I think she's picking the wrong examples. Max Payne looks like a good in good shape - there's nothing wrong with depicting that as an ideal, because it is the idea. People should strive to be in good shape vs being in bad shape. Same with the Nord from Skyrim.
If that's hurting peoples feelings and making characters less "real", then people need to get over it. Hell, there are plenty of people in real life more ripped than that Max/Nord.
As for the Warhammer 40k character she mentioned...them being that big is a large part of the narrative. They are genetically altered to be 10ft tall killing machines. It's a core part of the fiction.
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Re: Masculinity in Video Games
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampyr
I think she's picking the wrong examples. Max Payne looks like a good in good shape - there's nothing wrong with depicting that as an ideal, because it is the idea. People should strive to be in good shape vs being in bad shape. Same with the Nord from Skyrim.
If that's hurting peoples feelings and making characters less "real", then people need to get over it. Hell, there are plenty of people in real life more ripped than that Max/Nord.
As for the Warhammer 40k character she mentioned...them being that big is a large part of the narrative. They are genetically altered to be 10ft tall killing machines. It's a core part of the fiction.
Well the part of Max Payne isn't that he is a bad example, but he went from like an average looking guy to.. well that...
Her point is immediately invalid due to the fact she's oblivious to the hyper-feminine male characters of jrpg's, and how they have - if anything, only gotten more feminine as time gone on - if not completely transformed into women with some male tendencies instead (I suppose that's only specific to FF).
What she doesn't realize (I guess) is that hyper-male characters in a war-centred world is the male equivalent of a princess who gets a happy ending. The Cole Train is our Cinderella.
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Was this article poorly written and very incoherent or am I crazy?
Also, this author is clearly a bitchy cunt with no sense of direction. There is no clear thesis, she is a rambling loon, and her links are to Amazon. Thanks for including a hyperlink to the Amazon sales page of Max Payne, you plebeian.
Sorry...this article is worse than feminism pop trash. And a lot of feminism trash is predicated on fancy linguistics and incoherent ramblings that could be summed up in a single paragraph using common language. This article could be summed up in one sentence, but is one long winded fart. Err...I mean queef.
Not only do I think she has no point, but she writes like a bitch. Double whammy.
You could make a legit argument that gaming portrays a falsely masculine archetype...and I bet there are great articles out there on the topic. If she has a journal degree...she should consider a career change.
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Re: Masculinity in Video Games
Just the fact that she has enough free time to respond to every single comment on the post is alarming.
Also to look at her other blog entries:
Playing without playfulness? The problems with tabletop gaming culture
Are indie games failing to live up to their potential? How much originality is there in the indie games scene?
This is what’s wrong with fictional gender-neutral societies in videogames.
HURRRRRR
Her own description of herself in her very first article:
Mariel Hurd is a console-shunning queer feminist with too much time on her hands. She likes to fill it with wargaming, RPGs and forming unpopular opinions.
Sure sounds like someone is that awkward person at the party no one talks to because her opinions are retarded.
I say there needs to be an influx of dudebro games.
PS not knocking on gears of war in your article about dudebro gaming being badz... Girl you must be trollan.
The main problem I see with her article is that the thesis has promise, but her supporting arguments are absurd. Yes, we have seen games recently move from a fat plumber, to a grizzled detective, to hyper-muscled killing machines... but her main complaint is that she finds lots of muscles unattractive.
You could make the case that the popularity of video games has made male youth much more sedentary and apathetic to the real world, so the young male lives out their masculine hegemonic fantasies through digital entertainment instead of sports, etc. Also, the increasing gender-neutrality of society could be causing a subconscious movement back to more traditionally masculine ideals. But then again, how do you explain Angry Birds? Deep inside, do we all strive to commit swineicide via corpulent chickens?
The truth is hegemonic masculinity in fiction, regardless of medium, has existed for not a few decades, but THOUSANDS OF YEARS. The original angsty Max Payne was a glitch in the Matrix, not an example of it. Remember Arnold Swarzenegger in the 80's? John Wayne before him? Horatio Hornblower? King Arthur? FUCKING HERCULES, SON OF ZEUS? All of these are exaggerated depictions of masculine fantasy, and all predate the modern trend back towards masculine fiction.
