thunderztorm-deactivated2020041 asked: Due to limitations of this system, I need to be brief. 1. How do you differ between the average gamer and the average internet troll? It is my belief that a lot of the attacks come from trolls and internet hangouts - ie: not gamers as such. 2. How do the many strong female leads fit in the theory - do we have more of those in games compared to similar subcultures (say, TV shows, comics and Hollywoood movies?). A proper investigation of this subject would have to include both sides, imo.
In answer to your questions:
1. This is a tricky one, because internet trolls come from all walks of life, and it’s hard to tell just from a few obnoxious comments what subcultural affiliations, if any, a given troll has. However, given that ‘gamer’ and 'internet troll’ aren’t mutually exclusive categories, I tend to assume, unless shown evidence to the contrary, that the vast majority of trolls who crop up in gaming sites and communities, who attack gaming culture critics and/or who leave awful comments on gaming-related sites, videos and posts etc are going to be gamers themselves, because who else would bother? Probably there’s some trolls who’ll go around picking fights over things they have no knowledge of or investment in, but I highly doubt they’re the majority: it takes a rare and unusual dedication to shitstirring to comment on stuff you lack even the slightest interest in. So when it comes to things like Sarkeesian’s campaign, which is centered wholly on video games, it would seem odd to assume that the majority of sexist critics aren’t actually gamers of some stripe.
Also: these days, I think you’d be comparatively hard-pressed to find anyone under 30 who uses the internet regularly to engage with pop culture but who doesn’t game even a little. Gaming isn’t just a niche activity anymore - the word 'gamer’ shouldn’t apply exclusively to hardcore players who regularly attend cons and tournaments. I could count on one hand the number of people I know who’ve never recreationally played videogames, and that includes both men and women. So look at it this way: given how ubiquitous gaming is in general but particularly among males aged ten to thirty-five, how heavily enmeshed gaming culture is with the internet, the overwhelming number of casual gamers out there and the fact that most people won’t bother to actively comment on subcultures they don’t care about, does it seem more or less likely that sexist trolls who take the trouble to shitstir about gaming issues are, by and large, gamers?
2. 'Strong female characters’ is a problematic term, primarily because the contextual definition of 'strength’ tends to be heavily skewed towards characters who embody traditionally masculine traits - who are physically strong and tough - rather than constituting well-rounded, diverse, complex, non-stereotypical portrayals of women. It doesn’t seem controversial to state that most leads in gaming, regardless of gender, will be physically strong and have some sort of martial prowess - and by itself, that’s not a problem, because neither trait is inimical to the existence of complex and interesting female characters. However, it does mean that there’s potentially less scope for other, non-martial types of character, because narrative development isn’t always the primary focus of game progress: action is. And that hurts all types of characters. So while there are certainly some awesome video game characters out there of both genders, there’s also a lot of games where, due to the nature of the medium, characterisation doesn’t matter at all, or is significantly secondary; that’s improving as a state of affairs, for sure, but given that the genre is still predominantly masculine in terms of intended audience and creative teams, I do think video games perhaps have further to go in this respect than, say, television.
big-curus-on-campus liked this sarahreesbrennan said: For science, I put my hand up as someone under 30 who uses the internet regularly to engage with pop culture and doesn’t game even a little.
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