ReviewTechUSA misogyny

 

Say it with me folks, “No S*$!, Rich!”

Okay, guy, deep breath. Let’s go through this blow by blow.

Sarkeesian’s video essays greatly intrigue. And the reason for that is pure and simple: it’s literary criticism applied to video games. She looks at all the different publicized and brings out the different themes (archetypes/tropes) that developer’s draw upon to create their characters. Any good feminist and/or queer theorist would state that art or creations reflect the viewpoints of not just the creator, it also reflects society as well. An easy example would be LBGT inclusion in a television show. There’s a reason why Laverne Cox’s character in “Orange is the new black” has gotten massive recognition as of late compared to Sean Hayes’ character in “Sean saves the world.” To some it might appear to be comparing oranges to apples, it highlights that great writing, premise, and actor help make a show great not just the actor him/her/sieself.

So why is she so hated, along with prominent women in who are making comments about video games? According to ReviewTechUSA, it’s because she is a “feminenizi”–a woman hellbent on taking the rights of men and turning all women into lesbians.  This is not the perspective she presents on the Colbert Report:  http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/video-playlists/j0zpbx/the-colbert-report-11015-highlights/wr7hqq.

What she argues on the Colbert Report is that she isn’t out to take games away from people, she’s out to encourage players to examine what they’re digesting. She asks Stephen at the end if he believes women should have the same rights of women. He said “yes.” She called him a feminist.  This makes the statement up above useless.

As such, I agree with the critics of the movement that this is about misogyny. This is plainly seen on Wikipedia (yes, “citation needed”) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_controversy#Presence_of_misogyny_and_inclusiveness) and on Do Ask, Do Tell (http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/doaskdotell/).

So the question remains: why is she hated? Is it because she is taking a critical view on what is typically seen as a “male” hobby? Is it because she’s a woman? Or could it be because she’s hitting on something, the proverbial elephant in the room, that no one wants to talk about? I think it’s the latter because it means a massive shift is taking place. And as everyone knows, change is scary. It’s sort of like playing the original Metroid: awesome gameplay with the surprise that the hero is a woman.

I’m just as guilty as everyone else for having an opinionated perspective on things, I’m calling it as I see it: ReviewTechUSA, you’re being misogynistic right now. Knock it off. This is not helping your case. Instead, you’re adding fuel to the fire.

---