Jim Sterling, a once prominent voice in the gaming community, and someone who I had once personally looked to as a beacon of hope against the downfall of modern gaming, has taken a turn that has left many gamers scratching their heads. Recently, Sterling, who... now cosplays as a female, has made some bold claims about gamers and their 'understanding' of women...
In Sterling's latest video published to YouTube, he stated:
"It was both bitterly hilarious and entertainingly depressing to see... angry nerds typed their outrage with hands that clearly had never so much as brushed a woman’s cheek."
"The 'Woke Chin' is one of the contemporary obsessions of gender-terrified cis men who think policing fictional bodies isn’t one of the saddest things in the world."
One word: What?
It's both infuriating and saddening to see Sterling's sweeping generalizations and condescending remarks about a community that is, as good friend of the channel /s Alyssa Mercante put it so well, Naturally diverse and passionate.
Gamers are people from all walks of life, many of whom have rich, fulfilling relationships. These gamers have been overshadowed by the mockery of injecting identity politics into gaming. Sterling's comments do nothing but alienate and insult those who have legit concerns about the direction the gaming industry is taking, particularly regarding the portrayal of women.
Sterling seems to believe that questioning the industry's portrayal of women equates to being "gender-terrified" and ignorant of real-life women. Of course he has to bring out the tried-and-true 'oh if you disagree with me you are tranphobic' line towards the end. Classic.
This is not only absurd but unfortunately, also dismissive of the genuine concerns many have about the shift towards making female characters look more like trans men. This isn’t about fear or policing fictional bodies; it’s about maintaining the integrity of character design and staying true to the source material. It's... to be blunt.. Reality.
It's blatantly obvious that because the direction of making women in gaming look like trans men fits Sterling's narrative, he'd cling to it and demean anyone who dares question it. Suggesting that someone who questions this artistic direction has "never been with a woman" is not only a weak argument but a pathetically desperate one. This kind of rhetoric only serves to shut down meaningful dialogue and further polarize the community. Literally how we ended up here in the first place.
Sterling's attempt to lecture gamers on how we should perceive and create female characters in gaming is misguided, to put it nicely. The gaming industry thrives on creativity and diversity of thought, not on bending to the will of individuals who insist their way is the only way. It’s essential to respect and consider different perspectives, especially when they come from a place of genuine concern and passion for the medium.
The real issue here isn't about who has or hasn't been with a woman; it's about respecting the voices within the gaming community and acknowledging their right to critique and influence the media they consume. Dismissing these voices with baseless accusations does nothing to advance the conversation. There is a clear agenda propagated by his own personal bias being shoved into the narrative of why 'gamers' are wrong and how the chin on modern women in gaming is a big nothing burger. His rationale? Because women come in all shapes and sizes and ugly ones have chins that are bigger and look like trans men... and that's perfectly ok, because... reasons.
At least, that's how I'd summarize his lectured rant.
Jim Sterling's latest tirade is a disappointing attempt to silence valid criticism under the guise of progressive thinking. The gaming community deserves better than to be told they are incapable of understanding women simply because they disagree with a particular artistic direction. Let's focus on fostering a more inclusive and respectful dialogue where all voices can be heard and considered... Instead of, whatever that was.
Oh and WTF is the deal with this 'woke' crowd always jumping immediately to that 'You only care about making women hot in games because you want to bang pixels' thing? What even is that line? Where did it come from? It's just so weird to me... How is it wrong to ask developers who we, the gamers, are paying money to, to request that the women lead in games look like... women in real life? Women who are at least ...mildly attractive. Hell, let's start with the very bare minimum of 'women that don't look like a dude in cosplay', ok? I don't want to bang my TV set while playing a game, just as much as I don't want a not-so-subtle trans character being injected into the vast majority of AAA games. I just want to play the game and have fun with the experience, free of woke any identity politics.
Is that so much to ask? Maybe it's just me...
~Smash
