So I haven't posted much since I've been out of school but I've finally felt inspiration strike. Today I'll be posting on females in games. As many of my friends know I love to game. In fact, until my job starts that's most of what I've been doing since I got out of school for the summer. A lot of games get flack for having poor representations of women. This includes but is not limited to, women being overly sexual in appearance, not having any options for playable female characters and not having any strong female characters or only having females who need to be rescued.
In some cases I would agree that yes, there are problems with the representations of female characters in games but in others I think it's just feminists looking for something to get angry about. The main topic I'll cover is women being overly sexual in appearance. Some games that have been accused of this are games such as the Resident Evil series, The Mass Effect series and Tomb Raider. Of course this is a very short list compared to what is out there. I would just like to ask, why is this a problem? Feminists every where are constantly complaining that women aren't allowed to live freely as sexual beings but then when they see it they complain about women being objectified.
The fact is that yes, these games do have women with noticeable figures but these characters are also very strong female characters who kick some serious butt. They run around shooting up the bad guys and winning without a problem. In games like Mass Effect there are also several opportunities for female characters to shut up men that try to be chauvinists. I know that someone will say this so I'm going to go ahead and make this point before the argument is started. No, these games don't show main characters that are out of shape or larger. Why? Well because most of them are military women or incredibly athletic women that would be in shape if they were performing that way in real life, so it makes sense. I think women of different body types do have a place in gaming but in games depicting active and athletic or military women it wouldn't make that much sense for them to be out of shape. Why is it a problem that they appear in-shape and good looking? According to feminist theory women should be able to be as sexual as they want and as strong as they want without being judged, so I would argue that the female characters in these games are embodying that ideal.
To me as long as the female characters can be just as strong as the men and they aren't in need of a romantic entanglement to get through their missions there isn't a problem. Honestly, I think that most people that do complain about the appearance of female characters in games (that are showing them as strong and reliable) need to get off of their high horse. There is nothing wrong with a strong woman having a figure and looking good; and if you say there is you are going against feminism.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Just Keep Swimming...
So today I have been so sick that at one point I thought I wouldn't make it out of bed. It's finals week, I'm stressed and I spent most of my day thinking I was going to die of the stomach flu. It's not a big secret that this school year in particular has been very stressful for me. I've finally reached the end of it with satisfactory grades (before my exams are factored in) a new job and a couple new friends. All I have to do is make it through this last exam and I. Am. Done. No more sophomore year. More importantly no more stress for two and a half glorious months.
It feels so good to know that I've made it through something even though it was really hard for me. I have never had so many panic attacks and breakdowns in my whole life as I have had this school year. But I did it. I had a lot of people who supported me and talked to me and listened to me complain about college but somehow I made it through. I even ended up making a short documentary and a short scene for my film major. I don't think I've ever felt this accomplished. I guess it's really paid off that, in the words of the great blue fish Dory, I "Just kept swimming." I still have some unresolved issues with my college, like the continuous rising cost of tuition and what we get for what we pay but I'll tackle those issues later.
Right now I'm just super excited that I only have one exam standing in the way of moving out for the summer. It's going to be one of my hardest exams but even if I fail it I'll still have a B as my overall grade. I think that I've done pretty darn well for myself. I've also come to the conclusion that while my grades are important and that I need to keep them up my future employers only want to see that I passed and graduated from college. In other words I need to stop sweating the small stuff and if I get a B in a class, so what? I'm still an honors student and I'm still doing incredibly well.
Once I get home I'm going to eat a big bowl of non-cafeteria food, play some video games and play cards with my boyfriend and my brother. I won't have any stress from school, all I will have to concentrate on will be me and my summer job. All in all, this school year really sucked but it taught me a lot. You have to keep pushing on and dealing with your struggles because it's the best feeling in the world when you conquer them. I probably will have something else that stresses me my next two years in college but honestly, I think I've got this, because I'm me and I can do whatever I put my mind to.
It feels so good to know that I've made it through something even though it was really hard for me. I have never had so many panic attacks and breakdowns in my whole life as I have had this school year. But I did it. I had a lot of people who supported me and talked to me and listened to me complain about college but somehow I made it through. I even ended up making a short documentary and a short scene for my film major. I don't think I've ever felt this accomplished. I guess it's really paid off that, in the words of the great blue fish Dory, I "Just kept swimming." I still have some unresolved issues with my college, like the continuous rising cost of tuition and what we get for what we pay but I'll tackle those issues later.
