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The Guy's Guide to Being a Feminist Ally in Video Gaming

The Guy's Guide to Being a Feminist Ally in Video Gaming
One of the things I hear whenever I write about misogyny in video games is that there’s a silent majority of male gamers who are uncomfortable with the vicious sexism some of their counterparts deploy against women (and frankly, against men, too). Women aren’t alone in feeling hopeless, or like there’s no effective way to change either the behavior of individuals or the culture that leaves space for the harassment of women. So I hopped on Twitter yesterday and asked men who play video games, and who push back against sexist behavior when they see it, what kinds of arguments they’ve found to be effective. Dozens of you responded, with a lot of terrific advice. So if you’ve ever wanted to call out sexism in video games but weren’t sure how to start the conversation or how to make sure it would be productive, here’s the collective wisdom of the internet. –Take the high ground—but don’t sound superior: “SOMETIMES IT ABOUT STARTING FROM PLACE GIVING RESPECT EVEN IF RESPECT UNDESERVED?”

After banning the burqa, French lawmakers target floral dresses | Les blogs An embarassing spectacle took hold of the French parliament on Tuesday when a Socialist government minister turned up to work in a floral dress. Rightwing lawmakers raised their eyebrows and hooted as minister of territories and housing, Cécile Duflot, took to the podium to speak about an architecture project. Centrist MP Jean-Christophe Fromantin called on the hecklers to pipe down and listen up, allowing Duflot to address the house. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she began, adding “obviously more gentlemen than ladies…”. The reaction could have gone two ways in France, where the nasty 2011 Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair was initially received with more amusement than ire, and ogling or getting ogled at work comes as part of the job. Reassuringly, the majority of French twitterers took pity on Duflot, denouncing the MPs as a “bunch of sexist imbeciles” who “can’t see beyond their testosterone levels”. Not surprisingly, the “sexist imbeciles” in question denied any wrongdoing. Trouser ban

What YOU Can Do “If you choose to do nothing, it’s a choice with consequences” – Jackson Katz There are 4 key ways in which you can help prevent, stop and end violence against women: Other ways: Back to Top Prevention Through Example and Education Educate yourself and others about how larger social forces affect the conflicts between individual men and women. It is also possible to attend programmes, take courses, watch films, and read articles and books about multicultural masculinities, gender inequality, and the root causes of gender violence. Mentor and teach young boys about how to be men in ways that don’t involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Intervention Here are some of the ways in which you can step up and step in as a man: If your father, uncle, brother, cousin, friend, male classmate, male co-worker or male teammate is abusing his female partner – or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general – never look the other way. In short: Activism Self-Awareness Speaking Out

» How to be a fan of problematic things Social Justice League I like things, and some of those things are problematic. I like Lord of the Rings even though it’s pretty fucked up with regard to women and race (any narrative that says “this whole race is evil” is fucked up, okay). I like A Song of Ice and Fire even though its portrayal of people of colour is problematic, and often I find that its in-text condemnation of patriarchy isn’t obvious enough to justify the sexism displayed. Liking problematic things doesn’t make you an asshole. Firstly, acknowledge that the thing you like is problematic and do not attempt to make excuses for it. And even if you think that’s true (which scares the hell out of me), I don’t see you arguing for an accurate portrayal of everything in your fiction all the time. Especially do not ever suggest that people not take media “so seriously”, or argue that it’s “just” a tv show. Secondly, do not gloss over the issues or derail conversations about the problematic elements.

The Wage Gap Series, so far I have to admit, my economics background is compleatly self taught, so the technichal details are a little above me. On the other hand, every thing I have learned, especially in the labor market is that the cionventional wisdom in economic circles, (where most of the apologists for the wage gap seem to come from) is based on theories that have no real ties to reality. Until recently I was an occasional lurker on your blog. I have the pleasure of being married to a very strong woman who is intolerant in the extream of the sorts of issues that you discuss, so while I recognize them intellectually as extreamly important, I am inselated from dealing with the on a day to day basis, and so I have devoted my energies to reading about issues that more directly affect me and my family. I admire your work, and your dedication to it. while I have not felt the need to post comments, for the reasons enumerated above, I have become a much more regular reader here, BECUASE of this series. Thank you. Jim

Dads Reveal How Having Daughters Has Changed Their View Of Women [QUOTES] When men become fathers, they usually know they're going to play a big role in shaping a child's personality. What new dads might not anticipate, though, is how their kids -- especially daughters -- will change them. A February 2012 study showed that having girls puts a guy in touch with his feminine side in a big way. Men who have daughters, the researchers found, are much more likely to let go of gendered expectations. And, new support for these findings comes from Reddit. In a recent thread, the dads of the link-sharing powerhouse (dudes who usually talk about science, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars), broke form to answer one woman's question: How has having daughters changed your perception of women? The guys' comments ranged from sweet to sad to hilarious, but one user's answer rose to the top of the pile, quickly landing on the best of Reddit. It gave me a lot of opinions on what it means to be a man.

