Journal of Other Forum Analysis (Volume II, Issue 2)

[benji]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/why-women-criticise-sexualised-character-designs-ot3-make-her-look-more-corpulent-more-stuffed-where-the-eyes-cant-escape.275780/page-505#post-150990943

everything feels like it's regressing with women in games in the AAA space

It feels like gaming as a hobby has regressed so fucking far, especially in how it treats women. Like 20+ years just fucking vanished and it sucks, to put it mildly. 

Would love to know on what basis they form this belief. There was a smidgen of a trend around 2017 for a couple of years where games went "more realistic" but it has nearly as much to do with the start of scanning actual human beings as it does any ideological trend in design. Games typically never did away with attractive women, they just threw in some fatties or whatever. Once the scanning shifted to actual actors from randoms they got more attractive too.

There also isn't a regression happening, especially if we factor in how long dev times actually are. Because you're saying this regression started at the peak of the anti-Trump period during COVID. I'd argue that most of the evidence of the "regression" has to do with simply dropping those additional "ugly" women after realizing the audience of AAA gaming isn't them.

If you accurately wanted to sketch this trend you wouldn't look at AAA at all, you'd look at mobile titles. The trend was never there from what I've seen, the games targeted at women especially never followed this trend. If you want to pick an AAA space, go with The Sims. Their goal was to add more diversity because it gives Sims users more choices, not because the goal is representing the real world either ideally or really.

The men on Era don't care about these titles and only care about the AAA space. The few actual women have shown disparate interest in the AAA space, either they generally are less "progressive" than the burka thread like Morrigan (whose complaints tend towards lack of choices versus mandatory depiction of one style, she often seems content if she's not forced into playing a pornified bimbo) or they don't care about that space and are very niche in what they play like Persephone/Nepenthe. Everyone else is basing all of this on what they believe women should want if women knew their place.

I've never seen restera as more progressive because the bar that is in hell and we'll always have people on their main accounts along with alt account trolls posting day 1 on like Stellar Blade and if they ever allowed Nikke and I bet we'd get tons of men who support that game too.

Yeah, I'll even count the men going "Oh my wife/cousin/sister/daughter/aunt" also love gacha waifus because the story is really compelling and the OST is great so what if everyone knows it as the infamous "anime girl ass jiggling game."

This is the environment that I live in the USA and for p much all my hobbies, like, you can't escape the constant sexism, but if I spent all day arguing with them, then I can't really have fun with my other hobbies too so I just block liberally for them.

$10,000 bet this person couldn't defend their positions as more progressive or less sexist than mine.

[D3RANG3D]

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

Gamers 1 Globo homo 0

[Boredfrom]

Like 20+ years just fucking vanished and it sucks, to put it mildly.

People are just fucking tired of all your BS, my dude. The discussion about sexism on vidja died when you guys decided to vilify any criticism of Anita Sarkesian as 4chan misogynist.

[Boredfrom]

The few actual women have shown disparate interest in the AAA space, either they generally are less "progressive" than the burka thread like Morrigan (whose complaints tend towards lack of choices versus mandatory depiction of one style, she often seems content if she's not forced into playing a pornified bimbo) o

Being fair, she will still show disdain if a game allows you to create a bimbo, even if is not forced (there is a reason why she likes From Software games  ). And, most importantly, what she considers a highly sexualized bimbo tends to be ”anyone that is prettier than me”.

Curiously, this doesn’t apply to male characters as she has said The First Berserker Khazan has the best artwork outside From Software games.

[benji]

Replies are mostly correct about not disowning anyone or mocking the guy for being a wrestling fan:

[HaughtyFrank]

Zeo self censoring 'Cis' because he actually believes it's forbidden to write on twitter

[benji]

Being fair, she will still show disdain if a game allows you to create a bimbo, even if is not forced (there is a reason why she likes From Software games  ). And, most importantly, what she considers a highly sexualized bimbo tends to be ”anyone that is prettier than me”.

Even then I don't mind it as much because she does it in the thread about the games and mostly engages in good faith about it in those threads when she's on the losing side, going on to continue posting about the rest of the game. I will give Nepenthe similar credit for not running to a hugbox thread to bitch about whatever she wants to bitch about.

Morrigan still sucks but if they all posted like her it wouldn't be as bad. Honestly, Devo should be their goal but none of them are even half as good as she was/is. Either on the subject of feminism or just being a decent poster. And I don't say that just because Devo jointly "antagonized members" with me sometimes.

