First, there is the massive Penny Arcade dickwolves extravaganza. I was first tipped off to this whole issue by Kirby Bits in this post and due to link-backtracking and lots of reading I filled myself in on the whole thing. Borderhouse Blog has a great summary of the issue. I am not going to discuss how this could be a poster-child for "how not to handle your public relations", because I feel that the failure to do proper public relations provides a really interesting glimpse into a world we do not normally see so blatantly.
Second, there is the ongoing excellence of Go Make Me a Sandwich, which I have been following for a few weeks now and finding extremely well done.
Third, there is the Zak Sabbath question about sexualizing men which has led to a variety of interesting commentary around the tabletop RPG blogosphere. A particularly brillaint analysis by Trollsmyth has resulted as well.
Before I begin with my own commentary, allow me to open with a quote from Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
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There is a problem in gaming. Gaming of all stripes; tabletop, computer, console, handheld, etc. This problem is an extension of our inherent social problems and a quick glimpse at other media will confirm we are definitely not alone. I am forced to watch a lot of children's movies lately by virtue of having children (funny how that works out, huh?) and I have noticed a trend in those as well. We are indeed stricken with a cancer. And while it might pain some to admit, it is aggressive. While it is not as obvious as racial segregation or the brutal subjugation of women that our society has perpetuated in the past, it is something which I can no longer abide.
We have an undercurrent of belief that flows through a huge segment of what we do as gamers that implies, sometimes subtley and sometimes not, that women are something less than men. Whether they are damsels in distress to be rescued by "the man", or the token female in a party that is wearing a chainmail bikini, or comments by people in the industry that reflect unacceptable attitudes (like David Jaffe comparing a new handheld game system to a fresh vagina); these things occur with regular frequency in a variety of ways. As a related aside, I believe anti-homosexual commentary is, at it's core, about hatred of feminity and the desire to label any male who doesn't behave like a "proper man" as something less than.
Rape and the trivialization of rape is a BIG problem for gamers. I struggled with my usage of the word for years, using it instinctively because I was so immersed in that culture while simultaneously feeling terrible about it. When you defeat someone in a GAME (lets remember people, it is a damn game), the situation is in no way analagous to rape. Nor is loss for no apparent reason in any way related to being "gay". We have to stop using these words, but more importantly we have to stop the underlying prejudice and hatred that are reinforced by these words.
I look at young people playing online games today, just looking at the transcripts of dialogue is disheartening. Or watching youtube videos where people are recording their harassment. I wish I could say that I think things are getting better and maybe they are in some respects, but the change is too slow. And as MLK laments in his letter, there are calls to wait. To be patient. To let things work out naturally.
My only response to this is
Things will not work themselves out naturally. Oppression, prejudice, and discrimination does not work itself out naturally. Freedom must be snatched from the hands of the powerful. If we have learned anything in the lost history of human suffering, it is this.
I have a bit of a history of standing up for these things. In the past year since I started blogging to raise awareness of my RPG work, I have taken a stand on several issues of this type. I sparked a bit of a flame on the Lamentations of the Flame Princess blog when I opposed the idea that women make good victims and I have had some arguments with Zak Sabbath on my own blog and on others about issues of sexualization. In fact, I am pretty sure Zak's recent questions about sexualization are long-term results of my strident opposition of his points in the area of female art presentation. In my commentary on these matters, I have cited specific instances but pointed to the pervasive problem in the gamer culture as a whole which these things foster.
People often ask me why do I care about such issues. Why do I care that women are being treated in this way? I am a man. I like boobs. I should want to see them everywhere, apparently. I should want them to be the sum total contribution of women to the world. Well, boobs and ass. Lets not make a straw man here by focusing only on the boobs. I want to fairly represent the ridiculousness of my opponents. Hehehe
Let me channel another great mind for you, this time it is Howard Beale from Network (1974).
Well, I'm not going to leave you alone. I want you to get mad. I don't want you to protest, I don't want you to write, I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street, all I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've gotta say I'm a human being, goddamn it! My life has value! So I want you to get up now, I want all of you to get up out of your chairs, I want you to get up right now, and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, "I'm mad as hell, and I am not gonna take this anymore!"The reason I stand up and take a stand on these issues is because it actually does matter. I could tell you about how I have a wonderful little three year old girl who I don't want to grow up subjected to this nonsense. But that is also a trap. It shouldn't matter that I have a daughter. I have a son too and I care about him as well. I care about this things because I am a human being, goddamn it! And if you fail to see how your life is connected to those around you and you think that sexism is someone else's problem, I don't know what you are smoking but damn it must be strong stuff.
As much as I think credit is due to the African-Americans who participated in the Civil Rights Movement in this country, I think we have to also give credit to those white people who stood with them. So long as white people stood together against blacks, I think the system was essentially inviolate. It was the dissention of whites that truly turned the tide. Now maybe that is my arm-chair quarterbacking from my cushy position here on the far side of the endeavor, but that is how it looks to me.
Because I know white people. I am a white person. And I know that there are things they say among themselves that never gets said among mixed company. And it is the opposition to that which has greatly reduced racism today, compared to 50 years ago. If anyone says anything racist in front of white people today, there is a chance that is might be opposed. And the higher the likelihood of opposition, the lower the frequency of racism. And over time, I believe that will be what kills racism. Opposition from within the oppressor community.
So I want to call upon MEN to take a stand against this ridiculousness. If you see this kind of thing happening, OPPOSE IT. If you see a group of guys drooling over some cosplay photo, point and laugh. Make them realize that they are behaving in a moronic manner. Humiliation of assholes works as a form of social progress. If you see someone in the industry make a comment that is sexist, call them on it. Make people aware that you are an adult and you don't appreciate that kind of behavior. Especially people who make comments like this.
I know that sounds kind of school-marm-ish, but you need to realize that you are going to be raising the next generation of gamers. Gamers who are raising children today are the first generation of parents played these games as children. You are now the vanguard, gentlemen. You are the purchasing agents for these children. And in many ways, this is not just a problem in gaming, but a problem for our society writ large.
In many ways, this is our future:
I am not asking you to start a movement, raise money, or actually do anything requiring much effort. Just express your dissatisfaction with it. Just like you would hopefully behave if someone starting talking about how black people are inherently stupid, deserved slavery, or something else equally moronic. You have a stronger voice than you might think.
I certainly can't ask for a boycott of anything, since I don't even read Penny Arcade anymore nor will I be buying much of anything in the coming year due to all my time and energy going into creative pursuits of my own. The only video game I have purchased recently is Fallout New Vegas, and while it does have some bad moments, it also has some very good moments. Fallout was dealt a hard hand with respect to gender equality; a collapsed society based on 1950's aesthetic. Yet, they did manage to succeed in a variety of ways.
So like Howard Beale, I don't have a plan of action for you and I am not a social leader. I don't have all the answers. Ultimately, the future is in your hands as much as it is in mine.
It sounds weird to close a post this way but.... be an adult.
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