Feminism

[osmosisch]

That talk almost made me burst into tears at work.

 

That is fucking painful.

Super powerful stuff. Rare to see something like that out of Ted.

[Markson]

There's little difference between bad parody and the subject they mean to parody.  And they should probably be treated the same.  

 

Aye, that's true, I agree. I realized I hadn't actually read that account's tweets since it first started, so I've been checking in on it for the past week or so. And that's what it is, like you say, a bad parody.

[Bjorn]

I saw a barebones reading/performance of Rapture, Blister, Burn on Sunday up at the university, organized by a friend of ours.  Before the performance, she told me that the main reason she wanted to stage it is that she found it to be a really frustrating work, but she had only read it, and wanted to see if seeing it performed changed her view at all.

It's certainly an interesting play.  It's structured around a feminist academic who is the author of a best selling book about porn, torture and how Internet pornography helped shape some of the abuses and war crimes of the Iraq War (if this book doesn't exist, I really want it to).  She takes a sabbatical to go home and take care of her mother who is recovering from a heart attack, and takes a teaching job at a small, local college to give her something to do.  An ex-boyfriend is a dean at the college, and helped get her the gig.  Much of the first act is structured around a small summer seminar she teaches which has a 21-year-old student, the ex-boyfriend's wife and the author's mother ends up sitting in.  The 3 generations of women discuss and argue about feminism with both covert and overt personal stresses and dramas informing the conversations.  

At the end of Act 1, I was ign.com Blown Away.  My initial reaction was that it could be easily become one of my favorite modern plays.  Then it just totally falls apart in Act 2, losing all the momentum, charm and character developed in the first half.   The second act focuses almost exclusively on the personal dramas of the characters and drops the arguments/discussions about feminism and how it fits in the realities of these women's lives.

Anyone else seen it (I'm not sure how many performances it's had, or even how old it is)? Even with my frustrations with Act 2, I would heartily recommend going to see it if you happen to have the chance.

[clyde]

This interview with Brenda Laurel talks a bit about gender, capitalism, marketing, and even how game-mechanics have intersected with those intersections during her career. I found it interesting.

http://www.nodontdie.com/brenda-laurel/

[clyde]

Here's a short documentary about a matriarchal society in China.

[Dinosaursssssss]

GTFO, a documentary about misogyny and harassment of women in games, is out today and I recommend it! I caught a viewing when it was in the Boston independent film festival and thought it was really insightful. The doc was all shot before The Zoe Post / GG in general got big, and seeing it in the context of the discussion today is a good reminder that these issues have been around for a looong time. There are a bunch of really interesting interviews from a mix of competitive players, journalists, and developers. Full disclosure, I know the director.

 

I think the main way they're selling it is iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/gtfo-the-movie/id994824769 but there are probably other ways to watch it on their website http://gtfothemovie.com/

[Bjorn]

Cool!  It's also available to rent or buy on Vimeo (for those of us who don't use iTunes).  It's still listed as a pre-order there, but the release date is today, so hopefully it just unlocks soon.  We'll probably try to watch it in the next week or so. 

[Bjorn]

Ubisoft retired the Frag Dolls at the end of May. 

[Apple Cider]

Yeah, I need to watch GTFO! and also Gaming in Color. Such great gaming docs out lately. 

[tberton]

Hey guys, do you feel emasculated every time you have to use fruit, colourful, girly chapstick? Does it make you feel like a sissy fairy boy? Well, no need to worry any longer. Prove your manliness by rubbing a Dude Stick all over your lips.

[Mangela Lansbury]

Stick that in gayborhoods across the nation and you'll be set for life.

Is the homoeroticism even accidental anymore?

[Apple Cider]

I like how it's artfully placed against a knife and a gun. Inside presumably someone dude's "man purse."

[JonCole]

I like how it's artfully placed against a knife and a gun. Inside presumably someone dude's "man purse."

 

I think you mean "man sack".

[Reyturner]

Hey guys, do you feel emasculated every time you have to use fruit, colourful, girly chapstick? Does it make you feel like a sissy fairy boy? Well, no need to worry any longer. Prove your manliness by rubbing a Dude Stick all over your lips.

 

It's already called Chap Stick people. Chap literally means "man". 

[Zeusthecat]

It's already called Chap Stick people. Chap literally means "man". 

 

So if I have chapped lips, that means my lips have become men? I think I need some dude stick right now to prevent this from happening.

[syntheticgerbil]

I bet my dog will eat that chapstack the same way it eats any other chapstick.

[Bjorn]

So we went to Lawrence Nerd Night tonight (it's one of those lecture series where 3 interesting people are brought in to give a short talk about something they are knowledgeable about).  A friend of ours was giving a talk about the intersection of modern feminism and comedy (she was the third and final presenter).  The entire 20 minute talk was mostly about comics who directly incorporate feminist themes or topics into their work.  She finishes up, and there's enough time to take a few questions. 

 

First Question (white dude, naturally): Some people say that equality has been achieved, and there isn't a need for feminism anymore.  How would you reply to that?

Answer: (greatly paraphrasing) Some people need to educate themselves

 

Third Question (20-something white dude, naturally): (context, the wage gap was BRIEFLY referenced at one point)  So I've read about how the top 10 paying jobs are almost all male dominated jobs, and the 10 lowest paying jobs are almost all female dominated jobs.  So doesn't the wage gap only exist because women choose to make less than men?

Answer: (paraphrased again) I'm here to talk about feminism and comedy, so unless you have something funny to say, I'm going to move onto someone who's interested in talking about the topic at hand. 

 

During the wage gap question, the audience started booing the guy before he had even finished his little rant, and one of the other white dudebros at his table piped up, "It's a legitimate question!"  One of the coordinators took the stage after this to wrap up the night, and pointedly commented that this was a pretty awkward and awful way to have to end, and not something they'd ever had to deal with before. 

 

I don't really have anything to say about this, just wanted to rant about a frustrating end to an otherwise pretty kickass evening. 

[syntheticgerbil]

It's like the beginning of this:

[Bjorn]

Well that's a surprisingly timely Songify the News video!  Totally sending that to my friend. 

[Apple Cider]

I just feel like white dudes in general should be banned from Q&A periods until they learn how to behave properly.

[Bjorn]

I would accept a solution of just doing away with un-moderated Q&As, I can't really think of anything good I've ever seen come out of one. 

[miffy495]

So if I have chapped lips, that means my lips have become men? I think I need some dude stick right now to prevent this from happening.

 

The amount that "Dude stick" sounds like "dude's dick" when you say it fast enough is really making this for me.

 

"Bro, I gotta bounce for a sec. I'm feeling real weird and I think I need to get some dude stick on my lips."

[syntheticgerbil]

Haha I was just saying that to my friend last night. It made me wonder if this was a troll Kickstarter for that very reason, because otherwise that is an incredibly unfortunate and ill thought out name.

[Merus]

The amount that "Dude stick" sounds like "dude's dick" when you say it fast enough is really making this for me.

 

I don't think you need to go to a soundalike for this to sound sexual. The double entendre is right there - here, I'll send you a photo of my dude stick.

[Lu]

Rub those natural ingredients all over your lips.