Aug 11, 2009

[Spouse Aggro Reviews 'Second Skin']

A great rant and review by Leala and Beau about the 'MMORPG Documentary' Second Skin (which is available to watch online for a limited time), questioning the objectivity of the movie and whether we MMO geeks are really as dysfunctional as the selection of people the moviemakers chose to represent us to the 'wider world'.

Be sure to check it out; it's a great listen!

[Penny Arcade Debates PUA]

A discussion between Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade on whether or not PUA is misogynist manipulation is being discussed over at Pandagon. Tycho is being remarkably perceptive about this issue, given that a TON of guys in the gaming community have misogynist tendencies that they revel in pretty regularly:
"I’m fairly certain the purpose of this course is to make you a better predator of women. Check out their offers of “in-field training,” as though you were going to hunt antelopes from a jeep in the Goddamned Savannah."
Gabe's response? This jaw-dropper:
"I think you’re being overly dramatic. Girls have been using their “feminine wiles” to manipulate men since the beginning of time. Do you really think the mind games girls play on guys are any better or worse than this stuff. The only difference is that this sort of thing comes naturally to women. Guys are in a tight spot because in very real terms, we have nothing they want."
Wow. There are no words for how seriously screwed up Gabe's beliefs about human relationships (and female sexuality) are, if he seriously thinks that. I thought it was supposed to be us FEMINISTS that believed all men were worthless slobs? However, once again, it's shown that it's actually the PUA/anti-feminists who perpetuate the myth that men have so little to offer as individuals that they have to bribe, trick, and force women into wanting to have anything to do with them.

What a horrible way think of yourself. Of course, I quickly stop feeling sorry for guys like him when they then start blaming all womankind for their own personal self-esteem issues. Seriously, if Nice Guys(tm) would just get over their entitlement complexes and see women as individual people instead of hive-minded ambulatory vaginas, they'd become a lot more attractive to the opposite sex. Just sayin'.

ETA: The second part of the Pandagon discussion, dissecting one of the pro-PUA letters that Gabe recieved in response to the debate, is here.