Community

Female characters in games

2009-11-20T20:52:57Z

I've been playing World of Warcraft since 2005, and I've noticed a pattern in the treatment of female characters. Of course, sexy and beautiful women are prevalent in the storyline while more clothed women aren't. One can shrug this off as understandable because the gaming industry is inherently androcentric, and women are lucky to be represented at all. That's a very poor excuse, but seems to be the only one the dudes on the Warcraft forums can come up with. The sexy women are only there to serve as eye candy for the dudes that play the game. How else can you explain the Queen of the Dragonflights wearing a bikini and club boots at the top of a 100 story tower in an arctic zone in the middle of winter? That's just not logical even for a game with minotaurs that can shapeshift into cats, dance with you, and then drive away on a motorcycle.

Should we justify the oppressive themes as nothing that should be taken seriously because they are there for dudes, or should we question why these themes exist? Why does the ancient queen of the dragons have to look like a 20 year old beauty queen? The male audience thinks women have no dreams, intelligence, individuality or lives worth noting, so all they're good for is being sexy. Women like Alexstrasza are hailed by the male audience while Jaina gets "Jaina Must Die" clubs. Sylvanas gets a major plot within the story while Tyrande gathers dust in the background. Women are either sexy and prevalent in the story, or modest (if you will) and only talked about.

]]>

Part of the cure for this mentality is to show the male audience more characters like Jaina or Tyrande. Don't keep these girls in the back, out of plain view of the storyline. Make a female the main antagonist of an expansion. It doesn't matter how much a character is talked about, if they aren't actually there, then they aren't really that important to the audience. Case in point, Elune is arguably the most powerful character in the story. If she wanted to, she could kill all the bad guys and make 50,000 pieces of armor out of one piece just by snapping her fingers. But wait, she doesn't like to get involved in human conflicts, so she's not a big part of the story. As a player, you know about her, you know she's strong, but she's not a tangible character, so who cares?

Keep in mind that there's a difference between the real story and how it's being twisted to suit the "needs" of dudes that play the game. There are more than enough strong women in the story. The difference is that as soon as they are put in the game, they shed a few pieces of clothes, develop bigger breasts, or make sex innuendos. Not to mention the game's "boss hierarchy", where a character like Azshara (one of those extremely strong and important female characters I was talking about) will always come in second to Deathwing, a male.

The treatment of female characters in Warcraft isn't unique, women are being represented poorly in every game I can think of. Violence against women and rape are plot devices in the new game Dragon Age, which by the way is getting very high ratings and reviews. Why is this okay?

World of Warcraft has gotten much more woman-friendly, particularly in the most recent expansion, but there are still major problems that anyone who isn't a feminist probably can't see. Anyway, I'd recommend the game if you can stomach the horrible player community, where rape is a joke and you are ostracized if you are black, and the employees who you report these issues to don't care or participate in it themselves.... but that's another issue entirely...

sigh First mammograms, now this

2009-11-20T19:11:36Z

The ACOG now recommends cervical cancer screening at 21, and says women don't require annual exams

Thoughts?

"No One Should Go Through What I Went Through"

2009-11-20T17:37:59Z

By Diana Kasdan, Staff Attorney, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project

That’s what Bethany Cajúne told me the first time we spoke about her experience in Montana’s Lake County Detention Facility. “No one should go through what I went through.” We filed a case earlier today to make sure that Bethany’s desire to protect other women becomes a reality.

This past March, Bethany voluntarily reported to the detention facility to complete an outstanding short-term sentence for traffic violations. At that time, she was approximately four to five months pregnant, raising five small children, and attending GED classes four days a week. She was also about to successfully complete her first year in a medication-treatment program for a diagnosed addiction to opioid drugs. What Bethany didn’t know when she reported to the facility was that detention officials would withhold her medication, which was prescribed to suppress withdrawal symptoms and facilitate Bethany’s recovery, and was now critical for protecting the health of her pregnancy.

