This is classic. Proving that you can't dare to say or do anything these days without it offending someone, a bunch of gamer feminists are up in arms over the "fat-bashing" PSN game, Fat Princess. The game's premise is that the princess you must rescue has been stuffed so full of food, she now needs a team to haul her copious backside to safety -- according to some mini-Germaines out there, that's simply not on.
Feminist Gamers (ha ha) has attacked the game, claiming it will "reinforce nasty stereotypes about women and the obese." What's the negative stereotype? That fat people like to eat? It's TRUE! That fat people are heavy? I HAVE PERSONAL EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE! I've never seen a negative stereotype about a fat person. It's. All. True.
Even worse is a writer at Shakesville, who took time out of doing her husband's laundry to write this: "Congrats on your awesome new game, Sony. I'm positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative assholes." As you can see, she uses "words" like "heteronormative" to sound clever and informed, a tactic which invariably fails and makes one look presumptuous and pretentious.
"What I can't figure out is why anyone would want to rescue a fat princess in the first place, since everyone knows that fat girls are unlovable human garbage at whom any sensible bloke would sooner hurl invective than cast a longing glance." Word to the wise: Sarcastic fat girls don't go to the prom!
It should be no secret to anybody that I'm a fat guy myself, and I'm certainly not offended by this game. Perhaps I'm just too heteronormative to understand the terrible evil that this game represents. Or maybe self-styled "feminists" who think that the movement is all about getting angry and using buzzwords are simply retarded. Who knows?
can't remember where i heard it, but i know the phrase to say here: "People who take things too seriously make the world all the more fun for the rest of us"
What's funny is the actual similarity in face between the woman and the character.
Feminist gamer? Is that some sort of oxymoron?
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
I don't know about these bitches, but I actually like big girls. I think it's more offensive that they're, in fact, making fun of fat girls more than the game does.
I have a penis, and I am offended by what this lady said.
"What I can't figure out is why anyone would want to rescue a fat princess in the first place, since everyone knows that fat girls are unlovable human garbage at whom any sensible bloke would sooner hurl invective than cast a longing glance."
First, I like me a girl with meat on her bones. Every woman is beautiful in their own way, size doesn't fucking matter. Second, this lady freaking bashed bigger women. What kind of feminist would do such a thing to her own gender?
You're just thinking heteronormatively-like enough... like... bloody feminists, THIS AIN'T THE 80s LOVE!
The best part is she deleted all the comments that didn't agree with her, and then closed the comments down.
Fat chick hates on game that is centric around chicks and making them fat?
Home. We've hit too close to it.
You remember that Mika song 'Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)'? Yeah fat girls got up in arms over that as well. Fat girls just like jumping on everything that they can bitch about.
Barcade:
I'm with you on that. I don't give a shit how fat/thin a girl is if she's attractive, and I know some damn hot big girls.
Pedro wins the internet for the day.
I'd say that maybe fat chicks like her need to grow some thicker skin but.....
Fem-Nazis: STFUAJPG.
You trying to get a writing gig on Something Awful or something?
Also, why in the hell was anyone cruising around Shakespeares Sister? Sis and Marcotte are like the biggest man haters on the planet and, not to mention, completely batshit crazy.
Next thing you know vegans will be complaining about the treatment of fungus in Mario games.
/salute Jim Sterling
The fact that they see a fat girl in a game and get offended is more offensive than having a fat girl in a game.
For instance, I'm fat and I saw this game and thought nothing of it. Plus, shes not fat because shes fat - like me - I make bad choices. I heard shes fat because the enemy forced her to eat. Either way it shouldn't be offensive.
The best part is that "Pony Girl" got mad because people posted on her site and made good points that made her look dumb so she shut down the comments.
You know what they say, if you can't take the heat, get back in the kitchen... and make me some dinner bitch.
They should rename the game Fat Feminist.
i bet they are all big lesbians...
uhm, doesn't "heteronormative" mean the marginalization of non-heterosexual orientations?
Apparently, "heteronormative" (which firefox doesn't believe is a word) has a lot more to do with being homophobic than misogynistic. It's almost tragic to see bottom feeders use $20 words wrong. Almost.
I hate fat people so much.
Quite honestly, all this time she's wasting bitching about it, Shouldn't she just work out?
