The problem is that some in this thread view the current state of women in gaming as entirely a 'natural evolution' rather than being rife with systemic harassment and the worst sort of 'bro code'. Here are two very simple, and basic facts:
- Sexual harassment and the creation of hostile environments by male gamers against female gamers is rampant, and accepted by the community. It is the fault of the women for not being able to 'toughen up', rather than the harassers for their actions. This is consistent with the well-documented 'rape culture' in the US.
- Sexual harassment and a hostile workplace has led to a REDUCTION of women working in video game hardware and software companies in tech-centric over the last 30 years in spite of multitude programs in place to encourage STEM education for girls.
Natural evolution isn't "fair or just" - it's just natural. Human beings are naturally ignorant - and it's not the natural state of man to be altruistic or selfless, which is what you're asking for.
You could say we're all suicidal and psychotic, because we're pretty much all contributing to worldwide pollution. We're all mass murderers because we drive cars or we eat meat.
You can't look at how things have evolved and correlate that with the actual intent or wish of all the people currently living under those circumstances.
You might as well accuse everyone of what the people in control are doing - or what the few are doing.
The reality is that:
- Nearly half of the GAMING population is women.
- Nearly half of households have a woman as the MAIN purchaser of games.
- The negative impact of gender disparity has been recognized as a concern and there has been considerable work done to detail the issue.
You can't pretend that "gaming" is all the same thing and expect to be taken seriously. Playing Solitarie isn't the same thing as playing Skyrim. You have to be awake when you consider these things - and reality is never that clear-cut.
Gender disparity is a NATURAL evolution - and NOT every single male gamer wants the disparity in question.
They're also not OBLIGATED to change it, because THEY'RE not responsible.
Women are the ones who didn't want to nurture - and that's understandable. From nature, men provide and women nurture. I don't have to provide proof of that, do I?
But the human race decided to go against nature - and we've decided to eliminate the natural differences between the sexes as much as we can. To an extent, that's probably good - but it's not natural.
Please note that I'm not saying nature is right - because I definitely don't think it is. I think we're way beyond nature in terms of potential.
You're asking every single male gamer to take a stand for the female gamer, but you're not providing an incentive that corresponds with human nature.
It's like asking all the rich people in the world to give their money away to the poor. Would that be wonderful? Indeed. Would I want that to happen? Sure. But I could never expect it - and I would never call every single rich person in the world cruel or selfish.
Does this mean that the industry should artificially force female types into games? No. Companies make products to make money, and as long as their formula works they will continue churning out brain-dead 'bro-shooters' one after the next. Women in companies who suggest otherwise are ridiculed and harassed and driven out (again, well documented), and women online who suggest this isn't the 'best thing ever' are harassed and have death threats against them … or just told to play Nancy Drew games or some other equally brain-dead sexist thing.
You're generalising again - and you're painting a stupidly simplistic picture of nothing but "bro-shooters". It's never going to work until you start dealing with reality - and you start opening your eyes to games that are completely different. Take a look at Last of Us or Bioshock Infinite - and recognise some extremely powerful female roles - whether they're the main protagonist or not. Huge games with HUGE investments behind them.
Naturally things are not so simple, and not every male player is guilty of creating hostile play environments, nor are these problems easily fixed. But pretending that there are NOT systemic problems doesn't help.
Now you're getting somewhere. But you're still not seeing this from both sides. You're completely one-sided and you're exaggerating everything you say.
You're PRETENDING to see things both ways, but you constantly dismiss the other side. It's obvious.
Oh - and it really isn't just about video games … look at baseball. There was the incredible girl pitcher at the Little League World Series last month who ended up on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She was one of two girls in the entire cast of hundreds of kids … and it is not because of talent, but because of verbal abuse, harassment and bullying by kids and very often parents. My younger son had a friend with cancer (and a grandfather dying of Leukemia) when he was 10 and decided to grow his hair out for 'Locks of Love', which makes wigs from donated hair that has to be at least 8" long. Oh the harassment he took - mostly from adults, entirely from guys.
You know this isn't necessarily sexism. It's human cruelty and stupidity - and that's not gender related. Women are, by nature, physically weaker than males - and they present easy targets. That's not sexism - that's exactly the same as the strong male against the weak male. Well, it's not NECESSARILY sexism.
If a human male decides to use the female sex against her, it's not necessarily about "sexism" - it's often simply incidental because it's a convenient excuse or opportunity to behave in that way. Bullies don't really care who the target is or what sex they have - they just want someone weak to suffer.
You can't live in this black and white fantasy and paint with these broad brushes. It's not going to help you to understand how the world works.
