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This is a common argument, but doesn't really stand up to close scrutiny. To be clear I'm referring to the "misogyny exists in the real world, so displaying mi

This is a common argument, but doesn't really stand up to close scrutiny. To be clear I'm referring to the "misogyny exists in the real world, so displaying misogyny in creative works is merely being realistic/accurate" argument. This is a sound argument if made in a vacuum of no additional information. Unfortunately for gaming this argument falls apart once you consider the sheer mass of portrayals of misogyny in games but the relative lack of portrayal of other social issues. In other words, a trope (and now we delve into the thesis of Sarkeesian's entire series of videos). Her last video was very good and delves into this argument in specific. The gaming industry seems incapable of portraying "gritty" and "bleak" without shoving dead women in your face. Need your protagonist to realize the gravity of a situation? Show violence against women. Need to project an air of despair and injustice? Violence against women. Need to express the true evilness of the bad guy? ... You guessed it. This suggests that portrayals of misogyny in gaming is more than an attempt to be even-handed or realistic. IMO Sarkeesian is correct in stating that portrayals of misogyny is used stereotypically and excessively for dramatic effect, and in doing so is ultimately dampening the very effect they're trying to achieve. When gamers see dead/hurt/maimed women everywhere always they cease to be truly shocking and horrifying, and instead simply become mood-setting decor.

dragonwriter 12y ago
> To be clear I'm referring to the "misogyny exists in the real world, so displaying misogyny in creative works is merely being realistic/accurate" argument. I didn't make that argument (or one for which that is a valid generalization), and, in fact, didn't make any reference to what exists in the "real world" at all. If you wanted to generalize the argument I made validly, it would be "the depiction in art of items or acts with a particular characteristic -- whether or not those items or acts exist in the real world, with a same or different frequency either on their own or with respect to other elements which are shared between the real world and the artistic depiction -- does not, in and of itself, make the art itself into an act or item with the characteristics of the act or item depicted." > IMO Sarkeesian is correct in stating that portrayals of misogyny is used stereotypically and excessively for dramatic effect, and in doing so is ultimately dampening the very effect they're trying to achieve. Overuse of misogynistic acts as an indicator of badness might be a real problem in games, but if it is, its very much not a problem of games or gamer culture being misogynistic, in the same way that if a particular medium featured wild overuse of "violence by Arabs against Jews" to show badness, it would be a problem, but the problem wouldn't be anti-Semitism in that medium.

dragonwriter 12y ago

> To be clear I'm referring to the "misogyny exists in the real world, so displaying misogyny in creative works is merely being realistic/accurate" argument. I didn't make that argument (or one for which that is a valid generalization), and, in fact, didn't make any reference to what exists in the "real world" at all. If you wanted to generalize the argument I made validly, it would be "the depiction in art of items or acts with a particular characteristic -- whether or not those items or acts exist in the real world, with a same or different frequency either on their own or with respect to other elements which are shared between the real world and the artistic depiction -- does not, in and of itself, make the art itself into an act or item with the characteristics of the act or item depicted." > IMO Sarkeesian is correct in stating that portrayals of misogyny is used stereotypically and excessively for dramatic effect, and in doing so is ultimately dampening the very effect they're trying to achieve. Overuse of misogynistic acts as an indicator of badness might be a real problem in games, but if it is, its very much not a problem of games or gamer culture being misogynistic, in the same way that if a particular medium featured wild overuse of "violence by Arabs against Jews" to show badness, it would be a problem, but the problem wouldn't be anti-Semitism in that medium.