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New RPG Company Casting All Women for Genesys
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<blockquote data-quote="TanithT" data-source="post: 5947975" data-attributes="member: 87695"><p>I'm gonna cross reference <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/325122-sexism-presumed-sexism-rpgs-9.html#post5947952" target="_blank">over here,</a> and quote/repost myself a little, cuz it's relevant.</p><p></p><p>On Free RPG Day, I went and got a swag bag of modules, maps and gaming supplements from my local gaming store. It was also a good chance to check out the place, since I recently moved and hadn't had a chance to yet. I just took the bag provided; I did not add or subtract anything based on personal choice. I think we can call this a good selection of modern (specifically published for yesterday's event) promotional material from RPG companies, representative of what is out there on the market today.</p><p></p><p>My summary of all the images in all of that material is <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/news/325036-new-rpg-company-casting-all-women-genesys-7.html#post5947555" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p></p><p>Overall, do you think a woman looking at the contents of the Free RPG Day swag bag will feel like she is entirely welcome or well represented as an actively participating part of this subculture? </p><p></p><p>It's certainly true that we have the ability to scan through all this material, keep the good stuff and the neutral stuff and toss the creepy stuff in the trash or just not buy it. But the question is whether the good stuff is good enough to outweigh the discomfort factor of having to look through the not so good stuff to get there.</p><p></p><p>Because <strong>we don't have a choice</strong>. Literally don't. Any visit I make to a gaming store to pick up and browse through random RPG source material that I might be interested in has a really, really high percentage chance of including depictions that tell me women are not players or characters, they're cheesecake whose main role in the game is for the guys to enjoy.</p><p></p><p>If I spend enough time at the gaming store sorting through enough books, I will certainly find some that have pretty rockin' depictions of female characters that are cool and powerful and inspiring and totally work for me. But guess what I gotta do in order to find that stuff. I have to look through a lot of material that tells me that as a woman, I am not welcome and not represented in the hobby, at least not as an active participant. I am not the target market, I am not the intended audience, and my gender doesn't exist in the game except as an NPC prop. Or as cheesecake for the real gamers to rest their eyes on so the game is more fun for them. Even if being cheesecake takes away from the depiction of the woman as a functional character as opposed to being strictly an ornamental prop.</p><p></p><p>And for some guys - not all, but definitely some - this carries over onto the gaming table, and I have a really, really bad experience. Seriously, I love gaming. But I game a lot less than I'd really like to, and not just because I'm busier. I am generally not super eager to browse new material or to go to gaming stores, because I tend to have about as many bad experiences as good ones. I am much more reluctant to play with gamers I don't already know personally. I've just had too many bad experiences, and the cost-benefit ratio for me has dwindled to the point that I very rarely game at conventions any more. It's not worth driving for hours, spending a ton of money, signing up for a game that looks good, then sitting down at a table to a really ugly experience that I have to walk away from. Yes, I've been the target of "I'm totally gonna rape your character, does she have big boobs, is she naked, what is she wearing, huh huh" thing, too. It makes the game No Fun, even if it is only supposed to be a joke. </p><p></p><p>That kind of thing has happened too many times, and while it hasn't driven me entirely out of the hobby, it's definitely sent me to the fringes of it where I only game with my friends and rarely bother even looking at new material or talking to gamers I don't know, because, what's the point - chances are too good it will only result in facepalming and no fun for me. </p><p></p><p>Oh, and gaming stores. A copy of [ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Slayers-Guide-Female-Gamers/dp/1903980488"]this book[/ame] was on display on the countertop in the store I went to for Free RPG Day. I read through it after picking up my swag, because it was right there while I was waiting to check out. It made me feel so thoroughly alienated, creeped out, objectified and insulted that I honestly never want to go back there. I get that it's just one book out of hundreds in the store, but given that they chose to position it prominently on the front counter, it's pretty clear that they stand behind it and think it's normal, acceptable, true, useful or funny. Or all of the above. </p><p></p><p>I'm not really interested in censoring other people's views or their sense of humor. They can publish that stuff if they want to; book banning is evil, even if you don't like the book's contents. But if you go into a place and people are saying horrible things and making horrible jokes about your group, it is your right to never go back there because it is not a comfortable or welcoming environment for you. I am exercising it, and I won't be returning to that store, ever. </p><p></p><p>There's enough people in my personal social circle who are cooler than this, so I can still game. Sometimes. But the more I think about it, the more I have to admit that I am pretty much in the category of women who have been largely chased out of the hobby. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TanithT, post: 5947975, member: 87695"] I'm gonna cross reference [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/325122-sexism-presumed-sexism-rpgs-9.html#post5947952"]over here,[/URL] and quote/repost myself a little, cuz it's relevant. On Free RPG Day, I went and got a swag bag of modules, maps and gaming supplements from my local gaming store. It was also a good chance to check out the place, since I recently moved and hadn't had a chance to yet. I just took the bag provided; I did not add or subtract anything based on personal choice. I think we can call this a good selection of modern (specifically published for yesterday's event) promotional material from RPG companies, representative of what is out there on the market today. My summary of all the images in all of that material is [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/news/325036-new-rpg-company-casting-all-women-genesys-7.html#post5947555"]here.[/URL] Overall, do you think a woman looking at the contents of the Free RPG Day swag bag will feel like she is entirely welcome or well represented as an actively participating part of this subculture? It's certainly true that we have the ability to scan through all this material, keep the good stuff and the neutral stuff and toss the creepy stuff in the trash or just not buy it. But the question is whether the good stuff is good enough to outweigh the discomfort factor of having to look through the not so good stuff to get there. Because [B]we don't have a choice[/B]. Literally don't. Any visit I make to a gaming store to pick up and browse through random RPG source material that I might be interested in has a really, really high percentage chance of including depictions that tell me women are not players or characters, they're cheesecake whose main role in the game is for the guys to enjoy. If I spend enough time at the gaming store sorting through enough books, I will certainly find some that have pretty rockin' depictions of female characters that are cool and powerful and inspiring and totally work for me. But guess what I gotta do in order to find that stuff. I have to look through a lot of material that tells me that as a woman, I am not welcome and not represented in the hobby, at least not as an active participant. I am not the target market, I am not the intended audience, and my gender doesn't exist in the game except as an NPC prop. Or as cheesecake for the real gamers to rest their eyes on so the game is more fun for them. Even if being cheesecake takes away from the depiction of the woman as a functional character as opposed to being strictly an ornamental prop. And for some guys - not all, but definitely some - this carries over onto the gaming table, and I have a really, really bad experience. Seriously, I love gaming. But I game a lot less than I'd really like to, and not just because I'm busier. I am generally not super eager to browse new material or to go to gaming stores, because I tend to have about as many bad experiences as good ones. I am much more reluctant to play with gamers I don't already know personally. I've just had too many bad experiences, and the cost-benefit ratio for me has dwindled to the point that I very rarely game at conventions any more. It's not worth driving for hours, spending a ton of money, signing up for a game that looks good, then sitting down at a table to a really ugly experience that I have to walk away from. Yes, I've been the target of "I'm totally gonna rape your character, does she have big boobs, is she naked, what is she wearing, huh huh" thing, too. It makes the game No Fun, even if it is only supposed to be a joke. That kind of thing has happened too many times, and while it hasn't driven me entirely out of the hobby, it's definitely sent me to the fringes of it where I only game with my friends and rarely bother even looking at new material or talking to gamers I don't know, because, what's the point - chances are too good it will only result in facepalming and no fun for me. Oh, and gaming stores. A copy of [ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Slayers-Guide-Female-Gamers/dp/1903980488"]this book[/ame] was on display on the countertop in the store I went to for Free RPG Day. I read through it after picking up my swag, because it was right there while I was waiting to check out. It made me feel so thoroughly alienated, creeped out, objectified and insulted that I honestly never want to go back there. I get that it's just one book out of hundreds in the store, but given that they chose to position it prominently on the front counter, it's pretty clear that they stand behind it and think it's normal, acceptable, true, useful or funny. Or all of the above. I'm not really interested in censoring other people's views or their sense of humor. They can publish that stuff if they want to; book banning is evil, even if you don't like the book's contents. But if you go into a place and people are saying horrible things and making horrible jokes about your group, it is your right to never go back there because it is not a comfortable or welcoming environment for you. I am exercising it, and I won't be returning to that store, ever. There's enough people in my personal social circle who are cooler than this, so I can still game. Sometimes. But the more I think about it, the more I have to admit that I am pretty much in the category of women who have been largely chased out of the hobby. :( [/QUOTE]
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