Reading through this article , I noticed that they make the same mistake as pretty much everyone else when talking about movies and entertainment- assuming women only like dramas, or romantic movies, or lighthearted fun. I'm not going to see Amelia. Why? Because it looks BORING. Amelia was an amazing person, one who I respect and admire. But if I'm going to spend money on a movie, I want something with action, comedy, maybe someone in a cape. I'm not into dramas.
The main offending comment was "Girls don't grow up reading comic books or playing video games, or with Transformer or G.I. Joe toys." What? I grew up on all of that. Well not G.I. Joe (an ex-marine father who became disillusioned with the military wouldn't have taken very kindly to those toys, not that I was ever really interested in them), but the rest I all love! Why won't anyone pay attention to the fact that some girls and women DO love video games, that we DO read comics and like robots?
But no, apparently since I have a vagina, I must want to go to a drama, and take in something deep. I must want pop stars and princesses and movies about falling for a dominating man. Which, in itself is problematic- there's no movies about heterosexual couples with the female as the dominant or strong-willed partner, and if there is it's only for comedic effect. But that's another article.
Point being, if I'm going to a movie, I want to laugh, and I want to see some car chases or fights. Hell, if it hadn't been for the really unnecessary rape scene, I would've been first in line for Observe and Report (but, you know ... there was a rape scene. So I passed).
In short, I ask that people stop pretending that women only like dramas and romance. Even feminists do this, which constantly boggles the mind. Spider-Man can't be a movie for women? Mama Mia can't be a movie for men? I think the solution here is to stop making movies "for men" or "for women" and just work on universal appeal, or at the very least drop these dumb assumptions about what males and females enjoy.
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Why is the only way to show that women are real humans is to reject anything considered feminine or female? Anything that the media dubs female, some feminists say OKAY LETS START HATING IT.
I notice this a lot. Women don't want to be seen as stereotypes, so they automatically hate romance novels, chick flicks, chocolate, etc. Isn't it deeper than that? Isn't it more about changing the way people view women rather than trying to consciously always reject anything considered feminine? Isn't that misogynistic in it's own way?
Total straw feminist argument.
She said she wishes people would stop claiming that women only like dramas and rom-coms. She never said that women/feminists shouldn't like them.
Car chases (more to the point, explosions) are my personal preference as well. Also like ManaQueen, I have *always* loved things that go boom in the night, science fiction/random geekishness, and other things that are typically gendered "male." Who the hell are you to tell me that I like them only because I have some deep-seated need to break stereotypes? That's pretty presumptuous and dehumanizing.
Ever stop to consider that maybe we like movies with car chases because we just frelling *think they're fun to watch*?
Or are you just that defensive about what *you* like to watch?
It's less a rejection of the thing itself and more a rejection of the stereotype. And you can't change the way people view women as long as pop culture is saturated in these stereotypes. Your use of the word "automatically" suggests mindlessness, but articles on this website and other feminism/pop culture blogs show a lot of conscious criticisms. If chick flicks showed a variety of women in a variety of situations, then there would probably be a lot less to reject. Hell, they probably wouldn't be called "chick flicks" anymore.
I agree with you completely, except for one thing: she was talking about pigeonholing women into a certain category, and how it is inaccurate, so it's not really the focus of this entry.
It is true that a certain number of women reject all that is "feminine" in order to show that women are not all like that, and in its own way, it's misogynistic.
However, I don't care for many of the things you listed, for a variety of reasons. I just don't really like the taste of chocolate, I think romance novels reinforce negative stereotypes and are poorly-written (as a general rule, not always. Certainly, there are well-written and interesting romance novels, but they are usually classified as something else. Interesting.), and I feel the same way about "chick flicks" as I do about romance novels. I would hate to be regarded as a misogynist for having my own preferences.
I think it's important to value the "feminine", but also to challenge it. Why is it presented the way that it is? Many women find these types of stories to be too paternalistic, condescending, insulting, boring, or sexist, and don't wish to be associated with it. Many women find them engaging, relatable, interesting, funny or uplifting, and are happy to be associated with them. I think it should be deeper than just masculine/feminine, like/dislike. Instead, we should not reject things on that principle, but on how we think it affects us, whether or not we enjoy its message, etc.
Well, theatres may overreact a little, but movies that aim to be very generic and everything to everyone usually end up bad. The best movies will often appeal outside of their target market because even at reduced appeal, they're still quite good, but if you sit down and say "I want to write a movie everyone will enjoy", no one will enjoy it.
I also find it to be slightly irritating that everyone assumes that women only want to watch dramas or romances. Thank you, but in fact I can choose for myself what I like to watch and not watch. Targeting a certain audience isn't what is wrong about this, its the fact that it is required that this certain audience is gendered and not just 'people who like romance and dramas' it has to be women who like said genres. I myself, virtually only watch action movies (however, I enjoy romantic scenes in any genre). I played with action figures when I was a kid, army men, watched 'boy' cartoons and played video games. However, I also played with barbies and dressed up dolls and had a tea set. Its unfair for companies and film makers to assume that audiences themselves have a specific gender rather than just the specific interest that the audience members have.
