Since the events of the game take place in 1899, 20 years before women in the United States got the right to vote, it features suffragettes, women activists who fought for the right to vote in public elections. Given that Red Dead Redemption 2 is the biggest video game of the year and that much of video game culture is ensconced in blatant misogyny, it's not surprising but still upsetting that some players are delighted that the game lets them beat, abuse, and kill these characters.
One of the main reasons Red Dead Redemption 2 is such an interesting game is that it allows the player to approach and resolve situations in a variety of ways. Players can shoot, rob, talk to, and beat up almost any character they see, which at times leads to surprising outcomes. It's this same design that allowed a YouTuber going by the handle Shirrako to upload a video of himself walking up to that suffragette and punching her unconscious. The video, titled "Red Dead Redemption 2 - Beating Up Annoying Feminist," was uploaded on October 28 and currently has 1.2 million views.
The comments on these videos, as you might expect, are horrible. Some users think it's hilarious, others say that this is what every feminist deserves, while others complain about how alimony laws favor women and echo other "men's rights" talking points.
I don't think video games alone can be blamed for real-world violence, but they are a part of our cultural infrastructure that allows someone to roleplay as an anti-feminist murderer (a very real, ongoing problem in the real world), upload a video of it to YouTube for profit, and allow others to use that video as a jumping off point to discuss how much they hate women in the real world.
Full Article: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/...ited-to-attack-and-kill-feminists-in-the-game
Christ. The youtuber in question (Shirrako) had his channel terminated earlier for breaking the TOS.
For context, Shirrako had around 500k subs. Here's how he decided to respond once his channel was terminated.
EDIT: The channel is back now
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7eAfUjR9gdIjoaoQaS0W-A
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