Supporting science, technology, and diversity in games.
France considers cracking down on sexism in video games
France considers cracking down on sexism in video games
The French government is considering several measures aimed at combating sexism in video games, according to a report published this week by Le Figaro. Axelle Lemaire, the French Minister of Digital Affairs, met with representatives from the French video game industry last month to discuss the set of measures, Le Figaro reports, which include financial incentives and labels for games that give a "positive image of women."
theverge.com




This makes me moderately happy.
Also, $50 says Sweden's gonna miss the point of the Bechdel Test.
Didn't Sweden already miss the point of the Bechdel Test, or am I thinking of somewhere else? Might've been Australia.
At any rate, this sort of thing always Concerns me a bit, to be honest. We need to be able to meaningfully and honestly portray negative things to discuss them in a substantive fashion, and that means to some extent tolerating 'trash' while working to create narratives and portrayals that constitute a civil and thoughtful discussion of the problems we face as a people.
Recall the effect of the Comics Code Authority on the media it affected. Yes, such things can clean things up, but largely by sweeping them under the rug and leaving them to rot for decades at a time.
Who, one must ask, determines what constitutes a positive portrayal of a woman in a game? It's easy to fill in the blanks with our own personal perspectives with such open terms, but what do they actually /mean/? What about degrading portrayals? Is it positive or degrading to women for a story to feature a brilliant steampunk scientist with an evil scheme to take over all of time? Is it positive or negative if she is conventionally beautiful? What if she isn't?
Can she simply be a complex character living in her milieu, or must she represent women in general?
A huge part of the problem of portrayals /in general/ across all media is not whether or not the portrayal is positive, but whether or not portrayal is even remotely /honest/. If one is to object to the media deification of the 'average' European phenotype male or the demonization of the culturally marginalized, one cannot usefully redress the issue by deifying some other sex or phenotype, any more than by demonizing that which was previously deified.
It's always /easier/ though, and I suppose that's what really worries me. That people, myself included, will continue to do the easy things...make the easy arguments, tell the easy stories. Especially if the state makes it even easier.