I'd also like to point out, after reading that article how full of bullshit the one sentence is about Hollywood not being sexist "Because Hollywood will do whatever it takes to make money. They are not taking a principled stance against women. They just don't see the audience as going there." You know, since if it's for the good of moneymaking its no longer subject to morality or an ethical code in any sense. The fact that people even suggested this as evidence of not being sexist is just depressing. Frankly, this entire article is a wad of crap.
Hollywood movies today are all about maximizing the quick profits to be made from an initial investment, so most production/distribution companies end up spending a sh*tload of money on market research. Research that determines which marketing stategy will provide the biggest return on an investment. This is the main reason why I'm not a big fan of Hollywood movies.
The main offending comment was "Girls don't grow up reading comic books or playing video games, or with Transformer or G.I. Joe toys." What? I grew up on all of that.
...While I'm sure that you had fun playing with all this stuff, from my own personal experience the majority of non-sim / non-roll-playing gamers are boys/men. ( by at wide margin, I would peg it at around 75 percent or more )
I have five nieces and two nephews, who are all at or close to university age, and only the two nephews are what I would call active gamers. They will buy a new game and spend every waking hour they can spare playing the game. My nieces play video games, but spend less than one tenth of the time my nephews do with the games. My nephews own about 100+ video games between them, my nieces own about 10 games.
The same story goes with my married friends, their wives, and their kids. The husbands and sons all play video games at least once a week, while the wives and daughters will play them once a month or not at all.
Myself, I've played video games over the past 10 years ( mostly the Half-Life series from VALVe ), and in this time I've had three different girlfriends, and none of them played or even liked video games. ( the games were always a guilty pleasure for me, so it was always a real treat when I would have time on my own to play them )
Even casually checking out your local video gaming store, the majority of customers hanging out in the store are usually teenage boys.
...I actually think that video-game playing is one of the reasons why boys high-school literacy scores are terrible compared to girls. By the time my nieces are entering university they will have read at least 100+ novels, while my nephews would be lucky if they've read 5.
And yes, my three sisters have been reading romance novels since they were teens, and they still read them. ( I have a couple of creative friends that work at Harlequin Canada, who tell me that over 90 percent of their readership is female, though the books are not what they used to be 20 years ago, some of the new lines are quite raunchy )
"While I'm sure that you had fun playing with all this stuff, from my own personal experience the majority of non-sim / non-roll-playing gamers are boys/men."
And of course, YOUR experience is more important than what she (and I) know about ourselves. It doesn't matter that we genuinely enjoy these things, because YOUR experience is all that matters. Right?
Not to mention the fact that you basically proved ManaQueen's point, which is that some women actually do enjoy video games and action movies, and honestly don't have a taste for romance novels. Nowhere did she say that more women than men like action movies, or that no women like romances. You're offering a straw anti-feminist argument.
But then again, given how quick you are to invalidate our opinions ENTIRELY, I'm not surprised you didn't really read her post.
I'm not a researcher, and I suspect that no one else is either, so I base my opinion on what I have experienced personally, and I've met far more males than females that are heavily into video games. See my reply to Launchpad regarding "Lan Parties", as another clear indication that the majority of video game owners/players are male.
I know that there are some female video gamers that are just as fanatical about gaming as their male counterparts, but despite this the majority population of videogame players are male.
...And thus Hollywood marketing targets young males when they are promoting a comic-book/graphic novel/action movie because market-research tells them that this will generate the largest return on their investment. Hollywood only cares about making a quick buck, and nothing else, so they go after the largest segment of the market.
Um, wtf was that? Sweeping generalizations abound! Your nieces have each read 100 books by the time they get to college? Big fucking deal, I read 100 books a YEAR (well, this year I'm only on book #59 right now...because I've been reading lots of COMICS - you know, those boyish things). And, guess what, I own over 100 video games that I've collected over the last 10 years.
But, ya know, it's way more fun to be all, "Girls are good and they read and are smart, boys are losers who waste time with loser video games and don't pick up books."
Even aside from the whole gendered aspect of your comment, people who don't understand moderation and balance are annoying.
Reading books is a big issue with teens in Canada, and I suspect in the Unitied States too. We have a huge problem, where graduating high school boys are quite illiterate. The boys can't write and they can barely read, while the girls overall are doing great.
I know that my nephews and many of my friends sons have this problem. As I stated previously, most of these boys will be lucky to have read a handful of books by the time they get to university, and are essentially illiterate. They have trouble handling the volume of reading expected of them at university, and most could not write a proper essay paper to save their life.
I strongly suspect that video gaming is a significant factor to this male illiteracy problem.
So your argument is that women don't really like video games because even if they are gamers men still play them more?
I know that some girls love video games, but based upon my own experience ( I'm not a researcher, and I suspect that no one else is either, so I base my opinion on what I have experienced personally ) I've met far more males than females that are heavily into video games.
If you doubt my assertions, then I suggest that you try searching Google Images using the term "Lan Parties", and you will find thousands of pictures like this one:
http://www.clearlakelanparty.com/images/uploads/topview2006.jpg
Which show a distinct majority of male gamers that are fanatical enough to drag their computer from home to play video games against hundreds and sometimes thousands of other mainly male games in warehouses and stadiums.
Lan parties are a world wide phenomena, and are attended mostly by young males.
Another example of the largely male video game audience can be found in the advertising in the bigger mainstream gaming magazines. A lot of it is quite sexist, and directly targets hetero teenage boys as their audience.