Geek Feminism Wiki The rise of enlightened sexism - The Scavenger Details Published: 12 February 2011 Hits: 4589 Enlightened sexism is a new, subtle, sneaky form of sexism that seems to accept – even celebrate – female achievements on the surface, but is really about repudiating feminism and keeping women, especially young women, in their place, writes Susan J. Douglas. 13 February 2011 Today, we once again have what Betty Friedan famously called "a problem with no name." Millions of young women – the girl power generation – have been told that they can do or be anything, yet they also believe their most important task is to be slim, "hot," and non-threatening to men. Once they get out in the work force, though, they learn that there still is pay discrimination, inflexible work places, women slotted into low paying, dead end jobs more often than men and a glass ceiling in so many lines of work. At the same time, these young women get the message loud and clear that the absolute last thing they should embrace is feminism. A new brand of sexism Susan J.

Sexisme chez les geeks : Pourquoi notre communauté est malade, et comment y remédier J’aimerais préciser quelque chose. Quand Mar_Lard a publié son article sur Joystick en août dernier sur ce blog, nous avons décidé de publier tous les commentaires afin que tout le monde puisse se rendre compte de la violence des réactions. Je suggère à ceux qui voudraient réitérer ce genre d’exploits (histoire de contribuer à la démonstration de Mar_Lard, merci les mecs) de lire la charte de modération désormais en vigueur sur ce blog au lieu de perdre leur temps. [EDIT] Devant le nombre de confusions, 2ème précision: ce blog appartient à AC Husson mais l’auteure de cette contribution est Mar_Lard. Attention, cet article inclut de nombreux exemples susceptibles de choquer : images d’une grande violence ou sexuellement explicites, insultes et propos à caractère fortement sexiste/homophobe/raciste, menaces de violences sexuelles et autres. Ce paragraphe a suscité des réactions extrêmes. Et d’autre part, la prévisible levée de boucliers. 1. Le problème est dans l’industrie. Ah, les babes.

5 Ways Modern Men Are Trained to Hate Women Photos.com I don't know what it's like to be a woman, so it's not easy for me to describe what it's like to be a man, because I don't know what you're using for context. I'm going to do my best: Did you ever watch old cartoons where a character is starving on a desert island, and when another character approaches, he's so hungry that he imagines the other character as a talking piece of food? Via TV TropesThird panel omitted due to graphic content. It's like that for most men, most of the time. Right now I'm reading a book from mega-selling fantasy author George R. "When she went to the stables, she wore faded sandsilk pants and woven grass sandals. That's written from the woman's point of view. Do you see what I'm getting at? Photos.comWe also assume you have the taste of a pimp. Go look at a city skyline. All those wars we fight? It's all about you. Photos.comNope. This is really the heart of it, right here. Which brings us back to where we started. Via Wikipedia Via Caglecartoons.com

Feminist Frequency Content Warning: This educational episode contains graphic sexual and violent game footage. In this episode we explore the Women as Background Decoration trope which is the subset of largely insignificant non-playable female characters whose sexuality or victimhood is exploited as a way to infuse edgy, gritty or racy flavoring into game worlds. These sexually objectified female bodies are designed to function as environmental texture while titillating presumed straight male players. Sometimes they're created to be glorified furniture but they are frequently programmed as minimally interactive sex objects to be used and abused. Full transcript, links and resources available at: ABOUT THE SERIESThe Tropes vs Women in Video Games project aims to examine the plot devices and patterns most often associated with female characters in gaming from a systemic, big picture perspective.

Fuck You, Men's Rights Activists Alright, I totally agree here (as a man) with your description of these reprehensible people. Fuck MRAs. They're reprehensible shits who hate women, and tacitly or actively endorse violence against women, and clearly have some incredible emotional issues they must contend with. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. I'm not sure any of those qualify as men's activists under the definition given here, but in the sense that they advocate for the rights of men, they might, and they probably shouldn't be subject to this sort of vitriol. Yeah, but fuck MRA's who fit under the definition given here.

Feminism Imgur Album Clothing sizes getting bigger: Why our sizing system makes no sense Illustration by Mark Alan Stamaty. If you are like me, you may have had the following deflating experience: After confidently selecting a pair of jeans in your size from the rack, you find yourself alone in a tiny dressing room, desperately in need of heavy machinery to get them onto your body, wondering why, oh, why clothing sizes don’t make sense. Julia Felsenthal is an assistant at Slate. Follow Cheer up! The federal government did take a stab at it in the early 1940s. The ready-to-wear sizing system that existed prior to the ‘40s was first developed for menswear. The only problem? In an attempt to resolve this problem, the Works Progress Administration gave two statisticians, Ruth O’Brien and William Shelton, a grant to conduct a nationwide survey of women’s measurements. Sadly, the data didn’t cooperate. “It was pretty impressive, what they did,” says sizing scholar Lynn Boorady, noting that they devised something like 27 different sizes. There is something to this.

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