LazyAza said:
The thing most anti-feminism arguments always gloss over as far as I can tell isn't that women don't want big boobed male appealing media to exist and they don't want to take it away, all they want is more balance, more options, more diversity.
You're right, but there are quite a few faulty arguments on both sides.
The biggest thing these feminist arguments gloss over is that we live in a free-market society. If there's someone willing to buy the product then someone will make it. You can't just blame the supply-side of the industry, the demand side is equally culpable, if not more so. It may be the case that many of the developers are chauvinist meat-heads and are biased in what they create. But it only takes one break-away game that appeals to the female audience in order for producers to see there's money in it and then hire less meat-headed developers to capitalize on this fact. People are kidding themselves if they think the people heading up EA give a crap about promoting a male chauvinist agenda. All they care about is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
There is no point in people protesting and writing in letters that they want more games (or what-have-you) geared towards them if there isn't enough of a market for those games. The fact of the matter is that the greasy sex-obsessed teenage boys make up a significant amount of the market, which is why the industry panders to them. And I hate to say it, but the free-market is pretty much amoral. Blaming the economic system for a social problem isn't going to get you anywhere. Overall a (properly regulated and trust-free) capitalist system is a tremendous source of good. The real problem with America isn't capitalism (which is only an economic system): it's
consumerism (which is a destructive value system).
(Well, that and our politicians are corrupt and thus the government does not regulate the system enough to prevent trusts from forming. But one could argue that the spread of consumerism has amplified this indirectly in that it has eroded the intelligence and values of the American public to the point that they are easily manipulated by the aforementioned corrupt politicians and their superpacs. But that's a story for another time.)
SLIGHTLY MORE OT:
I'm sick of hearing these tirades from people like Bob. It isn't because I disagree. Video games are CLEARLY sexist, and it
isn't the same for men as it is for women.
I'm sick of hearing it because all it is is a bunch of whinny complaining that offers no tangible solution. These people like to make these videos because they're addicted to the feeling of righteous indignation and the implicit feeling of moral superiority that accompanies it. They don't really even care about a solution, all they want to do is complain so they can hear themselves speak. Their proposed answers are always something wishy-washy like "we need to keep spreading the word and enlighten people". In other words: "WE NEEDZ TO COMPLANEZ MORRRRRR!" Ugh.
While it may be true that people like Bob do not want to take away the sexist crap and just want more products geared towards women, I'm afraid that's exactly what these companies will perceive them as saying when most of what they do is complain about the sexist crap. They need to stop focusing on complaints and pointing out instances of what
not to do, and start telling producers what they
should be doing.
Here's an idea: perhaps effort would be better spent on getting out a positive message that it's okay for girls to play video games. Maybe then there will be enough of a female demographic to counteract the sexism. Many women don't play games because they perceive it as a male activity. Granted, the tremendous amount of sexist crap made to appeal to teenage boys doesn't help this, but you'll never be able to limit this crap; there's just too much of a demand for it. (Best of luck trying to get horny teenage boys to stop objectifying women,
LOL!)
Instead of complaining about the sexist crap, I think feminist-inclined gamers would be better off if they petitioned theses companies for a game that appeals to women. When you start off by complaining about a company's products you'll immediately put the company on the defensive, which is not a very good way to get what you want. If enough people wrote in they might actually realize that there's more than just one demographic. I don't know what the percentages are, but if there really are enough women who take offense at this stuff and want more games geared towards them then companies will start making games for them when they come to realize this.
How about instead of making a video pointing out all of the sexist tropes in games, this woman sets up a website and invites all female gamers to send in what they want to see in games? Maybe this website can have a lively forum for female gamers to exchange ideas. Maybe they can even establish a Female Gamer Manifesto and send it out to developers and producers, challenging them to make a game that accomplishes the things they have laid out.
But no, people will just keep on complaining because it's easier.
