Yesterday I wrote about a vile online game in which players were invited to “beat up Anita Sarkeesian,” the feminist cultural critic who’s faced endless harassment because she had the temerity to ask for donations to fund a video project looking at sexist tropes in video games.
The game, which (happily) has been removed from Newgrounds.com, where it was originally posted, was put together by a young Canadian gamer named Bendilin Spurr. On the game’s page, he offered this explanation as to why he created the game:
Anita Sarkeesian has not only scammed thousands of people out of over $160,000, but also uses the excuse that she is a woman to get away with whatever she damn well pleases. Any form of constructive criticism, even from fellow women, is either ignored or labelled to be sexist against her.
She claims to want gender equality in video games, but in reality, she just wants to use the fact that she was born with a vagina to get free money and sympathy from everyone who crosses her path.
That doesn’t really explain much, as asking people for voluntary donations to a video project is a far cry from “scamming,” especially since she’d asked for far less, and that the misogynist backlash to her project began long before she’d collected anywhere near this amount.
It also doesn’t quite explain why Bendilin felt that a Sarkessian-punching game was the best format to make this, er, critique.
Last night, after learning from the comments here that young Bendilin had a profile on Steam and a Twitter account, I decided to peruse both to see if I could find more clues that might explain his foul game.
On his Steam profile, he’s set forth his basic philosophy of life, video games, and how much women suck:
I think it’s just adorable how absolutely no girls are any good at video games, just like how no woman has ever written a good novel. They are nothing but talk and no action, probably because girls are such emotional creatures and base everything they do on their current feelings and then try to rationalize their actions later. How pathetic.
You know what’s priceless? When a gamer girl posts a pic of herself looking as slutty as possible and then throws a fake fit when people talk to her like she’s a whore. What did you think was going to happen, you dumb broad? Lose thirty pounds.
Sadly, these aren’t terribly rare or original opinions for a young male gamer.
Over on Twitter, Bendilin has offered a number of conflicting explanations for why he felt so much hostility for Sarkeesian and her video project that he felt justified in creating a video game devoted to punching her in the face.
There’s the fiscal argument:
There’s the laziness argument:
There’s the rather strange argument that Sarkeesian is not taking the proper time to research the subject, although she has not yet started the project. (Also, one of the reasons she was asking for money was so that she could take the time to research the subject properly.)
The “nuh-uh you’re wrong” argument:
The “she won’t listen to me argument.” Part one: The Lego Incident
And Part 2, in which our hero explains that making a video game about punching someone in the face is a great way to open a dialogue with them:
Naturally, Bendilin, like most misogynists, fervently denies that he’s a misogynist:
Yep, that’s right. The guy whose Steam profile claims that “absolutely no girls are any good at video games” and that “no woman has ever written a good novel,” and who decided to express his criticism for a video project that hasn’t even started by making a video game in which players punch the woman behind it in the face, is angry that anyone might conclude that he hates women.
Well, Bendilin, if you wanted to defend video games and the gaming community at large from charges of sexism, you’ve done a bang-up job of it.
UPDATE: Bendilin is also an artist! Here, Virgil Texas takes a look at Bendilin’s erotically charged Sonic the Hedgehog art.
That last paragraph and the update contained
Either the page break stopped the bolding, or my last html worked!
Probably the page break.
No doubt, it’s misandry too.
I’d like to thank Steele for making my first blockquote fail possible. Couldn’t have done it without you.
First step: hold MRAs to the same standard as feminists (or shit, just women) on the internet.
Find me one death threat a feminist made against an MRA blog or you are full of shit.
@kirbywarp
“SHOW ME ONE EXAMPLE OF A MAN ATTACKING A WOMAN FOR BEING A WOMAN!”
How about the scum manifesto girl. The feminist heroine. How about the cutting off the mans dick/garbage disposal girl. That was quite a hoot. There’s loads more but ya get the point. All the gals get quite a belly laugh out of it. Of course they say how bad it is while they wipe the tears of laughter from their eyes.
And calm down, kirbywarp. Today’s lack of worship has been distressing but tommorow the prayers will begin anew.
@Steele:
Do you even see what you did there: Sodoni and Lepine are misogyny!
That teacher is misandry (you acknowledge it’s LESS, but c’mon!).
I shall now start calling you False Equivalency Troll!
Because that was one heaping steaming pile of shit example of false equivalency.