Despite several attempts by Bethany’s treating physician and drug treatment counselor to ensure that Bethany continue receiving her medication, facility officials, including its chief medical doctor, denied her this care. As a result, Bethany suffered complete and abrupt withdrawal, experienced constant vomiting, diarrhea, rapid weight loss, dehydration, and other withdrawal symptoms, all extremely dangerous during pregnancy. Despite repeated warnings of the serious risk abrupt withdrawal posed to Bethany’s health and pregnancy, including miscarriage, the facility continued to withhold her medication. Instead of receiving appropriate medical care, she was at various times confined in an unsanitary and windowless solitary confinement cell, told to “tough it out,” and shackled during an ultrasound examination. It took the intervention of a public defender to secure her release so that she could resume the treatment. In the end, Lake County knowingly put Bethany’s health and pregnancy at severe risk for nine days.

]]> Luckily, Bethany’s story has a happy ending. After she resumed treatment, Bethany regained her health and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She has also since completed her GED and is looking forward to the next chapter in her life. Part of moving on for Bethany is ensuring that no one else will go through what she went through.

Learn more about Bethany’s experience and the case the ACLU filed today on her behalf by watching this video:

Please note that by playing this clip You Tube and Google will place a long-term cookie on your computer. Please see You Tube's privacy statement on their website and Google's privacy statement on theirs to learn more. To view the ACLU's privacy statement, click here .

Conservative Canadian MP launches petition to Defund Planned Parenthood

2009-11-20T16:52:35Z

In 2006, the Canadian federal government made a pledge to allocate $18 million over four years to International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) - which, on a completely irrelevant tangent, is the Canadian agency I've always wanted to work for. CIDA does a significant amount of international aid work, so it's not entirely illogical for them to be the filter through which this money is distributed. Further, the UNFPA - a branch of the UN - unequivocally states that reproductive health choices are a fundamental human right. This funding allows people access to reproductive health services where there is a severe drought.

]]> This funding comes up for renewal December 31st.

So, my local hometown MP, Brad Trost of Saskatoon-Humboldt has decided it's time the conservative party and its supporters stood up for this blatant misuse of funds (approx. 4.5 million/year), ignoring completely the fact that the CIDA has an annual budget of over 3 billion a year to support a variety of projects in sub-Saharan Africa with nary a muffled cry in protest.

So clearly this is entirely about tax dollars supporting abortion.

Except, Trost is a MP in one of the provinces that still provincially funds abortion in private clinics in addition to federal funding of abortions under medicaid in hospitals and I have yet to hear a peep about that...

So then what is it Brad? Oh! It's because the IPPF charter does not "support physicians' freedom to practice according to their conscience and/or religious beliefs regarding abortion referral."

*coughbullshitcough*

So, you don't like the fact that the IPPF believes medical professionals not willing to provide Birth Control, Contraceptives or Abortion should be required to, at the very LEAST, provide a referral? Jeez, that is a pretty terrible burden for them to have to carry, especially in developing nations where access to ANY doctor is probably the very first barrier to reproductive health services. So really... let's make this even harder, shall we?

Trost has posted a petition on his website trying to garner support for this defunding initiative. There you have it, ladies: another dude telling us of the lady-brain persuasion that having control over the ability to plan our own families, our own futures, our own lives is not as important as funding well-building or vaccinations, despite all studies to the contrary that say women with reproductive health options live longer, more productive lives and have children who are more likely to have better access to education and in turn, contribute to the growth and improvement of their respective nation's economic improvement. Let me catch my breath and say that again. Access to reproductive health is proven to improve the conditions of women and their families living in developing nations. If you wanna talk about returns on dollars invested, reproductive health services is almost as effective as micro credit loans.

Dear Brad: Take a few hours of your life to get informed about the realities of women's rights in international development before you go running your mouth about what's "best for the poor womenz".

Dear readers: I encourage Canadians everywhere to contact Mr. Trost and let him know you won't stand for his interference with international reproductive health services. Contact the CIDA's minister to encourage them to continue their work in providing family planning choices for those living in poverty. Tell PM Harper that you fully support the funding of International aid projects, including funding the IPPF and UNFPA. And please, let your representative know where you stand on reproductive health issues, in the event that Trost's petition actually has an impact on Canadian Politics.

