Feminism

Most of the time, I am pretty level-headed and many people (offline that is. I’m not active on social media) said I am pleasant to be around. I am polite, hard-working, and considerate. Even my former boss said I am the nicest person in the world! Wow, I felt so honored to be called that. I suppose you don’t meet a lot of people who skip to work when work sometimes feels like running into a battle. I’m an optimist and sometimes a bit too overconfident by default, which is not always a great thing. I think it’s partly because I have a lot of alone time for reflection. I think and then write, edit then revise. As a result, this blog helps me stay sane, calm, collected, and understanding. Unfortunately, I wish I can say that my blogging experience has been very good. There are some blogging annoyances. Some have to do with indexing issues but it’s more to do with the blogging gaming community that I run into which cannot be helped, but can it?

It’s been a while since I did my 3-list blog post where I just make 3 lists of anything for fun. It’s a great writing exercise. So, today’s topic will be on blogging pet peeves. Brace yourself because this is not a positive, uplifting post, but I hope it’s insightful. I will try to keep it light.

#1) Passive Aggressive Blog Posts

I can never understand gaming bloggers who disrespect their readers. They should be happy that someone follows them because there’s a possibility that they are genuinely interested in their content. What irks me is when bloggers think their readers are inferior to them. I followed a female gaming blog that thought it would be funny to review a coloring book game for little girls just so she can make fun of it. I wish I understood the humor because if I were a kid, I think I’d like the game. The game is intended for little girls and not for full-grown adults. I guess making fun of a little girl’s game makes someone appears bigger?

2#) What Does It Really Mean to Be a Feminist?

I followed a few feminist bloggers back then. I learned that not all feminists (males included) agree with scantily clad women or lipstick feminists. I believe in equality too, but I don’t see a problem with women who are in tune with their feminine side. If you want to pay for my meal after a hard long day of killing zombies, hunters, and lickers, I got no objection. I’ll cover for you next time as long as I can afford it. Sadly, gender inequality pay is still a thing here in the U.S for the girly girl. There’s nothing more irritating than being called a gold-digger just because you are broke from trying to compete in a society that praises and rewards masculine over feminine traits unless you sell your body. I hope you can tell I’m joking. It’s a double joke. If you have played Resident Evil Revelations, I’m referencing and mocking a gamer’s comment I found on a gaming forum about Jessica. Some people called Jessica a gold-digger because she demanded Clive R. O’Brian, another character from the game, to take her out to eat after they are done with their job. You can’t see it in the picture below, but she is wearing a makeup bag around her waist. This portrayal of the woman always irks me a little. What’s so bad with keeping up with appearance while on the job? It’s empowering.

Jessica posing — Jessica Sherawat from Resident Evil Revelations

#3) Competitive Bloggers

I support friendly competition, but I don’t support catty competition where someone tries to discredit me by telling me what I like is not cool enough and what they like is better. What’s the point of following each other only to stress each other out? There were a few times I would leave comments only to get pushed back by anxiety-driven gamers who need a lot of work in the self-esteem department. They should be happy at least someone commented on their blog. It means they took the time to read and think about what you got to say. Isn’t that why people blog in the first place? Sometimes I wonder if it has to do with my pen name, Halsdoll. If you are curious, you can check my blog post about the meaning behind my pen name. My pen name was never intended to sound seductively alluring to support the patriarchal society, but somehow, I get pushed aside. The indie gaming community seems to be conflicted with all things femininity because 1) girls are just so weaaak (and that is not a typo); 2) the damsel in distress is not only a threat to another woman’s resources but she is also dead weight, and 3) the shameless hussy woman relied on her looks to get what she wants from men. You see, the suspicion towards women will never end because women were never seen on an equal level to men for having ambitions and desires separate from their counterparts despite the fact that gaming is so mainstream now that even your grandma is probably gaming as we speak and tweeting about it on Twitter!

It always seems like it’s the frailest one who has the strongest determination on the battleground-screen shots from 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Ryoko Shinome: I won't let anyone else fight for me screen shot

There you have it, my 3 blogging pet peeves, which most people probably cannot relate to, but hey this is my blog and I thought it might be worth sharing since nerds really do like exchanging information. It just shows that oh my, the quiet Asian woman can be so straightforward and have such strong opinions contrary to what some people think. Never assume. I hope you found this post insightful because I was never the type who like to complain for the sake of complaining.

I cringed when I hear sexist comments such as how women are irrational beings governed by their emotions rather than logic. How can anyone think that 1+1+1+1 ≠ 4? If you put 4 women in a room together, would you call them a clone of one another? No, each woman is different. Women are not a division of a whole number! So, the answer is not 4. The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is about all kinds of women.

The book is a dystopian drama but doesn’t expect a lot of action. The flashback showing the downfall of society can get painfully distracting sometimes. I had to go back and read the same passage several times. For the most part, the book is poetically descriptive to the point it made me feel sick to the stomach. It loves to point out how the sex organs both male and female are used for reproducing purposes only. There were a few times I wanted to vomit because the author refers eggs to as ovaries and butter as beauty cream. Both eggs and butter are consumable and when associated with sex, it makes it less desirable. Consuming too many eggs and butter will make you sick. In this case, the Commander has access to a lot of women but based on the way the author described the sex part, he doesn’t seem to enjoy it much, especially when the wife is positioned on the bed where she can see the husband penetrating the handmaid. It’s awkward.

Sex is a production. Anything that deviates from that is considered evil. Sluts should be imprisoned especially the ones who wear false eyelashes. So, get rid of those seductive magazines such as Mademoiselle and Vogue! They are forbidden in this absurd society called the Republic of Gilead. Let me reiterate. Sex is a production. Baby making is a production. The Commander is a tool, a wife is a tool, and the handmaid, Offred (protagonist) is a tool for society. Everything about it strips the rights of humanity—the freedom to choose, to express oneself, the free will to desire, and so forth.

Now that I finished the book, I’m glad I have the choice to slip onto a nice black dress, reach out for the red lipstick, and spritz a little perfume if I want to feel sexy. Ironically, I’ve never walked out of the house like that in my entire life. It’s not because I am religious. I am just reserved. For other women though, I am left wondering how much should they express themselves sexually without losing their dignity. Slut is such a derogatory word. More importantly, the book made me wonder why society emphasizes so much control over a woman’s reproductive system and ties it to her value. Is she supposed to be nothing more than a pious, baby-popping machine? That’s just inhumane. There is a difference between being a good mother to a child and being a slave to a system. Let’s not mix politics with sex.

P.S.

There is a TV Show version on Hulu, but I have not watched the entire thing since I got all the important details from the book. It’s a heavy read and a political one that’s hard to digest for many reasons.