faetal on 19/6/2012 at 13:47

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Not sure where half of that "graph" comes from, but it seems you've included one quote from me in there. How does this make me a "brainwashed liberal" (if in doubt, call someone a name) again?

Also, not sure how an incoherent and paraphrased infographic does anything except make me doubt your ability to understand what I've said. Two way feedback and conflicting pressures operate at a fluctuating equilibrium within cultural systems. It is never so black and white that conflicting pieces of information rule each other out to the extent that your picture implies. Being able to read up on social anthropology doesn't make me brainwashed. Don't let that stop you reaching for the nearest canned response which suits your purpose though. That infographic may as well be composed from non-toxic painty fingerprints and pasta shapes. You could have made it into the shape of a straw man for added irony points mind. Either way, it's not going on my fridge.

Gaming has not been seen as a feminine thing to do for a long time due to cultural indicators that it is a guy thing. I even have female friends who admit they used to call guys boring for playing games, while secretly wishing they could have a go as it looked like fun. This is reinforced by content which caters to those it is seen to be for. Slowly though, more women are getting into gaming because despite these tropes playing games is fun because of the game play (which will survive the medium being made more gender sensitive, if the game design is any good).

However, the existing presence of these tropes makes some women feel uncomfortable and also slows the rate of women getting into gaming due it still seeming a bit too boyish for their tastes. So what you end up with is some girls feeling like they are being tomboys by getting into gaming, others not bothering, but the fact is that the game play mechanics still have a big appeal to both sexes, but this is being spoiled by the super-bro aesthetic being rather prevalent. What would aid this situation, and open up gaming a lot more would be a little more gender sensitivity (rather than just assume that all girls want to just play Sims, Angry Birds etc...) and some more women involved in making games.

What you would hopefully end up with is a gaming industry which still makes raging broner games like GoW, because that demographic still exists, but also a fair amount of games which don't portray women as the stereotypes which had held them back for centuries and still do to some extent (salary comparisons are still not looking too clever), and which instead draw in a massively under-represented demographic and probably change the cultural tone of gaming in general a bit so that the normal state of affairs isn't games in which the only women involved tend to be eye candy, a jumped up secretary (think of the countless mission brief through earpiece gals) or someone to rescue. Like I say, I'd like to think that in 20 years, the cultural tone as well as the graphics of games made today will seem outmoded.

Dresden on 19/6/2012 at 15:07

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(http://www.destructoid.com/objectification-and-lollipop-chainsaw-229700.phtml) Suda 51 does it right.

I can't wait for feminists to jump onto this one.

faetal on 19/6/2012 at 19:45

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You're exceptionally skilled at having less of a point as you go on.

faetal on 19/6/2012 at 20:01

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The link is a pointless comparison of two things which don't inform by being compared.

june gloom on 19/6/2012 at 20:17

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You're right, I should have saved my rude words for Koki, who is making everyone else in this thread look like they've advanced past at least the tool-making stage of evolution.