Brad Trost, MP (Saskatoon-Humboldt)
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 992-8052
E-mail: trostb@parl.gc.ca

Bev Oda, MP (Durham) and Minister of International Cooperation
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 992-2792
Fax: (613) 992-2794
Email: Oda.B@parl.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca

Models Used For Illustrative Purposes Only

2009-11-20T16:40:46Z

Has anyone else noticed the ads for HIV medication on the site?

I find it interesting that the ad reads across the bottom, "Models used for illustrative purposes only."

I have never noticed that on an ad before. Maybe I'm just unobservant, but this is the first time I remember an advertisement make sure we know that the models are only models, they don't actually have HIV.

I wonder why this ad in particular chose to make that announcement - is it because HIV is incurable and don't want the models to be discriminated against, should they be recognized? A part of me wonders if it's because there are two men in the ad, and HIV is still a "gay disease" and they don't want people thinking that these are actually gay men with HIV or something, but of course, I have no proof of that.

Are there other advertisements that inform you that the models are only for illustrative purposes?

Some times words come out wrong

2009-11-20T16:15:40Z

For those of you on the Bust magazine email list you already got this.

I guess Jessica (Valenti) did an interview in which it sounded like she called Bust Magazine not feminist and (seemed) to make fun of the DIY movement.

here is the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/magazine/15fob-q4-t.html

here is the link to Bust's blog post about it:

http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/11/16/et-tu-jessica-qbust-not-feministq-really.html

although Bust.com seems to be down at the moment.

I say respectfully and without snark:

Jessica, would you like to clarify your statements?

2 things: sometimes in my head I see or hear things from feminists and think to myself "I wouldn't call them feminists." But I know what it is like to be told I am not a feminist/Christian/real woman/what ever I self identify as because I don't meet someone else's "criteria and it sucks, and second criticizing people in public is a BIG deal It should be done with thought and care.

*******

Editor's note: Thanks for the post. I actually did clarify in the comments section on BUST. I'm reposting my comment after the jump.

]]> Debbie (and the rest of the BUST crew) - first of all, apologies about this quote. I think BUST is a fiercely feminist magazine - it's one of the first I ever read and was formative in bringing me to feminism. This interview was hours long and edited and condensed substantially (as Solomon's interviews are famous for). I actually named BUST as one of the feminist publications I like - and later made an offhand comment about not reading it as much because it felt more crafty than anything else to me these days. (And like I said, me and crafty don't mix, sadly) But I can see with the way the interview was put together how upsetting the quote would be. That's not to absolve myself of responsibility; I should have been more mindful of my words, especially in an interview. So I hope you accept my sincerest apologies and know that I've always admired the work you do - and continue to think of you as an amazing feminist publication. -Jessica

Poetry Friday: The Shine of Sapphire

2009-11-20T14:19:44Z

Before all the buzz dies down around the already-laureled film Precious , we thought we'd stay in the glow of the creator of its title character , the poet and educator known as Sapphire. Your editor met her around 2001 as a fellow member of The Writers Room in Greenwich Village, years after we read her incendiary novel PUSH (upon which the film, starring Gabourey Sidibe in the title role, is based). By then her poetry collection American Dreams had been cited by Publisher's Weekly as "One of the strongest debut collections of the nineties," and she had just published Black Wings & Blind Angels , of which a publisher's excerpt is below. Of that book, Poet's & Writer's Magazine wrote: "With her soul on the line in each verse, her latest collection, Black Wings & Blind Angels , retains Sapphire's incendiary power to win hearts and singe minds."

Read Sapphire's poem, Breaking Karma #5, at Women's Voices For Change.

Book Reivew: Whipping Girl

2009-11-20T12:45:13Z

Book Review: Julia Serano's Whipping Girl

So with all the recent posts about transgender and transsexuality (And it's Transgender Awareness Week!), I finally got myself motivated to search out other reading materials to bring me up to speed about these issues.

I had no idea which book would answer my questions, but someone mentioned Whipping Girl by Julia Serano and that was the first book that popped up under the search "transsexual" at my library. I thought that might be a good place start---and it was!

Julia talks about a wide range of subjects---it was a lot to take in, but I'll try to sum up what I learned.