Then again, she would have to pick up a book or pay attention in 6th grade English to understand any of this.
"In gender studies, hegemonic masculinity refers to the belief in the existence of a culturally normative ideal of male behavior. Hegemonic masculinity posits that society strongly encourages men to embody this kind of masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is said to be marked by a tendency for the male to dominate other males and subordinate females."
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Re: Masculinity in Video Games
Quote:
Originally Posted by Professor S
"In gender studies, hegemonic masculinity refers to the belief in the existence of a culturally normative ideal of male behavior. Hegemonic masculinity posits that society strongly encourages men to embody this kind of masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is said to be marked by a tendency for the male to dominate other males and subordinate females."
No. More like a stereotype. Like...all males fart and itch their balls, and think women should be in the kitchen.
Hegemony is a legitimate construct/theory but it doesn't hold a ton of weight per se because like much of sociology and gender studies...it is based on intangibles. Kind of like Freudian Psychology which was discredited eons ago for the more popular biological or cognitive approach.
I think Prof S touched on the main point...which is that male games are anything but hegemonic. Most male gamers are still perceived as "live in mom's basement" types. You do have an anomaly of college frat boys playing Madden and Gears of War...but that has to be a minority compared to the plague of males playing World of Warcraft, Pokemon, Nintendo Wii, Halo, etc. You know, the string bean guys with broken glasses that are taped back together. Who have lots of acne and their voice cracks when they talk. Gaming is still stereotypically played by male losers, and you could have a much more fruitful discussion on that point instead of this fake article.
Here is my beef and my guess as to why this article is such an incoherent mess. This article was written like a Gender Studies piece and not a gaming piece. There are burgeoning and cutting-edge areas in communications and sociology dealing with the impact of gaming and technology on people. In order to tackle this subject you need to be educated on it, and clearly this author is not.
Masculinity isn't just how you dress, how big your muscles are, etc. It's more about your actions...so even in a game as vapid as Gears of War; I don't buy any argument or social commentary on masculinity. Whereas Mario's premise is that Peach is in the kitchen baking a cake and Bowser kidnaps her....so the only male in the Mushroom Kingdom needs to run through levels filled with phallic objects and save the princess. Except I'm smart enough to believe that Mario is not misogynistic.
But the man saving woman theme pops up in a lot of games.
Anyway....I still think this lady is way out of her element. Just because she has a Gender Study's degree and happens to play video games does not qualify her to say anything of gaming itself. This is a poorly written, trite article.
Her point is immediately invalid due to the fact she's oblivious to the hyper-feminine male characters of jrpg's, and how they have - if anything, only gotten more feminine as time gone on - if not completely transformed into women with some male tendencies instead (I suppose that's only specific to FF).
What she doesn't realize (I guess) is that hyper-male characters in a war-centred world is the male equivalent of a princess who gets a happy ending. The Cole Train is our Cinderella.
I think that the dealio here is that big boobs aren't what makes a character feminine, but I think that's what you mean when you say characters have gotten "more feminine."
Another big cop out when designing female characters that game designers tend to take is to, as you said, just load them up on stereotypically male characteristics. Want a strong female character? Load them up on tattoos and make them rude to everyone, that should do it (case in point: Jack from Mass Effect). They failed so spectacularly with that character. The person who designed her actually said she was supposed to be a strong female character...it's madness. They managed to do everything wrong with her - totally male characteristics (down to the name), plus a sex addiction and skimpy clothing. Jesus Christ.
Games need "strong" female characters that that aren't strong because they represent male stereotypes. A good example is actually Anya, from Gears of War. Her character is almost motherly towards others, especially Marcus, but she's also a fierce fighter and intelligent.
Motherhood is actually a theme that could really be explored in video games that could actually add a ton to female characters. And I don't mean that every female should have a child - exploring the negative of motherhood (women who don't want children, and how they interact with them) is another possibility. As of now it's not really commented on either way in video games.
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