I have a bad habit of getting insomnia before appointments. I had a basic blood test today just to be sure I’m not approaching diabetes or growing a cancerous sentient tumor whom likes to be addressed as “Billy”. Hopefully I will not get the forthcoming “Call Of Doom” to tell me just how screwed up I am!
Beyond that, I’ve been drawing more. Just finished a rough sketch of my Catholic werewolf marine guy Dwayne and I was impressed how well it turned out considering that I haven’t picked up a pencil to doodle in quite awhile.
My “land lady Gestapo union” likewise have decided to schedule my inspection for the end of this month instead of April. Luckily, I’ve been working on my New Year’s resolution of keeping my apartment cleaner. Aka, let them bring it on, I’m READY!
Oh,games? Well, I downloaded Binding Of Isaac. As much as I like the story, the art direction, and even the randomized dungeons, I totally blow chunks at it! In general I can beat the first bosses (Who are usually Larry Jr. or Widow) but the second floor tends to clean my clock. I also haven’t gotten the hang of shooting Isaac’s tears diagonally.
So what is binding of Isaac? It’s kind of a morbid biblical take on Adventure Time mixed with Zelda and the horror movie “People under the stairs“. If any of that tickles your morose fancy, it’s dirt cheap on steam right now! Just be warned, it has that “old school challenge”. (Probably because it was brought to us by the same talented people who created Super Meat Boy!)
Topics are a bit dry in my well lately. However, I would like to discuss “sexuality” from a male gamer geek perspective as well as how the radical tug both from the political left and the political right makes “being that guy in the middle” a total nightmare!
It seems as if we live in an age of extremes and we’re expected to pick sides. Aka, if you decide you’re not a feminist then many people assume you’re a “misogynist”, willing sex slave of the patriarchy, or some sort of creepy otaku serial killer stalker who has a thing for basements and pedophilia!
I try to hammer home I’m an “equalist”. Rather than being only pro man or only pro woman I believe EVERYONE should get a fair shake and that we should invest time into becoming sympathetic towards people unique from ourselves. Most of you are intelligent enough to let that sink in but sadly there will always be a few idiots in the audience who will go brain-dead because they cannot comprehend a broad ideology that encompasses more than a single group of people.
A thing I’ve struggled with a lot is “sexual shame”. This type of propaganda is launched at both genders but being I’m a man, I’m more familiar with how it’s targeted at me directly. Put simply, these are some sweeping generalizations I could do without!
1# Japan is EVIL (Xenophobia tells me so!)
I still remember being at 1up and watching the skit called “This month in misogyny”. The very title made me cringe but I decided to watch the footage if only to give it a fair chance.
Most of it boiled down to how games like Hyper Dimension Neptunia and Devil survivor are “bad” because they include teen characters doing mildly suggestive things or have females present with an exaggerated bust size.
Though I’m no expert of Japanese culture I do know the age of consent there is around 13 and that Asian women tend to be lithe and thin even after they become adults. I’m not saying there are no tall, buxom, and voluptuous Asian beauties out there but it’s safe to hypothesize most of them are not. (Though average Asian women are still stunningly beautiful in their own special way!)
Such truths create three results. One is that teenaged characters will be portrayed in a more sexual and mature manner in anime and Japanese videogames (which coincides with puberty, the age of consent, and those kinds of hormonal cravings), Two, not all female characters in anime depicted with lithe physiques are actually children, and third, Asian men are often aroused by big breasts on account it’s a rare trait where they are from. (Aka, for many people the grass is always greener on the opposite side of the fence. We are attracted to the new and the exotic. Japanese people are no different)
Judging Japan by our own moral standards in the west is pretentious and short sighted. We’re dealing with two very unique cultures, after all.
Yet most importantly, these are women and girls made out of polygons and pixels. Though I personally find the content in such games disturbing on occasion, I have to remember these are not real people. I will not waste my time crusading against what is make believe and neither should you!
