I want to start this post by paying respect and thanks to all of the soldiers, volunteers, and contracted folks who have served to protect our country and made the ultimate sacrifice. I would also like to take the time to give thanks for the friends and family that supported them and found themselves left behind to mourn the loss of their loved ones.
And it only seems (ironically) fitting that on this Memorial Day weekend that a poster for EA’s upcoming Battlefield 4 game appeared on Evil Avatar that claimed that players would (finally) be able to customize their characters in terms of appearance and gender in multiplayer mode. Now this immediately raised red flags for me because I could see all kinds of problems arising in game (name calling, “friendly fire”, etc), but I was cautiously optimistic.
Ahh, but the internet giveth and EA taketh away. This morning EA contacted the folks at VG247 to let them know that no such customization exists. What the hell, EA? And Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and anyone else even considering making a military game. *Those of you who have heard me talk about this topic on the podcast probably know what’s coming next*
And as if to pour salt in the wound, this week’s Xbox One reveal showed us that the next version of Call of Duty (CoD: Ghosts) will feature not only men, but….DOGS! That’s right folks, dogs. Not women…but dogs. We can make realistic K-9 characters for all to play, but we can’t make female characters? What the hell does that say to women who play and serve in the military? Thanks for serving, but right now our K-9 units are more important than you, well because every boy needs a dog, right?? I think that game designer and teacher, Ian Schreiber nailed it this week when he tweeted:
Dog of Duty. Because it’s easier for devs to make the main character in an FPS a dog, than a woman. #1ReasonWhy
— Ian Schreiber (@IanSchreiber) May 22, 2013
So to you Infinity Ward/Activision I would like to offer a big, Fuck You! Fuck you for ignoring the contributions of female soldiers, fuck you for dismissing the deaths of female soldiers, and fuck you for giving me the “privilege” of playing a canine soldier all while I still can’t play as the woman that I am.
Plain and simple, not having female soldiers in “realistic” military games is not only not realistic, but it is DISRESPECTFUL to the women who serve our country and the families that they leave behind everyday. Erasing the presence and the contribution of these women in order to contribute to some kind of moronic online machismo or to pander to some pubescent persecution is not only not reflective of reality but it devalues women and dishonors the armed forces as a whole.
So the next time some flag waving, mouth breathing, basement dwelling “patriot” starts in on you or someone that you are playing with for being a woman playing in multiplayer, kindly remind him that he has a number of women to thank for the fact that he is able to even sit on his ass and play the game in the first place. And just so that you know, this argument works equally well when they start with the racist or homophobic slurs as well.
