Yesterday, Overwatch announced a new character, Ana… an older woman. We huffed and we puffed about the sexism of the game’s exclusively younger female cast, and it seems Blizzard has finally capitulated (though they’ve probably been working on this for a while).
But now there is a really problematic problem for us turbo feminists. How will we call Overwatch sexist now?
When we cried that the game had no larger body types they gave us Zarya. Now with Ana we can’t cry ageism. Maybe tokenism? There is only one oldie after all.
Point being, we have to get creative. Flippantly referring to Overwatch as sexist has becoming a passing hobby that has been faithfully picked up by the mainstream media. What will happen to our fragile narrative if the game everyone loves is able to be enjoyed without our harping!? People may be able to play peacefully, forget their privilege — and, most abhorrently, briefly ignore us.
So here are a few reasons why we can still call Overwatch sexist.
The fact Blizzard excluded a legend like Gloria Steinem speaks to the pervasive misogyny that plagues the gaming industry.
While Overwatch doesn’t say it hates women, it doesn’t say it does not hate women either. What are we supposed to make of that? How are we supposed to know where it stands on the women-hating dichotomy? Until Overwatch clearly states it does not hate women in large font on the box, it’s still sexist in my book.
Overwatch’s creative leader, Jeff Kaplan is cis white male scum. Because all white people are racist, all men are sexist, and all cis are transphobic, Kaplan is one of the most bigoted people on the planet. The whole game oozes with his toxic masculinity. The privilege of that man to follow his dreams and make video games when so many marginalized voices could be doing his job instead, is frankly quite triggering.
With my monthly Patreon allowance, I am able to bring my unique brand of misandry to the wider world (and buy purple hair die of course ;). But the sexists of Overwatch’s developer team have never thought to give me money. And how much did they give to male Patreons? Probably more than they gave mine!
By not paying for me and my needs, Overwatch has violated me. Taken from me the ability to blog on Tumblr all day without getting a real job. Each month of nonpayment escalates this microaggression into a full-on macro-literally-assault.
Pay my rent on Patreon at patreon.com/genderstudiesisnotarealprofession.