The short story is that Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency has started a Kickstarter to explore the stereotypes of females in video games. Or well, why not just hear it in her words?

I love playing video games but I’m regularly disappointed in the limited and limiting ways women are represented. This video project will explore, analyze and deconstruct some of the most common tropes and stereotypes of female characters in games. The series will highlight the larger recurring patterns and conventions used within the gaming industry rather than just focusing on the worst offenders. I’m going to need your help to make it happen!

The longer story is that because she is a self-proclaimed "feminist" (what this means in her case I'm really not sure, since everyone interprets this label differently when applying it to themselves) that anything she does somehow automatically becomes super controversial, and she has received rape threats and death threats and attempts to shut down this project from (primarily) male gamers. Because obviously if you disagree with feminism the way to get your point across is to tell a women she needs to be raped and murdered. (That was sarcasm, in case you missed it. This is not the correct way to express disagreement. At all.)

Personally I think that, all fears of succumbing to the feminist agenda aside (also sarcasm), projects like hers are necessary for the video game industry to truly mature. Gamers seem to love talking about the word "mature" a lot, so why do we rebel against actual maturity so much? I think that it's a good thing that she is sticking to her project, all threats aside. And whatever the case, it is ridiculous that people are fighting so hard to shut her up. Why not let her say what she has to say and if, after actually hearing it, you disagree with it, you are well within your rights to say something.

What do you guys think?

PS. As of this writing she has brought in $126,768 of her $6,000 Kickstarter goal. So things aren't completely dire. But this doesn't negate the abuse she has had to (and most likely will continue to) sustain just to get this project moving.

As of today this thread will be locked. What originally was meant to be a thread discussing the soon-to-be controversial Anita videos about female tropes in Video Games grew into something much more. We at Negative World absolutely love a good conversation and we will always encourage mature and respectful conversation. That said, the thread has had it's moments of polarization to the extreme in the past and recently. While at the moment I write this, the thread is rather calm,.. there has been a joint decision by the moderators of this site to close this particular thread down. The thread strayed way outside of the original bounds of it's intent. We have a different idea of how to frame this delicate and polarizing topic at Negative World.

For future installments of Anita's series we will either have a mod create a new official thread for it (as well as posting links to previous episodes) or we will use our already established Youtube Video thread. The latter could have easily been the original home for this thread if it wanted to. Discussion can continue as normal in the future thread but we ask to keep in mind that the topic should relate to Anita's videos and her message. Hear, analyze, and discuss that. This new location for this discussion will be established with the release of her next video. Please find patience till then.

Thank you from all of us at Negative World for understanding. ~ Negative World Moderation

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@Stephen

No; I'm saying that white people can't be blamed for black kids shooting other black kids. Its sad. Really sad. And they seem find with it, because the cycle continues. Day after day, night after night. In cities everywhere after the sun goes down.

Anyway, the guy also said "they don't do fistfights anymore. Kids outnumber police 2-to-1 with guns." Awful.

@Zero

Stop acting like you marched in Washington DC. You're just a few years older than I am. The 1960s were WAY before all of us, let alone the 1800s. GOLLY. You're painting me as some bedsheet wearing, cross burning hatemonger. Ridiculous.

--Who said they had a CRIME GENE!? What the F.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 06/25/13, 03:59

I didn't paint you as anything, but I'm trying to figure out why you always come into these discussions with a kind of surface "this is just the way things are, let's not look any deeper" viewpoint. What is the fear that comes from looking deeper? That we might have to acknowledge that it isn't as simple as just putting up a metaphorical fence around the ghetto and saying whatever happens in the ghetto is the problem of the people in the ghetto? That ignores an awful lot of the context behind why ghettos exist to begin with.

No one is "blaming" whites for black on black violence. What I am doing is saying that the historical / cultural / etc. reasons that have led to the situation of blacks in America is not something that whites can just ignore as "their problem". Where blacks are now has a lot to do with where they came from, and where they came from is a history of white on black oppression. We can't just sweep that under the rug and pretend that it has nothing to do with the present.

On a side note, it's kind of weird that you say "and they seem fine with it" just because the victims haven't solved the problem. If you're a victim, and you don't single-handedly figure out how to solve the problem, does that mean you are fine with it? That's just victim blaming, and it makes no sense.

Are WE fine with it? I'm not. Are you? I imagine not. Why haven't we solved it yet then?

Posted by

Zero

on: 06/25/13, 04:14

Edited:

06/25/13, 04:18

nacthenud said:

IGN Article - Women of Cosplay Talk Sexism, Femininity, and Cookies in the Mail
http://m.ca.ign.com/articles/2013/06/24/women-of-cosplay-talk-sexism-femininity-and-cookies-in-the-mail

Great article. Thanks for posting it.

Posted by

Chocobo_Rider

on: 06/25/13, 04:48

@Zero

This "is" the way things are? I said "that WAS the way things WERE." Holy Crap, man. There were segregated bathrooms; we're EONS from that now. And now you're talking about the ghetto? Wow, you really took what you THOUGHT I meant and ran with it to paydirt. --I don't want anybody killing ANYBODY. I'd hope that common sense would kick in eventually (with these people), but it seems not.

