want to hear about the huge shit I just took, or what kind of condoms I just bought; it's just not something the average person cares to hear about and I personally don't think this is a grave social issue plaguing all of mankind.
Really though, I've never had a problem talking about any of this with any of my partners (or even friends). I don't think I'm particularly alone in this either.
That said, I'm not sure menstruation is ever going to be dinner conversation. Much in the same way most people don't want to hear about the huge shit I just took, or what kind of condoms I just bought; it's just not something the average person cares to hear about and I personally don't think this is a grave social issue plaguing all of mankind.