Kulturkampf

[TylenolJones]

[D3RANG3D]

[HaughtyFrank]

[benji]

[HaughtyFrank]

The kicker is that the old woman wasn't even dead

[benji]

Oh, good news, he still has his slave guess that means the patriarchy is fine.

[Uncle]

 

ok but...letting them indulge their short term phase in the ways you want to let them has permanent debilitating consequences...

"oh yeah when I was a kid I felt confident that I wanted to live as an amputee, that's why I'm armless and miserable at 45"

[benji]

Uh, when are they ever saying it's a phase rather than who they are and always have been and always will be?

[TylenolJones]

[benji]

[benji]

[benji]

[benji]

Book in this bundle: https://www.humblebundle.com/books/all-about-gaming-mit-press-books

An important new voice provides an empowering look at why video games need feminism—and why all of us should make space for more play in our lives.

You play like a girl: It’s meant to be an insult, accusing a player of subpar, un-fun playing. If you’re a girl, and you grow up, do you “play like a woman”—whatever that means?

In this provocative and enlightening book, Shira Chess urges us to play like feminists. Playing like a feminist is empowering and disruptive—it exceeds the boundaries of gender yet still advocates for gender equality. Roughly half of all players identify as female, and “Gamergate” galvanized many of gaming’s disenfranchised voices. Chess argues games are in need of a creative platform-expanding, metaphysical explosion—and feminism can take us there. She reflects on the importance of play, playful protest, and how feminist video games can help us rethink the ways that we tell stories. Feminism needs video games as much as video games need feminism.

Play and games can be powerful. Chess’s goal is for all of us—regardless of gender orientation, ethnicity, ability, social class, or stance toward feminism—to spend more time playing as a tool of radical disruption.

“Play like a Feminist. is a crucial contribution to conversations around gaming, power, and labor. Chess shows us all the importance of reclaiming games as a feminist act and provides a blueprint for how feminists of all ages can approach them in new and joyful ways.”
Adrienne Shaw
Associate Professor, Temple University, and author of Gaming at the Edge

“This book is a hopeful and upbeat foray into the intersection of feminism and games, with an activist bent. I love the idea of Gaming Circles—as a games researcher who has spent a lifetime ‘playing like a girl,’ I may take Chess up on the suggestion of circling up more people in my life outside the narrow bounds of ‘gamer’ toward a richer and more diverse dialog around this important cultural form.”
Katherine Isbister
Professor of Computational Media, School of Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz; author of How Games Move Us; Founding Fellow, Higher Education Video Game Alliance

 

Feminist audiences who are looking for a way into the world of video games, video games worth their attention, or who are wondering whether they should "bother" with video games will find great value in Play Like a Feminist. Chess proposes feminist gaming circles as a way to approach the medium. Similar to book clubs and the proverbial sewing circle, they would pick a game and meet to discuss it.

There are so many games, especially single-player games, that I would love to play alongside other players and meet to discuss. When people talk about gaming groups, they inevitably mean groups of people they play a game with, and while they inevitably talk about the game, it's usually a mix of strategy and griping. There are online forums, but I'd sooner read a phone book (remember phone books?) than a Steam forum, and at this point in my life, I'm proud to not have a Reddit login. This is more like the feminist knitting circle I was part of as a graduate student: there's whatever you're doing with your hands, and there's the conversation.

Really, Chess is calling for a rebirth of the salon, not the kind that cuts hair but the sort that was so essential in the development of feminist and other progressive thought in the 18th and 19th centuries. The games she chose for her circle reflect this: they're stunning, mostly short, single player games that call for passionate (but never shouty) discussion, preferably over coffee, tea, wine, beer, or whatever suits you. If you want to hear what this looks like, check out the Not Your Mama's Gamer podcast, where they start by sharing what they're drinking and then get into that week’s games, applying intersectional feminism like a scalpel or a machete, as needed.

In addition to Stardew Valley, Chess recommends Florence, Reigns: Her Majesty, Monument Valley, Donut County, and Gorogoa. I can't think of a better starter selection of games for "non-gamers," assuming they have a smartphone and motivation. That's perhaps the most important thing Chess does in Play Like a Feminist. She presents a case for play as a feminist value, one that women and feminist thinkers have often denied themselves.

