Masculine Fragility and Gaming

“I want Fallout and Skyrim and Dragon Age and all the rest without the combat,” added user homieomorphism. “Why can’t I use magic to explore a beautiful world? Why can’t I use diplomacy to unite and pacify warring factions? I’m so sick of it, honestly. It’s to the point where I just [try to] minimize time spent in fights [so I can] enjoy the dialogue and art that much more.”

That particular conversation intrigued me, so I joined in. I added that I thought much of this discontent was founded in a fundamental inability to choose violence or non-violence. I want a choice in how to act in a video game. I want to be able to CHOOSE to be violent, but I also want to be able to choose NOT to be violent. I want both of those choices to be perfectly viable and nuanced. I want to be able to change my mind and my play style at any time. This is a part of true character customization, which should have as much to do with how you interact with NPCs as it should with customizing your avatar’s physical appearance. As one user wrote, “#we have barely scraped the surface of what video games are capable of.”

— Fight Club: How Masculine Fragility Is Limiting Innovation in Games | Sheva @ FemHype

The Advocate on Cara Delevingne

Bisexual advocates are calling foul on Vogue after a profile of model turned actress Cara Delevingne insinuated Delevinge’s sexuality might be a “phase.”

...

“The only way to combat this kind of misinformation is by calling out media outlets which repeat these stereotypes uncritically,” Julie Rodriguez, the bisexual woman who started the petition demanding an apology from Vogue, tells The Advocate. “I do think that Vogue's misstep in this article came from a place of ignorance, not hate — so my hope is that the petition helps educate the editors and writers of the publication, so they can do a better job of reporting on bisexual celebrities in the future.”

— Why Does Vogue Think Bisexuality Is a Phase? | Eliel Cruz @ Advocate.com

A link to the petition: Petition: Tell Vogue Magazine: Being LGBT Isn't a "Phase"!

Cisgender in the OED

In a small milestone of transgender progress, the compilers of the Oxford English Dictionary have added the word "cisgender" to its pages. The venerable reference tool, generally considered the dictionary of record, now defines the word as "designating a person whose sense of personal identity corresponds to the sex and gender assigned to him or her at birth."

— The Word "Cisgender" Is Now in the Oxford English Dictionary | Bitch Media

Gender is like Calculus, Not Addition

tw:bullying, suicide

Two quotes by bi women this week...

Two quotes:

“The idea that queer women only form relationships with other women as a result of childhood trauma is a harmful (and false) stereotype that lesbian and bisexual women have been combating for decades…As a bisexual woman myself, I’ve experienced hurtful comments like this many times. People are quick to assume queer women’s identities are a ‘phase’ and to refuse to recognize the important relationships in their lives — an attitude which can cause depression, result in families rejecting their daughters (or forcing them into abusive conversion ‘therapy’), and even put young women at risk of suicide. Vogue should have taken this opportunity to combat negative stereotypes, not reinforce them.”

— Julie Rodriguez, quoted by inquisitr commenting on a Vogue writer's "just a phase" comment

"I don't want to have to deny my sexuality in order to be me. But I don't want to have to be defined by it. I'm fundamentally opposed to trying to edit myself to be palatable or popular. I don't give a f**k. I fight, but I shouldn't have to."

— Amber Heard quoted in Sunday World

I forgot where I got this but it's pretty cool.

Don't say this to your bisexual partner...

— Don’t Say This To Your Bisexual Partner @ Emphasize This

Yes, don't do that.