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soc_puppetHey all you gamer dudes out there! If you're wondering why there aren't more women/girls into gaming, this post might be for you! Just remember, you have to actually read and take to heart some of this stuff, or it'll stay that way FOREVER.
For everyone it might affect, this post carries a Trigger Warning for misogyny.
Here is The List, divided up into sections as I think of/find them:
Wherein the gaming industry itself demonstrates misogyny
(Includes commentary by yours truly which, as soon as Teh Gamer Doodz find out about this, is sure to land this post in the next section.)
1up: It's Someone's 3rd Birthday at TGS
Relevant quote: One of the more amusing features of The 3rd Birthday is its clothing system -- you can have your clothing ripped off by enemy attack, and the more skin you reveal, the more vulnerable you are to damage. "Having this kind of alluring content is sort of a tradition for the series," Nomura commented, "and it's something the producer of the second game, in particular, really pushed to the forefront. This system, though, is more of an essential part of the gameplay. Your clothes don't get ripped off all that easily, and I'm hoping it'll introduce internal conflict within the player -- play it safe, or try to get the clothes off and risk death in the process?"
Who, exactly, would be conflicted about whether or not to play in such a way that would eliminate the main character's clothes, thus rendering her defenseless? Oh, right: Entitled Misogynist Douchecanoes who treat women, including the main character here, as objects.
PsychicToaster: Illustrated Game Geek’s Guide to Sex Privilege – Male Privilege [Linked as a handy reference for examples of male privilege in games]
Important quote: In other words, being male, female, trans-, pan-, or neuter confers certain benefits and drawbacks, whether we desire them or not. One can enjoy the benefits of sexist systems without consciously being sexist, chauvinist, or actively harming others.
And once you know that much, it's possible to start recognizing when you have privilege, and possibly even doing something about it. Of course, some people already know they have privilege and just don't care, hence the title of this collection post.
NOTE: In no way are the privileges listed in the Female Privilege counterpart equal to the privileges listed in the Male Privileges version. Like the real world practice of chivalry, they are intended as a consolation prize for forcing women and girls to live in a system where they are expected to need or want such things in the first place; without the system, they are meaningless, and within the system, they only add insult to injury.
Shakesvile: WoW Fail and Follow-Up
Relevant quote: Blizzard's decision to implement the RealID system in their public forums, making it impossible to comment in a public forum without your real name being viewable, continues to be met with serious objections, particularly from marginalized populations—especially women, who are disproportionately victimized by stalking and harassment in online communities.
The quote is from the second post, as I feel it more succinctly summarizes the issue of misogyny here. The first post goes into greater depth on the issue, particularly in the comments; the second is better as a round-up, with related reading links in addition to the summary paragraph.
Iris: A Gaming Network: Bioware's Marketing for Dragon Age 2
Relevant quote from BioWare's official response: "Will you only see the human male in the marketing? I am not sure (we have many months to go yet) but I would guess that, yes, we will mostly use the male character for marketing."
Wherein women who criticize games for being misogynist are called stupid, over-sensitive, hysterical bitches
(And all without a trace of irony. Just goes to prove that the logical conclusion of living in a misogynist system without thinking critically about it is turning into a misogynist asshole.)
The Brainy Gamer: Backlash
A woman critiques Metroid: Other M for its shoddy performance and outright misogyny. Gamer Doodz ignore her points about gameplay and attack her directly for daring to point out that: "In short, you're asked to forget that Samus has spent the last 10-15 years on solitary missions ridding the galaxy of Space Pirates, saving the universe and surviving on her own as a bounty hunter. Instead, Other M expects you to accept her as a submissive, child-like and self-doubting little girl that cannot possibly wield the amount of power she possesses unless directed to by a man."
