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Herp derp trigger warning #GamerGate shit within.
Let me tell you a story.
A few years ago, a magical new game burst onto the scene, a nigh unheard of online game by the name of 'League of legends.', and playing this game, was this (well ok, not so) young gamer.
Now this young gamer was initially just a shit poster, looking for attention.. And lo and behold, one of the elder trolls came to them in the in game chat and said 'I'm a make you famous.' The rest is history. The young gamer went on various rants about better representation for females in the game and how the armor was so revealing. However over time the ends of this argument started to fray, this gamer was after all, an attention whore, and when their silly skin idea for an extra-revealing skin for a champion that was fairly conservative blew up and became an insanely up voted thread on league's forums, the gamer finally got what they wanted, a shit-ton of attention, they had happily forsaken all those ideas they had formally espoused, and branded it as empowering women and the like. Eventually that young gamer became frustrated with the actual game, left, and drifted away. And eventually to here, Teamliquid.
I was that young gamer. I was that young shitposter. And it was so, so easy to slip into that mindset of SJW, despite the fact that modern me finds it as a laughingstock. Its only now that I have the clarity that I was just doing it to be an attention whore.
You see, when you're thrust up onto a stage where people start to listen to you, you get this dumb feeling that you need to be trying to change something, to be trying to make the world better. And for me, I decided, I'M GONNA MAKE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS MORE FEMINIST. Yeah. That didn't really happen. And to be honest, there's nothing Riot could have ever done to really make me happy at that time. I was LOOKING actively LOOKING to be offended by something. Oh i can see that female character's ass clearly through her spandex or whatever, SEXISM, wow why is every champion a supermodel SEXISM. Why is Riot so MISOGYNIST.
I got a lot of hate for this. I started feeling oppressed for my beliefs, for what i thought about. It took me years to figure out they all hated me because i was being a fucking moron, and they were trying to quash my bullshit because it was fucking stupid.
When you get into this mindset of LOOKING to be offended, you can't be pleased, you will nitpick every little thing because every time you scream sexist, you get a fucking crazy uprising from the people who aren't offended, who like these things even.
I wasn't really offended by this kind of thing in hindsight. To be honest nowadays i could hardly care less. Like i'm still not the hugest fan of overly fanservicey armor, but who am I to fucking bitch? I created Bunnygirl Riven. I am the biggest hypocrite in the fucking world on this topic. Now I've mellowed out a lot. I'm not that same attentionwhore looking for any scrap i could gather from people to make me feel famous on the internet or anything fucking stupid like that.
But today we see a really similar thing playing out in the games media. I'm gonna go ahead and say this. I'd say 90% of the people in games media don't actually give a single fuck about feminism in games, about the transphobia, about any of that. They may say they do, they may even think they do, but in their heart of hearts, they don't. But its so tempting. Its such a fucking trap of sliding into this mindset of being offended by anything and everything. Oh thats sexist, oh thats ableist, transphobic, misogynist. Its easy to tear anything down with these labels which are just oh-so easy to apply if you do some simple mental gymnastics. These viewpoints can even be contradictory, it doesn't matter, the people arguing against you are sexists, misogynists, MRAs, they can be DISMISSED.
And that's what the gaming press is going through right now, these's all these writers that slid into that trap, that comforting trap of how everyone's wrong and i'm right, about how there's so much misogyny out there, and how everyone that disagrees is just sexist or a virgin or something else equally awful.
Its a tempting power, it brings with it not only tons of attention (and thus, WEBSITE TRAFFIC), but also a feeling of superiority. that you're doing something to better the world.
In reality its laughable.
To boot these same people are the crowd that tends to push 'games as art', and you don't see this kind of labeling and censorship and dismissiveness in the art world. Art is universally there for your interpretation, if you interpret it as sexist that's your interpretation, not necessarily the artists purpose, and even if the artist says its intentionally sexist, if you interpret it otherwise, that is still a valid interpretation. You can't tell me people would be so incredibly foolish as to say sculptors shouldn't try to imitate the Venus de Milo because it 'objectifies women' in their opinion.
