Can you say Machoism?

~After writing last week's post, I asked OPP1123 for her take on it.  This is her response. *ddrfr33k*~

Alright guys, I'm not going to tell you the best way to not get laid. The first is recognizing that feminism is not man-hating, butch women who want to dominant society. The core definition of feminism according to Bell Hooks is "a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression."

This means that men can be feminists and the ultimate goal is not female domination. It also does not support reverse sexism where the society is dominated by females. That would be equally unhealthy as male dominated. Many gamers are violating my core beliefs holding that women are intelligent human beings who provide useful and highly valuable perspectives in work, school and home settings.

Before I get into the gaming world I'd like to provide a little background on the start of the feminist movements. Much of what the feminist movement in the United States has provided is women's suffrage, greater access to education, right to initiate divorce, and right of women to take individual decisions regarding pregnancy and the right to own property. When it terms of the decisions regarding pregnancy this includes abortion and contraceptives. While I do not think it should be entirely up to the woman whether or not have an abortion, this freedom allows for significant security for when they are interested in having sex with a boyfriend or husband. 

What has caused the image of the strong, self-reliant female turned into a sandwich-making whore? Well, take the video of the amateur video game designers as an example. By creating a woman during menopause to be the villain, the design they chose not only ignores the biological reasoning behind menopause (Hey, they can fuck all they want with no worries about having kids! What's not to like?) to the dominatrix controlling the world. I have to admit, the dominatrix image was a decent idea. The only problem with it is that it over-sexualizes women in objects of lust. 



 

Cat woman and Juliet from Lollypop Chainsaw are perfect example of  the sexual nature in the presentation of women. The first thing to note is that the outfit chosen is crafted in a way that it highlights the most sexual features of a woman, primarily the hips, butt, and chest. With the addition of the high heel shoes there is the movement of the hips providing a more sensual perspective of the backside. While cat woman monopolizes on these images Julliet does not contain all of those features.

I have to admit, I am excited for Lollipop Chainsaw to come out, partially because the main character isn't some tough, testosterone pumped character looking to either avenge his love's death or prove his masculinity by running to the front lines. These particular characters and the perspectives and responses of gamers only fuel the negative image. With the site "Fat, Ugly, or Slutty" there are multiple examples of this.

With comments such as:

30-0 I'd be impressed but u use the scar noob, hate when GIRLS play i'm goin to march to your house and take the ps3 out of the kitchen. (RedDeadKiller)

Or the subsequent responses

Can I tlk 2 ur husband?

Do you have big gonglerz 

My dick just died, can I bury it in your ass. (xEPIC PROTOGESx)

And also this one:

My first comment to some of these is that if you want to get a girlfriend or get laid make sure you actually use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. If someone attempted to become "my boyfreeend" using this language it would be a blatant no. What I find attractive is intelligence and an ability to hold a reasonable conversation. XBL is not a booty call site, go to myspace for that.

I have to admit that this is only touching many of the issues with the sexualizing and demoralizing of women in video games. I've seen it in Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Need for Speed (my favorite series) along with a multitude of others.  My question is: What has this fueled the demoralizing response to female gamers?


Signing off, OPP1123