Why Feminist Frequency Is Dead Wrong About 'The Witcher 3'

Forbes:
Confirmation bias is dangerous. When you’re always looking for evidence of something, you begin to see it even where no evidence exists. Perhaps especially when no evidence exists.

Take the recent tweets of the Feminist Frequency duo—Jonathan McIntosh and Anita Sarkeesian—regarding the recently released video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Sarkeesian has become the face of video game feminism, and McIntosh—to a far lesser degree—shares her podium and her reputation.

[Zenith4k]

Nice piece some great points and examinations of the games story.

[Mankey]

Eric Kain tends to be a very reliable journalist.

[MadLad]

They're dead wrong when it comes to just about everything they cover.
It's just their way.

[Greyfoxdbz]

I remember Anita said it was sexist that a woman needed saving in Dying Light. Someone then pointed out that it was a zombie game and that men need saving too, but i guess she sees what she wants to see right.

[rainslacker]

Just keep it in mind when the zombie apocalypse comes and you are in a situation where her and McIntosh are in need of saving, and you are the one doing the saving, that you should save McIntosh, because you wouldn't want to be considered sexist or a misogynist.

As we all know, when one is in need of saving from a dire situation, and that one is also a feminist, equality, representation, and empowerment are first and foremost on said one's mind.

Or just offer them both up to the zombies as a sacrifice like Craster did in Game of Thrones to protect his self and family. Maybe crack a couple of beers with McIntosh when he throws Anita to the wolves to save his own skin.

Any of those would work, or you could let them both rot, but that would make you kind of a crappy human being, which most of us aren't.

[Omnisonne]

They can't get any grip on any of their statements (which is why they never attempt going into an argument or discussion with it) so they just sling dumb shit around the internet that gets debunked the next day.

All they probably care about is exposure and attention, I refuse to believe anyone in their right mind thinks these points are valid when writing them down.

[edit] Them attacking The Witcher 3 only enforces this, the game got a ton of media attention and is praised all around. Anita McIntosh just chiming in trying to catch some of the spotlight

[Greyfoxdbz]

I think anita has actually made a lot of money from being a professional idiot

[Omnisonne]

Yeah, she isn't the first

[ironfist92]

People take Feminist Frequency seriously?

[DiscoKid]

I'm no chauvinist, but I think feminism is useless in it's entirety. Women can vote, own their own property and jobs, and even run for president. But now, feminists are just looking to be reverenced like goddesses.

You gotta be pretty bored to take this movement to video games. Some people just choose to be victims so they have a reason to go off on somebody.

[Snookies12]

Exactly, they're just using 'feminism' as a way to get what they want. It has nothing to do with equality in a lot of cases these days.

[pkb79]

if you start a sentence with the pharse "im not a(racist, a bigot, chovanistic ect)" whatever follows proves that you are what you claime not to be. Every. Single. Time.

[Captain_TomAN94]

The name "Feminism" is a stupid one because it makes it sound one-sided, but the fact is that it only means gender equality - which is not useless or stupid.

[DiscoKid]

@pkb79 So if I say "I'm no god or anything", does that make me a god? Don't try to change the subject because you can't provide a proper rebuttal and contribute to the discussion. Stop with the ad hominem.

[OB1Biker]

Wow. The first relevant post I see from Forbes in a while. Pleasantly surprised here

[Vanfernal]

Because Feminist Frequency is wrong about most stuff?

[Khajiit86]

sometimes feminists make me hate females.

[johndoe11211]

The reality is there are a lot of females and feminists out there that don't support what these radical feminists are doing and the narrative they are spinning. Look up Christina Hoff Summers. Don't blame all females for the insanity of radical feminists.

[slappy508]

I consider myself a feminist, but I don't see the point of critiquing how chauvinistic games are. I have a female friend and she has no problems with the witcher or many other games that feminist frequency targets. The focus should be more on how female gamers are treated by male gamers online, being sexualised messages in their inbox, being constantly hit on over the mic or being taunted in COD because they are a girl. Those are the underlying problems in gaming that push girls away from games, not how games themselves are made

[bloodybutcher]

They are treated equally to everyone, verbally abused. That's coming with the territory. Want to play online?Prepare yourself for the attack of immature gamers.