]]> 1) From talking to other transsexuals and her experiences, Julia believes that subconscious sex, gender expression and sexual orientation work independently from one another. Gender expression and sexual orientation are spectrums, however, I wasn't sure if she meant that subconscious sex is a spectrum or a binary. At first I didn't feel that my subconscious determines how I feel about my sex and body, but how can I argue with that when someone else doesn't feel the same way?

2) Julia talks about her transition. I was surprised that she found that female hormones made her feel more in touch with her emotions, improved her smell and touch. In my own experience, I do remember being able to cry much more easily in my early teens....heck, even now before my period. Although that means I cry about things I don't normally cry about. She mentions that when she was male, she felt more "visual." I was a bit disappointed by this, but it made me think, "Ok, but does being more visual necessarily mean that guys *have* to sexual objectify women? And does "being more visual" mean than there's more than one standard of beauty?"

3) She talked about the diversity of the transgendered/transsexual community. I've never met a trans woman who liked to dress like a guy. Or, I mean, I don't think I've met one! LOL She really deconstructed how the media shapes our views of transsexuals---they are only manly men or girly girls according to the TV--the media fails to show transitions where the transition isn't much of a difference. She also talked about how those in the LGBIT community don't always see eye to eye---they are concerned about different issues that sometimes conflict. I really hadn't thought about this before.

4) One of the big questions I had was how to reconcile my feminist education with the transsexual experience. Or in other words, many feminisms say that gender is socially constructed, however transsexual experience their femaleness/maleness despite being socialized the other gender. Julia doesn't really have the answer--although she does mention that there's a part of the brain in trans women that looks similar to bio born women (and it's the same for trans men and bio born men). She says that nature and nurture both matter, but exactly how, that's the $64,000 question.

5) Finally, this book made me realize how much we deride femininity in our society. As feminists, we often fight for the ability to be in male spaces and exhibit "male" traits. However, still, masculine women are valued more than feminine men. We really need to fight the notion that femininity is artificial, weak, etc.

Roman Polanski and the Benefit of Clergy

2009-11-20T06:32:49Z

This was originally posted at minervana . In the ensuing month nothing has really changed; Polanski is still in jail, and Geimer (the victim) is still in hiding.

There are two competing narratives about Roman Polanski and his subsequent arrest. In one, a genius committed a crime long time ago, which his victim has since recovered from. In the other, a wealthy and powerful man violated an innocent child, then absconded from justice when it looked like he might have to face the music.

What does one narrative have to do with the other?

What Polanski's supporters are asking for is a sort of "benefit of clergy," as described by George Orwell in his excellent essay on Salvador Dali. The phrase is eerily apt in the wake of the scandals plaguing the Catholic church. Like a wayward priest, Polanski took advantage of a minor via his power and prestige.

]]> Imagine if a black or Latino man, in south central Los Angeles, drugged and raped a 13 year old girl, pled guilty, then fled to South America after he'd been convicted. Would there be any controversy if he was arrested and extradited, even if the victim had long ago moved on? I doubt it.

There are a few more arguments. Roman Polanski led a tragic life. He is 76, which apparently makes him too old to stand trial; never mind that an 89-year-old war criminal is on trial in Berlin, for crimes that took place over sixty years ago. Polanski's arrest is insinuated to be "politically motivated," with the Swiss eager to get back in American good graces after the crisis. The most compelling argument is that convicting the director will do nobody any good, least of all victim Samantha Geimer. "Honestly, the publicity surrounding it was so traumatic that what he did to me seemed to pale in comparison," Geimer wrote in an op-ed on Roman Polanski's oscar nomination . (At this time, Geimer has gone into hiding). Would a protracted extradition process help Geimer or her family? No.

Both narratives - the genius and the golem - are true in a sense.Whatever you think of Roman Polanski's movies, he drugged and raped a 13 year-old girl. We can simultaneously hold that Polanski (to quote Orwell) is a "good [director] and a disgusting human being. The one does not invalidate or, in a sense, affect the other." One can watch The Pianist and admire it, decry the director as a scoundrel at the same time. This level of dissociation may not be possible for everyone, and I would blame no one if they can't get over his past. (Could a Holocaust survivor really admire Leni Riefenstahl, however good her later films were?) But to claim that anyone, however talented, therefore has a license to violate a child, is inexcusable.

