The Escapist - Rant on Sexism in Geek/Gamer Culture

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Not Okay

So this guy has just gotten major points in my book.

But seriously? Sexual harassment is an essential part of fighting game culture?  What the hell?

As a girl in gamer society, especially while I was in college, I definitely had to deal with some crap.   Nothing on the level of what that poor girl in the Street Fighter x Tekken tournament had to put up with (by the way here's a link to an article with some quotes), but enough that it was a challenge sometimes.  For a while early on I decided it was actually easiest to do everything I could to not be effeminate and just be one of the guys.  On one hand, yeah, being thought of as a "gamer" as opposed to a "gamer girl" is a good thing.  On the other hand, I shouldn't have to give up ways I like acting that are considered effeminate to do so.  And honestly?  I really haven't had it that bad all things considered.

I'm also a big fan of the point he makes towards the end, about how what makes him angrier then the fact that geek/gamer culture frequently displays a lot of sexism and other casual bigotry is the fact that as a hole, people would rather IGNORE it then actually admit that it exists and address it.  Most geeks I know are not incredibly sexist, racist, or otherwise bigoted.  Yeah, they tend to tell a lot of off color jokes, but mostly among friends who KNOW that they're screwing around.  But mostly, they're good folk.  There is that minority though, and yeah, it seems to be something that a lot of people don't like to talk about.  Fun thing though, the problems you get really touchy about when people bring them up, or vehemently deny, are generally the ones that really need to be dealt with.  And when people who get up in arms against geeks and geek culture can point to these assholes and say "look, here's what we're talking about!" and see the rest of us not openly objecting?  Well then we obviously agree with them right?  Idiots and assholes will be idiots and assholes, you can't really sweep them under the rug because they just pop right back up saying stuff like this coach.  And even if they could be swept under the rug, they shouldn't be because not calling people out on this shit and making a big deal out of it sends the message, both to them and to people watching, that this is okay.

Well as Moviebob so eloquently puts it, "IT'S NOT OKAY!"

Overcoming of Fear by Means of Tasty Foods!

So you know that thing you've been dreading for years?  That you've  been avoiding because it just freaks you out?  Then one day you decide "fuck it, I'm gonna do this!"  and it turns out to be not that bad at all? 

I just cooked my first meal using raw meat.  This might not seem like much of an accomplishment, but for as long as I can remember this has scared the crap out of me.  Until recently I didn't even want to look at the stuff.  It was a combination of ick factor with pretty intense germophobia.  Now, however, I am enjoying the last of my tasty stirfry of chicken, carrots, snow peas and pineapple in pineapple ginger sauce.  I cooked and ate the first of it last night and I've yet to get food poisoning!  (Of course, if I wind up doing so I will have to amend this entry pretty quick). 

I still can't touch the stuff, had to get it precut and dump it right from the bag into the wok, but this has opened up all sorts of new cooking possibilities for me!  That and the satisfaction of having one less thing that being worried or paranoid keeps me from doing. 

Yay for a taking a little bit more control of my life!  And yay for yummy stirfry!

Long time no see and PURE AWESOME (Mass Effect Style)

So, yeah, long time no post.  Lot of crazy shit's happened in my life in the last six months but we'll skip over that to something completely awesome: MASS EFFECT 3 IS OUT!!!!

So I didn't wind up playing until long after it was out, but for a while I was a major Mass Effect fangirl.  The summer after my third year of college was spent playing through both 1 and 2.  The theme was also my ringtone.  I hadn't gotten that into a game in a while.  Now, 3 is out and I'm pretty excited.

I love that they did FemShep trailers for this one.  This trailer is a. amazingly atmospheric and cinematic, and b. features an ass kicking  female Shepard.  I've probably watched it at least half a dozen times so far.

Despite it's release, I have not yet played even the Demo for ME3.  Why? Because I've decided that before I can touch it, I am going to replay 1 and 2 so I can have a continuity when I go into 3, as opposed to just loading a save file from two years ago and picking up in the middle of the story.  Mass Effect is an amazing game.  It has a lot of things going for it, the gameplay is fun (both 1 and 2 though I know people who will argue one over the other pretty vehemently), the storyline is awesome, and it is wonderfully immersive.

I'm the type who's pretty consistantly hooked up to chat and all sorts of other internet distractions whenever I'm near a computer, but when I'm playing ME I tend to shut everything else off.  Most games I play, League of Legends, Old Republic, etc, I'll still be carrying on chats on the side or checking up on things etc.  Sometimes while I'm running around doing Uncharted World side quests, I'll have other things open, but as soon as I get to a plot world that's it.

My advice if you're going to play something like Mass Effect, or Dragon Age for that matter (still need to finish that...), is to play when you have a couple of hours to yourself when you can be pretty sure that you won't be interrupted.  It's the kind of game you'll get the most out of if you really let yourself get into it.  

Working on-call and thus not incredibly consistently, at least three days last week I spent multi-hour chunks of time on my Mass Effect 1 play through (I'm being a completionist).  I was talking to a friend of mine and I told him "ME is taking over my life again."  He responded with, oh, Masters of Education (this is actually my degree program).  I laughed and replied no, no I meant Mass Effect.   This probably makes me an irresponsible person.  Oh well.  I'm off to Noveria, see ya!

HackNSlashCat