When is the all male focused issue of the escapist?

[pdgeorge]

It makes perfect sense to me.

How often do you see issues of any magazine/tv show/whatever and they are doing a special 'a look at *some minority*'
Playing it up like "we care about this minority" "this minority has feelings too!" "give a second thought for that minority, and why not be like them as well?"
but how often is there things where people dare to break the stereotype and say "we're talking about the majority of people, to the majority of people and with the majority of people" where it isn't just "oh hey! the majority of people suck" or the likes

The same issue even goes with everything else
How many female focused charities are there? and how many male based charities are there?
How often do you see a charity or government grant given only to minorities, and how often do you see it only given to white/straight/male people

edit: also, there's no reason why you should say you take pride in being white.
I take pride in being a white Australian. Why? Because Aboriginals here are given a large number of benefits but rarely use those benefits to do anything other then buy goon or mineral turpentine (I'm not being racist, I'm being honest. Not all Aboriginals are like that but the majority, more then 50% at least, are)
Asian immigrants who do not adopt the Australian culture (those who do adopt, I have no problem with) they come to Australia, but act as though they were still back in china/japan/etc. to such an extent they won't try and learn english even when the majority of people around them speak it (even a number of shop keepers will only learn the bare minimum english they need to)
Again, I'm not basing this stuff off of racism or anything like that, this is stuff I see every day and yes, I know white Australians can be dumb shits too, the more I see them being idiots the less pride I take in being Australian over time.

 

[Iron Mal]

I am personally offended and appalled at the mainstream portrayal of males as nothing more than mindless macho punks in video games. It's about time we guys took a stand in the female-dominated industry of complaining about our rights.

Doesn't it make you feel objectified? Like you don't really exist as a person... that people only view you as a personification of brutality, violence and rape?

Not when you have a girlfriend.

You're right, then you're an avatar of brutality, violence, rape and (in her eyes) the occasional quiet night in for a cuddle and a movie.

I'm not particularly bothered by the 'This is Sparta!' portrayal of men in games/media but this doesn't change the fact that a) it is there and b)it is a somewhat limiting stereotype (almost as limiting as the traditional female stereotype of being a sexy bimbo, both are one dimensional characters who are typified by a single aspect of their personality being overemphasised).

 

[Dsdude]

I say: Ignore women's efforts to get attention in the gaming community. To me, t's just another "we deserve equality!! Why can't we do what men do!!" kind of thing. Just ignore it, and play games.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Does being a minority really give you a perspective on the majority?

I would say it does. Just like the maids and butlers will have a much more accurate perspective on the lives of the ladies and gentlemen of the house than vice versa.

Hate to say this, but maids and butlers will normally be MCWM/W serving HCWM/W. Slavery has been abolished in this part of the world. Except Walmart.

I mean, disregarding dividing lines that we're trying to close, aren't all of us in a minority of 1?

Sure, but how often is a person told they can't express their voice when they talk about a problem that is purely a function of their individual personality?

Do people HAVE to express their personality? I thought that personalities were private matters. Anyone who yells their sexuality out over a MMO is likely to get told to "shut the hell up" whatever it is.

Take a quick look at all the threads on onanism that are locked. I'm not saying that it's right but there are still rules to what you can and can't say.

And woe betide you if your sexuality is abstinence or virginity, oh man, there's some shit you're going to be getting.

It's about how I quite frankly can't think of anything a MCWM faces in life that isn't also faced by minorities.

And yet I named some of them in a part you quoted.

Clothing, Relationships, Stress, Heart Disease (If ever there was a middle class white disease), Coping with Rejection, PTSD, Schizophrenia, Suicidal Tendencies, Guilt (You could also add in spoof articles on How to make Munchies for Games?)

To which I'll add: Arguing, How personal attacks aren't necessary, Why Minorities want to have their say, and things you've already mentioned like "Why are we talking about MCWM being equal when they're so far apart in everything else"?

(Oh, and Epilepsy, Colour Blindness, Haemophilia, Budgeting, Not Hating Kids just for being Kids, Cars, Sexist Portrayals of Men as Know Nothing Cannon Fodder, Keeping Boobs Out Of Every Screenshot, etc.)

