To Tumblr or not to Tumblr....

[brendala]

So, one of my Deviant Art friends asked to put my recent "Sexism in Games" comic on her tumblr to spread the word about it (here's the post). And now I'm kinda tempted to get my own Tumblr page just so I can respond to some of the comments it garnered there (since using her as my personal Tumblr mouthpiece seems unfair).

On the one hand, Tumblr is apparently good for artsy folks like myself. And it garners more visibility

On the other hand....Tumblr fandoms are batshit insane! And the increased visibility comes with a higher likelihood of attracting assholes and flamers. A lot of them wandered onto my DA page (since the tumblr post linked back to it) and felt compelled to explain why mocking sexist redesigns with humor makes me a man-hating, fun-loathing feminazi.

So, here's my question to all of you who have a Tumblr page: Is it worth it? Do the positives outweigh the negatives?

Oh, and in case you're curious, here's the comic that triggered the wank storm:

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Honestly, I shouldn't have been surprised at the response. The Sly fandom on Tumblr has this baffling tendancy to paint people who have problems with Sly 4 as being ungrateful little bastards who either can't accept ANY change and/or are just butt-hurt shippers who are mad that their favorite couple broke up. And they seem to believe that all Sly fans should ignore the new game's flaws and kiss the feet of the people who made the latest game simply because they gave us a new Sly Cooper title.
Just....no.

Comments

[sarajayechan]

Yeah, tumblr is...pretty fucked up. In one of my fandoms, people take critiquing sexualized character designs way too far. Including the ringleader of the pack who actually bought the game just so she could bitch about it some more. Whatever happened to just not buying something you were sure you were going to hate?

But otherwise, tumblr can be pretty cool. Good source of fanart and humor, and you can download the tumblr savior app to block things you'd rather not deal with.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can't deny that there are some idiots/jerks on tumblr, but to be fair I think that's the same for any website that has fandoms on it unfortunately. It would probably be a different kind of jerk on tumblr, but I don't think it would be that different from DA.

With that said, with every jerk I've seen on tumblr I've seen like 10 people that speak up and try to explain why issues, like the things in Sly 4, are wrong. Just today, I saw a reblog post that explained why the "friend zone" issue: http://eastofthemoon.tumblr.com/post/50726002779/how-the-logic-of-friendzoning-would-work-if-applied

Now granted, that's from the people I follow. I would say give it a try and if you don't like tumblr then just don't use. No one says that just because you make an account somewhere says you have to keep using it.

(By the way, Stu and I did finish the first Sly game. We're planning to write up a review together on it. In Sly 2, I'm at the point in which Sly has gathered things for a proper tux. Although it makes me laugh that he still doesn't need to get pants for it. XP)

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Wow. That was the best explanation of "Friend Zone" I've seen in a while.
You make a good point about every site having it's pluses and minuses. Maybe I will give it a trail run and just abandon it if I end up hating it.



I'm looking forward to seeing that review!

My favorite thing about Sly 1 was the chemistry between Carmelita and Sly. IMO, the first game did the best job of selling the whole "Batman/Catwoman" thing between them.

BTW, did you unlock the little Sly Cooper anime movies? When Japan released the game, they did their own animation for the cutscenes. And Sucker Punch included the Japanese cartoons as extras. And they're ADORABLE!



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Although it makes me laugh that he still doesn't need to get pants for it. XP
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PANTS ARE FOR THE WEAK!!! LOL

The Indian Palace level is my favorite. Not only are the missions fun; but the level just FEELS massive and is so much fun to explore!

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Stu and I will probably try to write it up tomorrow for ya. ^_~

We saw the anime version of the opening scene. Need to go back and watch the others. I do like how the first games sets up the world and the relationship. It does set it up well between Carmelita and Sly.

And, I'm loving the Indian Palace level. It's so fun once you get the hang of sneaking up behind and taking out guards.

Whenever you set up on tumblr, here's mine: http://eastofthemoon.tumblr.com/

[brendala.livejournal.com]

You don't have to rush on my account.
That said...TOTALLY looking forward to it! :)

[oronoda.livejournal.com]

I think you should and fuck the haters.

Also, the response to your deviant art page once again proves why feminism is still needed. *sighs*

[brendala.livejournal.com]

The thing that REALLY sucks is how difficult it can be as a conservative woman to bring this stuff up without being lumped in with crazed "Social Justice Warrior" types. Men on all parts of the political spectrum feel the need to mansplain and ~*educate*~ me instead of stopping and considering how it feels to have something that was once positive taken away from us and turned into something gross and degrading.

The first 3 Sly games did a masterful job of treating the two female leads with respect, dignity, and personal agency (even though they were both created to be love interests for the male leads). And I just don't see how anyone can't at least understand why seeing them lose all that would upset me so much.

[oronoda.livejournal.com]

Oh honey, I know how you feel. I used to be very much the whole, "I don't hate men so I am not a feminist" but then I did a lot of reading and also I am in a traditionally male profession so I saw and heard some shit. Like one person said I was only given a huge assignment because I am a woman. Nevermind I worked my ASS off for it and sacrificed personal time for it.