Shakesville: Fat Princess Greatest Hits
Once upon a time, a feminist decided to write about the misogynist and fat-hating failfest that is Fat Princess. Trolling exploded. Well over a year later, she still gets letters attacking her for deciding to take on the Misogyny Monster sidequest - perhaps the most epic boss yet discovered in Video Gaming Meta, though I've no doubt that similar epic sidequests exist for, say, the Transphobia Monster, etc.
Hoyden about Town: "Women are treated better than men online", says NerdBoobLoot-man
While the claims of women being hysterical over-sensitive bitches are more implied than directly stated, it's pretty clear through the study's outright privileging of male gamers' statements over female gamers' statements that that is exactly what the paper's writers were thinking.
Just the facts
Women Gamers: Women Comprise 40 Percent of U.S. Gamers
And yet there's a perception that women aren't interested in video games - frequently on the part of the industry itself. Could it be that women just aren't interested in misogynist video games?
Review: Zenses (DW version) - by yours truly?!
Of course, even when the gaming industry does acknowledge women, they don't necessarily do it right.
Bonus: There's some fun and relevant commentary in the DW comments section of the post where I talk about my discovery and subsequent investigation of the games.
For the record, here are some sites of women who not only play but develop games
(Gasp! They do exist! Color me COMPLETELY UNSURPRISED.)
Deirdra Kiai Productions
Socially conscientious, personally meaningful video games
Hanako Games
"For too many people, "games for girls" means nothing but bright pink and dolls and dress-up and shopping. Well, those can be fun, but there are plenty of girls whose lives don't begin and end at the mall. Fiction for girls (and young adults in general) often focuses on other common girl-interests, like horses, magic, and fantasy. So why aren't there more girl games with unicorns instead of prom dresses?" From the About Us section
RPGirl Zine Project
A more tabletop-based link/project; submitted by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yeloson (thank you!), who described it as: "[The f]irst issue gives a massive list of women who design, publish and create games, as well as interviews, this issue is all international and talks about different game scenes in the US and Europe."
Pirate Jenny
Also viayeloson: "The Pirate Jenny crew are women designers of tabletop rpgs."
Other Geeky Links
(Okay, so they're not all about gaming; STFU, they're still important.)
Riot Nrrd: Links/Resources for Nrrds, Grrls and Other Radicals
The list of links collected at webcomic Riot Nrrd is absolutely amazing, and while it may take a little digging to find those specifically dedicated to gaming, I have no doubt that they're in there. Incidentally, while not focused on gaming all that much just yet, the webcomic itself is hilarious, genuinely progressive, thought-provoking, and one of my favorites on the internet; I recommend it to everyone.
LJ Community inclusive_geeks (formerly "inclusivegamers")
"Description: A community for geeks against -isms."
Is it any wonder that I found this link via the previous site? ;) I haven't looked around on it much just yet, but I do love the concept, and its inclusiveness.
Iris: A Gaming Network
With thanks once again toyeloson: "The Iris Gaming Forums are for all kinds of gaming, with a social justice bent, though primarily focused on feminism and gaming."
Wait, what?
In a downright strange turn of events, PsychichToaster and I end up in a horrible misunderstanding over the inclusion of his posts on Male and Female Privilege. The man himself has a nice link roundup over here. SPOILER ALERT: PsychichToaster is totally cool about the whole thing once the initial communication fuck-up is resolved :)b Minor clarifications have also been added to this post, since I'm paranoid like that; with any luck, they're actually useful (or at least not detrimental).
Additional Commentary:
Okay, you caught me! I don't actually play a lot of games. Pokémon, Kingdom Hearts, a little Final Fantasy here and there, Okage, maybe some Slime Forest Adventure. Oh yeah, and Minesweeper; can't forget about that. More "serious" gamers can probably list games they haven't played with less effort than I took listing these.
That doesn't mean I dislike games, though. Far from it! The format just doesn't do a lot for me, is all; I tend to prefer my entertainment to be less interactive. All this means is I can be highly entertained just sitting and watching someone else do the work.
