@truthtellah said:
Also, if anyone is sincerely wondering why more people seem to be talking about this stuff these days, it's cool to just ask.
I mean, it's definitely not some big conspiracy or just dumb writers getting on a high horse all of a sudden. It's real people who enjoy games just like you and care about these kinds of things. Our different perspectives and feelings have a place in gaming, because we play games, too.
I can understand some confusion or even frustration at changes not being to your liking, as the way things were may feel more comfortable for you, but I personally quite appreciate gaming feeling more and more like a place we can consider and talk about these things. We're living in a great time in gaming, and I genuinely believe games and the community around them will be even better in the future thanks to many efforts being made today. :)
I think its more that people like myself don't feel that the "conversation" is much of one. One of the reasons I generally despise atheism discussions on the internet (like the infamous subreddit /r/atheism) is that they feel like gigantic echo chambers. Very few people on the aforementioned subreddit seem interested in doing things like discussing the merits of belief vs. atheism and how they can coexist in society, but more about having discussions about how any person of belief is a deluded idiot who doesn't have a rational thought in their head. The sexism and gaming debate feels largely the same, its not about discussing representation of women in games or in the industry and examining what the root causes are (like gaming being characterized initially as something only sad lonely virgin males did or women generally not being encouraged to go into STEM fields) but rather about how games are sexist because they are made for and by gross misogynists who want to keep women out of their boy's club because vaginas are icky or some such nonsense. It seems to me like a far more reasonable course of action is to go after the root causes of why women aren't represented, which is because there aren't a lot of women in games, which has to do with the perceptions of STEM fields. As the old saying goes, you catch a lot more flies with honey rather than vinegar, and it seems like all we get from games press is vinegar about how hateful and sexist gamers and game makers are.
See, I hear people say this a decent bit, but that isn't what I've seen over the years. A lot of times, when people do try to have a conversation, you just get people telling them to be quiet, let games be fun, and stop ruining gaming. And when you object to that, people say we can't even have the conversation because it's obviously broken and doesn't serve anything.
So, it's a lot of people messing up efforts to discuss things and then pointing to the failure of those discussions as a sign of it being something we shouldn't discuss. Kind of like how many US Republicans against the Affordable Care Act said it was unnecessary, then when it was passed, they said it was just harmful, then they made efforts to defund it and keep it from being implemented, and finally, they pointed to the failures in implementation which they helped cause as a sign that the law is a failure. People regularly putting obstacles to us having decent discussions on difficult topics then later come back and say, "Well, look how bad discussions have gone in the past."
I'm here. A lot of fellow duders care about the same stuff I and others care about. And we're not going away. I know I'm interested in talking about these things, and even if you don't agree that our concerns are valid or ideas are the best thing for gaming, that doesn't mean it's a conversation to avoid. I think the "gaming needs more women" as a solution to the problems in gaming fits with the narrative that changes have only been coming because of new people coming in, but that's simply not the case.
While more women in gaming can be helpful and more people coming into gaming has had an impact, they aren't the sole or even primary reasons we have seen a change as of late in what can be addressed in the gaming community. It's primarily attention finally being given to the concerns that have been here for years and the many people who play games and feel their perspectives matter just as much as those the industry has pandered to for years.
Gaming used to feel like it mainly belonged to a subset of people that play games, but more and more, people have realized that gaming can belong to all of us. And it's okay to speak up and share our feelings on things. We should feel we can all be safe and have fun in the gaming community. That isn't the case for many, and so, people are naturally letting their voices be heard.
I want to actually have decent conversations on these topics, as hopefully illustrated by my years here on Giant Bomb. People seem to generally regard me as a nice enough fellow. I don't think I'm out to get anyone. I just care about what I care about, and I'm here to talk about everything surrounding gaming. That's true of me and many, many people here and all throughout the gaming community. If you perceive problems in how we discuss difficult topics, help lead by example and improve our discussions. Threads on difficult topics don't have to devolve after a page or two. Just mentioning women in regards to a game shouldn't mean a thread will have to be locked eventually. We should be able to talk about these things here and elsewhere, and considering I still talk about them here, I obviously believe we can.
A lot of people have been trying to scare me off for years, even on a cool place like Giant Bomb, but I'm not going to be deterred. I like having fun, and I enjoy discussion around every part of gaming. Yet another snide mockery or random comment telling me to fuck off or don't bother with caring about any of this or even a PM saying how someone is gonna rape me in the night for crossing them are not going to get me to just stop talking about what I want to talk about.
I think we can talk about all of this on Giant Bomb. Sexism, diversity, prejudice, you name it. The sky's the limit. And while likely imperfect in countless ways, discussion can and should be had. This stuff matters to me and many other gamers, and it's not going away any time soon. If you're interested in decent discussion, we absolutely can have it, and no amount of doubts are going to keep folks like me from trying.
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