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FemFreq: The pregnancy mechanics in Fallout Shelter are super troubling
- Thread starter kamorra
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ZeroMaverick
Member
Actually, you can send the pregnant women out to the wasteland armed and armored. This depicts them as strong and resilient. Both spectrums of pregnancy are depicted in this game, and I find no issue with it.
DrGonzo615
Banned
No, I was leaning more towards the idea of super buffed pregnant women.
Poodlestrike
Banned
That's actually what they did, AFAIK. They're invulnerable, so they have to run away or else they'd break the game
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Well that's kind of the thing, isn't it? I mean, I don't disagree that she goes overboard sometimes specifically in that way, but I also see a hell of a lot of people justifying kind of awful or just regressive shit because its "historically accurate" or whatever without regard for the actual, interesting larger conversation about the tone and framing around both individual elements and a piece as a whole. Just because something is "historically accurate" (it probably isn't) doesn't mean that it necessarily "works"
She doesn't but like...neither does anyone else. I see people arguing that depiction is not endorsement in cases where the text and the tone are actually indicating a pretty strong endorsement all the time
Tesseract
Banned
what the hell, why?
Love Deterrence
Member
there are real issues out there but whatever tbh
You should stop listening to strawmen.
ActuallyHulk
Banned
Personally I would have ignored this thread if her name was actually in the thread title.
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
Is that actually her twitting?
NoblesseOblige
Banned
Especially when I have them equipped with power armor and miniguns, and the only threat are raiders with swords or large cockroaches. Social implications aside, the whole thing is poor gameplay wise.
As much as I support what she stands for, it's time she stops seeing evil everywhere.
Pregnant women DO have emotional bursts due to hormones and in this game it's played for laughs. I mean, isn't the whole point of Fallout guy to make jokes? Like in the icons for skills and whatnot.
Pregnant women DO have emotional bursts due to hormones and in this game it's played for laughs. I mean, isn't the whole point of Fallout guy to make jokes? Like in the icons for skills and whatnot.
The real question is, how would firing weapons and putting on tight armor affect the child in the womb? Would the situation be ok if I can equip her with a stick that does zero damage?
Maybe she is fleeing because why wouldn't you flee from 3 feet long cockroaches when you unarmed in the 1950's?
If she is going to take issue with anything, it's the cheesy pick up lines
Maybe she is fleeing because why wouldn't you flee from 3 feet long cockroaches when you unarmed in the 1950's?
If she is going to take issue with anything, it's the cheesy pick up lines
Obliterator
Member
Its getting to the point everything on the Internet is getting to. Non stop complaining about everything.
People don't realize it now, but the call to censorship is going to lead to safer and safer products, with less originality, and just an endless stream of "samey" products. But then again maybe that's what people want?
But the call for censorship needs to be looked at closely. Its a dangerous road to go down.
Death Penalty
Member
The fact that Anita attacks things like this makes it really hard to take her seriously in any case, even when she's dead right. I'm pretty confident the pregnant women run from danger for the same reason the kids do, which is the same reason you can't kill the Little Lamplighters in 3. This is in no way a gender issue and it has nothing to do with the developer's views on pregnancy and what it does to women.
I wish she'd do more research and exercise more reason and moderation before she rails against things like this. She's pretty much a public figure now.
I wish she'd do more research and exercise more reason and moderation before she rails against things like this. She's pretty much a public figure now.
The Fallout universe has always been a satire on societal roles. Look at the era it is set in then you send people into a vault with the ideals. Then of course this type of behavior is going to continue, in the 50's-60's the media's view on women was a homemaker and one that needs protected. There were very few female role models for women to look up to. Fallout just takes a realistic viewpoint when considering there is almost no evolution in society when you are trap in a steel cage with these views for that long.
Inferno313
Banned
I'm a fan of hers, but I can kind agree with this. I think fundamentally it seems like she views media and art as prescriptive. Whereas I feel that art should be reflective and hold up a mirror to society rather than show an idealized society.
I think she's at her best in her videos which feel very researched and fleshed-out. Her twitter posts often feel reactionary to me.
I think it's Jonathan McIntosh, one of the writers for FemFreq,
SuperInuit
Member
Did she forget this takes place in a satirised version of the 50's? I wasn't aware the 50's had modern attitudes and beliefs.
BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
Yeah, I think you could be right. That guy is balls to the wall crazy, no idea why she works with him.
But to be serious, this is becoming a serious problem for progress in videogames. Anita has generally a point: there is inequality of genders in vidoegames, things can be fixed. However her escapades of getting offended at everything is weakening her arguments and furthemore the whole cause. It doesn't matter that it's just twitter, she is a person of public interest and thus even her twitter rants matter.