[slappy508]

Well I've obtained direct information on my friends experiences online, and of her friend. Here are some of the things they go through

"every time we play, and use our mics.. I have to go through and delete all the gross messages.. even the non gross ones that are just interested in us because we have boobs.. I actually like to be able to talk with my team mates about tactics and warn them etc. We often have to leave certain groups of people even. The fact we are there.. with our mics on.. not taking their shit.. playing just as well as them, or kicking their arses .. is important. We don't put up with it.. and when they call us girls.. we tell them we're women.. and they usually laugh and make fun of us.. but we do it non-the less.. because it's important."

Before that she resorted to having boy avatars and pretend she is a boy to avoid abuse. I asked her why she went back to revealing her true gender and she said : "should we just be hiding that we're females, so we don't have to put up with the way the world is? What f****g BS!! I'm a female, and I game.. even if I play without a mic.. I'm not hiding that f****g fact.. just because some people are sexist. Hiding is not going to solve the problem. These little things, will make a difference.. it makes our presence in this whole world, more tangible.. and physically represented... amongst a million other good reasons."

Yeah so I do get taunted by a 12 year old on the odd occasion that I suck but it is seemingly different to how you get treated just because your gender is different.

[rainslacker]

From my experience, most female gamers don't have a problem with games, even those that are sexist in the eyes of these extreme feminist.

But, maybe my anecdotal evidence is skewed because all the female gamers I know actually do know that it's just a game, and not meant as a representation of the female gender as a whole, nor have any of them been oppressed due to a game, and the only annoyance they get from gaming is from people who act like idiots in MP matches.

My GF actually thinks the feminist slant in gaming is hilarious because it has nothing to do with either feminism or representation. She only even knows about all this because I follow gaming news and we talked about it. She'd rather be playing a game than getting gaming news...which I sometimes would like as well. She's been on a Hyperdimension Neptunia kick the past month and she's taking up my PS3 time on it as we speak.:(

[Nero2142]

Reading purely for entertaiment
http://i.imgur.com/tHw0b.gi...

[poppinslops]

Sarkeesian and her colleagues do occasionally drift into the realm of fanatacism, regardless, I believe their hearts are in the right place and their cause to be a worthy endeavor - with regards to the gaming industry.

However, in this case, they're wrong.

If ever there was a world in which strong, independent women were paramount, it's that of the Witcher.
The Sorceresses are beholden only to themselves... they work with men when it suits them, just as they discard them when it doesn't.
Their Lodge of Sorceresses was the ultimate 'girls only' club and together they bridged political and personal divisions in order to kill those Kings who sought to restrict their influence.

Their actions have shaped the world to a greater extent than most... even the Emperor can seem trivial when compared to Ciri.
Ciri, who detested her royal obligations and left them behind, who chose to be a warriar, a sorceress and who willingly played the role of a bisexual bandit... in many ways, she's the most important character in the Witcher.

And Yennefer is just as indomitable as Geralt... yes, she tends to fall at his feet, but who wouldn't?
And it's not like she hasn't repeatedly used and abused him.

Their (Triss, Ciri, Yen, Phillipa etc) overt sexuality is a deliberate extension of their strength and freedom... Their law is their own and they are every bit as feared and revered as Kings or Witchers.

They're downright admirable - warts n all.
Read the books and you'll see.

[CaptainObvious878]

I don't believe being sexist towards male gamers and belittling and dehumanizing them an every opportunity is a "worthy endeavor".

[rainslacker]

I believe their hearts are firmly planted in their wallets. They don't care to discuss the issue with the community, but to preach their narrative to the community, and should you disagree you are labeled as a misogynist.

That is fanaticism, and fanaticism only serves one's own ego and not the greater good.

I respect your assessment of the witcher, despite not having playing it yet, because it does seem to take a level look at the issue without resorting to hyperbole and strawman arguments. If feminist frequency could do this, then it would probably be taken seriously, but wouldn't make nearly as much money or be as popular, as is evidenced by the numerous counter arguments that have been made to address feminist frequency, but get only a fraction of the attention, if any.

