Never said that but that doesn't matter does it. I've been deemed a bad man already so I will see myself out of the discussion. I will continue to speculate on the Pokemon Switch game as I am clearly not welcome here. Thanks.
No one is deeming you anything. All I've seen are people challenging your opinions and asking you to clarify, consider their perspective as well, and now you want to take your ball and go home because your upset that not everyone agrees with your stances.
For a lot of people, this topic hits them hard, and they're passionate about it. Women shouldn't have to alter their behavior when playing video games because men are acting like fucking savages. A bunch of entitled man children that are so small and pathetic that their only outlet for their deplorable perception of women is to harass them behind the anonymity of the Internet. They do it because it makes them feel big and powerful. They do it because they're misogynistic assholes, and the mere thought that a...
female, is daring to encroach on "
their" hobby gets them frothy mouthed angry.
Speaking out against people bullying women specifically is the only way this shit will start to change. As a black dude, I don't want to hear "nigger this"and "nigger that," every time I want to play a game and dare to choose to play it online and enjoy the full $60 I spent on the game. I don't play much online because of harassment, and I shouldn't be chased away from my hobby because some entitled fuckheads want to act like human trash. Women shouldn't either.
Women asking for allies that are more than just words on a message board isn't a big ask. As humans we should strive to do more. As men, we should call out other men and actively discourage other men from making this behavior normalized. And it
is normalized, and that is fucking gross, and why gaming continues to be such an embarrassment to a large portion of the population.
As someone who works in the industry, I also have a leg in the race in terms of the type of environment I want gaming to be for everyone. Not just me and my circle of friends, but all gamers.
My wife shouldn't have to hide her identity or abstain from playing online because men can't control themselves.
If you're so upset at the mere thought of the people in this thread thinking you're a "bad man," imagine how these women feel every single time they try to engage with gaming in any way. You want to discuss Pokémon for the Switch? Talking about games is fun, right? Women can't even discuss games without it turning into a shitshow the moment their gender is revealed. There's a reason why most women on forums don't disclose their gender, and it certainly isn't because other women are making the place feel toxic and uncomfortable.
Put yourself in those shoes for a minute, and try and understand what it's like to have to censor yourself, or hide parts of yourself because it makes you a target the moment something as innocuous as gender is revealed about you.
"Avoid playing with randos," shouldn't even have to be an option, and it wouldn't be if we, as a community of gamers, all put our foot down on that type of behavior. Ditto for game developers giving gamers options on how to report harassers and greifers. Just because the process isn't perfect doesn't mean we should throw our hands up and not try.
Our game isn't perfect, but we're trying to improve the ways our players can report that type of harassment, and we ban people accordingly. It's small, but it's a start.
Edited post for grammar and spelling, and because it came off more confrontational than I intended.
