I am not sure what you argument is here and not sure if we have a disagreement. I don't think dumb shitty exploitative objectifying representation of women are necessarily a product of patriarchy or misogyny (sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't), but when they are introduced to a culture that is already rife with misogyny and hatred of women, then regardless of their creation or independence contribute to a reinforcement of those very same norms. Which I guess is fine, it's all legal and all, but it shouldn't mean that we cannot criticize them for making something terribly boring, trite, and alienating that we've seen a million times before.
Dumb misogynist shit like those latex nuns with guns getting brutally murdered by the Hitman guy or the mute stripper sniper locked up in a cage and being sexually assaulted and beaten up and existing to arouse the assume male player is troubling, *especially* when video games culture have literal organized terror campaigns against women in games. And having this context in mind should alert people to wake up and acknowledge the problems in games and how to combat misogyny.
Great to hear, thank you for your work. I wasn't implying you weren't doing work - just saying that perhaps the effort should be to support those who try to contest the power structures of patriarchy instead of those people who always want to question the legimitacy of women's experiences.
Interesting take, hadn't thought of sex as a factor in these gamer bigots' lives.
It may come down to us simply differing on you using terms like that in that sentence. Before anyone browbeats me saying "look at you playing the dictionary card", which has happened before, like it or not misogyny has a defined descriptor for me. I do think it's quite counter-productive to try and make people think
everything is misogyny. Any depiction of fantasy ridiculousness around clothing/boobs is simply misogyny. Just in the same vein as our societies having an on-going issue with people wanting everything to be called terrorism.
Every mass shooting/mass killing is terrorism because of some perceived injustice that the books need balanced because religious terrorism (religion, like politics, is one of the core requirements to have something described as terrorism) may predominantly come from a specific belief system
as things stand (different eras in history can have different predominant reasons for X). Well, sexual objectification in games, unlike books, may almost be exclusively coming from males/for males, but that doesn't mean it's
all misogyny. People don't say
all romance novels are misandry. Or at least anyone with nuance doesn't. That isn't how you garner respect from people and attempt to change minds/influence people/get them onto your side. Being honest and factual does.
As for what I said about education and anger/resentment in men, it's well known. I need not point out what many priests get up to who have celibacy
forced on them (unless truly by choice, and you can honestly deal with it, celibacy is very counter-productive to nature/human biology and often seriously damaging psychologically), or what happens in some places in the world where angry young men who are low-status males hit out at women (often violently) and rape/expect sex/have multiple wives/etc.
You know yourself we "lose" many young men to radicalisation. In many of these situations it probably will be resentful, angry, virgins, or men who do not experience much social interaction/success with women. Or even success with male friends/male bonding. As I said to Pirate Bae above, a lot of these men and "boys" turn to gaming because gaming is the ultimate fantasy powerplay. It's visual, it's interactive and it can be enjoyed alone (a lot of men enjoy stimulation alone, even if they are well-adjusted, social and popular men). This may mean gaming has large pockets of abusive men, but this is not gamings fault specifically. It's a consequence of the medium being visually stimulating, interactive and often a crutch for social outcasts.
Education in schools around sex is absolutely fundamental to trying to give knowledge and understanding, but also cut down on the amount of anxious, socially retarded (retarded used as social development here, not mental deficiency) boys who turn into men who completely "fail" at interacting with the real world. They "can't" speak to women, they can't flirt, they can't seem to get sex, they hate themselves, they hate others and it gets really dark. They often close off, hunker down, get resentful, get angry, group together with other angry males and lash out/abuse. Gaming may be an outlet for this, it's not the psychological cause of it. Hence why plenty of gamers can enjoy and appreciate some sexy characters on their TV screens, as fantasy, and they do not abuse women, harass and go around being assholes. I'm not an asshole and even I occasionally like some eye candy, even in gaming. It is what it is, I won't be a hypocrite as I have a great understanding of my brain/body and biology, and also how to separate fantasy from real life.
Who is sexual objectification healthy for? Men? Or the women that it targets?
Your perception is based on a man's perception (I assume), and we differ in that I have experienced this stuff firsthand. It's not healthy, and it's not fun. It's more than a biological issue. Sexualization of female characters should not be the means to an end for one's own personal gratification.
Also, saying that "there are plenty of non-sexual games out there, that's enough" is not the answer. It's not a media issue. It's a societal one.
Do you feel the same way about sexual objectification for women? You can't deny it doesn't exist in romance novels, on TV in some places, or even in some magazines/adverts.
The argument of men get catered for more often than women visually isn't the same as saying sexual objectification is inherently bad, all the time, end of.
I think it's healthy for women as well, that's the difference. I just accept there are biological and psychological differences, on average, between men and women that can end up with sexual objectification manifesting in different ways/different mediums.
