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"GTFO: A Film About Women in Gaming" on Kickstarter

Lime

Member
I don't know. Don't you feel there are 3 announcements a day about women condition in gaming in general? Also what do we know about the authors of said documentaries?

The same "announcement" is going to take place until the problems aren't as widespread as they currently are. I don't see any reason why the amount of "announcements" motivates your imperative of "DON'T FUND IT"

And how many video documentaries treat the issue of sexism in video game culture and industry? And how many contemporary ones?

I don't think she's going to go deep enough into the issue.

It's one thing to record a log of sexist or racist slurs slung over xbox live. It's another to go ask Stephen Toulouse directly what Microsoft is doing about it. It's my general complain about all kickstarter documentaries; they don't go in deep enough. Even Indie Game: The Movie, which I rather liked, doesn't dive deep enough into Phil Fish's backstory because his past action villify his martyr image in that piece.

Regardless of past Kickstarter Documentaries, I'll gladly give the producer the benefit of doubt - she's familiar with the documentary genre, she has already interviewed and talked to key figures familiar with the issue, and she hasn't even begun the main research process, which this campaign will fund. I think there's a likelihood that this won't be completely shitty, but I'm fine with the documentary not being the be-all-end-all of documentaries.

Besides, it's not like this issue is well-covered in video format, as some people still don't seem to understand or are aware of prevalent sexism in games. I can perfectly understand why some people won't fund it, but I don't see any convincing incentives not to have this documentary exist.

I also really wish someone would make a race-specific analysis or coverage of video game culture or representation.

There are 20 things that I can think of off the top of my head that people could cover relatively easily that would shine a much more deserving light on sexism in gaming. But they don't. Because it's still harder than just playing video games and recording the results.

I really don't think "just playing video games and recording the results" is what this project is about.
 

Cartman86

Banned
I remember when I worked for a law firm instead of hiring a guy who had a proven work ethic and amazing client relations, the partners picked up a women who did very well in school and admitably had a silver tongue.

What ended up happening is her constantly taking days off work and losing us several huge clients that cost the firm hundreds of thousands of dollars. When I asked the partners why we didn't choose the guy who had proven track record they said they didn't want to look sexist and they had a quota they had to fill.

Morale of the story, people should just hire people that are qualified for the job instead of worrying about sex, religion or sexual orientation. This "problem" is a problem but when it starts affecting the product or production that's just taking it too far.

The industry doesn't tell women to "GTFO". There are plenty of women in the industry who do amazing jobs at what they do. Some do better than their male counterparts. However I disagree with skipping over someone because of sex. That's wrong. It's hard to get into the industry FOR EVERYONE. Not just women. Some people work for years to get into the industry to no success. That's just how the industry works. It weeds out the weak/less passionate and keeps the ones that prove that they work hard and are passionate at what they do. You're not being skipped over because of sex or whatever other reason. It's just genuinely hard to get in.

And to sexual harassment, it happens in a lot of professions and needs to be addressed by a large point and not just point the finger at the games industry. I've seen people in this industry (both men and women) be careful about what they say to other women in conversation or email because of this kind of thing. And it makes everyone in the workplace uncomfortable.

Points I am trying to make:

- The industry is hard to get into for everyone
- Sexual harassment doesn't just happen in the games industry and we shouldn't be pointing the finger at our industry alone
- As people we as a whole need to address this issue and not attack it in only one industry or one instance at a time.

Do you think your story about preferential hiring hasn't been discussed and dissected for years and years in every country in the entire world? You think just letting the market decide when women or people of color get hired will end up fixing everything? Have you even been paying attention to history? I'm sorry that the person your job hired was a bad worker, but that sometimes happens. It could have happened with the man as well.
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
I'd rather see a series of inequalities in the games industry with episodes dedicated to addressing issues women face than these one-off feminist attacks.

What about biases towards parents? Age discrimination? Developers taking advantage of free internships?

I’ll listen more carefully when I see your agenda covers everyone and not just your gender.

Okay… that was my civil response to what’s been going on. Here’s my lady rant that I’m going to spoiler because I need to get it out but it’s a little off-topic.
I'm tired of some people jumping into the ring and turning it into a "if you're not with us, you're against us" match. You know what? I'm a woman. I’ve been working in the games industry in some capacity for at least ten years now. I fight for equal pay and being treated respectfully. But just because I can take a compliment without getting offended it doesn't make me the bad guy. And yes, I will stand up for the rights for my male friends to make dick jokes or say a girl is hot because I like making dick jokes and I’ll admit when another girl is hot too. I don’t want to tip toe around them; I don’t want them to tip toe around me. And I’d hope that if I ever say something that crosses a line, they’ll tell me and I’ll do the same. Communication works fucking wonders and just trying to shut up the other side because “you’re offended” is bullshit.
I appreciate your sincerity. Unfortunately, your attitude will be used to dismiss the cause, just as everyone whose 'wife looked at this ostensibly sexist game and was cool with it' posts are essentially designed to render the issue irrelevant or unworthy of discussion. By taking this stance I think you are shooting yourself in the foot.
 
As a woman, I know I probably should care more about this, but after that whole Susan + $829 debacle and the massive Anita Sarkeesian debate, I'm pretty damn sick of hearing about the subject of female exploitation and gaming.

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This made me laugh.

...I mean no harm.

But I agree, this seems more like "The new thing" than a true calling for equality.
 
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