As usually with statistics about the wage gap, the GS article linked to fails to paint the whole picture. It doesn't include other factors like hours worked, incentives for further travel distance, incentives for relocation, etc. Men are more likely to do all of these things and given that every position in the industry is male-dominated -- the position with the lowest number of men is, apparently, producer, which is still 77 percent male -- of course men are going to be paid more. They will, on average, have many more years experience than women will on average, so naturally they'll be paid more.
I'm waiting for the day when journalists will start being honest about the gap. Here are the facts; there are factors other than gender to be considered when talking about the wage gap. The gender gap itself is no big issue; "male-dominated industry" is not a dirty term -- in fact, it's insulting to men to say that it is -- and if you're hiring the best people for the job, you're doing things right. Women now earn more college diplomas than men, so if they had any desire to enter the industry, they could do so if they liked. Other industries are more appealing to them, however, so they choose to enter those instead.
@Lord_Python1049 @LanceCypher How do you two know that buccomatic doesn't care about other people's problems and the issues facing modern society? Six words and you've already judged what kind of person he/she is.
My comment above wasn't critical of articles like this on Gamespot but I think we can all agree that gaming news is secondary to the site's opinion pieces now. This is the second ideologically-motivated article from Carolyn Petit in a week and, again, it's all about how gaming sucks because the industry isn't pleasing her. We come to gaming sites because we enjoy games, not to read articles about people whining about them.
@Lordran_Seer Now that you mention it, you're right. Isn't being a heterosexual male character who indulges in stereotypically "feminine" activities progressive? More progressive than stereotyping a gay character with those hobbies, which is what Carolyn seems to be asking for.
While I can appreciate wanting to see more gay or transgender character characters if you're LGBT yourself -- I do too, although perhaps don't feel as strongly about it -- I think you're missing a few realities of Japanese culture here, Carolyn. Bear in mind that it's a country that sees lesbianism as something done by schoolgirls that they eventually grow out of. There's also a lack of therapists, which means people struggling with understanding their gender and sexuality won't have anywhere to turn (except online, I suppose).
I mean, I love Japan but you're asking for sexual understanding from somewhere that occasionally features sibling romances in anime. You're applying Western values to an Eastern society that has yet to accept the traits you're discussing as mainstream. Asking them to have good portrayals of alternate sexuality and transgender characters when it's not considered an issue in the country itself is unrealistic. Just shrug it off and move on. One final thing though:
"I'm not sure what sort of world Kanji lives in where men would never criticize him for liking to sew and do other things that are stereotypically considered feminine"
Probably the same one as us; where a guy would never go up to a tough-looking guy and mock him for enjoying sewing for fear of being beaten up. However, thanks to the "don't hit a girl" phrase instilled in boys from birth, girls would be free to do so without fear of being attacked. It's the same in real life. Look at the Kray Twins; the notorious London gangsters from the sixties. Ronnie Kray was openly bisexual and, when introducing his boyfriends to his criminal colleagues, they'd have to respond with how lovely he was for fear that Ronnie would kill them.
@originmsd Originmsd, this isn't a case of just wanting veggie burgers. This is a case of wanting veggie burgers served only to the female customers and ignoring the male ones. This is a case of the local newspaper refusing to publish an editoral piece from men. There's also a few very appetising vegetarian options on the restaurant's menu already that the female consumers turn their nose up at and criticise the restaurant for not providing a vegetarian option ... even though they do. Many of them.
@Katrinya Most of us would be more appreciative of the discussion ... if it was actually a discussion. Look at the articles on gender issues by Gamespot's staff. When they write about objectification, do they mention the perma-stubble and square jaws of male characters in the west, effeminate features of male characters in the east and the swimmers' builds of every single one of them? Do they ever acknowledge how blithely we kill off male characters in games without thinking of them as disposable, as Carolyn seems to believe we think of women? And, even though this article touched upon it, do the feminist critics of female game characters ever take responsibility for the fact that their constant criticism is, in part, the reason why developers shy away from featuring female characters?
I'll never understand why the feminist critics make it such an uphill struggle for themselves. Look at Lara Croft; classic game heroine but she's no good because she's "a sex object". So they make an effort to reboot her but she's no good because "she makes orgasm noises when hurt" and "she's a rape victim" (neither of which are true; it's the critics seeing what they want to see). Same goes for Colonial Marines. They leave out female marines, they're blamed for leaving out female marines. They add female marines, they're blamed for not having them in the first place.
At some point, game developers like Ryan Creighton just ask "why bother?" and don't add female characters at all because women like Carolyn Petit have created a no-win situation. And we're going to see a lot more attitudes like Ryan Creighton's in the future if female gamers don't start appreciating that the entire industry is bending over backwards to make them feel welcome and all they're doing is throwing it back in the industry's face. How Petit has the bare-faced cheek to blame Creighton after the lack of gratitude the feminist gamer community has shown, I'll never know.
This is stuff we don't read about on Gamespot because they don't publish articles by staff members who don't unyieldingly support this biased political position. The only place we'll see anyone who disagrees is either here in the comments or in a biased and mocking episode of Feedbackula, where Johnny Chiodni cherry-picks trolling examples and ignores the fair-minded ones, much like after #1ReasonWhy.
@Raven_1981 What's wrong with Kisado's suggestion? It seems to me like actively setting out to make the change is better than complaining until you get your own way. It'd also get more women into the industry, which is what you want, isn't it?
Please don't say "you're male, you just don't get it". It's very immature.
Guest1001's comments