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Because that does describe the great majority of the gaming industry and gamers alike: straight males who are often not comfortable with looking at sensual, nude men. There're secure straight men out there who can admit they find another man aesthetically pleasing, but those tend to be in the minority. Before you start, most straight women don't freak out when they look at naked or scantily clad women, but that's another subject entirely (i.e. objectified females are the norm so everyone's used to it).
I was just hoping that perhaps at least here, with the glorious anonymity the Internet so kindly provides, we can have a discussion based solely on our words, not gender, sexual orientation, and what qualities people might think come along with them.
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The best art transgresses and challenges, not affirm your comfort zone and social constructs. Yes, gender is a social construct and any beginner's sociology/anthropology textbook will tell you the same. Keep in mind, I've found merit in and enjoyed works with questionable attitudes toward women: Philip K. Dick, Paradise Lost, several works of Shakespeare, Michael Moorcock's Gloriana, to name but a few. I've defended Chaucer's portrayal of the "arch-wife" and Dunbar's "The Tua Mariit Wemen and the Wedo." But dismissing such attitudes out of hand as inoffensive and "just a reflection of reality/biology" is an insult and says nothing flattering about you.
And you know what? I think The Void in its medium (video games) transgresses and challenges quite a lot! Sure, maybe not traditional gender roles, but I think there's little art that's transgressing and challenging in every one of its aspects - form, theme, method of presentation, etc... Gosh, it seems all the artists should try better!
And no, I haven't been dismissing or endorsing, merely trying to find an explanation for the way things are. And I'm sorry, but my observations say little about me personally, except that perhaps my insight is lacking. But don't worry, I'll gladly admit it.
Do you find every art with a fictional society featuring some kind of injustice offensive? ("Society is inherently mysoginistic", you said.) Do you get offended whenever you read a book or see a movie in which there's a housewife or a Prince Charming, and then assume that it must have been made by and for mysoginist insecurely straight men? And then, when somebody else perhaps might not, you find that insulting?
The thing I'm wondering about is whether the fact that historically there have been fewer positively "strong" female characters (let's take for instance Xena, the Warrior Princess) mean that having "weaker" female characters (this time let's say Princess Leia - who might need to be rescued once or twice, and even is made to put on a metal bikini!) is automatically wrong? Should, for instance, a movie be judged sexist because it includes a Leia but not a Xena? Or more Leias than Xenas? Or...
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So what about female wrestlers who are much stronger than your average man? You'd be surprised how much training, experience, and genetic makeup matter (some men are more prone to growing fat, some women are genetically inclined to be tall and muscular, certain types of cancer are more likely to happen to men). Did you realize women have a much higher pain threshold? Try giving birth. Oh, and upper body strength. Most scientists agree that there are much larger differences between two men or two women from disparate groups than between an average man and an average woman.
Wasn't that what I was saying all along, that there exist both collective and individual differences? And sure, while some female wrestlers may be stronger than average man, most sport disciplines are still divided into categories of gender (how sexist!), and usually it's men who get better results, right? So, if art features a physically strong character, why should it be offensive and insulting if it's more often a man? Similarly, if art features a metaphor of giving birth, why should it be offensive if the character involved is more often a woman?
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No, it's because society is inherently misogynistic and slanted toward the marginalization and disenfranchisement of women. For long periods in history and many cultures,* women weren't regarded as much of anything but chattel and breeding stock: they're not valued for intelligence or wit but their beauty. You may think that in this oh-so-progressive century such attitudes are obsolete and gender equality has been obtained, but let me assure you that this isn't the case.
I couldn't be more aware of the fact that we're not enjoying blissful gender equality. I just wondered, if it's a "man's world" after all, does that mean that men are (more?) to blame.
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The character in your avatar is a pansexual male-female-neither anthromorphic personification written by an author who refused to sell the movie rights to one of his novels because Hollywood was going to make his main characters white (instead of what they are in the book: black). Irony has never been more delicious.
I suppose the joke might be on you after all, since beside choosing this particular avatar I've offered little information about myself and my believes so far; but I can't really force you to draw any conclusions or make you drop any preconceived notions.
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And you know, I'm not enraged about The Void. I'd like to find a position from which its handling of gender and sex can be defended against outright declarations of misogyny. Most of you seem happy to burn your own house and shoot your own foot, though.
What about outright declarations of misandry? Seems to me we'd have a hard time deciding which of the sexes is presented in a more favourable light. Are the Brothers really better off because they wield the "power"? They hardly come through as just rulers who are following only the natural order of how things should be. What about the themes of emancipation and rebellion against patriarchy? You admitted The Void could be an artistic commentary about how women have been treated.
(Funny thing, both my English spell checkers don't recognize "misandry"...)
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No, actually, Umgenni's post is offensive. If I reposted his comments in certain places--and no, I'm not talking about some mythical "feminazi" forum or the like, just forums where progressive views are promoted--people would think I'm a troll then tear me apart, and with good reason. Especially because it's cloaked under passive-aggressive "nice guy" facade.
You're hitting the tone argument. To wit: you're accusing me of being rude without considering the fact that I find Umgenni's and bratt_n's posts insulting. Expecting me to be polite in the face of this is neither impartial nor reasonable, and if anything I've remained as polite as I can--on a message board where there's no moderation and discussions are no-holds-barred, I'd have been much more scathing.
Oh sure, just because we don't agree with each other let's call each other stupid and tell each other to shut up, and then let's figure on our own what was all that about. Except, you know, it's a discussion forum, where people come to discuss stuff.
Hmm, if it hasn't been clear previously, the point I was trying to make is that if art features things that may not be in some way right (crime, slavery, gender oppression, etc.) does that mean that it corresponds with his or her personal beliefs? Or of those who enjoy the art? Or that it's "promoting" those things? Does every character need to be a positive role model and should all art be didactic?
Finally, I think we could do with a bit less of the condescending attitude. You started writing here with a warning that others had better meet your expectations and not turn out to be like average straight males (oh, what a horrible thing to be!), and then you try to treat them like oppressors or backwards unwitting masses.
About MasamuneSSX's important bit:
While I feel that with balancing out the genders The Void would still be interesting, some of its meaning and interpretations would certainly be different. I suppose the difference between those "born" in the Void ("Sisters") and those in the Nightmare ("Brothers") might be less clear, so it could be necessary to implement some other very basic division between the two groups. Although on the other hand, maybe all those metals bits sticking out of various places would be enough? I agree with what Ledger said about how it would affect the gender images - sure it would remind us that women can be monsters too, and men can be those under somebody else's control - but every character has its good and bad sides, and people might still wonder they were distributed among the genders one way and not the other.
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By the way, since someone brought it up before, I just want to point out that men have mammary glands and can, in fact, breastfeed.
Sure, women too have facial hair and sometimes can sport a pretty impressive beard or moustache.