Caltrops - Gamergate





	[quote name="Last"][quote name="Souffle of Pain"]In the late 90s we all agreed that violence in video game doesn't REALLY mess you up. Someone explain to me how misogyny in games, though.... well that CAN mess you up. You explain that to me successfully and I'll never think another bad thought against a Sarkeesian type. [/quote] Well, one difference is who the violence or sexism is directed against and who is playing the game. Zombies and Nazis and koopatroopers weren't playing games in the 90s, so they didn't see themselves being made to look like assholes.* But women are playing a lot of games these days and they can be affected by their portrayal. MRA/GG'ers already understand that this concept because you see them complain about the "dumb dad" stereotype in commercials as being highly threatening and toxic, etc. Except, for every "dumb dad" on TV you can find five heroic, smart, competent men. Imagine how they'd feel if the ratio were reversed, like it arguably is for women in video games. For every Samus there's at least five dumb bitches/sex objects/helpless waifs.** So, even if video games have no effect on the guys playing them (in terms of violence or sexism) I think you can agree that the sexism can have a negative effect on the girls playing them. --------------------- Footnotes ---------------------------------------- * Yes, and a lot of (most of?) the victims of videogame violence are men. But guys also get to be the hero, the sidekick, the comic relief, the leader, and a bunch of other roles besides victim. Contrast with women, who are far more likely to only be shown as the jiggly piece of ass. Even the strong heroic versions of women in videogames are still sexualized with bikini armor, giant tits, etc. On a team of heroes it's usually clear that the girl is there partly to be eye candy. Unattractive chicks almost never make the team. Attractive girls are also more likely to be shown not pulling equal weight (needing to be rescued more often, making more mistakes). Guys in general, even ugly ones, are far more likely to be shown as valuable contributor to the team based on their own worth/skills/talent/etc. * A second difference between videogame effect on violence vs sexism is that there's way more steps required (aka points of failure) in the causal chain between 'playing a violent video game' to 'actually shooting real people' than there is between 'playing a sexist game' to 'having a slightly worse opinion of women', which would explain a weak correlation re: violence and a stronger correlation re: sexism. BUT! Even if you disagree with this point I think the above argument (negative effect on female players) still holds.[/quote]