Greg Christopher of the Errant Game blog made this post about women and how they are being portrayed, especially when it come to games. "We have an undercurrent of belief... that implies... that women are something less than men." I picked up on this post by reading about the discussion him and Zak S (of DnDwPS) are having in regards to understanding each others pov (more specifically, Zak attempting to understand Greg's pov).
I'm loving the fact that these guys are willing to have an actual discussion about this subject, and I fully understand Greg's pov, but I've never been one to push women to the side, to devalue them in any way. Again, my personal stand on the issue. And while, yes, women are being objectified by many men, for various reasons, I also know of women objectifying men, if less so.
I have always been of the opinion that anyone using there looks to better themselves, to gain something others do not have is due to "Good-gene good-sense healthy-offspring (Alfred Wallace)....beauty is a sign of good genetic qualities incl. diseases resistance." http://www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/otherbooks/mr_redqueen.html . This is a genetic predisposition, one which market analysts fully employ, showing these sexualized pictures to entice sales. "When it comes to buying Vanity Fair, it’s all women, all the time...." http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/vanity-fair-readers-prefer-women_b27181
is an article with an (unavailable) online report attached, one which points out that women prefer women on the cover of their magazines, using their purchasing power to make that decision.
I don't get mad with women who make money selling their sexuality, their body image, or men either, for whatever reason. I fully understand that "mass beauty", something which many people appreciate, is worth money to people selling products.
I also realize that most people don't fit those visual profiles, and never judge/include-exclude anyone based solely on their appearance. To me, it's the personality of the person that determines whether I'm going to entertain them as a friend on a long term basis, how well we click, so to speak. And while I can understand why Greg believes using this genetic predisposition to sell products/services forces a "Tits or GTFO" mentality in women, a "sex is all your worth" mentality, it's more of how the woman herself views the material in question. If she sees that representation of women as the ultimate/ideal, then that's her opinion. If she's offended by the material, she can use her purchasing power (amongst other things) to make her decision known.
Maybe it's because I'm an intellectual. Maybe it's because I'm an introvert who's always valued function over form. Maybe it's because of that advertising class I took by in junior high school that showed the fakeness/camera tricks that are involved. I fully advocate Greg's position of equality in everything, but I also advocate Zak's position of "make your own decisions as an adult". Should pictures of hot chicks used to lure people in be removed/toned down? No. Should people realize that it's just advertising, and base their opinions on the reality of whatever is being sold/provided? Yes. And, yes, we should make fun of assholes. The ones that think that anyone is worth less than they are, whether it be due to their gender, their race, their color, their creed, their views on life, etc, etc.
Except for practicing pedophiles. They should be removed from the gene pool, IMO.