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." - Kate Moss

2009-11-20T05:48:20Z

Yes, yes, Moss's motto is all over the news. When asked by a magazine what her motto in life was, she said the above quote.

Before we jump down her throat, though, I have to ask: why do "millions of girls aspire to be like Kate Moss," as Katie Green pointed out? Sure, she's attractive. So what? Nobody chooses to have great bone structure, or flawless skin--if you could choose, everyone would choose it. Does that really make her a role model?

As I've discussed elsewhere , the "ugly business of beautiful women" is really nothing to snort at. The subconscious and unconscious effect of seeing glossy beauties, airbrushed within an inch of their life, is socially corrosive. We really do not need more "thinspiration" in the media.

This comes hot on the heels of Ralph Lauren's photoshop fiasco. Enough! When will young women put down the Cosmo and pick up a (veggie)burger? It's time to say "Fuck you!" to Anna Wintour, don't you think?

Moss may or may not be intelligent, I neither know nor care. But at some level, she must realize that young women aspire to be like her. It saddens me that she truly believes that her motto is something to be emulated.

Now that that's over with--"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"? Maybe Elie Wiesel would have an opinion on that.

Princess Hijab

2009-11-20T05:14:34Z

Princess Hijab, an apparently atheist 21-year-old street artist, has gained notoriety and some acclaim for "hijabizing" advertisements on the streets of Paris. Via Muslimah Media Watch :

I would say my work is inspired from the anti-consumerist movements. I’m an advertising hijabist. In other words, I cover all advertising with a black veil, which is a dark symbol, a reference on pop culture, and a way to hide elegantly advertising. It is also a study on territories and identities.--Princess Hijab

Princess Hijab (not her real name; she's remained anonymous) has disappeared as of late; her website, princesshijab.org, appears to be deserted. However, her art raises some interesting questions. If Princess Hijab is doing this out of religious conviction (which seems unlikely, given some of her statements ) or disgust at over-advertising, how does that change how we view her art? Is this a case of religious censorship, feminist outrage, or anti-corporate activism? Or all three?

What Is a Feminist Issue?

2009-11-20T04:55:23Z

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about the differences between first, second and third wave feminism, and how now, the third wave has branched out and become interconnected with other social movements, such as anti-globalization, third world representation and solidarity, gay rights, et cetera.

My friend raised an interesting question which I was at pains to answer. She asked: "So when is something a feminist issue, and when is it not?" There are plenty of issues which, while important, have little to do with women's rights, or affect women about the same as they affect men. Below is a partial list of issues, so you can see what I mean:

-Animal Rights

-Anti-Scientology

-Atheist / Humanist / Nonreligious Activism

-Activism for Increased Regulation of Chemical Solvents that go into food, drinking water, household products, etc.

-Climate Change

-Culture Jamming

-The Deschooling/Unschooling movement

-Healthcare

-No Nukes

-Prison Reform

-The Slow Food Movement

These are just picked up off the top of my head. Some of these can have a feminist bent (I for one would like to see more feminist culture jamming) but some of them could not really be linked to the feminist movement (no nukes, for example).

So this is my question for you, which she asked me. Where do we draw the line between a feminist or women's issue, and one that, while important, isn't really feminist? Is it more like a gradation than a line? How do you see it?

STOP STUPAK Rally LA

2009-11-19T22:45:30Z

Sorry for the short notice, but Planned Parenthood Lost Angeles is organizing a rally tomorrow to represent the opposition to the horrendous Stupak Amendment.

To anyone in the Los Angeles area: please come out and show your support! Power is in numbers!!

THIS FRIDAY: Rally outside the Federal Courthouse in Downtown LA

When: Friday, November 20th, 12:30pm-1:30pm
Where: 312 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
(cross streets Temple and Spring)

We'll have signs and chants for you, but feel free to make your own and bring friends!

Please RSVP to grassroots@pp-la.org so that we have enough materials for everyone.

