Over on Return of Kings, one brave gamer dares to ask the question of our age: What will the world look like after the inevitable triumph of GamerGate?
I know, I know, just humor him for a few minutes. Because he has a rather, well, revealing notion of what triumph will look like, and it’s not one that’s compatible with the #NotYourShield propaganda that GamerGaters use to disguise its retrograde goals. Greendestiny, a veteran of TheRedPill and KotakuInAction on Reddit, sees in the video game “war” a new opportunity for gamebros to become Game Men:
It is my personal belief that, after GamerGate, video games will evolve to become a tool for raising a new generation of men. Our current education system fails horribly at providing real information on how the world works, what motivates people, and how to get laid.
Our education system is a disaster! Can you believe that not one college in the United States offers a major in Getlaidology?
More importantly, it pussifies men and turns them into starry-eyed believers in the Disney variety of life and love.
Huh. You know, there’s a cultural critic who’s made some interesting videos challenging the sexist tropes you can find in Disney movies and elsewhere in popular culture. Her name is Anita Sarkee… oh wait. Never mind.
The entire concept of sitting quietly and reading is meant for girls. Boys need the fight, the challenge, competition, and a test of their strength.
So why exactly are you trying to convince guys of this in a post you expect them to sit down and read? Shouldn’t your blog post be a video game or an arm-wrestling contest or something?
Games were always learning tools. Now they can become a tool for learning greater masculinity.
If by masculinity you mean “the proper sequence of buttons to push that will enable you to pull off an awesome combo.”
To become real men, boys must overcome challenges and find the true strength in themselves. Whether this is done in a virtual or real arena is irrelevant. By creating games that are consciously aimed at presenting a proper challenge, we can collectively make the world a better place for the next generation of men. And possibly help them get laid more.
“Hey, babe, I bet you didn’t know you were sitting next to a Level 90 Fire Mage.”
But seriously for a second: Yes, video games do teach gamers certain skills, and even something about the value of persistence. But why are the skills involved in, say, shooting dudes with maximum efficiency in Call of Duty any more intrinsically valuable, or “masculine,” than the skills involved in doing this?
Buttercup – ah, so his head’s actually emerging from the other direction! Now that makes sense.
Paythepiper: that song was the first thing that entered my brain when I started reading this.
*snortchuckle*
Video games taught us about women. Specifically, mutant donkey-women.
Real men don’t do all that lovey-dovey interpersonal-skills emotional crap, that’s for girls! Now why can’t I form a strong inter-personal relationship?!? Must be girls’ fault.
I still can’t get my mind to comprehend the idea that they want schools to teach guys (and only cis-hetero guys only, obvi) how to get laid. I mean… what? What would the curriculum be? Would there be exams? Pop quizes? Would there be a Getlaidology part of the SATs or something? Would students have to do field work at bars?
Would there be a body of research backing up this new field? Would there be lectures given by top studs? Conferences? Peer-review publishing on how to get laid?
Women… do get educations these days, much to the chagrin of these chucklefucks. I guess this would have to be a male-only class, because I doubt women would want to sit around being told how they think, with the possibility of getting something wrong on the exam.
I have a feeling that if this ever were to be implemented in the real world, the results of the research wouldn’t be what they want it to be. They probably wouldn’t do very well in class. I suppose it would be the one class where it would be acceptable to sleep around to get better grades, though.
@Ellesar
Sorry to be off-topicish, but this was bugging me. Where do you get the idea that gaming makes one socially inept/antagonistic to those that do not share interests? If that’s what you’re saying at all and I’m not horribly misinterpreting? >_<
I mean, those pretty much describe GamerGate, but they give lowercase-g gamers a bad name.
And on the post: Yeah, sorry, Fire Mage dudebro. My level 91 Frost Mage says no, and furthermore? Frostbolt.
(Yeah, not 100 yet, I know. I'm one of those filthy casuals.)
I fucking love it when people talk about how school is unfair to boys because they can’t sit quietly and read. Uhhh, isn’t this what school was like when girls *weren’t allowed* to go to school?
Big surprise. PUAs and/or gamergaters fail history again. It used to be believed that only men were suited to reading. In fact, it was once thought that women were so unsuited to reading that doing so was dangerous to their health. It supposedly wrecked a woman’s fertility. Eventually, thanks to writers such as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters reading fiction became a popular hobby amongst women. Only then did it slowly start becoming seen as a girly pursuit.
When men were predominantly doing the reading it was considered inherently manly. Now that women are more interested in reading than men, it’s considered inherently womanly. And therefore bad.
Sorry dudes. Your biotruths have nothing to do with either biology or the truth.
If you think that glitch is weird, try this one.
Hmm, didn’t embed. Okay, try this.
http://imgur.com/Bdkv9TJ
At this point, I think that they could help boys in high school and young men in college by just shutting the fuck up about biology, pretending that they know how it works, and ruining their readers’ grades in biology classes by feeding them biotruths.
Alais,
Funny that you should mention Seinfeld. That quote reminded me of the Festivus feats of strength.
http://thewordzombie.com/wp-content/uploads/festivus.gif
Of course, manospherians would likely be more skilled at the airing of grievances than the feats of strength.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS5dEeMX64&w=420&h=315%5D
@Ellesar
Erm… As much as #Gaters are unwashed, regressive, hateful, moronic, basement-dwelling douchenozzles, gaming in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. I’ll admit that I’m lousy at social stuff, but that’s due to my Asperger’s, not my gaming, and every good friend I’ve ever had, I’ve met through gaming. It gives me something to break the ice with, talk about and share; it makes me more social, not less. Please don’t lump me in with those shitbags. ^^;
Anyway.
I find this to be particularly funny. I grew up in a conservative part of the US and received abstinence only sex ed. They certainly weren’t teaching guys how to get laid at my school, but I don’t think parents would be too pleased to have the curriculum expanded to include pick-up artistry and objectification.
Mmm – A better world for men. Playing games where the aim of a lot of them is to kill other men will help create a better world for men. Okidoki.
Anyway I’m really prepared for GG stupidity tonight. I’ve armed myself by watching loads of Maru videos.
Maru has all the win.
Now if GGers turned into kitties, the world would be a better place. Because even asshole kitties are better than GGers.
There needs to be a meme.
Skate 3. Your argument is invalid.
Ellesar, might you have a correlation/causation issue on your hands. Maybe your sons gravitate to gaming because they are introverted, rather than vice versa.
Asshole kitties are adorable.
TIL that I’m a man. I must be, because I am a gamer. There is clearly no other option for me.
I guess I should celebrate – I’ve made it! Or something? I don’t *feel* different. My asexual drive hasn’t suddenly gone into reverse or anything.
Maybe I play the “wrong” games – rpg/jrpg, shmups, Skyrim? Maybe my heavy weapons-smash tactics aren’t sexual enough? I’m supposed to pierce them with arrows or magic to become more manly?
HALP! I’m gaming manly wrong!!!
So what were Keats and Shelley, chopped liver? Because back in the days when literature was only for men, and feeeeeeeeemales were all forced to remain illiterate, sitting quietly and reading WAS for boys. And they got the shit walloped out of them if they didn’t do so, too…and as late as the 20th century, when my dad was a schoolboy in inter-war Germany.
Long story short: As usual, Roosh & Co. are full of shit about everything.
Wrong on the first two counts. The third is irrelevant. Because really, if “getting laid” is such a huge goal in your life, you don’t deserve to. EVER.