Gaming Inequality

[jdnation]

Actually complaining about this is useless. I'm very damn certain that the guys hitting on her, killing her or protecting her are well aware of what they are doing, it's just a big fun joke to them, kind of like how a group of multicultural people are aware of racism and know that it's bad, but when they get together they tell racist jokes or use racist slang words with exaggerated voices but all in good humor, they're not actually racist, but they will imitate the whole hip hop culture and racial demeanors just for jokes amongst themselves and laugh about it because they know it's ridiculous. The best comedy comes from dealing with touchy non pilitically correct subject matter.

I think it's the same for Xbox LIVE. It won't go away not because everyone on there are sexist jerks, sure some may be, but everyone is basically in on the joke about the stereotypes surrounding girl gamers so they propogate it and act that way just for laughs. The more girls complain about it, the funnier it becomes and the longer the joke will carry on. My advice is either turn off the mike and go with an obscure username or just take it in good stride and laugh it off. I play games with girls sometimes and amongst my group the guys crack jokes about the girls and the girls laugh or crack some jokes about guys being immature. Everyone has a good time. So don't take it so seriously if that's the case... Making fun of the other or trying to be iintimidating is part of the game when it's a competitive environment.

[wolfpack]

the only girl i protect online is my gf, except she usually asks me to ... haha but seriously though, this is sad, so what if theyre a girl. i think the thing is, is that since some of the hear a girl, theyre prolly desperate for a date and trying to get a small hookup, either that or just insult the hell outta them just because theyre a girl.

sad world still sexist, get over it guys

[josflint]

Who causes all the trouble ? Mostly yanks , probably. Or so it seems in my experiance. After some of the the comments made to my wife & daughter on PS3 i feel like meeting the people in question, alone. Point any trouble causers in ihbest & flintstone34's direction on Tiger Woods 08 PSP online . 2nd & 3rd in world , the yanks hate us , bring it on & they get it back with interest . Play online games & there's always someone better than you wether they are male or female so accept it & take defeat with good grace, then enjoy the moment when you do beat 'em:thumbup:

[goity]

Should've got PSN... :P

[unSlinger]

I really don't see how the "suck it up" attitude I'm seeing in some of these posts contributes to the overall discussion. It is true that the sort of discrimination discussed in the initial post and the article it links to is a reality for current gaming communities, but that does not make it right.

Though the article itself is unlikely to have a direct impact on the kind of culture-blind sexism it protests (as evidenced by the seemingly ignorant harassment visited upon her in the comments), any voice for change is a good voice. In this case, a heard voice.

What I wonder is: Why do some men (and some women, for that matter) find that they must, as to a life raft, cling to a fixed, assumed universal model of gender? Different cultures around the world have drastically different gender-based behavioral models than are reflected by some of the above posts. A common rebuttal to that statement might be: Well, that's there, not here. [Xenophobia, blind nationalism, etc.] Physically, no - well, maybe some of us live in Madagascar or with the nomads of the savanna or whatnot, but humanity as a whole has shown a diverse range of expression for gender roles. And we are all human.

And those lines are never clear - so why does it threaten so many when those imaginary, arbitrary lines are crossed? Is it a personal fear - that the harassing individual has about his or her own sexual identity? These are some hard questions - questions that deserve more than frivolous answers.

Now, I do not feel I am here to defend any one position, just to bring up some important points I feel are being ignored.

[blueskull1]

In my opinion places where you play to pay (like xbox live) should be monitored/moderated. It's not just sexism that runs rampant in online gaming, there is also heavy racism. I played on xbox live and even though i paid for a full year of it, I only used it for about a week until I met the person who made me want to quit it all together. See spanish is my native tongue, I speak english clearly , and you would have no trouble understanding, however , there is a trace of an accent , not a steretypical heavy accent like they show on tv and what not, but an accent nonetheless. Anyways just hearing my accent was enough to get this one guy in xbox live ranting about how mexicans are a plague and we had no bussiness playing on xbox live , he sugested i should instead go out and mow some lawns and have some beans for lunch. The comments went on and on , until i finally decided to leave. Yeah he got his way , but someone can only take so much until they snap and stoop to their offender's level. I don't like to do that so i just left it alone. So, I do sympathize with people who complain with the fact that people on xbl talk way too much crap. The thing about sucking it up or turning off your mic is not the best route either since a lot of players will boot you off their game for simply not having the mic on. Yeah that is how immature the internet is. Funny thing is that at least in my case , many of these people who think they are tough guys in the internet , wouldn't do so in real life, and that makes it even more annoying. but what ever.

[Gene]

I just think some people need to chill and stop making themselves sound like idiots. Think of it this way. It's probably just a pasty white kid trying to pretend that he is a badass when are he really is, is a dumbass.

And I agree with Blueskull1. I hate Racism more than any kind of discrimination. It pisses the hell out of me. This one time a guy came into a game of mine and the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "KKK all the way!". I got so angry I just told him to kill himself and save us the trouble. Then this moron started ranting how he's some gang member who killed some guy and burned someones house down, or something. I just got so annoyed I really could care less what gang he's part of, or what skin color he doesn't like. If this guy was as hard core as he said, what the hell is he doing sitting in his room playing a Ps3? Get a life, don't make one up.

[Cerepol]

I think the real abused people on the internet are people under 15.

[IamAbe]

i think theres a voice changer on one of the systems

[chris151]

/sigh

Seriously, if someone is protecting u, its a compliment.
It may not be one you want, but that doesnt change the good nature of the action.

BUT the real reason i even posted was to say....quit crying and deal.
I hate playing with 5 year olds. I dont write articles crying about it.
I hate dealing with teen angst ridden 13 year olds that want to prove something from behind the safety of their internet connection.
I dont cry about it in an online blog.

Please Deal.

BTW My wife plays online. she saw this and her response to this was STFU.....i almost fell outta my chair laughing.