The Felicia Day/Destructoid situation

[lapan]

Felicia Day has yet to make any kind of decent contribution to gaming. She's done some voice-overs and otherwise have yet to do anything to earn the attention and pay she's gotten. She's been riding the "hurr durr girl that acknowledges the existence of gamer geeks, must adore!" train pretty much from the beginning.

The reason pointing out that she's nothing but a glorified booth babe isn't sexist is simple: She is nothing but a glorified booth babe. Insane feminists have somehow managed to make it a bad thing to point out that some women just coast along on their tits and giggles, like Felicia Day.

Yeah sure, that's a question or accusation that is fairly unique to women but guess what? That's because women are the only ones who do get to do it! Men actually have to work for their positions and there's nothing sexist in demanding that women have to do the same.

PR and voiceacting IS work and someone has to do it. Besides, her main job is actress and as such she has no obligation to provide anything further to gaming. Robin Williams made ads for Zelda. William Shatner and a bunch of other dudes made ads for WoW. Do they have to provide something to gaming?

Why are females that are connected to video games automatically called attention whores and males doing the same ignored?

What stops you from ignoring her anyways?
I myself only saw her in Dr. Horrible and she was okay enough in there.

 

[ColaWarVeteran]

Why should we care about him?

Considering I see 12 pages of posts about his single Tweet I should think this question has already been answered.

 

[everythingbeeps]

Felicia Day has yet to make any kind of decent contribution to gaming. She's done some voice-overs and otherwise have yet to do anything to earn the attention and pay she's gotten. She's been riding the "hurr durr girl that acknowledges the existence of gamer geeks, must adore!" train pretty much from the beginning.

The reason pointing out that she's nothing but a glorified booth babe isn't sexist is simple: She is nothing but a glorified booth babe. Insane feminists have somehow managed to make it a bad thing to point out that some women just coast along on their tits and giggles, like Felicia Day.

Yeah sure, that's a question or accusation that is fairly unique to women but guess what? That's because women are the only ones who do get to do it! Men actually have to work for their positions and there's nothing sexist in demanding that women have to do the same.

^^^ Another person who has no idea who Felicia Day is.

There's a wider world out there son. Go experience it. She's done a ton of shit.

Nothing that matters. Felicia Day is a two-bit crap actress that is hyped across all game media for no good reason. Glorified booth babe and not even good at that.

Ohhhh, I got it. You asked her on a date and she shot you down. That's the only thing that could justify that amount of venom.

 

[IceStar100]

Holly wood is full of acters and actress in restruants who are never infrount of camra or who do theator. She's infrount of a camra becuase she pretty.

If that was all it took, there would be a lot more successful actresses than there are.

(And if it was required, character actors would not exist.)

Paris Hilton and the Kardashions even Jersy shore all beg to differ. They are infrount of the camra and have no real talent beside being train wrecks. The actress who plays bloodrayne or even the resident evil movies. Thier not great but they still get work. One becuase she's the wife of the director and he married her becuase he though she was pretty.

You're misreading my argument. If that were truly ALL that it took, there'd be hundreds of famous actresses. That hot girl you see on the street? She'd get a movie deal. That one cute waitress? Sitcom. That doesn't happen because in Hollywood, beautiful people are a dime a dozen.

Paris Hilton- to the extent that she acts anymore- got on TV because she was an heiress and a prominent figure on the party circuit before making a sex tape. Her reputation as a wild party girl got her a reality show. The Kardashians got where they are through ruthless exploitation of the gossip and media circles. It may not be great work but it wasn't just "they're pretty"- it helped but it wasn't everything.

I hate to say I agree with you becuase that means the debate ends. I was enjoying it to be quite honest. All I'm saying is look get you in the door but yeah it's not enough by it's self.

 

[Paradoxrifts]

It would take a whole lot less justification for me to fire an intern than what Mr. Perez invited upon himself, like not remembering how I like my coffee for an example.