I had to stop and think about that. Chess points out that feminist writers often use the language of "self care" to push back against the constant encroachment of domestic and emotional labor on women's free time, and makes the case that women have internalized the need to be "productive" at all times, viz the popularity of crafts. I

 

Oh, look, that old lie:

Still, there is a gap. The games girls and women are allowed to play have often been a highly restricted subset of those allowed to boys and men, and women’s sports are still constantly being looked down on, despite the fact that many women’s leagues were created not to protect "the fairer sex" but after women embarrassed men by beating them at their own game(s).

Oh, wait, this review is getting crazier than the book probably is:

The only major flaw in Chess' argument for womens' right to play is that there are times when she verges on making it a duty. It becomes the work of feminism. When she calls on readers to "Play All the Things" she says that "PWNing leisure means trying new things, pushing our bodies and experimenting with play that might (initially) make us uncomfortable."

Ugh. Asking me to emotionally labor in my feminism???

But Play Like a Feminist. is a slender tome, and it needs to be. In particular, Chess has to be clear and concise about the goals of feminism: she's taking on a long history of the term being demonized and completely mischaracterized by opponents who weren't willing to admit that they were fundamentally opposed to equality in any form, from Phyllis Schlafly and Rush Limbaugh to the modern “incel.” Play like a Feminist. is a timely intervention, not an elaborate consideration from all angles. I accept that, but it does mean that there are times when Play Like a Feminist. stops to tell me "I don't care about you."

As a feminist and a lifelong "gamer" (though I distrust the latter word), I understand why Chess can't give me more depth with regards to either games or feminist theory. But as someone who is nonbinary, transgender, and deeply concerned with intersectionality, Play Like a Feminist. acknowledges my existence just enough to exclude me from consideration. In some ways, that's doing me a solid: I'm used to people rejecting the possibility of my existence. Chess doesn't do that. I need to be absolutely clear here: Chess embraces intersectionality and is absolutely not a TERF. Full stop.

 

Anyone who is gender non-conforming is likely to feel rebufffed by the book, at least at certain moments. The first time the word "nonbinary" appears in Play Like a Feminist. is on page 47: "The focus of this chapter is on women specifically, however my goal is not to be dismissive about the leisure needs of men and nonbinary folks." Men aren't the focus, but they have a place: they are presumed to have access to games and leisure, not without issue, but with considerably greater ease than women. The only other time the word "nonbinary" appears, it is in a similar caveat a few pages later.

Chess' experience creating a feminist game circle informs every aspect of Play Like a Feminist. What she accomplished with Athena's Gaming Circle is impressive, but specific, and that defines the scope of this book. If I understand correctly, Chess' group was relatively white, heteronormative, professional-class, and skeptical about video games. As such, Play Like a Feminist. is most relevant to that demographic. I would love to see Chess follow this up with a longer, more scholarly work, something that takes the feminist gaming circle beyond a rebirth of the salons attended by the likes of George Sand and the Brontës. It will take the work of many hands, but I hope to see a new wave of gaming circles emerge, reflecting the lived experiences of folks along the many intersecting axes of people who need feminism.

 

I think I still don't know what this book is about exactly other than the gaming circles thing.

Spoiler: book author with 100% accurate cartoon representation (click to show)(click to hide)

Spoiler: googling the review author lmao (click to show)(click to hide)

A relevant quote from a social justice ur academic about saying "as a narcissist" before you give your opinion:

[Uncle]

hadn't really thought about it much how gaming has always been that truly egalitarian space where anyone is welcome to play any game against each other, many games anonymously or without voice chat, and most games can't even be argued to be physically demanding, and women still self-select their way out of it

forget the trans in sports arguments, gaming is the equivalent of "communism done right" in terms of creating that mythical ideal equal space

even as all these anti-harassment initiatives have gone into place since the 360 headset, as far as I'm aware the demographics haven't changed

[HaughtyFrank]

I always thought the rights obsession with Hunter was a bit silly but I really wonder why this guy is involved with these discussions at all. I'm not sure a literal crackhead has the best interest of his father in mind when he pushes him to go on

[Polident]

Hunter is in every respect a heinous individual. The whitewashing around him from the left has always been this weird all or nothing policy. So, at a point you wonder if he believed his own hype and made himself part of these conversations. Nobody was willing to say no.

[DavidCroquet]

Hunter is in every respect a heinous individual. The whitewashing around him from the left has always been this weird all or nothing policy. So, at a point you wonder if he believed his own hype and made himself part of these conversations. Nobody was willing to say no.

