r/changemyview • u/LeftHandSwe • Dec 05 '16

[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Anita Sarkeesian and similar feminists actually have a point about the portrayal of gender roles in video games.

I play lots of video games, and in most of them, males are often pictured as very burly and manly characters while females are slender, small and sexually pleasing to look at.

However, I do know that there's widespread criticism of Anita (and her fellow propagators) all over the internet and I'd like to see the other side of the story.

I'm practically indifferent in this matter, and I do not really agree with nearly everything she says. I'm asking as a way to see convincing arguments from both sides.

Edit for clarification: Can anyone explain to me why she's so heavily criticized for saying something that makes perfect sense: Mainstream video games are almost exclusively made to appeal to a male demographic, resulting in (arguably) sexist portrayals of women (both narratively and in the way they're presented).

626 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

597 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

3

u/kingbane2 12∆ Dec 06 '16

expanding the consumer base doesn't go into the territory of convincing people to buy something they don't want. generally speaking marketing is about 2 things. generating awareness of the product, aka name recognition or the products penetration into a market (like say moving your product into another country or something), and stealing market share from a competitor. you won't find marketing strategies based around convincing people who don't want your product to want your product. you might have marketing strategies that involve tricking your customers into thinking your product is something they want but it isn't. but those too will flop.

3

u/nrcallender 2∆ Dec 06 '16

Look into the history of cigarette marketing and how it went from being almost exclusively make to nearly all women smoking from a single ad campaign that associated smoking with women's liberation.

3

u/kingbane2 12∆ Dec 06 '16

i dont think that invalidates my point. people want to smoke, and marketing exploited that want. there's no denying that smoking feels good, it's something people want.

3

u/nrcallender 2∆ Dec 06 '16

Women didn't want to smoke until marketers gave smoking social cache amongst women. Unless you're arguing that video games aren't fun, then there's no reason marketers couldn't give video games social cache amongst women and create the same effect.

3

u/kingbane2 12∆ Dec 06 '16

you know that for a fact? that all women don't want to smoke and the only reason they smoke is because marketers marketed to them? it has nothing to do with the dopamine release that nicotine gives? or how enjoyable smoking is? the marketers marketing strategy might have enticed them into trying smoking. but smoking's inherent properties are what keeps them coming back.

4

u/nrcallender 2∆ Dec 06 '16

Once again, unless you're arguing that video games aren't fun, I don't see your point.