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ArgumentativeEssaysexismingaming.docxEL Khatib 4
Ziad El Khatib
Mrs. Robin Frost
Composition 1
11/24/2017
Sexism in gaming
We have proudly or if not proudly then comfortably accepted the fact that we still hold and possess stereotypical, prejudicial and discriminatory thoughts and views, due to gender difference, age, or the race. These can be clearly seen through people’s ways of livelihood, interactions and their skills or ways of solving a problem. However the saying that every human being has a right to freely express themselves or go about normal activities, the degree to which they do is what matters and has a deeper impact on an individual’s life (Hersch 354). Therefore, people should not pretend to be comfortable embracing undermining views or policies that are socially acceptable in the name of seeking a stop to something or solving a problem to suit their interest while disgracing other parties involved. For example, Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist cultural critic, who had death threats from gaming companies because she was trying to end the discrimination between males and females in gaming. She pointed out the humiliation towards females in games. Sexism in gaming is a dominating and present situation. Its growth has been necessitated by the fact that people stomach or ignore the events and situations they are facing, or the existence of intense fear amongst themselves to speak out against injustices or unfair treatment received as they go about their normal tasks here in life. It is known that sexism commonly affects the female gender in comparison to the male due to high held beliefs and cultural practices that, girls are less deserving of opportunities, skills and representation, thereby they should humble and submit to the dominating gender in a particular set up. Sexism in gaming can manifest through gaming articles written, video gaming (in relation to creating and playing the games) and opportunities available to develop and grow their mastery in a given area. Some of the most common mediators of sexism in gaming include racism, which is discrimination of an individual based on their skin color i.e. white or black and existence of fear especially in the less experienced party in the gaming field who end up retaliating in self-defense to avoid feeling challenged or inferior of themselves (Peck, Mitchell, Ketchum and Embrick 212).
The female gender experiences sexism in gaming when they are sexualized or painted as a sex image and associated with weakness due to failure to accomplish or ace a task. More to it, a talented and capable female gamer and developer may receive harassing messages, calls and emails to deter them from involving or engaging in an activity that may see the other gender degraded and reduce their worth, so as to protect their self-interests. To crown it all, female journalists and gamers may also find themselves in a fix, when they have to talk in a conference or present a game due to threats issued against them e.g. sexual assault and intimidation, in attempt to prove the dominating and deserving gender. However, the male gender also has their fair share of encounters of sexism in gaming when one is accused of being less manly e.g. if found or seen playing “girl like games.”
Therefore, sexism in gaming has its effect but mostly they tend to affect the female gender more than the male. These include:
Insubordination of the female (mostly) may occur in preference of hiring a male which could be attributed to the socially accepted norms and beliefs. Developed female games are likely to be taken less seriously due to the mentality of inferiority among female games and developers to be less interesting in comparison to the male games or gamers. Many game developers or gamers many end up masking their identity in the field due to fear of being harassed or threatened for displaying their skills and mastery in the gaming field. As a result of this threats and intimidation, development and sharing of code of conduct was done to promote understanding an individual growth so as to achieve their optimum best. Finally, criticism may arise either positive or negative, which can result to betterment of the brand or commodity or impair an individual from growing and further themselves.
Sexism is not easy to eradicate among people, due to lack most of us that we know it exists, when it is truly present in their life and yet real. The higher the ignorance rate among the people, the more difficult it is to deal with the existing problem. Therefore, the best way to go about it is simply approaching the people with compassion, get to listen and understand their concerns and educate the public on the importance of eliminating sexism which could hold back development and growth. Educating the population may include; use of mass media, internet, radio and television to reach out to as many people as they can. Written material can also be effective incorporated with group discussion to help clear any ideologies and perceptions that may be intimidating or lacking facts one way or another. This will therefore promote a common understanding and togetherness, which helps prevents any form of injustices or misjudgment towards others.
Sexism is real and existing in the community day to day living, and it is the responsibility of the people living within to identify, come to terms with the existing situation and try to solve the problem amicably without creating havocs, misunderstanding and cruelty amongst ourselves (Lawless 70-80). Sometimes change is inevitable among humans, therefore, it is only right that the people learn to embrace diversity in ideologies, way of speech and activities. Hence, in doing this we promote a better tomorrow, to live, laugh and enjoy life in.
Works Cited
Lauterpatcht, Hersch. “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Brit. YB Int’l L.25 (1948): 354.
Peck, B. Mitchell, Paul R. Ketchum, and David G. Embrick. “Racism and sexism in the gaming world: Reinforcing or changing stereotypes in computer games?. “Journal of Media and Communication Studies 3.6 (2011): 212.