This sounds extremely plausible. 

The art of holding two conflicting narratives as simultaneously true is a dying one. 

"Hunter was being used as a convenient political whipping tool by the right, which included leveraging some (but not all!) made up bullshit"
and
"Hunter Biden is a gross and amoral person, the type of which normal people rightfully don't want anything to do with"
Are both true statements. 

I was shocked when there were all these stories about Hunter being so close to Biden during all this hoopla...like yeah, it's his son, but he's specifically the kind of son that will drag the Resolute Desk to a pawn shop if you leave him unattended for half an hour.

[HaughtyFrank]

Right wingers are pretty confused about finding an angle with Kamala so far

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Too early to drop the word they want to drop.

[DavidCroquet]

Too early to drop the word they want to drop.

They already robbed themselves of that angle, what with the "Kamala's not black" stuff they've already started on.

[Potato]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2024/07/22/what-makes-an-olympic-athlete-female-the-rules-have-changed-since-tokyo/

Interesting article on the common sense approach being taken to protect women's sport at the Olympics. 

Got really interesting at this part:

Transgender Men Face Fewer Restrictions

There are far fewer restrictions for transgender men who wish to compete in men’s Olympic events. Nonetheless, athletes may postpone transitioning from female to male to preserve their ability to compete as women. Nikki Hiltz, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, will compete in the 1500-meter event in Paris. They have chosen to postpone testosterone hormone therapy to qualify for the women’s division. “Going to the Olympics is such a dream of mine,” Hiltz said in an interview with Runner’s World in June 2023. “But it’s also such a dream of mine to take testosterone or grow facial hair or have top surgery, and so I think sometimes I can really resent this sport.”

Hmmmm, maybe the fact that it's not a two-way street where trans men are able to compete with real men should give these idiots a hint that trans women might have some natural advantages aside from testosterone...

Also, fuck that dumb bitch who is genociding herself for the chance at fame and Olympic success. Don't you ever tell me transitioning is a matter of life and death again.

[benji]

There are far fewer restrictions for transgender men who wish to compete in men’s Olympic events.

Yeah, because it's probably never going to happen. 

All these morons actually convinced themselves of that thing I posted just above from the review even though there's no evidence of it. That women's sports were created to protect men. "Oh, that makes sense, men are awful and want to oppress women" is their entire reasoning.

[Polident]

But it’s also such a dream of mine to take testosterone or grow facial hair or have top surgery

wait, what?

[benji]

Hunter is in every respect a heinous individual. The whitewashing around him from the left has always been this weird all or nothing policy. So, at a point you wonder if he believed his own hype and made himself part of these conversations. Nobody was willing to say no.

This sounds extremely plausible. 

The art of holding two conflicting narratives as simultaneously true is a dying one. 

"Hunter was being used as a convenient political whipping tool by the right, which included leveraging some (but not all!) made up bullshit"
and
"Hunter Biden is a gross and amoral person, the type of which normal people rightfully don't want anything to do with"
Are both true statements. 

I was shocked when there were all these stories about Hunter being so close to Biden during all this hoopla...like yeah, it's his son, but he's specifically the kind of son that will drag the Resolute Desk to a pawn shop if you leave him unattended for half an hour.

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

Judges hate this one weird trick.

[benji]

It just keeps happening.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

But it’s also such a dream of mine to take testosterone or grow facial hair or have top surgery

wait, what?

They want to transition

[DavidCroquet]

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

Judges hate this one weird trick.

Biden has only one option: appoint Hunter to the Supreme Court.

[Polident]

But it’s also such a dream of mine to take testosterone or grow facial hair or have top surgery

wait, what?

They want to transition

Yes, but what an odd way to express it by yearning for the minutiae. Like a bodybuilder saying it’s his dream to inject tren and shrink his testicles and lather himself in bronzer. 

That said, I recently searched out an electric shaver for sensitive skin. Trans men were a helpful resource. Panasonic Arc5 is suggested over Braun. Panasonic also unironically adopted the “fuck everything we’re doing give blades” strategy with a six blade model. “You Heard Us. We're Doing Six Blades.” is a direct quote from their marketing.

[Rendle]

$300 for smooth balls doesn't seem worth it

[D3RANG3D]

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)