"They seem fine with it" because somebody goes out and shoots somebody else the very next night. Or they get shot themselves. That violence is so ingrained in music, too, that people think that is how its SUPPOSED to be, so it seems. Ridiculous.


Meanwhile, Paula Deen admits to using a slur in the past ("a long time ago") and gets dropped, dropped, dropped.
What kind of world are we living in??

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 06/25/13, 23:13

What I mean when I say you seem to rely on "this is just the way things are let's not look deeper" is like... stereotypes, basically. You seem to just accept pretty much any negative stereotype about any group at face value instead of A. figuring out if it is actually a real pattern that exists on a broader scale and B. if so, figuring out why it exists and what we can all do about that.

What kind of world are we living in? We're living in a world where racism, sexism, etc. are still huge, huge problems that affect millions of people. I'm a little more concerned about that than I am a rich and famous person losing endorsements because they throw around racial slurs like they're nothing.

Posted by

Zero

on: 06/25/13, 23:20

Edited:

06/25/13, 23:21

@Zero

OH my goshhhhh, haha. Z, my goodness. "Throw around racial slurs like they're nothing."

How does "yes, I've used them in the past -- that was a long time ago!" sound like "I throw them around like 'Hello!, how are ya!?'" She was honest about something (and really, who'd expect to lose something now from a WORD you said 25 years ago?) instead of being a stinking liar, and it cost her 'everything.'

What ever happened to "sticks n' stones?" Apparently that only applies to non-racially tinted comments.


When I got verbally undressed by that black dude last year, and I stood there with my mouth ajar, politely while he tore into me like a RACIST barracuda, the farthest thing from my mind was "(meekly) gee, I wonder why this guy is acting like this?" It was hella-surreal, and for him to just DUMP PAYLOAD for no reason is ridiculous. That doesn't have a DAMN thing to do with me. That sure as hell isn't a part of MY culture. I'm sure this is all ANECDOTAL since YOU didn't experience it, but if that flaming asshole is going to act like that -- by default -- to a stranger who he just met 5 seconds prior, I don't have an ounce of compassion FOR HIM. No, I didn't say "BLACK PEOPLE," I said "THAT GUY." The things he was saying to me wouldn't come out of a white person's mouth, I can promise you.

ie: generally, white people don't insult each other by referring to someone's skin color, which he did, and they probably wouldn't use the term -- and I quote -- "bitch ass," either.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 06/25/13, 23:32

With Paula Deen it is more than just things she said years ago. This:

Court records show Deen sat down for a deposition May 17 in a discrimination lawsuit filed last year by a former employee who managed Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House, a Savannah restaurant owned by Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers. The ex-employee, Lisa Jackson, says she was sexually harassed and worked in a hostile environment rife with innuendo and racial slurs.

That's the context for her comments. Anyway, there are much bigger issues to worry about. Like, you're worrying about this celebrity who may have gotten a crappy hand but ultimately will still be rich and famous, I'm more worried about this kind of thing, which is screwing over a lot of people every single day and most people won't care, because another black man in jail... whatever, doesn't affect us, right?

Sticks and stones is something an individual can choose to view as their way of handling being called names. It doesn't mean that we accept racist terms being thrown around.

No, I'm not saying that if someone is being a dick to you that you have to, in the moment, sit around and think deep. But I am saying that, when speaking of a broader context, it helps to understand all of the variables involved, instead of just accepting stereotypes without much thought.

And yeah, I'd say it is part of your culture, to some degree. It's part of the culture of all of America.

PS. I don't even get your comment about the things he said wouldn't come out of a white person's mouth. If you mean white people would never rage like that or use racial slurs, that's incorrect, of course. If you just mean specifically the specific things he said, that's kind of a pointless thing to point out. It's like saying Xbox owners would never call Wii owners an Xbot. Sure. They'd call them something else... Wiitard or whatever.

Posted by

Zero

on: 06/26/13, 00:13

Edited:

06/26/13, 00:21

@Zero

No, he was using racially-charged comments about white people towards me. "Bitch ass white boy" won't leave my head, and I followed that up -- with my hands up as if to say "whoa whoa whoa!" -- with "you're being rude, sir." Somewhere around there he threatened "I'll break you in half!!" As I walked away embarrassed and shocked, he continued shouting at me from across the parking lot. I'll never forget it.


As for your link, I didn't miss this line: "The likelihood of incarceration increases if the defendant has a prior conviction." So, if you're doing OTHER bad stuff, or have been busted before, you're in more trouble. It also suggests that when white people get busted, they don't do it again. Sure, you can cry "racial profiling!" all you want, but facts are facts. "Facts;" you like those, right?

Commenter: What about the people who sell drugs? This "study" seems to want to forget that most people incarcerated for drug offenses are arrested for sale or possession of sale amounts of drugs."


Good question.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 06/26/13, 00:34

Can't you two just take this to the PMs? The valuable real estate on the front page of threads is being wasted.

Posted by

Chocobo_Rider

on: 06/26/13, 00:35

@NinSage

Post in those threads then! That is how message boards work!