However it is nice to see the same group of feminists making a 12-page mountain from what would've been a molehill had they not generated 8 pages worth of text by challenging anyone and everyone who wanders in with an opinion they don't like. You lot must really consider careers in landscaping, because you lot do wonders with AstroTurf!

 

[General Twinkletoes]

Hmm... I wonder what Ryan Perez has "provided to gaming." Oh, wait, nobody asks that question because he has a Y chromosome and it's not a good question.

Yeah, far be it to see anybody EVER being cruel to a man. Not like losing his job for a few dumbass comments, that'd never happen.

Yeah, because getting in hot water over sexist remarks is totally the same as being the target of sexist remarks, guise. (Like, seriously, did anyone call, for instance, Nathan Fillion a "glorified booth babe" for being in and helping to promote a Halo game?)

Prove it was sexist. He never said anything to women, he said it to Felicia Day. Last I checked, Felicia Day is not women.

And okay, I misspoke in my previous post. I didn't mean to imply what's-his-name Perez, was the target of sexism. He's not in hot water because of his gender, it's because of the gender of the person he's speaking to. That's just as bad. It's like dropping two people in a warzone for no reason, and saying to the girl: "Oh yeah, here's your bullet proof armour. You get it because you have a vagina."

If felicia day was a guy, do you really think she would have been accused? Attractive women often get accused of just being there to patronize gamers, regardless of whatever they are like.

A recent example - There's a gaming youtube group similar to machinima, but generally better, called the gamestation. They had a news show every week, and the old anchor had to be replaced because he was leaving. He got replaced with Lisa Foiles. Because she's hot, people got angry because they thought they just got someone to look pretty on camera, regardless of the fact that Lisa has been doing stuff like this all her life and knows her shit when it comes to games journalism. People thought because she was a pretty girl, she couldn't possibly be into gaming, or honestly want to do a news show.

So there's people judging because of gender. And the thing is, the guy host that was on before, Layne Pavoggi, is also considered very attractive to people that like guys, but because he's male, people didn't judge him.

Now to bring it around, there are plenty, plenty of guys who do similar sorts of things in the gaming community as felicia day. When has there been an example of them being accused?
Maybe occasionally, but very, very rarely.

There was nothing actually sexist in the comments themselves, but the fact that he made them to her alone sort of proves it.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Why are females that are connected to video games automatically called attention whores and males doing the same ignored?

Pretty common thing across industries, as far as I can tell. There's a certain sort of guy who feels really threatened by successful women, particularly if he finds the successful woman in question attractive. Yeah, I have no idea either.

 

[Weealzabob]

I know that the feud is over but I'm throwing in my two cents.

I just find this thing confusing.

As far as I know Felicia Day doesn't claim to have an influence on gaming, and I don't think people view her as being a major influence or even face for the medium. She's done a few web series based around videogames, some voicework for games, and she did the Dragon Age web series, that's it. She's a B-list celebrity who's fame is synonymous with gaming, why did this guy draw such big issue from this?

And of the throngs of famous gamer girls out there, who are famous because they host a gaming show, and pose in Maxim while suggestively holding a Wii-mote, he chooses too attack one of the few famous gamer girls that doesn't just use sex appeal to attract the attention of fifteen year old boys. That makes a whole lot of sense.

I don't think the guy should have been fired. He may be a douche, but that's not really a valid enough reason to get the sack.

 

[AbstractStream]

snip

snip

Nothing that matters. Felicia Day is a two-bit crap actress that is hyped across all game media for no good reason. Glorified booth babe and not even good at that.

Ohhhh, I got it. You asked her on a date and she shot you down. That's the only thing that could justify that amount of venom.

Gotta second this.

Personally? I love Felicia Day and this Ryan fellow is just a prick, but that's already been established.

 

[Snake Plissken]

Hmm... I wonder what Ryan Perez has "provided to gaming." Oh, wait, nobody asks that question because he has a Y chromosome and it's not a good question.

It's the same reason nobody here wants to discuss the comments he made about Wil Wheaton, which were far more hurtful and inflammatory in my opinion.