[Daffy Duck]

Hahahahahaha

Bad Bunny's jacket reads Ocasio? Is this what I think it is?

Idiots

That's his last name.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/nfl-ot-superbowl-%C2%BFhablas-espa%C3%B1ol.1425787/page-52

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/nfl-ot-superbowl-%C2%BFhablas-espa%C3%B1ol.1425787/page-56#post-151075492

Some sus posts about this here...

[Daffy Duck]

Production is insane. Musically not for me but chuds be mad so go go go.

Chuds live rent free in their heads.

[HaughtyFrank]

I do enjoy the hate it's getting from the right, but I just didn't enjoy it outside of Gaga.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/nfl-ot-superbowl-%C2%BFhablas-espa%C3%B1ol.1425787/post-151076008

"Haha, dumbass right hating on the half time show (I only liked the part that was sung by an American in English)"

[benji]

Does anyone here get mad about stuff that progs like or hate? I think it's usually all funny, why would I get mad about things that are endlessly funny? 

MAGA/chuds are mostly the same except it's usually more straight-forward stupid, so it's less funny. The cynical covert self-deception is rarely there.

[benji]

Zeo self censoring 'Cis' because he actually believes it's forbidden to write on twitter

Think about how much stuff filler has posted to get Twitter to attempt to IP ban him and yet he still gets around it. Meanwhile, Jeff is so scared of getting banned from a site he willingly pays for that he self-censors this because of something he heard that you can easily see isn't true.

[Taco Bell Tower]

I do enjoy the hate it's getting from the right, but I just didn't enjoy it outside of Gaga.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/nfl-ot-superbowl-%C2%BFhablas-espa%C3%B1ol.1425787/post-151076008

"Haha, dumbass right hating on the half time show (I only liked the part that was sung by an American in English)"

I do like all posts are all "BOTS IN CHAT AND VIEWS!"

[benji]

Wait til they discover that people also watch porn


Well... I guess not all people 

I often put porn on with the intent of an academic or analytic appreciation for it, but I cover my eyes so as not to see the objectification and fetishization of women.

[Straight Edge]

I only watch porn of marginalized women of color with large breasts.

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/senator-thom-tillis-stephen-miller-is-looking-for-his-next-opportunity.1429540/#post-151069690

How bout the gallows.

How bout the gallows.

.

May I make an alternative suggestion?

https://www.resetera.com/threads/senator-thom-tillis-stephen-miller-is-looking-for-his-next-opportunity.1429540/#post-151077700

How bout the gallows.

.

Gallows, revive him, then the chair

Goebbels looking asshole only deserves one thing:

How bout the gallows.

.

How bout the gallows.

The guillotine

[benji]

I only watch porn of marginalized women of color with large breasts.

Thank you for prioritizing neurodivergent over neurotypical women in porn. 🙏

[filler]

pats getting spanked. suck it, zeo ! 

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-seattle-seahawks-are-your-super-bowl-lx-champions.1429591/#post-151086457

A special fuck you to Robert Kraft tonight. Hope you choke, you weird creep.

Special side eye to all Patriots fans that stood by the team with him as owner.

[filler]

lil poptart annihilated 

[Rendle]

"You're bothered by a man giving a lapdance in public?"
"Yes"
"What if it was a woman"
"Still yes"

[BIONIC]

Jeff retweeted himself for a tweet that was less than half an hour old. This man’s lil pooptart’s brain must be studied for future generations.

[Orange Juice Box]

And the lack of threat from people who want to do good has made for some boldly awful people.

“Those fuckers don’t know what is good for them.” 

Bitch, you think that is a new concept? That the world never worked like that?

FAFO.  That can never turn around and be used against us, right?

[HeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth]

I only watch porn of marginalized women of color with large breasts.

Thank you for prioritizing neurodivergent over neurotypical women in porn. 🙏

I can't even get off to porn unless a retard's in it.

[HeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth]

And the lack of threat from people who want to do good has made for some boldly awful people.

“Those fuckers don’t know what is good for them.” 

Bitch, you think that is a new concept? That the world never worked like that?

FAFO.  That can never turn around and be used against us, right?

October 7: "Haha! Get wrecked!"

Every day since: "Oh no!"