2# Objectification
Of all the fictional females in gaming, the sexy ones kick up the most controversy. Characters such as Bayonetta, Cat-woman, and Juliet Starling create mixed reactions at best. Many gamers will argue they empower females because they’re fiercely independent combat capable vixens who kick ass and look stylish while doing it. However, an equally large number of gamers will decry they objectify women just because these femme fatales are comfortable with and flaunt their sexuality. By that logic do many feminists believe “sex is wrong”? I’m hesitant to answer as I might misrepresent the movement and I’m already aware there are pro-sex feminists out there. Regardless, this is a touchy subject.
I will say as a guy this is a potential guillotine to my reputation constantly looming just above my head. In this age of political correctness we live in a time where telling a dirty sex joke can get someone fired or drawing a female character in a sexually suggestive way can get an illustrator labeled as a sexist, a pervert, a womanizer, and a chauvinist.
There seems to be the one sided myth that only men objectify women but in truth human beings in general objectify other human beings constantly. From a pizza delivery guy I want my pizza. From a police officer I want protection. From a comedian I want to laugh. From a bank teller I want my withdrawal money. Put simply, I want these people to fulfill a task or a purpose. In passing I’m not going to worry about their feelings or their general well being. (However, given the right circumstances this aloof apathy becomes genuine compassion. This happens when we get to know and acknowledge someone beyond their outer appearance and their profession.)
Lastly, there are smutty romance novels, yaoi pretty boy/pretty girl coupling fan fictions, and those lovely 50 shades of gray! Are females looked down upon for indulging in all these fantasies? Not to my immediate knowledge. As a comparison, watch how quickly a guy gets trash talked for having hentai, watching porn, or commenting lewdly about his favorite fictional female character. (It’s as common place as a gamer being chewed out merely for being female on a disreputable Halo or COD server, no lie.)
Calling a guy a “pervert” “chauvinist pig” or “sexist” for such trivial biological self expression is the same as calling a woman a “slut” “man hating dyke” or a “whore”. Before we let fly with such hurtful slander we should really contemplate if the person deserves it or if we know them well enough to judge them so harshly in the first place.
3# Misogyny, the catchphrase for all disapproval!
Sure, you may not feel comfortable with Fred’s open love of pornography. You may think Steve from accounting really needs to get over his “fine asses ” fetish. Then there’s Al who reverts back to drawing tits after he’s done filing his tax returns! Sam? I totally saw that dude masturbating in a closet to a bunch of Hustler magazines! The thing is, none of these quirks makes a man a woman-hater.
A woman hater is someone who stalks women, insists on “his way”, and uses bully tactics to belittle and break down a female’s self esteem so he can feel as if he’s in complete control. Simultaneously, jovial uncle Kevin who has been happily married 15 years tells the occasional dick, three way, anal, or fart joke at social parties. Does that put him in the same league as “Mr. Psychopathic control freak?” Not by a long shot!
“Misogyny” is used out of context in so many instances it’s beginning to lose its’ meaning and impact. Anytime someone “disagrees” with someone else the word is ready to be slung at some hapless guy who just so happened to not entirely agree with Anita Sarkeesian or who wasn’t offended by Cat-woman’s “skintight cat suit” in Arkham City.
As a male I confess my relationship with women as a whole is 50/50. I know dear female friends close to my heart and I also know women I utterly loathe. I do not actively dislike anyone of either gender unless they give me a good reason to.
There’s no denying misogyny exists but there are many people who have been called “misogynistic” who do not actually deserve the label.
Furthermore ladies, the lonely shy guy whacking his meat to comic book heroines, anime school girl bondage, and comic book villainesses probably isn’t as much of an immediate threat as the Jersey-shore looking douche-bag at the bar trying to get in your pants by buying you drinks! Just saying! (Not there’s anything wrong with playing the field so long as it’s consensual both ways!)
4# Create a character……in retrospect did you make your character “ugly” or “mundane“?
In games where we have the opportunity to create our own characters we tend to make our avatars attractive, cute, or grandiose. Okay, maybe you’ll make a joke character who’s “utterly hideous” but it probably isn’t the one you use to embody your ideal self!
Both men and women are governed by the rules of attraction and there’s no shame in a bit of self indulgent fantasy escapism!
Should either gender be punished for enjoying nice eye candy once in awhile?
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