And, most importantly of all, how to keep your head held high when the guy next to you starts screaming about how "It's all Obama's fault" or some such.

We've lost St. George's Day because of the battle between the BNP and the minorities, and we'd quite like to have it back, please. As Alex P nicely says

However, there are folks who really can't contribute anything to the conversation, because their immediate reaction to its mere existence is to try to shut it down. And, well, is it any surprise that those who introduce their middle-class-white-male-ness just to shut everyone up ("Where's my white pride parade?") get their experiences dismissed rather than affirmed?

Question: Can you be proud to be heterosexual? If not, why not? If so, are you allowed to express it yourself?

My recommendation is that you send in an email to the editors [mailto:editor@escapistmag.com] and make a suggestion.

This has been kicking away at my conscience for some time now. But, I don't know how feasible it would be. Within the MCWM heart is so much rage cholesterol that, if I'm not careful, anything I write will be turned to "TITS OR GTFO!" by the angry brigade.

And that then destroys whatever cause we had.

Why would anyone want to take pride in being white? What exactly is there to take 'pride' in?

And that's our cause. To find something that people can point to and say "That's what our group gave the world, and we're proud of it."

Rather than "Everything's all about you anyway", because MCWM have topped the suicide charts for WAY too long. We can't help being born into the majority (Irish as well in descendancy), but we're told constantly how good we have it.

Maybe sometimes we have it bad as well, and we want to remember that without "The Evil MCWM" we wouldn't have this forum for discussing our grievances today.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

Well, let's put it into this perspective.

Imagine a space craft containing ambassadors of an extraterrestrial race come to our planet. They know absolutely nothing about us. Not a thing. As they look through our history books and our news (Internet, TV, radio, newspaper, etc.) and many other forms of communication, would they see a society they want to introduce to whatever galactic community they come from?

I have my doubts. From an objective view, they'd see us as many things. Sexism, 'racism', intolerance, a lot of things that would lower us in their standings. And it's not just men sexist against women, whites racist against 'minorities', Christians intolerant of other religions. They'd also see women sexist against men, all minority groups racist against each other and the white 'majority', all religions facing against each other.

From the objective stand point as an outsider, we're a species that hates itself. Always fighting against each other, always blaming each other for different reasons, willing to kill each other over many different things?

Would they want a race that has all those bad marks to join their galactic community?

Even though this is hypothetical, remember that this extraterrestrial would also not have 'nice' past, but they had to have reach a peace amongst all to be able to get into space in the first place. Or it could have been an enigmatic species, that by some fluke of the cosmos never had divisions like we have as a species.

So basically what I'm trying to say is that it's never just 'one' group that says things badly. It's all groups. Each with their own divisions as well and looking at others as what's wrong with them and society. Men pointing fingers at women for 'feminizing the world' and women pointing the fingers at men for 'keeping them down'. I can go into the rest, but I hope this can be just it to get my point across.

You truly deserve your name, good sir (or, less likely, since that would've warranted the title 'lady' - or so i am told - madam). I would like to say that I support you a whole lot, and that a lot of people should try to look at it from the other part's side...

 

[similar.squirrel]

There's this perception that men can't talk about their feelings unless it's in vague terms like "cool", "awesome", "lame", "gay" or "I think I'm bleeding." It's embarrassing, apparently.

I know what you're thinking. It's just another stereotype, right? Really? Go ask your friend what he thinks about Halo being a giant male power fantasy versus Portal, which could be viewed as the exact opposite/a female empowerment fantasy. See how far it gets you.

Actually, the imagery in Portal suggests some extremely male impulses. The portals could be considered a representation of...
No, I'm going to stop here.

 

[EeveeElectro]

Duh! it's not interesting obviously.
The majority are men on here, and a female gamer is hard to come by, so when we do HOO BOY.
It'll be like writing an article about girls who love shoe shopping. We know it's true, we don't need telling.
(I hate all types of shopping btw)
Everything you've mentioned has probably been discussed to death anyway.
I don't see no article about 3 legged, tentacle wielding alien men games! and they're not kicking up a fuss!

 

[Woodsey]

Men are not obliged to drip with testosterone 24/7, you know.

