This week, we are joined by returning guest Andrew Hackard – the Munchkin Czar! We take a look at a “controversy” in the gaming world caused by the inclusion of 13 women on a 25 person slate of gaming professionals to be featured on the Industry Insider program at Gencon this year. Apparently, some gamers are butthurt that they managed to find so many qualified women to sit the panels and feel some men were “unfairly” excluded. Hack, who is an industry professional, gives us the rundown on this really dumb argument and we talk about the inroads women are making into gaming and the ways gaming has been working to be more inclusionary.
Note: This episode was recorded remotely and that means the sound can be sketchy at times and there can be some weird delays.
Another fragile ego hypothesis about why nerd guys gatekeep against women so much is that these men have convinced themselves that being a nerd is why they can’t find a meaningful relationship with women; when they find a woman who shares their hobbies it calls to question that assumption.
The backlash against the gender question is so very much part of the whole “Masculinity so fragile” social trope. For a concept that is supposed to relate to strength, solidity, power, etc. you’d think that those that apply the label to themselves would be more secure, but quite the opposite. The masculine label is so fragile as to be threatened by: the colors pink or purple. dancing. showing any emotion other than anger. what hobbies one is interested in. pies made out of eggs. And clearly, deeply deeply threatened by the concept that maleness is not the default state of humanity.
Ugh.
Also, agree with the commenter above. So much of the gatekeeping and ‘fake geek girl’ hate is based in the internalized belief that “The reason girls don’t like me is because I am interested in these things that girls hate/don’t understand.” and when it gets shown to them (‘shoved in their face’) that in fact, women, many women, have these interests/abilities, they have to face that it may well be “Women don’t like me because i exude a sense of aggression and/or desperation and/or for other reasons am personally distasteful to them.”
There’s often a Fiasco game at OmegaCon–Lauren has a number of the books. We’ll let you know when one runs if you want in.