“Feminist Whore.” That, apparently, is what an anonymous programmer working on the recently-released [...]]]> Trigger Warning: Misogynistic language especially targeting feminists and sex workers, and pathetic attempts to excuse it.

“Troll Wrangling” is an occasional feature where, at risk of my fragile sanity, I plug deep into the comment threads of the latest controversy, lasso up a choice selection of the most mindless comments I can find, and drag ‘em back here for our own sport. Is it wrong to take people’s opinions and respond to them here, where they can’t defend themselves? A better question to ask: Do I care?

“Feminist Whore.” That, apparently, is what an anonymous programmer working on the recently-released zombie-killin’ game Dead Island considered a funny title for an unlock-able ability for a female character, which allows the player to do extra damage to male opponents. As Kotaku reported yesterday, that title never made it to the final release (it was renamed “Gender Wars”), and was only discovered by player of the PC version downloadable from Steam. It seems that while the name was changed, the original remained visible in the code for the non-retail version Steam accidentally received.

The email statement from the game’s developer, which you can read at the link above, is commendable. They explain the series of mistakes that allowed the “Feminist Whore” label to slip through to the final product (and even then, only deep within the game’s code) while acknowledging this is no excuse. They state the person responsible will face professional consequences, take full responsibility for the problem, and apologize. Remarkably, they even get the apology right – too often in the face of something this problematic we’re apologized to “if we were offended.” Techland actually apologizes for the event having happened. They deserve credit for that.

Of course, that doesn’t excuse whatever schmuck at Techland tried slipping in what, according to Techland, they thought of as a “private joke.” And it doesn’t excuse the culture among gamers and game makers that leads to this kind of utter disrespect for women. Across gaming news sites, this was pointed out by intelligent commentators.

You know what’s coming, though.

The “Empirically False” Award and the “Oppression Olympics” award go to:

“Feminist and Whore are generally not used to describe the same person?” AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA… oh, they’re serious. I’m acquainted with a lot of feminists, and many of them are also sex workers. “Feminist whore” is a pretty common insult for them to receive. It’s not funny.

I’m glad they recognize racism isn’t funny. But racism is neither better nor worse than misogyny. They are equally wrong. “Misogynist Gentleman” is a shit-poor example, too – saying so equates feminism to the female version of misogyny, which is false. A misogynist is a hater of women, a person that believes women are lesser than men. A feminist is not a hater of men – they are a believer that women are equal to men. And needless to say, “gentleman” doesn’t equate to “whore.” Regardless, having a skill called “Misogynist Gentleman” that allowed you to do more damage to female characters would be pretty fucked up as well.

A skill called “Apologist Asshole” that allowed extra damage towards anything with a brain would work, though.

The “If They Can Why Can’t I?!” Award goes to:

I wondered how long before the “Black people call each other that so why, as a white guy, can’t I?” faux-logic was attempted. Answer One is “Why would you want to?” Answer Two is “Because of context.”

Yeah, it would make a difference if a woman coded “Feminist Whore.” It wouldn’t necessarily make it okay, but it would alter the context in which we had to analyze it. For instance, was it intended to be ironic commentary on the industry and the typical view taken against female gamers demanding more female protagonists? If that were the case, the intent didn’t come across and therefore the result is no better, but it’s something we’d have to think about. However, if it was a man (and actually, we don’t know that it was), irregardless of his motives he did it from a position of privilege in which he has likely never been called a whore as a way of oppressing him based on his gender. I’m a male feminist with a strong record of supporting sex worker rights, and I would never have tried pulling this off as ironic commentary.

The “Godwin” Award, “Wrong-headed Webster” Award and “Broken Record” Award go to:

This person seriously just compared feminists to Nazis. And sorry, but when you use the term for someone that believes in the equality of women as an insult, you are insulting all women.

Kudos to them for not thinking “feminist” is offensive, despite comparing it to “nazi” and playing devil’s advocate for it’s use as an insult. However, if she’s a prostitute she doesn’t “sell herself for sex.” She has sex with people in exchange for money. “Whore” is not a neutral synonym for prostitute – it’s a derogatory term for one. When I was in school, no one ever said “your mom’s a prostitute!”

Again, I actually know feminist sex workers, and some of them have been or currently are prostitutes. A few refer to themselves as “feminist whores.” I would never call them a “whore” unless they specifically wanted me to use that label in describing them, and then I wouldn’t use that label referring to anyone who hadn’t. Try calling someone n-gger and see how they react when you add “It’s okay, I have black friends!”

And Finally, The “So Dumb It Causes Internal Bleeding” Grand Prize sponsored by the Gastroenterologist’s Appreciation Grant (The “GAG”)  goes to:

Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize a girl was mean to you once! By all means, continue being a misogynistic jackass. I’m completely empathetic now.

Honestly, this one made my brain hemorrhage. It’s victim-blaming at it’s finest, a classic bit of “I’m not saying that makes it okay, I’m just saying it’s their fault.” Why do so many male gamers treat women like shit? Because obviously, despite being such sensitive souls, no one would be their girlfriend . The solution, ladies? Fuck more nerds, apparently.

The “I’m such a nice guy, why won’t nobody luv me” shtick does not work. If anything, it is self-fulfilling: No one wants to be romantically involved with someone who mopes and whines about how no one will go out with them despite how obviously awesome they are. It’s also untrue. I was a flamboyantly goth, nerdy kid who was bullied tremendously. Seriously – look at me over there on right and imagine what I must have looked like as a kid.

Then I met a girl that shared my interests, and ten years later we’re still enjoying each others company. For a geek, I’m fucking living the dream.

And it really isn’t that rare – just don’t let the hard times turn you into a navel-gazing jerk, and maybe you should talk to those other girls some, the ones that don’t “fawn over the jocks?” They exist, you know. They just don’t look like a girl out of your bit-torrented hentai. Also, love and sex are not a race – get over the idea that if you haven’t gotten laid by the time you’re 18 then all women must hate you forever. The older you get, the further you venture out into the world, the more people you meet with more diverse interests than your crappy high school. But always keep in mind – you are not entitled to a lover. You have no right to put up a shield of bitterness and then expect someone to care enough to break through it. Think you’re a “nice guy?” Then act like it.

The most ironic thing about men who are anti-feminist because they were bullied for not being macho enough is this: They were bullied because of sexism. Patriarchy doesn’t just demand women stay in their place, it demand men stay in theirs. When a boy is taunted for not being athletic, for being too thin or too fat, for being too smart or dressing in a different way, and regardless of if it’s another boy or a girl doing it to them, they are being taunted for not being enough of a man. To then turn around and blame this treatment on women, or feminists especially, is the K2 of absurdity.

Afterglow

After than shiny bit of brain-melting tomfoolery, the Kotaku thread dissolves into the same things repeated over and over by what I can only assume are 12-year-olds if I’m to maintain any sanity. In condensed form it reads something like “political correctness over-sensitive humorless can’t take a joke it’s just a joke why so serious pussy oversensitive PC ruining games it’s just a game don’t be so PC serious over vagina humor holocaust joke hate ruining humorless vagina joke.” There, I saved you having to read several dozen posts.

Until next time… I’m going to stuff cotton in all my orifices to keep my brain from trying to flee.