Right now I'm just super excited that I only have one exam standing in the way of moving out for the summer. It's going to be one of my hardest exams but even if I fail it I'll still have a B as my overall grade. I think that I've done pretty darn well for myself. I've also come to the conclusion that while my grades are important and that I need to keep them up my future employers only want to see that I passed and graduated from college. In other words I need to stop sweating the small stuff and if I get a B in a class, so what? I'm still an honors student and I'm still doing incredibly well.
Once I get home I'm going to eat a big bowl of non-cafeteria food, play some video games and play cards with my boyfriend and my brother. I won't have any stress from school, all I will have to concentrate on will be me and my summer job. All in all, this school year really sucked but it taught me a lot. You have to keep pushing on and dealing with your struggles because it's the best feeling in the world when you conquer them. I probably will have something else that stresses me my next two years in college but honestly, I think I've got this, because I'm me and I can do whatever I put my mind to.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
You Too Can Be A Distraction
So last month I published a blog post about a school principal who ban strapless dresses at a school dance because they could possibly "make male students lose control of themselves." When I published this blog post I thought it was well written and well said but I had to take it down after only being up for a few hours. Why would I take a post down? Well because too many people were arguing on it and calling each other names and sending derogatory messages to each other and me so I decided that it was more hurtful than helpful and maybe it needed some review. I also had several people ask me why was I upset with the principal to begin with and what my point was. One male reader of my blog rightly pointed out to me that while there was an issue of equality in that particular dances dress code it's unfair to say that women should act like their clothing never distracts men. As much as I'll probably get chewed out by someone for this, he is right. Female clothing can unintentionally and intentionally distract men.
After talking to this reader and having a fairly long debate with him, and another male reader, I came to realize that maybe my stance was too harsh but I still feel that this principal shouldn't have phrased the statement the way she did. Female students and male students alike should have to follow a dress code and she shouldn't have claimed that female clothing controls the amount of control that male students have over themselves. The fact is they control their actions, even if a woman is wearing clothing that they view as sexy or revealing. Women can also be distracted by men's clothing and those who reveal their bodies in public. Why do you think so many women flocked to Magic Mike? Clothing and lack of clothing being sexy is a two way street and men should be held just as accountable for their dress as women are.
My main issue with what the principal said was that she shifted all of the blame for possible male student actions onto the female students, thus perpetuating the idea that women's looks and clothing are responsible for how men behave and think. Men and women alike will always notice when a member of the opposite sex looks attractive or sexy but that isn't in the other person's control. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; There were times in high school when I could have worn a parka and baggy pants and some boy would have still had sexual thoughts about me or made sexual remarks about how I was dressed. Men and women will always have different dress codes in school and public places because they ARE different physically but you cannot target one over the other. You cannot tell men that they can be shirtless and in shorts all of the time and its OK when you'll turn around and call a woman a slut for wearing a midriff bearing shirt and shorts. I pay attention to shirtless men all of the time, but nobody would ever tell a man "Put on a shirt, you may distract the women and they'd lose control of themselves."
I hope now that I have stated my point better and that this post is absent of any confusion on why I was upset with this principal to begin with and that their will be debates rather than arguments and name calling.
After talking to this reader and having a fairly long debate with him, and another male reader, I came to realize that maybe my stance was too harsh but I still feel that this principal shouldn't have phrased the statement the way she did. Female students and male students alike should have to follow a dress code and she shouldn't have claimed that female clothing controls the amount of control that male students have over themselves. The fact is they control their actions, even if a woman is wearing clothing that they view as sexy or revealing. Women can also be distracted by men's clothing and those who reveal their bodies in public. Why do you think so many women flocked to Magic Mike? Clothing and lack of clothing being sexy is a two way street and men should be held just as accountable for their dress as women are.
My main issue with what the principal said was that she shifted all of the blame for possible male student actions onto the female students, thus perpetuating the idea that women's looks and clothing are responsible for how men behave and think. Men and women alike will always notice when a member of the opposite sex looks attractive or sexy but that isn't in the other person's control. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; There were times in high school when I could have worn a parka and baggy pants and some boy would have still had sexual thoughts about me or made sexual remarks about how I was dressed. Men and women will always have different dress codes in school and public places because they ARE different physically but you cannot target one over the other. You cannot tell men that they can be shirtless and in shorts all of the time and its OK when you'll turn around and call a woman a slut for wearing a midriff bearing shirt and shorts. I pay attention to shirtless men all of the time, but nobody would ever tell a man "Put on a shirt, you may distract the women and they'd lose control of themselves."
I hope now that I have stated my point better and that this post is absent of any confusion on why I was upset with this principal to begin with and that their will be debates rather than arguments and name calling.
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