No one would think I was a fat woman just to hear me talk, because the majority of fat women are fucking annoying as hell. Either they're oversensitive blowhards who take the slightest mention of weight and turn it into a whiny victim-fest, or they confuse being beautiful with being trampy and immodest, claiming they have a "right" to walk around in tube tops and hot pants.
Fewer large women today know how to have any class whatsoever because, deep down, they're so damned self-conscious and self-hating while attempting to preach to other big women about having confidence or fighting injustices against us.
Bottom line is - they whine when big people are left out of movies and games, and they whine when you include them. They're idiots, and should, in no way, be confused with those few of us who aren't neurotic.
Velt: that would be better.
@ Sueng
She would but she's too busy fighting the evil antiheteronormativelessness.
I'm all for equal rights, and not treating anyone, including women, like objects. But these 'women' are pathetic. They feel that any mention of a girl that doesn't leave them completely androgynous is 'sexist' or 'misogynistic'. And then they can't handle comments from people that disagree with them, so they delete them (and publicly admit to deleting comments) and then shut comments down. Perhaps my heteronormativity is causing me to miss the point considering that has to do with sexual orientation, and not obesity, I'm going to assume these 'women' are just being bitches because that's what they know best.
@Aurvantoid -- and how do you know so much about them? O_o
somehow, I figured this would be a Jim Sterling post. funny that.
meh. its just somebody's observation on a small-blog. Its weird how these things get so much attention from game-blogs, like their local senator or magistrate just signed a bill with his dick cementing a gamer's perceived morality.
w/e its Wednesday . . .
Lol feminists. Go shave your armpits and put a bra on. What you doing playing games when my dinner isn't on the table?!?!
# Mighty Ponygirl Says:
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
…and with that, I’m shutting down comments. I’m too busy for this shit. Go off and claim your victory, trolls. Just because I’m too busy to repeatedly wipe your bottoms for you does not mean you’re big boys now. It means you’ll have to shit in your own crib from now on.
It’s a shame, I really liked where the “let’s design our own game” was going. It’s too bad the fanboys hate games so much they had to disrupt it.
OH THE HUGE MANATEE
@ Tubatic
I think they get attention because dumb shit like this is funny, not because anyone feels threatened by it. Good for a laugh, but not much else.
Man, she's as annoying as pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolca.
I can google big words too.
Right as I read this article Jimmy Carr just said this, and it is soooo appropriate.
"Someone complained about that joke last night. She was a big boned girl.
She said "You're fattist!"
I said "No, you're fattest." "
Personally i'm of the opinion that there are still plenty of sexist phenomena in our society that need to be tackled, the disgracefully low rape conviction rate, the sexualisation of early and pre-teen girls, the glass ceiling etc. If these women want to call themselves feminists, they need to get off their fat, lesbian arses and start fighting the important battles, not joining the seemingly endless fucking chorus of voices that use videogames as a platform for spouting their half-baked views on society's ills. This is EXACTLY the same as the people that blame violence on video games, they don't have the ability, courage or inclination to stand up against genuine influences on people's behaviour because to do so would be to go against the kind of social norms these drooling morons claim to oppose in the first place. Much as Jack Thompson no doubt supports the many and varied right wing ideologies that cause us to live in such a violent world, i bet the utter fucking tool that ranted against Fat Princess reads gossip magazines and watches america/britain/wherever the fuck's top model.
I'm a bleeding heart, anti-sexism, anti-racism, anti-homophobia, anti-gun, anti-war, socialist lefty and even i want to punch this fat whore straight in the cunt.
In other news, the rest of the world laughs at fat american women.
The Fat Princess didn't choose to be fat she was forced by the enemy forces so the good guys couldn't carry her away.
It's not her fault!
So... if I buy this game that means I hate myself?
LMAO @ Pedro
She's just mad she can't wear her sweatpants with "FAT PRINCESS" written across the ass anymore without looking like a Sony billboard.
I JUST HATE ROYALTY
#1. Its a game.
#2. If it was called Fat Prince it would be ok.
#3. Go work out.
#4. Why are people so fucking retarded?
#5. Its a game.
#6. They are helping her not harrassing her.
#7. I such at spelling.
#8. Back in the day, if you were fat it meant you were rich & feed well.
#9. Go fuck yourself you fatass crybaby.
Bitch is just jealous she can't have all the cake she wants.