If it's dripping at all, you should probably see someone about that.

OT: When has there ever been an issue entirely focused on women?

Aaannnnddd... Given the nature of gaming, surely most issues are male-centric?

 

[SextusMaximus]

How we feel about being portrayed as one dimensional psychopathic killing machines who exist to maim, fuck and then kill some more?

You're not a psychopathic killing machine?

...Oh.

OT: Escapist is trying to branch out to the female gaming market, without being strictly for females. I think this is a good thing for them.

 

[effilctar]

Every other issue focuses on male issues. Just because it's not clearly stated doesn't mean it's not there. Would you demand a 'straight' issue if they did one focusing on 'gay' gamers?

I love it when white, middle class men complain because there isn't something special for them. *rolls eyes*

You're a woman aren't you? And the lad has a point! Women are allowed all the girls only shit they want, but if we have one thing that's exclusively for men, the feminist floodgates open with women screaming for blood and "equality" aka having everything men have and MORE because they have vaginas and periods.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Lots of replies of not a lot.

Hrrm...this is getting nowhere is it?

Your response to three of my major points is "I can't see it", thus proving my fourth. We need an identity rather than a label.

Yeah, but isn't there always an identity that works better for that purpose, like saying you're of irish descent as opposed to saying you're MCWM?

Because...and I know this seems to be hard to take in...MCWM HAVE an identity.

Express it? Heck--there's an entire restaurant chain built around our sexuality!

It took me quite a while to find out the words to express my astonishment at how far you've missed the point, but actually I've got to applaud you for hitting the point square on the head.

That's all our sexuality is to others. Never mind the works of Shakespear describing courtly love, the compratiotism shown for others, the thousands of years of men giving up valuables to be with the women we love. Men fighting to win support and access to their children. Forget all about Les Miserables, Cyrano de Bergerac or Peter Pan. Forget all about marriages, poetry, dedications and all that.

Heterosexuality is JUST about girls with big titties.

Damn, how stupid of me not to see it before.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

I just wanna know whats with all the homoerotisism. "Blow me" and the more explicit versions ARE NOT COMEBACKS. I stopped playing MW2 recently because I can't go into a lobby without someone saying something about their dick. It wasn't funny when people said it 5 years ago in Halo 2 and time hasn't sweetened it.

Wow.


No reason to stop playing the game. Just Mute everyone.

 

[JanatUrlich]

"I get sick of listening to straight people complain about, "Well, hey, we don't have a heterosexual-pride day, why do you need a gay-pride day?" I remember when I was a kid I'd always ask my mom: "Why don't we have a Kid's Day? We have a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, but why don't we have a Kid's Day?" My mom would always say, "Every day is Kid's Day." To all those heterosexuals that ***** about gay pride, I say the same thing: Every day is heterosexual-pride day! Can't you people enjoy your banquet and not piss on those of us enjoying our crumbs over here in the corner?"
~Rob Nash

Kinda reminded me of that quote

 

[JoshGod]

Men don't have breasts, thus we are not important. True story.

ehem
MOOBS

 

[DoctorDisaster]

This whole thread is quickly going down the rhetorical toilet, but this little screed was particularly bizarre.

It's about how I quite frankly can't think of anything a MCWM faces in life that isn't also faced by minorities.

And yet I named some of them in a part you quoted.

Clothing, Relationships, Stress, Heart Disease (If ever there was a middle class white disease), Coping with Rejection, PTSD, Schizophrenia, Suicidal Tendencies, Guilt (You could also add in spoof articles on How to make Munchies for Games?)

To which I'll add: Arguing, How personal attacks aren't necessary, Why Minorities want to have their say, and things you've already mentioned like "Why are we talking about MCWM being equal when they're so far apart in everything else"?

(Oh, and Epilepsy, Colour Blindness, Haemophilia, Budgeting, Not Hating Kids just for being Kids, Cars, Sexist Portrayals of Men as Know Nothing Cannon Fodder, Keeping Boobs Out Of Every Screenshot, etc.)

"Arguing" is something unique to the MCWM experience, that women and minorities can't relate to? "Stress"? "CLOTHING"!?

