Journalism and sexism in the games industry

[BruceVC]

 

 

...and now for something completely different: https://egalitarianvideogamejerk.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/legend-of-grimrock-ii-is-a-racist-sexist-imperialist-nightmare-that-will-appeal-to-entitled-patriarchal-hyper****lords/
 

Worse than all of this by far is the “game’s” treatment of women. There is only one female enemy in the entire game, which is sexist for all of the obvious reasons. But of course, this isn’t enough for these entitled ****s. The female enemy in question is the scantily clad amazonian-inspired Medusa. The Medusa is a creature from Greek myth that turns men into stone for meeting her gaze, and unpacking the inherent sexist mechanisms of this character is blindingly easy. With the gaze representing sexual desire, the Medusa is therefore the embodiment of female sexual desire. She “turns men into stone” (a crude metaphor for causing an erection), and this allows men to disassociate themselves from the inherent violence of their sexuality. It allows them to say “It is not my fault I have an erection! She did this to me!” 
 
The character in this “game” is similarly misogynist in design. The Medusa floats above the ground in impractical, revealing armor, but worse than that she has the ability to scream at your party members and petrify them. That’s right, the Medusa is literally able to nag you to death, which is how I am sure these developers view most of their interactions with their partners. The trope of the hysterical, screaming female is not new (see the banshee of Dungeons and Dragons, for an example), but this is a new level of grotesqueness. Remember: imprisoned in a tomb, the Medusae in this “game” can, like the Medusa of old, “petrify” your party members. Again, the analogy here is pretty crude, and deeply misogynist: merely by screaming at a man, the Medusa can immobilize him with hyperactive sexual arousal. In this “game”, men are made so aroused they are unable to move or think clearly, which simply reinforces the idea that males are not responsible for their own sexual behavior. And to make matters worse, the only way to stop this attack is to kill the Medusa. In Legend of Grimrock II, women are reduced to slabs of meat who float around, giving men boners and then getting murdered for it. In 2014. This is “gaming” in 2014.

 
Pure Gold.

 

 

I think this review is very accurate,  all copies of Grimrock2  need to be destroyed and the developers sent to prison for lengthy jail terms !!! This game will clearly corrupt  the moral fibre of society

 

This "review " is absolute trash, at first I thought it was parody but it seems  the journalist is being serious. This is a good example of someone taking the whole "is this acceptable in our modern age " way too far. But this type of opinion is fortunately very rare ...thank goodness for that

Edited December 9, 2014 by BruceVC

[kirottu]

It is a parody review.

[Volourn]

"This "review " is absolute trash, at first I thought it was parody but it seems  the journalist is being serious."

 

Uh... I hope this was a parody reply to the parody review.

[BruceVC]

It is a parody review.

 

Okay good to know, you can never be sure nowadays

[kirottu]

Oh and you shouldn't casually throw slurs like "journalist" around, Bruce. That's super offending.

[Namutree]

 

It is a parody review.

 

Okay good to know, you can never be sure nowadays

 

True. Very true.

[Blarghagh]

 

 

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj20re

Is it fair to say we've become concerned about more than ethics and have moved to censorship?

I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but I've broadened my horizons, yes.  Censorship is a cancer eating away at freedom and I say down with the sickness!  Sorry, that was cheesy, it was the best "humorous" Disturbed reference I could come up with. 

I've never listened to Disturbed(sorry TN) but censorship is wrong. We have to allow **** like Hatred and Gone Home, even if we think they're complete **** because everyone deserves the right to make the stuff they want to make. If you have a problem with a game, don't buy it and support something else with your money.

 

 

First off: Did you just apologize for never listening to a band? WTF kind of hipsters do you usually hang out with?

 

But yes, I completely agree. If you start at banning Hatred, you're going to end up with banning Lolita and Fight Club. Plus the whole, I don't recall who said it, but "if you don't believe in freedom of self-expression for people you despise you don't believe in it at all".

 

Milo wrote an article about sexism against men. Some of it is absolute nonsense and some of it is true. Either way, it was an interesting read: http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/12/04/The-Sexodus-Part-1-The-Men-Giving-Up-On-Women-And-Checking-Out-Of-Society

 

EDIT: Olivier Campbell wrote an epic anger rant (that looks to have been ruled by emotion more than clarity) about the vocal opposition of #GamerGate. http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj29vc I quite enjoyed it, it felt cathartic in expressing a lot of the frustration I have with the situation. Profanity warning.

Edited December 9, 2014 by TrueNeutral

[Meshugger]

 

“The US bombed them back to traditional values – feminism does not exist in Japan. While I don’t like judging an entire culture… that does not excuse them.”

 

- Anita Sarkeesian on the Japanese value system.

 

https://archive.today/Ffrx6#selection-141.351-145.2

[HoonDing]

I'd love to get paid for talking out of my ass.