More info after the jump.

]]> We Need YOU to Help STOP STUPAK

On Saturday, November 7th the U.S. House of Representatives passed a historic health reform bill. Unfortunately, the members for the House also adopted an amendment that would effectively ban private abortion coverage for millions of women in the United States- also known as the Stupak ban.

JOIN US TO RALLY & PHONE BANK FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH

Thanks so much for standing with us to protect women's access to reproductive health care.

MSNBC Headline Reads: "Dad accused of killing son over sex with tot."

2009-11-19T22:27:45Z

Trigger warning.

I don't have much time to write about this article at MSNBC, but I wanted to get it out there for discussion.

First off, I am extremely bothered by the title on the top of the window. "Dad accused of killing son over sex with tot ." The girl was three years old. Using the word "sex" somehow implies that it was consensual. It's been discussed many times over on Feministing, but why do the media have such a difficult time calling horrific rape what it is? The girl was three years old and the fifteen-year-old boy admitted to using her in inappropriate sexual behavior. That's not sex.

Secondly, I have very mixed feelings about the entire situation. There are so many terrible things that happened here, and I have a lot of probably inappropriate and conflicting feelings that I'm about to say. But such is being a human, right? Nothing is black and white.

On one hand, I commend the father for being so absolutely against child rape. But I don't to the extent that I don't believe humiliating and killing his son were logical ways of handling it. (Of course, his actions weren't logical. They were done in uncontrollable, irrational anger. Strong emotional reactions are hardly ever rational.) I don't believe that murder was the best answer. The son admitted to the inappropriate actions, so I feel as if that is a step in the right direction. Do I believe he should've gotten merely a slap-on-the-wrist type of punishment? Absolutely not. Severe punishment as well as serious psychological help and community service at a rape crisis center or something along those lines would've been much more productive than stripping him down and shooting him as he pleads for his life.

That's just my piece on it. It's a difficult story to grasp, and I certainly don't do much justice to it. I don't usually write entries myself; I enjoy reading the discussions between everyone else. So, what are all of your reactions to this story?

On the Fence

2009-11-19T20:13:22Z

I recently wrote a post about my confusion regarding my sexuality. More specifically, my confusion in how I could articulate myself to the people close to me so they would be assured that I was doing this whole "gay thing"...right.

And that got me thinking. Because, when I get down to the core of it, as far as being lesbian, straight, bi- or pansexual, I'm essentially still on the fence. And I think that confuses people.

We're all supposed to choose a side. Whether it's a political party or a sexual orientation, a religion or a country, we are encouraged to choose a side and then stick with it. If we deviate from it, we are hypocrites at worst, or just wishy-washy idiots at best.

I'm going to speak about women, because as a woman, that's the experience I know best. I believe that bisexuals, unfortunately, are simply not taken seriously. Oh, you're bisexual? Well, that doesn't mean anything. I mean, it's probably just because you're trying to trendy, or you're trying to be as sexy as possible to men, because everyone knows there is nothing a man finds sexier than a woman making out with another woman. Bisexuality simply isn't appreciated as a fully fledged sexual orientation, like gay or lesbian. It's more of a gimmick.

And that's the pressure I have felt, even from myself. I have been accused of using an orientation that is not lesbian/straight as a "convenience;" meaning that if someone shows interest in me, it doesn't matter which gender they are because I'm simply keeping my options open. So I can shower in the attention of all. Isn't that another way of calling me a whore? A superficial whore with self-esteem issues?

Anybody who is on the fence is never taken seriously. Whether they don't have a firm political party to attach themselves to, no firm sexual orientation to belong to, or no religion to belong to (agnostics), they have no voice and thus no worth. As someone who doesn't belong to any political party, still hasn't decided whether any sexual orientation will work, and a firm agnostic, sometimes I feel invisible.

What's wrong with not knowing?

**As a quick disclaimer, I'd like to stress that while I believe bisexuality and pansexuality are fully-fledged sexual orientations in their own right, I don't believe they are taken seriously as "real" orientations. Bisexuality is often seen as trendy and shallow, and a lot of people don't even know what pansexuality is.