If I thought poor people never argued, women were immune to stress, and black people pranced about naked all the time, I'd be resentful about being born MCWM too!

If instead you're arguing that white men have problems, I don't think anyone was arguing otherwise. What was said is that they don't have problems unique to their group. I don't even agree with that statement, but I must admit that the fact that you can't come up with any counterexamples is pretty telling.

In an attempt to bring this onto more productive ground than "yeah men don't have any rights! women took them all away!" (god I hope some of you are being ironic) I'll link to a popular and readable article about white privilege.

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack [http://www.case.edu/president/aaction/UnpackingTheKnapsack.pdf]

Now, the image in the title is excruciating, there's a lot of requisite academic wankery throughout, and many of the points within have become less apt over time. Also, the article is about race while our discussion is centrally about gender. But the central thesis of the article is incredibly relevant to this discussion.

It states that overt discrimination, where one person is an asshat to another because of gender/race/whatever, is not the only kind of discrimination. People should also be aware of "aversive" discrimination, where impersonal systems favor one group over another.

Basically, it's saying that while you may be a perfectly nice, fair person yourself, being born a white male allows you to take certain privileges for granted that other people can't. This doesn't make you a racist or a bad person, but it is something you should be aware of when you're talking about racism or sexism.

Overt sexism would be an article about how women totally suck at shooters. Highly unlikely! Aversive sexism would be titillating ads prominently featuring virtual boobies. Not only likely but a fact!

My point is that your opinion on the role of straight white men in gaming enthusiast publications will grow in credibility if you acknowledge that they have a considerable advantage there. It's orders of magnitude easier to find games writing oriented toward that group than any other. That the Escapist goes out of its way to accommodate other groups is admirable.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

This whole thread is quickly going down the rhetorical toilet, but this little screed was particularly bizarre.

You're telling me?

"Arguing" is something unique to the MCWM experience, that women and minorities can't relate to? "Stress"? "CLOTHING"!?
If I thought poor people never argued, women were immune to stress, and black people pranced about naked all the time, I'd be resentful about being born MCWM too!

See? A descent into "HOW GOOD YOU HAVE IT" How can we approach this on the idea that there are aspects of Arguing, Stress and Clothing that are fundamentally MCWM-based.

but I must admit that the fact that you can't come up with any counterexamples is pretty telling.

Seriously? How many do you need? I'm trying to cover a broad population of about 1 billion people here, and you're asking me to find an entire issue that unites them?

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack [http://www.case.edu/president/aaction/UnpackingTheKnapsack.pdf]

Right, having skimmed this, and I'm not reading it at the moment, because I'm in a bad mood already and I don't want to revert to name-calling: It's a list of things that one group of society can't do that MCWM can.

Taking a few from that list:

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

Given that this is an African-American talking about America, perhaps this is more about geography? Most of my friends are multi-cultural.

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

Because no-one mistrusts smokers or gamers.
and adding one

51. I can enter an agreement with my peers over things we have done to be proud of.

Basically, it's saying that while you may be a perfectly nice, fair person yourself, being born a white male allows you to take certain privileges for granted that other people can't. This doesn't make you a racist or a bad person, but it is something you should be aware of when you're talking about racism or sexism.

And I would never suggest that races or genders don't have problems unique to their own experience. I'm just saying that maybe a certain race/gender combo also has some.

Aversive sexism would be titillating ads prominently featuring virtual boobies. Not only likely but a fact!

Spoiler: Uhuh

My point is that your opinion on the role of straight white men in gaming enthusiast publications will grow in credibility if you acknowledge that they have a considerable advantage there. It's orders of magnitude easier to find games writing oriented toward that group than any other. That the Escapist goes out of its way to accommodate other groups is admirable.

See, here's where my problem lies. Nip through the latest episode of ANY online computing magazine looking for any MCWM-oriented article that will not appeal to any non-MCWM, and is not an expose of boobies.

Sure the media targets us, because we're the biggest group, but do you think FHM understands us any more than Cosmopolitan gets women or the MOBOs represent all African(*) music.

* - If you take offence at this word, please explain a word that I can use to described people of an enhanced melanin state than myself.