History of Feminism

Try posting about sexism in video games, for example, and you will see a similar response. TV and Comic Books don't cause quite as much of a furor, but you will still get fanboys popping out to defend the media. I've been thinking about this the last few days and can see two things going on, in addition to the standard sexual blinders that many have.

Firstly, most of these media do have a history of censorship, and fans of the media have seen worthwhile projects derailed by censors. Some people react initially to moral objections to media on the grounds that such objections can lead to banning and production codes which would obstruct good works as well as lousy ones. This is an understandable initial response; but it doesn't hold up for very long as almost everybody who has argued against 50 Shades (in this case) has made it clear that they aren't in favor of banning the film or the book. So if their objection is really that they don't want the film banned, once it's clear that nobody wants the film banned, they should just drop it, right? But they don't. Or the bulk of them don't (every once in a while you will see someone drop it once they realize people aren't talking about bans.

Secondly, I think that people feel uncomfortable about entertainment anyway; I think people are aware that time they spend reading 50 Shades of Grey or playing Mario or watching TV could be spent doing something better. I certainly am (but still play a lot of computer games and watch a fair amount of TV). So I think there's a guilt factor that's already present, and when you add onto that guilt factor the suggestion that what they are watching or enjoy is actually morally problematic, they react strongly. Of course this one throws sex into the mix and it's not like the United States has a history of good sexual maturity.

Thirdly, and just to underline - obviously many just have their own gender biases that they don't really see through or want challenged.

I don't know; it's not a very satisfactory situation.

Bryant