[scark92]

Despite being wrong about everything, making claims without any proof backing it,

Feminist Frequency touching The Witcher is quite annoying since they are Adult themed fantasy games..

Limiting Creativity!

[KryptoniteTail]

Feminist Frequency is wrong about most stuff, and Anita Sarkeesian is a lazy, stupid, ignorant s*** b****. She stole money froom people who gave it to her to finish a project she still hasn't fully kept promises about, steals footage without even giving credit, and thinks she can lie about being a gamer when she is not (she previously admitted she wasn't).

That aside, the worst thing is she's a coward who won't even allow disagrees on her video. Comments I guess is understandable, she'd have to be exposed as a fraud by intelligent people and strung up for her bulls*** by everyone else.

None of that really matters though, what does is that her facts are off. One prominent example is stating that Captain Toad's female friend (not girlfriend, as explained by Nintendo) is the ONLY female toad, which is laughable. I won't bother telling you that real fans know otherwise (or less observant fans can still use Google to fact check, which Anita was still too incompetent to do) because SMRPG and Paper Mario spit in her face.

At least she is weirdly hot. Maybe she'll have her nudes leaked.

[InTheLab]

I dislike generally everything about Anita but comments like these only empower her weak position. Hoping her nudes get leaked? Have some dignity bro...

[TheNemesis501]

everyone needs to stop giving her name any press, she dies when we all stop talking about her. contesting her coments on games give her legitmacy, everything that comes out her mouth needs to be dimissed as fiction.

[rainslacker]

True, but she does have a number of followers who will give her money the second she cries oppression. It's all a scam, and it would be easy enough for us to ignore her, because does anyone here even watch feminist frequency since the first video which made it clear as day what she was?

But ignoring her won't make her go away, and if she has the presses ear, she will have influence over the games we play in some way. Her brand of sensationalism is designed to incite, which draws attention to the topic, but the topic isn't being represented properly to have any meaningful changes made. Because of this, the only thing we can do is counter her arguments as best we can as a community, and hope that somehow, our voices are heard as well. Unfortunately though, publishers work on public perception, and the public isn't necessarily made up of gamers, so in an effort to look like the good guys, publishers cave to do stuff that no one really wants.

[moomoo319]

They've officially jumped the shark. Women kick ass in the witcher that should be clear as day. What are they looking at to draw these conclusions?

[Greyfoxdbz]

The Witcher 3 actually has two instances i can think of where gender was actually explored in that specific world. the first is the master armourer who happens to be a woman but everyone thinks the dwarf is the master and she is the helper. The second is the successor to the throne of an skellig. In my playthrough Cerys became king because she earned it like any man would have, and the master armourer got what she was owed by proving that she could make the best armour. none of them bitched and moaned like today's feminists. most feminists today think they are owed something for being female.

[uth11]

Headline is too long! only the first six words are needed :)

[CaptainObvious878]

***** SPOILERS ******* SPOILERS ********

I was actually incredibly disappointed when I thought I was about to have a romantic encounter with both Yen and Triss at the same time. I thought the sorceresses could see Geralt had genuine love for both of them and wasn't just playing around.

I thought, finally, a mainstream RPG that could break this tired old trope of only being allowed to have 1 romantic partner.... but no, I was let down.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Anita is a professional victim and everything she stands for is all for the sake of money and publicity. The real feminists don't make it their life goal to hate men and destroy everything they value. If she's fighting for equality then why focus on things that don't help toward that cause, but instead focus on things that only torment the men she hates so much?

[ShaunCameron]

Too bad those "real" feminists enjoy the privileges, exemptions and benefits of doing so.

[jc48573]

Isn't that what Anita does? Looking for evidence which does not exist.

[Germany7]

That thing it's wrong about everything, not just about the games that you like, Forbes.

[TorpeAlex]

I may be mistaken, but "Feminist Frequency" appears to have an agenda of some sort. I'll do some research and get back to you.