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by Mercury Original Editorial: Wanted: Leading Ladies Men and women; a debate that will survive as long as there are two sexes present to argue. The issue definitely hasn't gone quiet here. There is no denying that much of what is being said about stereotypes toward women holds a lot of truth, and is an issue that requires everyone's attention to remedy. However, I felt that while ZealProft made some relevant points, much her rebuttal reflected a common, strong, hypocritical mentality among many feminists today. One of the main issues to be dealt with in video games, is the failure to accurately portray a female character. While some have pulled it off, it shouldn't be a surprise that men (who make up most video game creators) cannot and do not understand what kind of character or game would attract a female audience. The biggest problem in this area? Stereotypes. Too often women are portrayed as weak, frail, and mere sex objects. However, if you stop and reflect on the video game industry as a whole (not to mention television and movies), stereotypes go both ways. ZealProft herself made statements that are an indication of the mentality of not only men, but women toward the male gender. "A male who cannot defend himself, or is taking orders from women is also not seen as being terribly manly." This is a common and overstated stereotype that has almost not been addressed in our society today. It is commonly stated that during the '70s the "sensitive man" was the thing, but when the '80s came about, you couldn't be manly enough. The point is, if a man shows any sign being "soft", or emotional, he is deemed weak, and his sexuality is questioned. Is it not fair to say that telling a man or boy that he must be strong, athletic, emotionless, and belittle women for his own sexual pleasure just as wrong as telling a woman or girl that she should be sweet, emotional, barefoot and pregnant, and in the kitchen? The fact is they are both gender stereotypes, and they are both portrayed in video games as well as other media. We need to deal with the whole issue, not just the female half. The feminist movement was a huge benefit to all of society, especially women. However, unlike the days of Susan B. Anthony, it seems today's feminist leaders are compelled by other means than that of equality. This behavior is reaffirmed by ZealProft's statement, "What's wrong with making men sex objects for a change?" This attitude and idea does not help create a solution to today's gender problems. Rather than address the issue, it seems one side simply takes a posture of "revenge" in a manner of speaking. Feminists have fought against the exploitation of women's bodies for decades. Yet, their behavior reflects the idea, "do as I say, not as I do." While video games may not portray men as sex objects as of yet, much of our media already has made that move. "Oxygen Channel" for women ran an ad campaign which included a brief clip of the Chipndale strippers. Wander by any clothing store and see huge wall posters of young shirtless men with their pants sagging to their pubic region. This past Christmas season Abercrombie & Fitch in an attempt to gain customers, had a male and female model stand outside stores to greet customers. The female model was garbed in pajama sweats (to her ankles), and two layers of tank tops, while the male had only a pair of boxer shorts and a Santa hat. The truth is our society has, in the past 50, been years working towards turning men into sex objects. Currently men and boys spend more time grooming now than they had in the past. The cases of male anorexia and bulimia are on the rise, not to forget there has been identified an "Adonis Complex" that effect thousands of men and boys. The main point of my response is not that men have it worse than women, or that women are victimizing men. My point with this piece is to indicate that there are stereotypes both ways, and as women crawl out of theirs, it seems they are helping to pushing men further into their own. Instead of fighting to be fairly represented in video games, I see some attitudes fighting to simply turn the tables. It will take a lot for us to demolish these sexist views of one another, but we have to fight all inequality we see, not just the one that has been here longer.
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