If games are to be art, this idea that they must conform to a set of values that don't offend anyone, must be thrown out. Its an absurd idea. Its an absurd idea even if you don't consider the medium in which we're working and playing and experiencing art (and I personally, don't consider games to be art. They have the potential sure, and some games ARE art already, (Rez is my pick for ART), but games in general are not art, and probably never will be, which is ok, most dumb action movies aren't 'art' and I love those too).
Consider the case of the CCA, the comics code authority. It set down a series of moral guidelines that comics had to follow to be published. That's what the SJWs really want. They want a moral code for games. For all media really, they're so afraid of being offended and feelings being hurt, that they are willing to give up the greatest right we have in the free world, our right of free speech, in the name of not being offended. You can find it out there, you can find people actually saying the words "Your rights end where someone else's feelings begin."
This is patently, 100% false. I am lucky enough to live in a country that gives me freedom of speech, of expression, of association. I can write heinous things, horrible, hateful things, and i am free to do it. You are similarly free to hate those horrible heinous things i say, and not associate with me. But no one can take my freedom to speak out for the absolutely ridiculous reason of "It hurt my feelings  "
These people are trying to be 'moral guardians'. trying to lay down a code of morals such that no one will ever be offended, so that we all use newspeak and we create a utopia. But it won't be a utopia of freedom, it will create a utopia of fear. Of thoughtcrime. This path, and hyperbolic as this statement is i believe it is true, leads to 1984.
I was one of these SJWs, these feminists, these moral guardians in the past. I kinda hate myself for it, that i could so easily sink into the grasp of an ideology that wanted to censor this free expression. Its all too easy to fall into that allure of the echo chamber, blocking out those who disagree, whether by dismissing their arguments wholesale, or actually blocking them by the powers of social media.
This is the real, insidious thing that is tearing down gaming from the inside. It happened to comics in the past. Its happened to many kinds of media. The moral guardians coming in to stifle us, to mold us into something we're not. To try to point to us after they've homogenized and taken away the expression as what all media should aspire to be like. #GamerGate is probably the first battle true battle in an ongoing war over the soul of games, and none of us are likely to come out the other side with everything being as it was. Games probably will never be what they were in the past, but hopefully, if we stay fast, if we prevail against these moral guardians, if we protect and fight for our freedom of expression. Our freedom to make and say what we want, games will be better for it. More inclusive, more expansive with the stories we can tell, more willing to push the boundaries of what society deems acceptable, even at a more mainstream rate. I want this future. I'm fighting for it every day in how I think, the things i say on the net, and the very code and story I write for my own designs.
I stand against the censoring, homogenization, and the forces that are trying to spin everything as oppressive, and wrong. I support any game dev's design. I may critique, i may not like it, but no one should be forced to change their expression, their creation to fit the whims of others. I stand against the harassment and bullying being done by both sides, its beneath the argument we should be having.
I stand for what I believe in most of all.
I won't ask anyone to stand with me. That's your own battle, your own choice, you own decision, but i believe with true, deep introspection into your feelings on this, many of you will come to a similar conclusion. The price to pay for true freedom of expression means some people may be offended by what I create, or what others create. I don't have the right to not be offended and neither does anyone else. Rights do not end when feelings begin.
And this most of all, is why i'm supporting #GamerGate.
I'll end this with an apology. I apologize to those I insulted all those years ago, i said truly awful things, and treated many people on those forums, other players and Rioters alike. I apologize to the people who actually read through this rambling stream of thought piece, cause thats just cruel of me. I apologize to anyone I've unwittingly harassed on twitter during this mess, emotions can run high and its very easy to to lash out.
And finally, I forgive myself for being a dumbass those years ago.
Its an easy trap to fall into. A seductive one.
 
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I wish you would've tightened up the writing a bit, but I'm glad that you're expressing these thoughts.
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I just sorta go flow of consciousness with these, they really are me just barfing words.