THAT BEING SAID, if you think that means any of the criticisms I've made or listed here invalid? You're not only still an Entitled Misogynist Douchecanoe, you're an Ignorant Jerkwad as well. Have fun getting your head out of your ass far enough to see beyond your own rectum, and don't be surprised when I pull out my boilerplate response to the Tone Argument ♥
FIN
Have a link to something you think I should have here? I'd love to add it! Drop it in a comment and I'll put it up when I've got the time/energy :)
Disclaimers: Yes, so far this list is only addressing misogyny. That's mostly because I'm pretty sure the question(s) "Why aren't there more gamers of color/queer gamers? (etc)" don't come up nearly as often, though that in no way means posts like this one for other marginalized gamer sub-groups shouldn't exist. It just means I'm only addressing the one question at this time (intersectionality acknowledged), especially since the question is usually framed in such a way that suggests that women/girls are a commodity, rather than people.
This post is also skewed heavily towards video gaming in particular, and probably more than a little US-centric.
Edit 9/20/10: Thank you everyone for all your input so far :) The list is currently on the backburner, but I'll definitely be getting back to it eventually.
Edit 10/8/10:
For everyone it might affect, this post carries a Trigger Warning for misogyny.
Here is The List, divided up into sections as I think of/find them:
Wherein the gaming industry itself demonstrates misogyny
(Includes commentary by yours truly which, as soon as Teh Gamer Doodz find out about this, is sure to land this post in the next section.)
1up: It's Someone's 3rd Birthday at TGS
Relevant quote: One of the more amusing features of The 3rd Birthday is its clothing system -- you can have your clothing ripped off by enemy attack, and the more skin you reveal, the more vulnerable you are to damage. "Having this kind of alluring content is sort of a tradition for the series," Nomura commented, "and it's something the producer of the second game, in particular, really pushed to the forefront. This system, though, is more of an essential part of the gameplay. Your clothes don't get ripped off all that easily, and I'm hoping it'll introduce internal conflict within the player -- play it safe, or try to get the clothes off and risk death in the process?"
Who, exactly, would be conflicted about whether or not to play in such a way that would eliminate the main character's clothes, thus rendering her defenseless? Oh, right: Entitled Misogynist Douchecanoes who treat women, including the main character here, as objects.
PsychicToaster: Illustrated Game Geek’s Guide to Sex Privilege – Male Privilege [Linked as a handy reference for examples of male privilege in games]
Important quote: In other words, being male, female, trans-, pan-, or neuter confers certain benefits and drawbacks, whether we desire them or not. One can enjoy the benefits of sexist systems without consciously being sexist, chauvinist, or actively harming others.
And once you know that much, it's possible to start recognizing when you have privilege, and possibly even doing something about it. Of course, some people already know they have privilege and just don't care, hence the title of this collection post.
NOTE: In no way are the privileges listed in the Female Privilege counterpart equal to the privileges listed in the Male Privileges version. Like the real world practice of chivalry, they are intended as a consolation prize for forcing women and girls to live in a system where they are expected to need or want such things in the first place; without the system, they are meaningless, and within the system, they only add insult to injury.
Shakesvile: WoW Fail and Follow-Up
Relevant quote: Blizzard's decision to implement the RealID system in their public forums, making it impossible to comment in a public forum without your real name being viewable, continues to be met with serious objections, particularly from marginalized populations—especially women, who are disproportionately victimized by stalking and harassment in online communities.
The quote is from the second post, as I feel it more succinctly summarizes the issue of misogyny here. The first post goes into greater depth on the issue, particularly in the comments; the second is better as a round-up, with related reading links in addition to the summary paragraph.
Iris: A Gaming Network: Bioware's Marketing for Dragon Age 2
Relevant quote from BioWare's official response: "Will you only see the human male in the marketing? I am not sure (we have many months to go yet) but I would guess that, yes, we will mostly use the male character for marketing."