 

[Doclector]

Sure, she hasn't contributed much, aside from a webseries that I personally don't like much, but really, how many people have? I haven't. You probably haven't. Hell, half the commentators on this website haven't, but they're still entertaining, informative professionals. Not making a contribution isn't a crime, and it certainly shouldn't lead to this kind of treatment.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

Jeez, between this, Spoony, TotalBiscuit... am I missing Rage Month?

What'd TB do? Got pissed at fans, that's hardly a rare occurrence, especially if you include his twitter.

OT: This guy is a dick. The fact that he only said this to felicia, and pretty much only because she's a woman, is stupid. The argument doesn't even make sense.

 

[wintercoat]

Felicia Day has yet to make any kind of decent contribution to gaming. She's done some voice-overs and otherwise have yet to do anything to earn the attention and pay she's gotten. She's been riding the "hurr durr girl that acknowledges the existence of gamer geeks, must adore!" train pretty much from the beginning.

The reason pointing out that she's nothing but a glorified booth babe isn't sexist is simple: She is nothing but a glorified booth babe. Insane feminists have somehow managed to make it a bad thing to point out that some women just coast along on their tits and giggles, like Felicia Day.

Yeah sure, that's a question or accusation that is fairly unique to women but guess what? That's because women are the only ones who do get to do it! Men actually have to work for their positions and there's nothing sexist in demanding that women have to do the same.

^^^ Another person who has no idea who Felicia Day is.

There's a wider world out there son. Go experience it. She's done a ton of shit.

Nothing that matters. Felicia Day is a two-bit crap actress that is hyped across all game media for no good reason. Glorified booth babe and not even good at that.

Ohhhh, I got it. You asked her on a date and she shot you down. That's the only thing that could justify that amount of venom.

Using an ad hominem as a counterargument to someone who's defending a guy who made a personal attack. Isn't that like the definition of hypocrisy? Don't do that. It makes you look bad.

Instead, point out how disgustingly misogynistic it is to call someone a glorified booth babe, meaning that they exist solely for men to look at. Then point out her VO work and social contributions to the gaming community in her web series work. Then finish with: Just because Ryan Perez doesn't personally like her doesn't give him the right to publicly(and it was publicly. He made it public the moment he directly tweeted to Felicia Day) lambast her with no consequences.

But don't just sling mud. It makes you just as bad as the guy your arguing was in the wrong.

 

[Buskii]

I'm not sure how people are calling it sexist... It's tactless and uneducated absolutely, but clearly not sexist. To be honest, she should have just called him out, made him look a fool when they're contributions are compared (I'm assuming) and we could've laughed at his stupidity. Let's not make a world where nobody can say anything negative

 

[itsthesheppy]

For those who may be confused as to why it was a misogynist thing for him to call her a 'glorified booth babe', what he is implying there is her existence is naught but to appeal to the sexual gratification of men. A man, in her position, would never, ever be accused of being nothing but sexual window dressing for women.

It's a dehumanizing thing to say to someone. Fairly simple, really. Just a dick move and he deserves the scorn he's getting.

 

[J. Mazarin]

And yet she wanted an apology. Fancy that.

If she was perfectly fine with it, then why was there a controversy in the first place? People getting offended on her behalf?

Because wanting an apology is obviously the same thing as being offended.

As for the controversy? Sexism's the flavor of the month and when people think it's happening to someone relatively well-liked, said people are going to talk about it.

Jim Sterling spreads shit on a regular basis, for example, he previously referied to feminists as 'feminazis'. Just because he defended Hepler against some trolls (even thought that had nothing to do with the real issue), doesn't wipe his slate clean.

You keep bringing up Sterling for no real reason. He's obviously worth something to Dtoid, Perez obviously isn't. Not too hard to comprehend.

Not sure where the 'feminazi' comment came from, but considering the tone of his show ("I'm god's gift to earth!") I'm inclined to believe he wasn't being entirely serious.

