Are Video Games Sexist?

September 27, 2014 in Gaming | Tags: Gaming, Sexism | by The Arbourist

Why yes, yes they are. Next question. But hey, here’s a video with a catchy tune replying to the anti-feminist Christina Hoff Sommers.

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7 comments

September 27, 2014 at 12:13 pm

john zande

Rhetorical question.

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September 27, 2014 at 12:48 pm

The Arbourist

@JZ

*grins* I cannot get away with much around here can I?

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September 27, 2014 at 4:31 pm

VR Kaine

Great video and great job! I haven’t looked into Christina Hoff Summers (and I will) but she seems extremely off-the-mark on this one. Even from a layperson’s standpoint, to me any game that let’s you “practice” or “test out” violence against women cannot be anything but sexist, but who cares whatever label one wants to give it – it’s flat out wrong. How can people like this woman set that point aside? It’s OK to just beat on random women in such games as Saints Row or GTA while we sit around and debate what’s “sexist” or not? To me that sort of violence has no place being promoted or protected in our society whatsoever, “virtual” or otherwise, and to reduce it to some academic argument is sickening (not to mention outright scary)..

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September 28, 2014 at 1:39 am

Reneta Scian

The easiest question ask to determine if games are sexist is this… When was the last time you saw a AAA title (or more than one) with a brothel full of men, tied up in demeaning, sexualized positions after having been raped and/or murdered? There isn’t much of a need to answer this question, because it’s never (to my knowledge) happened. Ever. Being that the answer to the above is no, or no time I can recall, then yes, “Video Games are Sexist”. I’m tired of playing video games with violent male protagonists, or seeing games made full of mutilated, dead, beaten, or beatable female avatars. Way fucking sick of it.

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September 28, 2014 at 7:59 am

The Arbourist

@Vern

but she seems extremely off-the-mark on this one.

Sommers makes a practice of being off the mark at least when it comes to feminist concerns.

to me any game that let’s you “practice” or “test out” violence against women cannot be anything but sexist, but who cares whatever label one wants to give it – it’s flat out wrong.

Agreed.

How can people like this woman set that point aside?

The usual dodges – “its just game”, “no studies show that repeated depictions of graphic violence affect people” etc..

It’s OK to just beat on random women in such games as Saints Row or GTA while we sit around and debate what’s “sexist” or not?

In SR and GTA its okay to beat up anyone on the street it is the part of the “charm” of their open world sandbox environment. These actions are without enduring consequences in game and thus given tacit approval.

To me that sort of violence has no place being promoted or protected in our society whatsoever, “virtual” or otherwise, and to reduce it to some academic argument is sickening (not to mention outright scary)..

Violence against women is normalized in our society (see tomorrow’s post for more happy fun times with regards to this aspect). The video games merely reflect the greater social problem. Concomitantly violence against men has also been normalized, but the expected role of the man is to be perpetrator of violence rather than the victim.

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September 28, 2014 at 8:07 am

The Arbourist

@Reneta

The easiest question ask to determine if games are sexist is this…

I’ve never seen it in game. And I’ve been gaming since the (popular) inception of video games (oh my beloved Atari 2600) and not once has this occurred.

I’m tired of playing video games with violent male protagonists,

Ditto for movies. I’m tired of the cavalcade of white dude protagonists that I’m supposed to care about.

seeing games made full of mutilated, dead, beaten, or beatable female avatars.

But Reneta, mutilated women make the plot more ‘impactful’ and poignant… :/ (/sarcasm off)

Way fucking sick of it.