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France1887 Posts
You didn't explain what SJW means, but I guess from a quick search on Google that it's Social Justice Warrior?
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On September 09 2014 18:52 ChapatiyaqPTSM wrote:
You didn't explain what SJW means, but I guess from a quick search on Google that it's Social Justice Warrior?
correctamundo.
Note that SJW as a term as I use it doesn't mean people who actually want a more just society, just competitors in the oppression Olympics.
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On September 09 2014 18:52 ChapatiyaqPTSM wrote:
You didn't explain what SJW means, but I guess from a quick search on Google that it's Social Justice Warrior?
I think it's like a slacktivist.
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You have freedom of speech (in the United States) until you act within a private domain, at which point the rules of the private domain dictate the extent of your freedom of speech until you leave the private domain.
Choose your private domains appropriately to minimize your interaction with SJWs.
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On September 09 2014 19:19 Release wrote:
You have freedom of speech (in the United States) until you act within a private domain, at which point the rules of the private domain dictate the extent of your freedom of speech until you leave the private domain.
Choose your private domains appropriately to minimize your interaction with SJWs.
yes thats true.
Source: I've kicked people out of the bar i manage.
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Even so...
I kinda miss "I'm never wrong," headstrong Shaella :[
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I think I might make a more nuanced argument. If revealing clothing genuinely affects how men think of girls (as sex objects) and if it has a similar effect on the psychology of girls, then it can turn into a cultural stereotype that could feel repressive.
But the main thing is that is a big stretch, and requires a good amount of proof. They also say that playing violent video games and witnessing gratuitous violence can make a person more inclined to violent acts themselves; but I think by this point we can all see how this isn't true in our personal lives and in the lives of others. I think its similarly very easy to distinguish between seeing an attractive girl and making a judgement that that is their *only* value. Of course the same pressure exists in reverse (for men) regardless of whether it is depicted in a video game or other form of media.
I feel like its mostly a harmless form of entertainment, and more than that its also freedom of expression which is something I always want to stand behind if I can.
Also they would probably say your 1984 reference is just a slippery slope type of thought; all they want is to prevent harassment (as a consequence of this type of imagery) not shut down freedom of speech or all insults. But still as I said the burden of proof is on them
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I'm gonna be honest here, this blog really hurt my feelings.
On September 09 2014 16:59 Shaella wrote:
the elder trolls
Lulzrim: The Elder Trolls
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Your blog is more of a personal thing, and I don't really know about you or your history in the riot/LoL scene, but I just wanted to say that social justice is a real thing even if there are people taking offense on both sides of the online argument who may be there for the wrong reasons.
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TLADT24920 Posts
am I the only one who thought he meant St. John's Wart? -_- Having said that, good read 
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"Your rights end where someone else's feelings begin."
Wow.
Holy fuck.
I guess we can't condemn forced marriage, then. It would offend people who are in to that sort of thing.
Anyway, 5 / 5.
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Canada11199 Posts
I support social injustice, personally.
Who self identifies as SJW... isn't that used pejoratively? (And at this point, it is wielded to mean 'people I disagree with.')
I'm just glad most of this so-called GamerGate stayed on Escapist and the like. Would've been such a headache to moderate.
Having said that, zealotry is not pretty regardless the side- I disagree with Goldwater's "Extremism on behalf of liberty is no vice."
So welcome to the moderate side of the internet (I hope.)
