Your periodic dose of feminism
Haha, I said period. Sorry for stealing the joke, commentors.
I tried to walk away from the whole gamer-grrlz-who-undress-in-front-of-cameras discussion. I really, really did. But they pulled me back in to do this one last job. It’s the last time I beat this thoroughly bludgeoned dead horse, I promise.
Believe it or not, I’m not real passionate either way on the issue of women who undress in front of cameras and who also game. (NSFW) I simply cannot bring myself to give a flying fuck whether someone shows their boobs and plays Counterstrike, nor can I give a flying fuck that it offends so-called professional gamers. I think shit like a complete lack of creativity within the game industry, Wal Mart’s control over game design, and unfair employee compensation/treatment are much more pressing issues, both for the game industry and players alike. Female gamers who, of their own free will, choose to show their bodies off for attention or money or because they think it will help them compete ranks pretty low on my list of concerns. (and lest you think Gloria Steinem took my sense of humor and all I got was this lousy t-shirt, the whole “oh look, more pr0n” angle isn’t without it’s humorous side.)
But here’s what does tweak me. When an opportunist outside the gaming community makes sweeping generalizations about our players, our games, and our lifestyles, we are justifiably indignant. Yet when prominent people within our industry arrogate these same types of sweeping generalizations, labeling part of our own community as camera “sluts” and “whores,” this is supposed to serve as legitimate debate. Well fuck that and the horse it rode in on. I haven’t read a single blog or news story that is critical of the three men behind Girls of CS, or about the multitudes of male gamers who created the demand in the first place. (correction: I somehow overlooked Scott, who I just freaking linked to. It’s always the rants that get ya.) We are all too happy to whip out the scarlet fucking letter for the ladies, but the guys who pull the strings and the boys who pay for access get a free pass.
Let me be perfectly clear: I don’t think Girls of CS is doing any favors for women in gaming. In fact, Kotaku sums up (NSFW) my feelings on the issue perfectly:
try to hide behind the whole “tearing down stereotypes.” If you want to
have hot gamers post nude on the site, go for it, just don’t tell us
it’s about empowerment.
But chew on this for a bit: we live in a society where Hugh Hefner and
Larry Flynt are “cultural icons,” but the women who made them
successful are derided as bimbos and worse. It wasn’t only the “girls” that created “Girls of CS,” it was also the men who saw a market and an opportunity. It’s not just the ladies of Vildkatten, Fragdolls, and Girlz of Destruction who are shoving their lovely packages in front of the camera, it’s also the men who run Ubisoft, VIA, and other sponsors who you support with your gaming dollars. There is a demand for nude women who also happen to game. If you think this is a problem, then you should do something about it. If your idea of doing something about it is railing against the women in front of the camera, calling them sluts and whores and worse, then you are simply ignorant beyond belief. If you want to affect real change, stop creating the market. Stop buying Ubisoft products, stop supporting VIA, and start engaging with these companies to let them know that you think their actions are poisoning your hobby.
Not that this will happen. Ignorant beyond belief is much easier, and generates far more page hits.
April 19th, 2006 at 10:10 am
> I haven't read a single blog or news story that is
> critical of the three men behind Girls of CS
Maybe I was being too subtle then. I didn't think calling the guy Malcom McLaren was supposed to be a compliment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Wow_Wow
April 19th, 2006 at 10:35 am
I started writing a post along these lines which did criticise the men behind it. But I got bored so never finished it. Perhaps I'll just plagarise yours and backdate it so it looks like you copied me.
April 19th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
Big feminism day on game blogs. Did you see the flurry going on at Terra Nova?
Bah, I was never really that fond of my Y chromosome anyways. Only got me in trouble.
April 19th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Personally, I don't see why this site is really any different from Myspace itself, except it groups together the girls who game. I mean, Myspace is chock full of 'camwhores', it's not like it's a phenomenon created by GirlsofCS. And if I'm not mistaken, Myspace also lets you join groups of profiles based on your interests (I know other social networking sites do, and diary sites like LiveJournal). So really, what's the difference between GirlsofCS and a group of gamers on Myspace, except possibly the tackiness of the former.
April 19th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
Dom, What-What-What? (that's supposed to be a nifty sound effect, fracking blogs)
The message behind the site is hypocritical, It'd be like Tom from myspace saying cam whores didn't exist and every member was a devout Mormon working to spread their cult-like faith. However, we have a bigger stereotype on our hands, furry manipulation in Second Life. Please sign the protect the furries act.
I would have wrote something about the above douchebags, but I do enjoy quality pron, (insert gay jokes) and there are many more inept idiots on the ewebs other than myself to keep my readership of few continually entertained with such rehashed tirades. IE: I'm no LTM.
April 19th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
omg r u fem irl? pix plz
Have fun,
Okay, seriously. The reason I haven't posted about this? Because these people are attention whores. Giving them attention is exactly what they want.
People that are smart enough already agree with this position, that it's dumb and degrading. Other people (read: guys that think with the wrong head) aren't going to be persuaded by any sort of logic when the other side is showing BOOBIES! Those of us turned on by smart, strong women just hang our head in shame.
Now, if you'll pardon me, I need to check my email to see if Amber sent those naked pix to prove she's really a woman.
April 20th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
Krones: “The message behind the site is hypocritical”
I honestly don't see how. The message behind the site might be a litte misguided and questionable, but I don't think it's hypocritical. They're just a bunch of girls who are camwhores and happen to like games. I don't see it as any different to Suicide Girls, really, who are a bunch of girls who are camwhores and happen to like…tattoos or whatever the hell the Suicide Girls are into. You know?
Psychochild: “People that are smart enough already agree with this position, that it's dumb and degrading.”
Agreed. But so was King Kong and thousands of people went to see that.
“Other people (read: guys that think with the wrong head) aren't going to be persuaded by any sort of logic when the other side is showing BOOBIES!”
Heh, I think that's a little too 'us vs. them' to be realistic. I sincerely doubt I'm ever going to visit the site, but I'm still not against it's existence. First of all, I'm with Amber in saying that this site is virtually meaningless within the industry. I really think the site is harmless fun is getting more attention already than it deserves. Secondly, I'm attracted to pretty girls and I like girls who share the same interests as me, which is essentially what the site is. Again, I don't know if the goth/stoner/metalhead community are up in arms over the existence of Suicide Girls, or if they just enjoy it at face value for being a community of girls who share their interests.
I'll reiterate, though, that I'm not going to be visiting the site, because I think I'm past that sort of thing by now. But I still don't think it's realistic to assume that anyone who likes that sort of girl is 'thinking with their dick'.
“Those of us turned on by smart, strong women just hang our head in shame.”
Ha, which is what, 0.5% of the industry and public? Which is the prevalent industry representation of women, GTA3 or The Longest Journey? And then compare the popularity of both.
Don't get me wrong, that's a terrible thing and maybe I'm being too pessimistic, but I'm under no delusions that the average gameplayer these days is more into Jessica Simpson than Elizabeth Bennet. You can hardly blame the girls for mirroring that.
April 21st, 2006 at 6:28 am
It's just a shame there's no BoysOfCS for us men to complain about :D. I so want to right a masculinist post! Damn those men showing off their big gun's making us men with our equally big gun's who don't show them off look like a bunch of camgigolo's..!