Are game developers ethically responsible for gender roles in games?

Mike Doolittle, a writer at gamecritics.com, has contributed a very interesting article questioning some of the feminist views of fellow writer Alex Raymond. He mentions some specific portrayals of females in games and defends these representations as perfectly acceptable based on the idea of artistic freedom for game developers.

This sort of discussion on gender roles always fascinates me. There are some valid concerns on both sides of the argument, but I tend to agree with Mike Doolittle in the end. The article is overflowing with comments, but I'd like to invite people who have traditional ideas about gender roles to post them here. Of course comments that would directly counter those ideas are welcome also. What are your thoughts on the article? Have you been concerned in the past by the portrayal of females in video games or other media? Is the idea of gender roles important or an illusion that belongs in the past?

"We have a new writer in town, a self-proclaimed feminist by the name of Alex Raymond, who at the time of writing has graced our site with three op-eds on the representation of women in video games. While I think issues of gender representation in video games are a perfectly valid and worthwhile topic, I'm consistently finding Alex's articles to be misguided and occasionally misinformed attempts to promote dubious and unscientific ideals about female equality."

Link to the full article: http://www.gamecritics.com/mike-doolittle/are-game-developers-ethically-responsible-for-gender-roles-in-games

Half naked life

Just a reminder to everyone that Punishment Tree now accepts video uploads. There's a bunch of stuff on there already. The video I've embedded here is a bit off topic yet still very interesting. It's a Japanese clip showing what life would be like if all females went bottomless. Part 2 of a series of clips from one movie. Note there is no actual spanking, sex, any real adult material here. It's more like just standard life to the point of boredom. Enjoy!

Moving from Yahoo 360 to Blogger

Because Yahoo 360 is closing soon, and their new blog system does not allow mature content, my full 360 has now been moved over to blogger. You can see it at http://aosblogger.blogspot.com/ (here).

I wouldn't call this move easy, but it is somewhat automated. Just export your 360 into a file and then import that file into a new wordpress.com account. Once that is done you can export your wordpress blog into an .xml file. Take that and run it through http://wordpress2blogger.appspot.com/ in order to make a file which is suitable to import to blogger. On your blogger.com account you'll find the import option on the settings page. Please note that the final step, the actual blogger import, often fails. I had to try 10 times or so before it actually worked. Also note that any blog images that appear on your blogger page will still be hosted from wordpress and not from blogger, so keep that wordpress account open.

Punishment Tree

It's been awhile since I last posted. I've been busy with various things, one of those being a new website I have made called Punishment Tree. It has taken off some now so I thought I'd talk about it here.

What is Punishment Tree?

Punishment Tree features articles, stories, links, forums, a wiki, and an image gallery. Users are free to submit content to almost every part of the site. This site is independent and not subject to shut down by yahoo like some groups have been in the past.

What are the goals for Punishment Tree?

First and foremost Punishment Tree was created to be a source of information on disciplinary techniques. It also should serve as a place to meet people with similar interests. The disciplinary practices mentioned on the site are intended to be used on females of varying age. So whether you are a high school or college age daughter who is spanked, a parent looking for information, a man or woman in a domestic discipline relationship, or just someone looking for friends with an interest in discipline, Punishment Tree is for you.

So I'd really like it if everyone reading this would visit and sign up. Remember it is just starting off, so contributions are really appreciated. This especially goes for articles and stories. If you'd like to add some of your work please submit through the site or contact me.

http://www.punishmenttree.com/

In the News: West Texas Polygamist Ranch Raided

I am sure many of you have heard of this story in the news recently. Pictures of people dressed as if from a different era, looking more suited to be from the time period of the Primrose Girls rather than modern day. I'd like to take a minute to go over it briefly and share my thoughts. I want to make it clear though that I am far from an expert on this news story. I have only read over some of the media coverage on the internet. So take everything I say here with a grain of salt. First off, a quote from msnbc which sums up what has happened.

"ELDORADO, Texas - Officials on Monday announced that 534 women and children — more than twice as many as had been earlier reported — were removed from a polygamist compound and that all 401 children have been placed in state custody because a judge deemed them in imminent danger of physical abuse."

"The dayslong raid on the sprawling compound built by the now-jailed Jeffs was sparked by a 16-year-old girl's call to authorities that she was being abused and that girls as young as 14 and 15 were being forced into marriages with much older men."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23993440/

It is easy to follow news coverage like this and see it in a one sided manner. They paint of a picture of beating, abuse, rape, and forced marriages for young girls and women. It is made to seem like some kind of molester paradise or hell on earth. Is it really like that though?

Let's take a minute to examine the facts from the start with our skepticism turned up high. A 16 year old calls saying she is abused physically and sexually, basically saying she has been beaten and raped. Who knows exactly what she said over the phone at this point, we only know what we have been told second hand. When someone says "beaten" it usually brings up images of terrible abuse involving broken bones and bleeding. Is that really what it means in this context?

I will quote now from a book called "Escape" co-authored by Carolyn Jessop, a woman who was born into a FLDS community. She has been on the news lately.

"In private, my mother was depressed and volatile. She beat us almost every day. The range was anything from several small swats on the behind to a lengthy whipping with a belt."
http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/chapter.pl?isbn=9780767927567

So basically several small swats on the behind is considered beating. Even if we are talking about a belt whipping I'm sure most reading this would agree that a 16 year old girl getting the belt is hardly a news story. Putting the beating aside, what about the rape? When you hear the word rape you think about a girl being held down and violated while struggling to get away. Of course there is another kind of rape. The kind called statutory rape, where even if the girl was totally consenting, the male would be sent to prison. Which kind of rape is it then?