Wherein women who criticize games for being misogynist are called stupid, over-sensitive, hysterical bitches
(And all without a trace of irony. Just goes to prove that the logical conclusion of living in a misogynist system without thinking critically about it is turning into a misogynist asshole.)
The Brainy Gamer: Backlash
A woman critiques Metroid: Other M for its shoddy performance and outright misogyny. Gamer Doodz ignore her points about gameplay and attack her directly for daring to point out that: "In short, you're asked to forget that Samus has spent the last 10-15 years on solitary missions ridding the galaxy of Space Pirates, saving the universe and surviving on her own as a bounty hunter. Instead, Other M expects you to accept her as a submissive, child-like and self-doubting little girl that cannot possibly wield the amount of power she possesses unless directed to by a man."
Shakesville: Fat Princess Greatest Hits
Once upon a time, a feminist decided to write about the misogynist and fat-hating failfest that is Fat Princess. Trolling exploded. Well over a year later, she still gets letters attacking her for deciding to take on the Misogyny Monster sidequest - perhaps the most epic boss yet discovered in Video Gaming Meta, though I've no doubt that similar epic sidequests exist for, say, the Transphobia Monster, etc.
Hoyden about Town: "Women are treated better than men online", says NerdBoobLoot-man
While the claims of women being hysterical over-sensitive bitches are more implied than directly stated, it's pretty clear through the study's outright privileging of male gamers' statements over female gamers' statements that that is exactly what the paper's writers were thinking.
Just the facts
Women Gamers: Women Comprise 40 Percent of U.S. Gamers
And yet there's a perception that women aren't interested in video games - frequently on the part of the industry itself. Could it be that women just aren't interested in misogynist video games?
Review: Zenses (DW version) - by yours truly?!
Of course, even when the gaming industry does acknowledge women, they don't necessarily do it right.
Bonus: There's some fun and relevant commentary in the DW comments section of the post where I talk about my discovery and subsequent investigation of the games.
For the record, here are some sites of women who not only play but develop games
(Gasp! They do exist! Color me COMPLETELY UNSURPRISED.)
Deirdra Kiai Productions
Socially conscientious, personally meaningful video games
Hanako Games
"For too many people, "games for girls" means nothing but bright pink and dolls and dress-up and shopping. Well, those can be fun, but there are plenty of girls whose lives don't begin and end at the mall. Fiction for girls (and young adults in general) often focuses on other common girl-interests, like horses, magic, and fantasy. So why aren't there more girl games with unicorns instead of prom dresses?" From the About Us section
RPGirl Zine Project
A more tabletop-based link/project; submitted by
yeloson (thank you!), who described it as: "[The f]irst issue gives a massive list of women who design, publish and create games, as well as interviews, this issue is all international and talks about different game scenes in the US and Europe."Pirate Jenny
Also via
yeloson: "The Pirate Jenny crew are women designers of tabletop rpgs."Other Geeky Links
(Okay, so they're not all about gaming; STFU, they're still important.)
Riot Nrrd: Links/Resources for Nrrds, Grrls and Other Radicals
The list of links collected at webcomic Riot Nrrd is absolutely amazing, and while it may take a little digging to find those specifically dedicated to gaming, I have no doubt that they're in there. Incidentally, while not focused on gaming all that much just yet, the webcomic itself is hilarious, genuinely progressive, thought-provoking, and one of my favorites on the internet; I recommend it to everyone.
LJ Community inclusive_geeks (formerly "inclusivegamers")
"Description: A community for geeks against -isms."
Is it any wonder that I found this link via the previous site? ;) I haven't looked around on it much just yet, but I do love the concept, and its inclusiveness.
Iris: A Gaming Network
With thanks once again to
yeloson: "The Iris Gaming Forums are for all kinds of gaming, with a social justice bent, though primarily focused on feminism and gaming."Wait, what?