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so essentially a big part of your argument is "people who disagree with me don't actually think what they think they think"?
there is merit to what you're saying insofar as there is a huge, ugly bandwagon associated with SJ and a lot of people are doing and saying things "in support" of SJ with the wrong motives, or attaching their personal grudges and biases and dysfunctions to movements that are supposed to be about something bigger. i understand your frustration there 100%. but you're doing the exactly the same thing those people are doing in reverse by dismissing the legitimate aspects of SJ/feminism as being entirely part of that bandwagon
the problem as i see it is not that any single instance of designing a female character with revealing clothes or exaggerated physical features is "wrong". the problem is that the industry is dominated by men and because many of those men consider the preferences of other men (to see tits and ass) before the preferences of women - presumably to have various cool characters that many different women can identify with outside of being absurd sex symbols. to your credit and in agreement with you, i disagree with the fervor and zeal to identify individuals as sexist or misogynist simply for an act such as designing a sexy character. but you don't think there's anything unfair about the fact that women tend to end up playing characters who lack physical, mental and emotional depth?
i'm a white, straight, cisgendered dude. you probably are too (sorry if not). as such, we literally have no idea how it feels to be a woman, to be black, to be whatever, and not feel represented in the tv shows we watch, the movies we see, the games we play, etc. how can you pass judgment on this issue when you have been categorically represented and catered to in every piece of media you've ever consumed? surely it's gotten better, no one will deny that. there's no slavery, women can vote, but that doesn't mean these problems are nonexistent now. we can still strive to destroy the barriers between people of different sexes, genders and colors as long as those barriers exist anywhere. and for people who are passionate about gaming and involved in the gaming industry, a great way to do so is by putting pressure on men in the industry to start reaching out to women and making it a better scene for them. are individuals obligated to do so? no, as you say, a designer's art is his purview and he can do whatever he wants. but criticizing an artist's decisions is not "censorship" and it is absurd to suggest so
so tl;dr: a lot of your concerns about the way SJ plays out online these days, especially in the limelight of social media, are based on some valid concerns. but just as you accuse "SJW" of only fixating on excuses to find negatives and evils, you don't seem to put any effort into discarding the biases of unfair or unjust "SJW" and looking at issues for what they are. if people on the other side of an argument are being disingenuous, frankly that doesn't really matter and isn't relevant to the actual debate about the actual issue. and the actual issue is that female gamers get fucking jobbed, let's be honest
but i do think it's getting better and will continue to naturally get better. i'm not a doomsayer who wants to paint everyone as a Big Evil Brony Misogynist. but it's not wrong to call these issues out and discuss them. and it is a little gross of white dudes to dismiss said issues just because they aren't affected by them.
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On September 10 2014 05:02 Falling wrote:
I support social injustice, personally.
Who self identifies as SJW... isn't that used pejoratively? (And at this point, it is wielded to mean 'people I disagree with.')
I'm just glad most of this so-called GamerGate stayed on Escapist and the like. Would've been such a headache to moderate.
Having said that, zealotry is not pretty regardless the side- I disagree with Goldwater's "Extermism on behalf of liberty is no vice."
So welcome to the moderate side of the internet (I hope.)
moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue, yo
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Canada11199 Posts
In truth, that is the real reason I can not stand by his words. No moderation? I would be out of a job on TL.
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I too have struggled with the question of why people are so attracted to this line of reasoning.
I think it all comes down to a sense of personal responsibility. The "social-justice" crowd always addresses things they don't like as global and systemic problems, this not only lowers the expectations for the amount of real change that they feel they should be expected to accomplish as individuals, but also paints them as the heroic underdog simply for sharing their feelings and opinions. This in turn causes them to internalize a sense of right-doing and moral superiority. The problem is they're not actually doing anything and it's really easy to "feel things." The stronger and more extreme their feelings get, the more right and moral they feel they become.
I think this is the basic premise. The fact that their opinion can actually make any difference in the real world is an unfortunate paradox due to two main reasons. One: their only form of activity involves being vocal and unyielding to all valid and invalid criticism. Two: the bar to entry is extremely low, all you have to do is abandon your personal accountability and common sense and give in to the complacency of moral self-gratification.
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Northern Ireland22203 Posts
One place I've seen this sjw mindset manifest is in some life simulation/rpg games. For example Nintendo's Tomodachi life where they got so much criticism for not including same-sex relationships.
There's even a little indie farming game in development that I'm following, with only one person working on it, which had a thread full of sjws complaining that all the marriage choices were hetero in that game.
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EPT