The goal of this community is obviously to marry off girls as young as possible in order to start birthing children. The entire concept of polygamy facilitates that goal. Kind of like having one rooster in a hen house. Is this wrong? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that it is a very "American" idea to break off and seek freedom from religious persecution. Why should the government involve itself in family matters? If one or two girls call about abuse should they send in swat teams to extract over 500 women and children from the community in response? We may not agree with their values, but it is still sad to see their way of life being attacked so viciously.

The most interesting part of this is the media's response to the allegations of abuse. They call it "beating" over and over but never say what that actually entails. I wonder if they purposely shy away from saying spanking because they are afraid some people might agree with it as a disciplinary tool. Even if they did mention spanking children, would they ever mention wife spanking? No, I think not. It would always be referred to as beating or abuse. What does everyone else think about this and the news story? Please feel free to comment here even if you totally disagree with what I've said. Hate mail would be welcome too. I am surprised I haven't gotten any of that yet over some of the posts in this blog.

Maintenance Discipline

My favorite topics are the ones that are controversial. The concept of maintenance discipline definitely falls under this category. For those who are not familiar with it, maintenance discipline is a punishment given for a general cause or for no specific cause at all. An example of this might be if a girl receives a spanking once a month, once a week, or at any chosen interval of time regardless of how her behavior has been. Another example would be if a girl has been well behaved and not earned herself any punishments for a certain length of time, she is given maintenance discipline.

The controversy starts when people see this as a punishment without justification. A girl might ask "why should I be punished if I have been behaving?" Some might think that if a girl successfully goes a length of time without earning herself any punishment then it would be counterproductive to give her maintenance discipline. It may come off as being cruel and unusual to many who spank for discipline to do it without any direct cause.

What is the purpose of maintenance discipline? There are many different reasons I've heard for this, but some of the popular ones are these. It could act as a simple reminder to behave in the near future. It could be for accumulated minor misbehaviors that have gone without punishment. A reminder of who is in charge. Stress relief for either the spanker or the spankee. A preemptive measure against future misbehavior. An attempt to directly influence a girl's general attitude. It even could be a way to show a girl that she is loved.

How severe should maintenance spanking be? I find that for most this ranges from being a light punishment to one that is equal to a true disciplinary spanking for misbehavior. It may not seem fair to give a harsh spanking for no direct cause, yet it could also be argued that there is no point in giving a spanking if it is not going to leave an impression on the girl. If the goal is for it to be a reminder of what a spanking feels like, then it makes sense for it to be like a typical spanking for misbehavior. If it is about addressing minor misbehaviors or showing love then perhaps a lighter spanking could work. At any level of severity there will still be the element of shame that comes from losing clothing, being on display for the spanking or corner time, and of course being spanked like a child.

There are a few articles on this around online, but I thought I'd point one out in particular. Sir Don wrote a great article about how maintenance discipline can work in a Christian domestic discipline relationship between husband and wife. Here is a link to that article. http://www.christiandomesticdiscipline.com/maintenancediscipline.html

I have updated this to include a post made by the very popular and ever interesting Angie. She reposts some comments she made on the LDD site article about maintenance discipline. Thank you for pointing this out Angie. Here is a direct link the post on her 360. Do yourself a favor and check out all her other posts too if you haven't already. http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-81KbBQY.b60U0_uzl5TSoGmRAdE-?cq=1&p=56

It is difficult to find a picture that represents something as abstract as maintenance discipline. I chose a piece of art created by a talented artist named Roger Benson. It was created in black and white and later colorized by FST. We can't know the circumstances of the two girls being disciplined in this illustration, but one assumption could be that they are receiving some sort of maintenance discipline. The two parents work as a team, the mother first collecting panties so that the father can do the work of warming the girls' bare bottoms. If indeed two girls were living under the same roof it makes sense that they would be given maintenance at the same time. But what about the mother? Does she not receive maintenance discipline? Is she allowed enough dignity by her husband to take hers later in private?

Mouth Soaping

Another one of the many possible side dishes often served with a main course of spanking, mouth soaping is a punishment to be feared. Although it is most often given as discipline in response to foul language, it can also be used for backtalk or just general misbehavior.

Just as a spanking can cause lingering pain, mouth soaping usually causes a lingering taste. This is especially true if the girl being soaped is not allowed to rinse it out as much as she'd like to. A simple grounding or removal of privileges might be met with a "whatever" attitude by older girls or women. The benefit of mouth soaping and spanking is that they are very difficult punishments to ignore in such a way.

While mouth soaping can be a punishment on its own, usually it is given before a spanking. I have also heard of it being used after or during. The girl might be led to a sink where a lathered bar is worked around her mouth for awhile or she may have to bite down and keep a bar in her mouth during her spanking or corner time. There are doubtless many other variations on this involving liquid soap and water mixtures, washcloths, cutting soaps to size, etc.

Knowing that a mouth soaping will make a girl drool a lot of soap, it makes sense for her to be without clothing for it. This also helps ensure she will be cooperative. If she is being difficult it can often be resolved with a few quick spanks to her bare bottom.

It is important to understand that even though most soaps are non-toxic(make sure the one being used is!), they probably can still be poisonous if too much is ingested. The same can also be said for other things like alcohol, salt, and even water. For this reason many people advise against using liquid soap, as it is easier to swallow high concentrations of it. The goal should be to get the soap into every part of a girl's mouth, not into her stomach.