02-28-2014, 09:37 AM
re:"Video games don't cause killing, why would they cause sexism"
In short, because people know killing is bad.
In fact, it's less they cause sexism and more that they reinforce a sexist society that was already there. A lot of times, people don't know that sexism reaches beyond saying "GRR WOMEN ARE WORTHLESS," and is instead part of a giant unfair system females are stuck in. By being witness to objectifying and degrading media, a system is reinforced in people's minds that "WOMEN ARE LIKE THIS, AND SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE THIS," with no voice in their head saying "no, women should be treated better than this." People who make media have been fed these sexist messages, and thus with their media they feed such messages back to society. It's a vicious cycle, and it can only be broken when someone realizes "hey, this ain't right."
For killing, on the other hand, there's always a voice throughout society that says "KILLING IS BAD." This is reinforced throughout all media, we hear it again and again that killing is bad. When a hero does kill, the victim is typically either not a human, or an unsympathetic, almost dehumanized "bad guy," thus trivializing the killing. "Killing" in such situations isn't even treated as "killing," but instead as "stopping." If you kill a "good guy," however, you're either a villain or a hero who had to undergo some sort of tragedy to be brought to this point. Media don't cause killing, but they reinforce a societal system that trivializes violence and killing. With it, a HUGE problem comes in when people think of a group as a "bad guy."
In short, because people know killing is bad.
In fact, it's less they cause sexism and more that they reinforce a sexist society that was already there. A lot of times, people don't know that sexism reaches beyond saying "GRR WOMEN ARE WORTHLESS," and is instead part of a giant unfair system females are stuck in. By being witness to objectifying and degrading media, a system is reinforced in people's minds that "WOMEN ARE LIKE THIS, AND SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE THIS," with no voice in their head saying "no, women should be treated better than this." People who make media have been fed these sexist messages, and thus with their media they feed such messages back to society. It's a vicious cycle, and it can only be broken when someone realizes "hey, this ain't right."
For killing, on the other hand, there's always a voice throughout society that says "KILLING IS BAD." This is reinforced throughout all media, we hear it again and again that killing is bad. When a hero does kill, the victim is typically either not a human, or an unsympathetic, almost dehumanized "bad guy," thus trivializing the killing. "Killing" in such situations isn't even treated as "killing," but instead as "stopping." If you kill a "good guy," however, you're either a villain or a hero who had to undergo some sort of tragedy to be brought to this point. Media don't cause killing, but they reinforce a societal system that trivializes violence and killing. With it, a HUGE problem comes in when people think of a group as a "bad guy."