WHAT ABOUT THE MENZ? *yawns*
@GingerSnaps:
I am not a gamer, but the only thing I can recall male gamers facing are being called “faggot” (because being gay is almost like being a woman!), being called “pussy” (because being a woman is almost like… wait), or some other non-gendered slur. I have yet to hear of a huge problem of women sexually harassing men, probably because
a) They’ll be harrassed first
b) There are far to many guys who say stuff like “Oh yeah, I’d love a woman to harass me”
One amazing thing about Anita’s harassment is that she’s analyzing misogynistic “tropes,” not misogynistic “people.” You couldn’t tell that by the harassment…
Given all the cultural and institutional support boys get
Is this why boys are lagging behind girls in almost every conceivable measurement?
If you want to deny insitutional misandry exists, go right ahead. You’re wrong, but sure. However, even under that feminist definition, misandrist people can still exist in isolation. One of these would be Kirbywarp’s teacher. And given that boys are systematically lagging behind girls, the teacher is especially disgusting.
Aww… comment in moderation, probably for some bad language. Sad.
At least the bolding is fixed on this new page. ^_^;;;
Honestly, if it was one of those MRA blogs that’s all “rape should be de facto legal, women are subhuman monsters, etc.”, that wouldn’t exactly be proof that someone hates them just for being men.
They say rape should be de facto legal and they still don’t get the kind of threats Sarkeesian is getting for saying video games are kinda sexist.
@Steele:
You obviously didn’t read my little expansion on my story, did you?
Here’s a question. Do you think what happened to Anita is epically disgusting, since you think my teacher was “especially” disgusting? Is your disgust just amplified beyond average, and that’s why everyone’s having such a hard time with you?
They say rape should be legal and they still don’t get the kind of death threats you do for refusing to date some dude.
@Steele: can you give me evidence of FEMINSTS as some monolithic group not treating men fairly?
Women who are not feminists can on an individual level treat men badly–as C. noted, there are assholes in every demographic group.
But srs: where do you come by this “treat men fairly” — (now that you seem to have given up the feminists will take to the streets and violently attach men)?????????????
Dang, that was @Clff
Another thing to consider: You all laugh and joke about the ubiquity of the term “misandry”, but the fact is you’ve all chosen to associate with the one place it’s actually used- that is, the manosphere. Sure, I’ll admit, “misandry” is overused in the MRM, just as cries of “misogyny!” and “privilege!” are in the feminist movement. But beyond this infinitesimal online movement that you’ve all chosen to obsess over, “misandry” is almost completely unrecognized. Barely anybody even knows the word, much less the concept.
So continue to roll your eyes at the word. You could escape it by going literally anywhere else. That’s the problem.
Man, if Steele has a fucking blog I am so going over there to post kitten videos, recipes, etc. and making the conversation ALL ABOUT ME.
Ignore the KKK and I won’t hear n*****? That doesn’t solve the bit where they’re wrong.
Hey steele, where are the violent threats directed at MRA bloggers? Where’s a game where you can beat up an MRA figurehead?
And I’m waiting for the death threats, Mr. Vietnam.
I’ve got an idea! Women are so helpless and childlike let’s pay them if they decide their feelings are hurt. That way they can get men to write code for a game on how men treat women as if they’re helpless and childlike. Stupid stereotypes.
Do you think what happened to Anita is epically disgusting, since you think my teacher was “especially” disgusting?
Of course I do. Online harassment is never okay.
You obviously didn’t read my little expansion on my story, did you?
You’re gonna have to repost it. I don’t even know, this forum moves too damn quick.
Steele:
Um…honey…can you read? Like, I know the learnings is girl-stuff.
like military history lol
@Steele:
Here you go.
We enjoy making fun of it. This is what normal people call a hobby. You guys are terrible, but also hilarious.
WHAT ABOUT THE MOOOOONZ!?!!?!?!??!1
“…”misandry” is almost completely unrecognized. Barely anybody even knows the word, much less the concept.”
Maybe because it’s total bullshit, and the average man doesn’t care to devote his life to whining about bullshit on the internet.
Ignore the KKK and I won’t hear n*****? That doesn’t solve the bit where they’re wrong.
Well, obviously I’m not going to change your feminist worldview. But we don’t see it that way. The lack of acknowledgement of “misandry”- the word and the concept- in mainstream society is evidence of how far we have to go. Now, I understand, if you’re hyper-obsessed with hating the MRM for whatever weird reason, that you might consider yourself a misandry hipster. But for most people, men’s issues remain unconsidered.
If you don’t want to hear the word, don’t fucking read men’s rights blogs. I wish I had such an easy option when it comes to feminism.