More Women Playing Video Games

Paul Nelson wrote an article about the growing number of women who play video games. Being a woman and a gamer myself, I clicked the link to it with much enthusiasm. Said enthusiasm was quickly extinguished by the inevitable genderfail.

“Hughes says most of the girls there get introduced to gaming by their boyfriends, and then become serious gamers themselves.”

As with all gaming articles, the primary focus must be on male gamers. Even the image included with the article is one that is meant to appeal to males rather than the gender that it was allegedly written about: a woman in a skimpy tank top and skin-tight pants, with her legs spread apart ever so slightly. Because, of course, when women play video games they don’t dress for comfort; they dress to appease the male gaze! In the end, it’s not an article about women who enjoy video games, but about women who take up gaming to please the men in their lives.

The Customer Isn’t Always Right

The University of B.C. has been doing research of how customers judge the quality of service they receive.

“The study, which will be published in the Academy of Management Journal, asked participants to watch videos that showed interaction between a book store customer and a sales clerk that was either a white male, black male or a white female. Although all clerks performed similarly, the white male clerk’s rating was 19 per cent higher.”

This is particularly scary considering the current state of our economy. Employers trying to make tough decisions about who to lay off will undoubtedly take this sort of misleading customer feedback into consideration.

The Murder of Jill Lynn Ulmer

When I was done reading this article, I decided it wasn’t weblog material. Basic summary: man murders woman after she dumps him. It’s tragic, but I tend to link to news that is more unusual. Sadly, this is far from unusual.

Then I scrolled down to read the comments, and we get these gems:

“This would not have happened to this poor girl if SHE was NOT this idiot.”

“I feel sorry for her parents…I don’t feel sorry for her. She got involved with someone like this…”

“You people AMAZE me!! She was trying to get out of the relationship with him! This is in no way, shape, or form her fault.”

“…not always do women realize they are dating an abuser she obviously was trying to get out of the relationship, she had a protective order, her decisions didn’t get her killed, the abuser killed her. This is not the womans fault.”

Perhaps these sort of opinions aren’t unusual, but they are very disturbing. Why the first two quotes are disturbing should go without saying. As for the last two quotes, it’s not that people are defending Ms. Ulmer that bothers me. I am glad that there are people smart enough to see that it is not ok to blame the victim. What I dislike is the reasoning behind it. Both place emphasis on the fact that Ms. Ulmer was making a visible effort to leave her abuser. This is irrelevant. If she had fully intended to stay involved with him for the rest of her life, she is still not to blame for the abuse, or her own murder.

May Ms. Ulmer receive peace and justice.

Because Women Who Enjoy Sex Are Crazy

A woman known as “Amy” allegedly had sex with 200 AFL footballers over the course of ten years.

“She said players kept in regular contact with her and she admitted to sometimes engaging in group sex with them.

“She said she was not abused, had always engaged in consensual acts and had not suffered as a result of her lifestyle.”

While AFL is giving a lot of lip service about respect for women, the only person the organization seems to think is in need of counseling is Amy. Because, you know, when men want lots and lots of sex, that’s normal. When a woman wants the same thing, she’s obviously suffering from some kind of mental disorder.

Because It’s Not Rape If He “Marries” Her

A man who raped 40 women, including his own wife, tells a reporter:

“I have asked the family’s forgiveness…I even paid the bride price: 12 goats, a scarf and a suit for her father…Three days before I was married, I went to church to confess. My wife knows what I used to be.”

Adding to the shock of the subject matter itself, is the way the reporter, Jonathan Pearlman, alters his language when he writes about the wife. Suddenly, rape becomes “somewhat reluctantly.” As I see it, this woman doesn’t even qualify as his wife. The way the article tells it, she did not consent to marrying him.

Who would?

The article goes on to paint a sympathetic picture of a man who admits to raping roughly 80 women:

“He says he remains haunted by his crimes.”

Excuse me for a moment. I seem to have misplaced my violin.

When I Tell That Bitch Please…In Outer Space!

Buzz Aldrin is joining forces with professional woman-hater Snoop Dogg. Fear not! His goal behind this is perfectly noble.

“…these incredible rappers speak to the new generations and know how to reach them.”

I’m sure the new generations of hos and bitches will appreciate your efforts, Buzz.

A Woman’s Body is Not Her Identity

By now, most web users are probably aware of the latest anti-Muslim schtick happening in France by way of banning Burkas. I have plenty to say about Islamic attire, but I shall save that for a future post.

What I’m annoyed about at the moment is the constant claim, from both conservatives and liberals, that niqab “hides” a woman’s identity. Thoughts? Feelings? Golly gee, who cares about any of that crap? Everyone knows that a woman can only be defined by her face, her hair, her chest, her rear end, etc. Any woman who takes it upon herself to decide whether or not complete strangers can get a good idea about the size, shape, and “beauty” of her various physical attributes may as well just cease to exist.

This is what we call misogyny, folks.