Once I posted a picture of these girls of all different types in their underwear with words on their arms and legs and stomachs that said "slut'" "fat" "easy" things like that. And a guy friend said, "Well, why don't we have a male one." I had to explain to him that women are still looked on as sexual objects and not as people. Very true in politics. A woman is immediately attached for her sexuality. That defines who they are. Sure, some men may get a hard time for being fat (Christie is a great example of this) but fat men are still taken more seriously than fat women or any women. Like give an example of an "ugly" girl, hell an average girl getting the hot guy in hollywood? You can count it on your hand. But you just have dozens upon dozens Superbad like comedies. I can think of Hairspray and My Mad Fat Diary. That's it. And I am super happy to see people like Rebel Wilson and Mindy Kaling really actively trying to change that.

A lot of guys just don't get the empathy part. They don't. Also, don't get me wrong women also contribute to the problem. Like I am so hesitant to write female characters because the more extreme feminists put them to such a high standard. Like there were still feminists bitching about Brave! And because of that high standard it is harder and harder to find "good female characters".

I am struggling that with my female character in the book I'm writing. I finally decided to draw on personal stuff. Sarah overthinks things. Doesn't take too well to failure and is only opinionated when she's with people she's comfortable with. Otherwise she's a mouse. I already know if this story was EVER published, feminists from that section of the argument will complain about it. But haha Don't care.

I am not familiar with Sly Cooper series but it is very frustrating to see female characters sexualized... Hahaha THAT IS ALL THEY'RE GOOD FOR! SEXUAL OBJECTS!

The funny part about that I think feminists also get that view mixed up. Like you got Femen... that Ukrainian group that protest topless and they got into a huge spat with Islamic Feminists who maintain a different view. Both kinda are wrong in different but similar ways.

But the only way you're going to change that is if you speak to men. There is actually one Ted talk with a male feminist and he basically spoke like a guy on how the patriarchy actually hurts men too. Like how men look on weaker men as worthless and how that can contribute to crime for instance. And I was like that is how feminism should be dressed... as not a female issue but a societal issue.

SORRY FOR THIS LONG POST OF FEELS BUT I HAS THEM! XD

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Here's what typically happens when I, as a right-leaning gal, bring up "women's issues" with a dude...
---If I'm talking to a male liberal, he gently tries to make me aware of how "brainwashed" I've been by raging misogynists like Rush Limbaugh. And how I've somehow been tricked into voting against my best interests (or what he perceives to be my best interests) by the Republican Party
----If I'm talking to a male conservative or libertarian, he brings up dingbats like Lena Dunham and compares me to them and/or acts as if criticizing shit like Sly 4 means I want to BAN IT FOREVER! And it's discussions like these that occasionally make me wish that therightfangirl was a girls only club


A woman is immediately attached for her sexuality.

And the worst part is that it's literally impossible for a woman to win in that political arena. If she's fat and/or unattractive, she gets shit for it. But if she's gorgeous, she gets painted as a dumb bimbo who only succeeded because she's pretty (see: Sarah Palin).


Like give an example of an "ugly" girl, hell an average girl getting the hot guy in hollywood? You can count it on your hand. But you just have dozens upon dozens Superbad like comedies.

Ugh. The "Fat schlub nets a hot girl because his personality is just so fucking awesome" genre needs to DIE!
Aside from the movies you mentioned, a film that reverses this trope surprisingly well is 'Shallow Hal'. I know its hard to believe since its marketed as a frat boy comedy and the love interest looks like skinny-Gwynneth-Paltrow for 95% of the film. But I watched it on a whim and was surprised at how well it poked fun at (and proceeded to reverse) the "Fat guy gets a supermodel" cliche while delivering a fairly solid love story.


I am not familiar with Sly Cooper series but it is very frustrating to see female characters sexualized... Hahaha THAT IS ALL THEY'RE GOOD FOR! SEXUAL OBJECTS!

I went into more detail about it here and here. But, in a nutshell, the problem is that people don't get that there's a difference between "sexy" female character design and "exploitative" female character design. Here's a side by side view of old & new Carmelita to make the point clear:



And the in-game model (with helpful commentary):






...Basically, the old design was a perfect balance of making her beautiful without making her look ridiculous. The old design had a body that looked like it could actually belong to a physically tough cop. And the old games NEVER had her strike "sexy" poses left and right. In the new game, it's pretty much all she does.


SORRY FOR THIS LONG POST OF FEELS BUT I HAS THEM! XD

Don't apologize! I made this post specifically for the purposes of ranting/venting/etc with gals like you!! ^_^

[bonemarch.livejournal.com]

How dare you have an opinion! You get in that mini-skirt and you like it. But, honestly trying to get a tumblr so you can try to logically explain and defuse misconceptions of the ignorant masses; is like standing in front of fan that someone crapping in and coming out clean. It's not worth the frustration.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're right. But maybe I'll get one simply to show off my mad art skillz. LOL