Hacker News Reader

Comment by tiffchow | Hacker News Reader

"It is not like we force women who are offended by video game media and the community to play games. If they really dislike it and hate the community, just play single player games or don't play at all."

No, you don't force us to play games, thank you very much. Women gamers play games because they love them, despite their flaws. I will not be told that I should just 'play single player or don't play at all'. I want change. Just because these attacks from the gaming community are no surprise does not mean that that they are acceptable and should just be allowed to stay that way. Games and the gaming community are both rapidly evolving, and Sarkeesian's project is part of the conversation that promotes a change in both for the better.

View on HN

Just because you want change doesn't mean you should expect to get it, and yes people have a right to freedom of speech, even the speech you disagree with. Be a grown up and deal with it, you don't get to ban what you don't like.

Actually, she is dealing with it by speaking out for change.

People don't (at least, in a free society, shouldn't) get to ban what they don't like, but they can show the damage that certain attitudes cause. The responsible adults among us, including the members of the gaming community, will hopefully see the problem and join in the demand for change. If nothing else, capitalism will step in to help. If there is a market for enjoyable games that don't make the player feel sick to his stomach for the attitudes they portray, someone will step into the void and make games for that market.

However, I'd like to believe that as a society we're enlightened enough to realize when treating people a certain way is simply wrong.

To evolve is not an act of censorship or banning, it is an act to collectively change for the better.

> Be a grown up and deal with it

Physician, heal thyself.

> you don't get to ban what you don't like.

How is this relevant? No one brought up banning free speech.

I don't think tiffchow said she expects to get the change she wants and I don't think Sarkeesian is presuming to tell game developers what they can or can't do. In both cases, I think these women are expressing their particular point of view in a responsible way (one by thoughtfully commenting on HN; the other by creating a series of videos analyzing the issue). In other words, they are both "being grown ups" and "dealing with it." The fact that Sarkeesian is being attacked for pointing a spotlight on what she perceives to be misogyny in the industry is both telling and hypocritical.

I am a male gamer who has been playing games for over two decades and even I feel estranged by a majority of the "AAA games" the industry is pumping out these days. My solution is simple: I don't buy them. That said, I admire those that are taking it even further and trying to start an intelligent conversation about how the gaming medium can mature. To try and stop that discussion and, by extension, stunt the growth of such an expressive medium is absurd to me.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com