In a downright strange turn of events, PsychichToaster and I end up in a horrible misunderstanding over the inclusion of his posts on Male and Female Privilege. The man himself has a nice link roundup over here. SPOILER ALERT: PsychichToaster is totally cool about the whole thing once the initial communication fuck-up is resolved :)b Minor clarifications have also been added to this post, since I'm paranoid like that; with any luck, they're actually useful (or at least not detrimental).
Additional Commentary:
Okay, you caught me! I don't actually play a lot of games. Pokémon, Kingdom Hearts, a little Final Fantasy here and there, Okage, maybe some Slime Forest Adventure. Oh yeah, and Minesweeper; can't forget about that. More "serious" gamers can probably list games they haven't played with less effort than I took listing these.
That doesn't mean I dislike games, though. Far from it! The format just doesn't do a lot for me, is all; I tend to prefer my entertainment to be less interactive. All this means is I can be highly entertained just sitting and watching someone else do the work.
THAT BEING SAID, if you think that means any of the criticisms I've made or listed here invalid? You're not only still an Entitled Misogynist Douchecanoe, you're an Ignorant Jerkwad as well. Have fun getting your head out of your ass far enough to see beyond your own rectum, and don't be surprised when I pull out my boilerplate response to the Tone Argument ♥
FIN
Have a link to something you think I should have here? I'd love to add it! Drop it in a comment and I'll put it up when I've got the time/energy :)
Disclaimers: Yes, so far this list is only addressing misogyny. That's mostly because I'm pretty sure the question(s) "Why aren't there more gamers of color/queer gamers? (etc)" don't come up nearly as often, though that in no way means posts like this one for other marginalized gamer sub-groups shouldn't exist. It just means I'm only addressing the one question at this time (intersectionality acknowledged), especially since the question is usually framed in such a way that suggests that women/girls are a commodity, rather than people.
This post is also skewed heavily towards video gaming in particular, and probably more than a little US-centric.
Edit 9/20/10: Thank you everyone for all your input so far :) The list is currently on the backburner, but I'll definitely be getting back to it eventually.
Edit 10/8/10:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 07:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 08:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 08:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 01:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 12:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 09:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 03:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 04:21 am (UTC)First issue gives a massive list of women who design, publish and create games, as well as interviews, this issue is all international and talks about different game scenes in the US and Europe.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 06:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 06:17 am (UTC)Other links:
The Iris Gaming Forums are for all kinds of gaming, with a social justice bent, though primarily focused on feminism and gaming:
http://forums.theirisnetwork.org/index.php
The Pirate Jenny crew are women designers of tabletop rpgs:
http://piratejenny-rpgs.blogspot.com/
no subject
Date: 2010-09-19 05:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 05:45 am (UTC).................. I'm not a dude but I'VE BEEN WONDERING WHY THERE WEREN'T MORE GIRLS IN THE GAMING SOCIETY that I go to. Despite the fact that girls do play games.
I shall have to read this tonight after work. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 06:31 pm (UTC)Also, Jade Raymond. (serious TW for mind-blowing amounts of sick misogyny, esp. in the second link) http://blog.shrub.com/archives/luke/2007-11-18_677
http://megacomrade.com/2007/11/17/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-ubisoft/ <--I love the massive entitlement here. Poor guy, no one will give him a break and just let him harass anyone he wants to! Also, his Deep Concern for the effect this could have on Ms. Raymond's reputation, even as he archives the comic and encourages readers to spread it around to "help Ubisoft learn their lesson." Isn't he a card?
Anyway, hope you can do something with these. : )
no subject
Date: 2010-09-21 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-21 01:47 am (UTC)A Response
http://www.psychictoaster.com/2010/10/07/i-dont-agree-with-you-but-dont-say-i-dont-care/
Can't say I thought you were before your response, but I respect self-identification
Date: 2010-10-08 03:18 am (UTC)(Edit: Wow, could I have used the word "response" any more in that comment? I'm surprised it still looks like a word.)