Get a grip Anita, most of us want equality in games, not the removal of woman in fear of backlash because something is offensive in your eyes. And apparently there is always something. Don't be the person who cries wolf.
Get a grip Anita, most of us want equality in games, not the removal of woman in fear of backlash because something is offensive in your eyes. And apparently there is always something. Don't be the person who cries wolf.
Sure that happens, that doesn't make what I wrote about her any less true.
old manatee
Banned
SocksAndShoes
Banned
I think Anita has an issue with confirmation bias.
Inferno313
Banned
This isn't censorship, or even a call to censorship, this is criticism. Show me which tweet says that the game should be removed?
Majukun
Member
calmly exit when your life is in danger and you can't/don't want to fight back?
I'm a man and in a situation like that i would run like the devil itself is chasing me
SliceSabre
Banned
So would she be okay with the alternative being the raiders and roaches can kill the pregnant women?
Because since they are immortal it makes sense gameplay wise otherwise you'd just have an army of immortal pregnant women defending your vault.
Because since they are immortal it makes sense gameplay wise otherwise you'd just have an army of immortal pregnant women defending your vault.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
They have to carry a baby. In real life some women will criticize you if you talk about other pregnant women doing something like running a marathon or something pro-active. I mean it's a double edged sword. I've had pregnant family members who needed help and wouldn't do anything. This one for all and all can do anything only works if you're saying "you shouldn't be looked down upon". Some people don't want you to tell them they can do more. They find it insulting. I've also known house wives and women who enjoyed being the type. I don't see her point except she wants some universal view with everything. To me no one is going to be pleased. Even if you make them out to be a hero.
Some women feel like they shouldn't raise a finger during pregnancy. It's a hard debate because they're the ones carrying the kids.
Some women just want to get pregnant in life and that's it.
She brought attention to a legitimate issue. And, however ridiculous her statements become in an attempt to maintain relevance, she remains an important voice in the gaming social-media landscape.
I'm sure many people will keep an ear to her Twitter account for the possibility that making pointless observations that intentionally ignore context no longer becomes something of interest for Feminist Frequency. It's a possibility.
You don't have to go far back into history to see women being treated like that in this country. Fallout is based in an era in which this kind of thinking still prevailed. That would be exaggerated by the whole end of the world thing. So, it not only fits the context of the time period, but of the need to repopulate. It's crass, and I think that's the point.
RockTurtle
Member
she's arguing that a pregnant woman running away and flailing during certain situations is problematic.
so she's on 2 points"
a) She thinks pregnant women should be allowed to engage and not just be walking baby factories.
which would mean she has no idea of thematic feel or concept, because pregnant women DO work and can do everything else except fight or put out fires. If they were allowed to engage in these mechanics, they would die.
and i bet you the games media would have a field day with having pregnant women and children be able to be killed, and also raise the game's rating. it shows little understanding of game mechanics
b) She has a problem with a goofy looking game having goofy looking animations.
its a silly looking game. a pregnant woman flailing around is keen to an old time cartoon and its eyes becoming balloon sized or mouth dropping. its an aesthetic choice and one that fits the art of the game.
you can say you don't like it, but to say it's "problematic" in the sense that it promotes some sort of sexist views, is reaching more than mr. fantastic.
SocksAndShoes
Banned
Yet she wants pregnant women to blow up mutants in fallout shelter? OK....
StrangeTaco
Member
Seems like a lot of Anitas problems are with things taken out of context like this. Really wish she'd stop doing that so maybe a serious discussion could be had instead of complaining about every possible slight.
Because art imitates life, to the point where we can widen our vision and make individual decisions on how the things we're presented.
¯\_(ツ
_/¯Edit: To be fair, it's unknown if those are the feelings of anita or someone else at FF, but the fact that her face is representing these tweets sort of directs your fingerpointing.
Sapphire Dreams
Member
It's Fallout, it's a series filled with fucked up shit like this.Remember the
vault where you had to sacrifice one person per year so the computer won't kill anyone ?
This game doesn't engage with 50's culture at all. It just takes a 50's aesthetic.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
I mean...what is satirical about this? Satire has an actual functional definition, its not just "ridiculousness". Is there a way the game frames its content that carries a message of "look how dumb it is that the culture at the time thought that pregnant women were helpless?"
To be clear, I don't agree that this is a particularly big deal. Its not, really, to me. But I also don't think "satire" is the right angle to defend this from
Obliterator
Member
She has a non stop barrage of criticism levied at the handling of women almost everywhere.
Maybe not a call to censorship but close.
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