[benji]

October 7: "Haha! Get wrecked!"

Every day since: "Oh no!"

To be fair they had a foolproof plan, they would simply shame the Zionists. "What are they going to do? Stab me Ignore me telling them they're on the Wrong Side of History?"

[Besticus Maximus]

Wake up every day and then find out which bad guys jeff has been fighting (digitally) through the night, to keep me safe

[Daffy Duck]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/bad-bunny%E2%80%99s-halftime-show-was-incredible.1429579/page-6#post-151092904

Trying so hard to make out the show was amazing, and if you don’t agree you’re sus!!

It was pretty mid.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/bad-bunny%E2%80%99s-halftime-show-was-incredible.1429579/page-6#post-151092904

Thread is full of stuff like this

I'm a fucking fluent ny latino and I still couldn't make out everything he was saying LOL

But that is the best half-time show I've ever seen. Was choking back tears by the mid-point to the end. Beautiful, positive message and production. That really affected me in a way I haven't been in a long time.

[BIONIC]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/why-women-criticise-sexualised-character-designs-ot3-make-her-look-more-corpulent-more-stuffed-where-the-eyes-cant-escape.275780/page-505#post-150990943

Yeah, I'll even count the men going "Oh my wife/cousin/sister/daughter/aunt" also love gacha waifus because the story is really compelling and the OST is great so what if everyone knows it as the infamous "anime girl ass jiggling game."

And the thing is the "Well my x love this game" doesn't really work as an argument because it doesn't dismiss the criticism of other women and it ignores that you can be both a fan of a work AND also be critical of that work, hell fans of the work can be the most critical because they want the work to be better.

Like Morrigan from DarkStalkers is genuinely one of my favourite fighting game characters, she was a childhood crush, love her hair, story etc, but I'm not going to stop or begrudge any other women for not liking her or DarkStalkers because of it's objectification and hyper sexualization of her and Felicia over the years and I agree, it frustrates how flanderized she has become (to the point she gets portrayed as a rapist and killing monster (god I hate Udon comics) despite the games already stating she doesn't need to kill). I love fighting games, which is why I also push that genre the hardest for it's objectification of women because I want the genre to be better, I can love sexy characters like Manon, Anna Williams, Morrigan etc while want the genre to stop being so juvenile and allow for older women and more body types and women not sexualized.

I don't play Gacha games so my main exposure with them is from the wlw fan art community where games like Genshin and ZZZ are popular with artists and wlw fans, whether that was intentional from the devs or not, they do seem to get something out of it which I can understand. There are few women users on ERA I highly respect and think are great who enjoyed or loved Stellar Blade for gameplay reason or found the interactions between the women sweet which I also understand and honestly reminds me why I tolerated DOA's objectification for as long as I did because the gameplay was fun and the interactions between the women were genuinely fun and sweet (Mila and Tina especially in DOA5). I feel like that's a common experience for many women, especially in gaming and other similar hobbies (I've defiantly seen it with women fans of Shonen Anime do this) to find things they love in works not made for us or guilty of sexism, heavy sexualization and objectification, we sometimes we take what we can get. I don't begrudge any woman who genuinely finds something to love about these works, I wouldn't want to be shamed for my love of fighting games, I don't even begrudge women fans who do find Eve from Stellar Blade sexy, more power to them.

The thing is, at least for me, that doesn't invalidate the criticism of the games from other women (one of the reason I hate the "Well X woman liked it" defence by men, because it's an attempt to deflect criticism by trying to create and us vs them between women, that by criticizing the work, we're invalidating the women who love/like it), criticism of the games shouldn't be criticism against the women who love those games and I feel most fans of those works want more of what they love like the sweet interactions between the women characters in Stellar Blade they what they don't like or just tolerate like the objectification which many of those women fans I know are also critical of.

This is why it can be so frustrating to have these conversations in a large platform. It feels like the opinions of women and NB folks only seem to matter when they can be used to deflect criticism. We aren't a monolith so we don't all feel the same and shouldn't be expected to, so it really sucks when people prop up this or that user's opinions to push back against the others or have one person even be made an example of how we should all feel... seeing people hide behind the one person they chose as their shield is deeply frustrating too. That person's views, explanations and experiences no longer matters, it's all about whether or not they're not getting in the way of fanservice and can be used to maintain the status quo.

High Femme ruining the charade for everyone