She needs a good fucking to chill her out.
I don't understand the problem. Your trying to save the fat princess aren't you? These woman should be happy that the princess is still wanted even though she's obese.
It's not like you go on a quest to find the princess. Arrive, only find out she's gotten fat. Then throw her a lamb chop and be on your merry way.
Also, on a more juvenille note. Maybe Shakes was just pissed because seeing the fat princess was like glancing into a mirrior.
Big girls don't cry.
big boned princess maybe? no, that sounds a little dirty for some reason
While I enjoy reading Destructoid most of the time, I am often surprised at how entirely insensitive this blog and its readers tend to become when faced with any sort of political/social criticism of a video game. Destructoid has come down fairly concretely on the "that is dumb" side of the argument surrounding N'Gai's comments on race in Resident Evil 5, and is now loudly proclaiming that the critiques presented here are entirely meaningless.
It seems clear to me that if an issue is raised with the way a topic is treated in a game, we owe it to ourselves to take it seriously, so that we will be taken seriously in turn. The gaming community as a whole will benefit from this sort of reasonable response to criticism and social thinking. Let's not sit around taking cheap shots at feminists and making fat jokes. Whatever your personal opinions, there is an issue here. Let's discuss it like rational human beings.
There's a world food shortage. They failed to see the social commentary that this princess is a drain on the world's resources.
Why must people be offended by such stupid things?
Sassafrass,
It's not my place to sit around the table and discuss matters like this.
1) I'm bored at work
2) I'm fucking TIRED of all the bullshit PC crap that I hear about every fucking day. I've had personal experiences with weight issues and it can be a painful thing, extremely painful - and I mean at either end of the... erm... scale. the day a videogame makes me hate fat people is the day I probably turn anorexic myself. She's just attention seeking and I really don't have time or serious responses for it. there are REAL things happening in life to worry about.
Seriously, if I were a feminist I would complain more about the constant portrayal of women as big boobed bimbos... Actually having a fat girl in a videogame is surprisingly realistic for the industry standards :)
Holy shit. This is just like what happened to me over at Japanator:
http://www.japanator.com/elephant/post.phtml?pk=8288
Kurtz,
It's true, it's a no-win situation. Lara Croft or Fat Princess = everyone up in arms.
I think women should just be portrayed as blank mannequins in games from now on, just to be on the safe side.
"Even worse is a writer at Shakesville, who took time out of doing her husband's laundry to write this:"
Hahahaha. Nice.
+1 for further pissing off people who fucking deserve it.
Jim Sterling, only you could write an article that I've already read on two other gaming blogs and have it still be a joy to sit through.
Thanks for holding up the position of RATIONAL fat people everywhere.
@Joseph -Orcist- Leray: Because I'm the "enemy" and I have been around Ace of Spades HQ for like, ever (co-blogged a few times too), and Shake's Sister and Marcotte (Pandagon) have gone to odds with AoSHQ on more than one occasion.
Spewing their "Down with the Patriarchal Monarchy!" nonsense all over the right-wing blogosphere. Same goes for Arianna Huffington and those douchebags at Salon. Trust me, I'm quite well familiar with them because I have been completely against them for like the past 4 years.
Butthurt?
@ Sassafrass
I would almost agree with you if this were a serious issue.
This stupid bitch deserves nothing better than people making fat and/or ugly jokes at her.
This is hilarious, thanks for making me smile at the end of a busy work day :)
I understand their outrage, I mean there are so many games with realistic male protagonists... oh, wait, nevermind
Sassafrass.
STFU.
It's not a big deal, someone with low self-esteem got mad 'cause a joke hit too close to home.
Honestly, we take this seriously we'll have to start taking emo kids seriously.
Sassafrass
People are made differently. Some people are fat, some are skinny, some are ugly, some are pretty, some are short & some are tall. Its life. Get over it. I will NEVER show an ounce of compassion for people that can set themselves straight by either exercising & not eating fast food. It angers me that there are so manyis such double standards in society.
Im still going to buy this game. I don't give a donkey's ass that it offends this fat bitch that need motovation to stop stuffing her fat face and start walking.
I can't wait for this game. I have a sense of humor therefore I think I will enjoy the game. Too bad for the people who don't.
Fat people are evil.
Though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil.
For I am the evilest motherfucker in the valley.