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 06/26/13, 00:37

Yeah it's fine how it is.

[ref=id=8025&pagenumber=57#338793]@Mr_Mustache[/ref]

And yes, the likelihood for conviction increases if the defendant had a prior conviction, which is fair... but did you continue reading? Because they accounted for that and still found a massive disparity. This isn't even some big liberal conspiracy, it's a fact that both sides see and Obama's law to narrow the discrepancy in crack convictions had overwhelming bipartisan support. In fact, the Senate passed it 100-0. Here is what good old Republican Rep. Dan Lungren had to say about it:

"Certainly, one of the sad ironies in this entire episode is that a bill [the old sentencing structure] which was characterized by some as a response to the crack epidemic in African American communities has led to racial sentencing disparities which simply cannot be ignored in any reasoned discussion of this issue."

So yeah, not a bleeding heart liberal issue. An issue that "cannot be ignored in any reasoned discussion" according to a Republican politician. Obama's bill did pass, which is good, but that's just a drop in the bucket.

Anyway, this is precisely what I'm talking about when I say you often jump to "that's just the way it is" (in this case, I guess you're essentially saying convictions in America perfectly reflect the racial demographics of crime in America?) instead of looking deeper (which in this case, would lead you to mountains of information that shows that blacks are convicted at higher rates than whites for the same exact crimes.) You managed to cherry-pick a single comment out of that article to support your pre-determined viewpoint when the article itself had lots of evidence against it.

I'm not saying whites and blacks commit crimes at the exact same rate, but I am saying that there is a clear disparity in convictions based on race, mountains of evidence to support it, and it is something that, in my eyes, is worth worrying about much more than a millionaire losing her job for questionable comments.

Some more interesting information. And some more. Chicago representing. An interesting bit from that one:

Still, none of these criticisms addresses the underlying fact: the eight-to-one statistic controls for arrest record, meaning that even among suspects with comparable criminal histories, the nonwhite suspect is far more likely to go to prison than the white one.

I dunno. I think it's a pretty straight-forward disparity.

Posted by

Zero

on: 06/26/13, 01:31

Edited:

06/26/13, 01:34

Washington state gets rid of sexist language

In Washington state, the word "freshman" is out. And "first-year student" is in. In total, 40,000 words have been changed as part of an effort to rid state statutes of gender-biased language.

The bill, signed into law earlier in the year by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, went into effect this week.

And it was no small task. "This was a much larger effort than I had envisioned. Mankind means man and woman," Democratic state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles of Seattle told Reuters.

"Fisherman" is now a "fisher." "Penmanship" is called "handwriting." And "manhole cover" is, well, still "manhole cover." Some words don’t have an easy replacement.

Others do: "His" is now “his and hers.” "Clergyman" is now "clergy." "Journeyman plumber" is now “journey-level plumber,” according to the Daily Mail.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 07/04/13, 02:06

@Mr_Mustache newspeak

Posted by

Scrawnton

on: 07/04/13, 02:08

Edited:

07/04/13, 02:09

@Mr_Mustache Most of those terms don't bother me, but I don't have a problem with them being replaced either.

Posted by

X-pert74

on: 07/04/13, 02:20

@X-pert74

Seems like..a lot of almost-nothing where energy and funding could've been spent elsewhere.

"This was a much larger effort than I had envisioned. Mankind means man and woman," Democratic state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles of Seattle told Reuters. Yes, duh. "Mankind is men and woman," solid work, Senator. Good thing we changed 40,000 words to make that true, as if it wasn't a fact before.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 07/04/13, 04:01

It doesn't seem like that much effort. I support this.

Posted by

Zero

on: 07/04/13, 06:15

Lame. But I guess if no one goes to jail for saying MAN CAVE, what's the harm? It's the same as lobbying for a state bird, or strain of grass. Makes people feel good.

Posted by

TheOldManFromZelda

on: 07/04/13, 06:40

@Zero

It'd probably cost a ridiculous amount of time and effort to go through all instances of these supposed examples of sexism, and then the cost incurred in changing all the documentation. It all adds up, and there are far better things those resources could be used for.

Seriously, stuff like this makes me think the government is led by Frida Waterfall.

Posted by

Shadowlink

on: 07/04/13, 06:50

@Shadowlink A ridiculous amount of time and effort for a few interns, maybe. And everything digital well... I could write a program in probably um... a week or so to do it, if I had the database of terms to replace.

A lot of these terms ARE very patriarchal though, and eventually we should move past that. Why not?

Posted by

Zero

on: 07/04/13, 06:56

@Zero

It doesn't seem like much effort, except they said it was a lot of effort. Who are you going to believe? You, who weren't involved at all, or the female Senator? Are you saying it wasn't a lot of effort because she's not A MAN? SEXIST, ZERO, shame on you.

@Shadowlink

Yes, think about all of the instances of PRINT that need to be changed. ABSURDITY at its finest.

@Zero

Or, those words can just go extinct eventually. Like "Carpetbagger" and "mossy bank" (NSFW).

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 07/04/13, 23:06