[Keyrock]

I very much doubt Ms. Sarkeesian dislikes judging an entire culture.  In fact, I'd argue that judging others, including entire groups of other people, is very much her modus oerandi.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Keyrock

[Orogun01]

...and now for something completely different: https://egalitarianvideogamejerk.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/legend-of-grimrock-ii-is-a-racist-sexist-imperialist-nightmare-that-will-appeal-to-entitled-patriarchal-hyper****lords/

 

Worse than all of this by far is the “game’s” treatment of women. There is only one female enemy in the entire game, which is sexist for all of the obvious reasons. But of course, this isn’t enough for these entitled ****s. The female enemy in question is the scantily clad amazonian-inspired Medusa. The Medusa is a creature from Greek myth that turns men into stone for meeting her gaze, and unpacking the inherent sexist mechanisms of this character is blindingly easy. With the gaze representing sexual desire, the Medusa is therefore the embodiment of female sexual desire. She “turns men into stone” (a crude metaphor for causing an erection), and this allows men to disassociate themselves from the inherent violence of their sexuality. It allows them to say “It is not my fault I have an erection! She did this to me!” 

 

The character in this “game” is similarly misogynist in design. The Medusa floats above the ground in impractical, revealing armor, but worse than that she has the ability to scream at your party members and petrify them. That’s right, the Medusa is literally able to nag you to death, which is how I am sure these developers view most of their interactions with their partners. The trope of the hysterical, screaming female is not new (see the banshee of Dungeons and Dragons, for an example), but this is a new level of grotesqueness. Remember: imprisoned in a tomb, the Medusae in this “game” can, like the Medusa of old, “petrify” your party members. Again, the analogy here is pretty crude, and deeply misogynist: merely by screaming at a man, the Medusa can immobilize him with hyperactive sexual arousal. In this “game”, men are made so aroused they are unable to move or think clearly, which simply reinforces the idea that males are not responsible for their own sexual behavior. And to make matters worse, the only way to stop this attack is to kill the Medusa. In Legend of Grimrock II, women are reduced to slabs of meat who float around, giving men boners and then getting murdered for it. In 2014. This is “gaming” in 2014.

 

Pure Gold.

 

I'm I the only one bothered by how ignorant this person is of Greek mythology? If they actually wanted to criticize Medusa they would had brought out the fact that her origin story is that she was raped by Poseidon and then Athena cursed her because of victim blaming.

[Fighter]

“The US bombed them back to traditional values – feminism does not exist in Japan. While I don’t like judging an entire culture… that does not excuse them.”

 

 

WTF kind of way is that of talking about another nation.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

“The US bombed them back to traditional values – feminism does not exist in Japan. While I don’t like judging an entire culture… that does not excuse them.”

 

- Anita Sarkeesian on the Japanese value system.

 

https://archive.today/Ffrx6#selection-141.351-145.2

 

.....................

 

This was not a pleasant quote to wake up to, the sheer arrogance of these people is a bit astounding. And as far as nations with bad treatment of women goes, I'd think any nation in the Middle East would be a far better example of one, although any criticism of Islamic states is bigotry apparently.

[Keyrock]

 

...and now for something completely different: https://egalitarianvideogamejerk.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/legend-of-grimrock-ii-is-a-racist-sexist-imperialist-nightmare-that-will-appeal-to-entitled-patriarchal-hyper****lords/

 

Worse than all of this by far is the “game’s” treatment of women. There is only one female enemy in the entire game, which is sexist for all of the obvious reasons. But of course, this isn’t enough for these entitled ****s. The female enemy in question is the scantily clad amazonian-inspired Medusa. The Medusa is a creature from Greek myth that turns men into stone for meeting her gaze, and unpacking the inherent sexist mechanisms of this character is blindingly easy. With the gaze representing sexual desire, the Medusa is therefore the embodiment of female sexual desire. She “turns men into stone” (a crude metaphor for causing an erection), and this allows men to disassociate themselves from the inherent violence of their sexuality. It allows them to say “It is not my fault I have an erection! She did this to me!” 

 

The character in this “game” is similarly misogynist in design. The Medusa floats above the ground in impractical, revealing armor, but worse than that she has the ability to scream at your party members and petrify them. That’s right, the Medusa is literally able to nag you to death, which is how I am sure these developers view most of their interactions with their partners. The trope of the hysterical, screaming female is not new (see the banshee of Dungeons and Dragons, for an example), but this is a new level of grotesqueness. Remember: imprisoned in a tomb, the Medusae in this “game” can, like the Medusa of old, “petrify” your party members. Again, the analogy here is pretty crude, and deeply misogynist: merely by screaming at a man, the Medusa can immobilize him with hyperactive sexual arousal. In this “game”, men are made so aroused they are unable to move or think clearly, which simply reinforces the idea that males are not responsible for their own sexual behavior. And to make matters worse, the only way to stop this attack is to kill the Medusa. In Legend of Grimrock II, women are reduced to slabs of meat who float around, giving men boners and then getting murdered for it. In 2014. This is “gaming” in 2014.