Most gaming websites thrive of controversy, that's where they get the ad revenue from. That's why you'll frequently see misleading headlines on the escapist and deliberately controversial opinions on Kotaku. This whole debacle is massively hypocritical, especially after Destructiod previously hired Sterling to do the exact same thing, just on a broader basis.

Last time I checked neither Dtoid or the Escapist ever ran an article titled "Is This (female gaming figure) Nothing More Than a Glorified Booth Babe?"

Also, if what he said about Felicia wasn't enough to get him fired, then the shit he said towards Wheaton was more than enough. "Miscarriage soup", haha.

 

[everythingbeeps]

Felicia Day has yet to make any kind of decent contribution to gaming. She's done some voice-overs and otherwise have yet to do anything to earn the attention and pay she's gotten. She's been riding the "hurr durr girl that acknowledges the existence of gamer geeks, must adore!" train pretty much from the beginning.

The reason pointing out that she's nothing but a glorified booth babe isn't sexist is simple: She is nothing but a glorified booth babe. Insane feminists have somehow managed to make it a bad thing to point out that some women just coast along on their tits and giggles, like Felicia Day.

Yeah sure, that's a question or accusation that is fairly unique to women but guess what? That's because women are the only ones who do get to do it! Men actually have to work for their positions and there's nothing sexist in demanding that women have to do the same.

^^^ Another person who has no idea who Felicia Day is.

There's a wider world out there son. Go experience it. She's done a ton of shit.

Nothing that matters. Felicia Day is a two-bit crap actress that is hyped across all game media for no good reason. Glorified booth babe and not even good at that.

Ohhhh, I got it. You asked her on a date and she shot you down. That's the only thing that could justify that amount of venom.

Using an ad hominem as a counterargument to someone who's defending a guy who made a personal attack. Isn't that like the definition of hypocrisy? Don't do that. It makes you look bad.

Instead, point out how disgustingly misogynistic it is to call someone a glorified booth babe, meaning that they exist solely for men to look at. Then point out her VO work and social contributions to the gaming community in her web series work. Then finish with: Just because Ryan Perez doesn't personally like her doesn't give him the right to publicly(and it was publicly. He made it public the moment he directly tweeted to Felicia Day) lambast her with no consequences.

But don't just sling mud. It makes you just as bad as the guy your arguing was in the wrong.

I'm not engaging in a serious debate here. I can abuse whatever bullshit debate vocabulary terms you see fit to mention.

 

[TheRookie8]

Felicia Day has stated that she is an avid lover of videogames with strong story & characters. She developed the Dragon Age: Redemption live action series in celebration of Bioware's franchise. She also voiced a character in Dragon Age 2 DLC. I've recently heard that she is to be hosting a videogame award ceremony in the fall. Hell, she even sang a duet of "Still Alive" (Portal) with Jonathan Coulton.

So she contributes quite a bit to videogame culture, both creatively and directly. Ryan's questions, while not extremely venomous, did carry undertones of disrespect.

In the end, someone with Ryan's position should have realized that putting such comments on the Internet might spread an unhealthy backlash. His termination, which could be interpreted as extreme, is an outcome that Destructoid felt appropriate to the situation.

I do hope he finds work, though. You learn through these mistakes, not get damned by them.

 

[Frostbite3789]

It's not what you say, is how you said it.

Did he had any validity to his questions? Perhaps. Was he professional about posing these questions? Absolu-fucking-lutely not.

He deserverd to get canned for it, because in lieu of being "the voice of gamers" he was a douche. You can make the same questioning and rise the same topic with much better arguments and without being a dick.

You could also raise the same question to him and any gaming journalist. Glass houses. Stones. All that.

 

[LiftYourSkinnyFists]

I'm sorry but she's an minor E-Celebrity although Perez probably shouldn't of said what she did I still think she is just a personality... I like her in House and the various other bits and pieces but I had no idea she was anything to do with the games industry or anything alike.

I don't like "The Guild" so I really am biased, but she was good in House.