 

Pure Gold.

 

I'm I the only one bothered by how ignorant this person is of Greek mythology? If they actually wanted to criticize Medusa they would had brought out the fact that her origin story is that she was raped by Poseidon and then Athena cursed her because of victim blaming.

 

I'm pretty sure it's satire.

[kirottu]

Another day another female dev attacked by anti-GamerGate.

[Nonek]

 

“The US bombed them back to traditional values – feminism does not exist in Japan. While I don’t like judging an entire culture… that does not excuse them.”

 

 

WTF kind of way is that of talking about another nation.

 

 

I believe it's called racism to any reasonable person.

[Blarghagh]

Another day another female dev attacked by anti-GamerGate.

 

Why are they only targeting the women of #GamerGate?

[Meshugger]

Another day another female dev attacked by anti-GamerGate.

 

Her wallpaper brings some warmth to my earth.

[Oerwinde]

 

 

 

“The US bombed them back to traditional values – feminism does not exist in Japan. While I don’t like judging an entire culture… that does not excuse them.”

 

WTF kind of way is that of talking about another nation.

I believe it's called racism to any reasonable person.

Actually I believe, and I just learned this, its Ethnocentrism.

[Volourn]

Not surprised. People like her are evil and full of hate.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

Another day another female dev attacked by anti-GamerGate.

 

Why are they only targeting the women of #GamerGate?

 

I dunno, but many in this thread and other GG hubs have noticed that pro-corruption does have a special ire for women, LGBT, and minorities in gg. One could argue that their method of proving women get harassed worse than men on the interwebz is to attack women, but that would just be speculation.

 

 

 

 

“The US bombed them back to traditional values – feminism does not exist in Japan. While I don’t like judging an entire culture… that does not excuse them.”

WTF kind of way is that of talking about another nation.

 

I believe it's called racism to any reasonable person.

 

Actually I believe, and I just learned this, its Ethnocentrism.

 

So pretty much self-involved arrogance and ignorance. Sounds like pro-corruption.

[Amentep]

I'm I the only one bothered by how ignorant this person is of Greek mythology? If they actually wanted to criticize Medusa they would had brought out the fact that her origin story is that she was raped by Poseidon and then Athena cursed her because of victim blaming.

That's actually the origin from Roman poet Ovid.

 

The original Greek myth involved three sisters monsters*, Medusa being the only mortal one. Each were with snake hairs, boar tusks, wings, etc and could petrify at a glance (they were children of Phorcys and Ceto and counted the Graeae as sisters).

 

By 490 BC, Medusa began being described as beautiful and deadly (a relief described her as "fair cheeked") with Ovid giving the rape origin in 8 AD.

 

Since Medusa's head is on Athena's Aegis, the general thought is that both are adopted from another pantheon early in Greek culture at some point and may have a completely different original origin somewhere in the mists of time.

 

*"monsters" who, in their main story with Perseus, are hidden on an island so hard to find Perseus has to steal the Graeae's eye and blackmail them to find the location; he then uses gifts from the gods to kill her in her sleep and fly away to rescue his love, so no less problematic than Ovids...

Edited December 9, 2014 by Amentep

[Longknife]

 

 

“The US bombed them back to traditional values – feminism does not exist in Japan. While I don’t like judging an entire culture… that does not excuse them.”

 

 

WTF kind of way is that of talking about another nation.

 

 

I believe it's called racism to any reasonable person.

 

 

 

Yeah!!!

 

Any non-racist person knows the radiation only caused the Japanese to be really f***ing weird, not sexist.

[Orogun01]

 

I'm I the only one bothered by how ignorant this person is of Greek mythology? If they actually wanted to criticize Medusa they would had brought out the fact that her origin story is that she was raped by Poseidon and then Athena cursed her because of victim blaming.

That's actually the origin from Roman poet Ovid.

 

The original Greek myth involved three sisters monsters*, Medusa being the only mortal one. Each were with snake hairs, boar tusks, wings, etc and could petrify at a glance (they were children of Phorcys and Ceto and counted the Graeae as sisters).

 

By 490 BC, Medusa began being described as beautiful and deadly (a relief described her as "fair cheeked") with Ovid giving the rape origin in 8 AD.

 

Since Medusa's head is on Athena's Aegis, the general thought is that both are adopted from another pantheon early in Greek culture at some point and may have a completely different original origin somewhere in the mists of time.

 

*"monsters" who, in their main story with Perseus, are hidden on an island so hard to find Perseus has to steal the Graeae's eye and blackmail them to find the location; he then uses gifts from the gods to kill her in her sleep and fly away to rescue his love, so no less problematic than Ovids...

 

The gods of the previous culture become the monsters of the next one, similar thing with Baphomet.

I do wonder how many snake cults were in antiquity that everyone seems to have a story about snake gods or monsters.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]