Jess👾I still always feel like one of those bananas conspiracy theorists when I try to explain to people how you can draw a direct line from a woman making some YouTube videos about feminism in video games all the way to the downfall of the American Empire.
Tl;dr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate which lead pretty directly to the increased power and prominence of the Alt Right and Steve Bannon, which was a big part of Trump getting elected and continues to be a core of MAGA
And of course I know the cultural tensions were building up all around then, so it's not like gamergate was the only way the pressure would snap - it just happened to be the epicenter of the fault line between feminist progressives and patriarchal regressives. And had the misfortune to turn itself into a reverberating echo chamber with no moderating influences able to calm it down.
серафими многоꙮчитїи@JessTheUnstill if you haven't read it, Crash Override is an interesting first-hand look at how it all happened
It feels actually strange because previous to that one might have associated gamers only with being edgy and maybe overly dramatic, and now if someone identifies as a gamer it's pretty much a red flag for being extremist-adjacent. One of those things where it feels like the ball could have bounced the other way.
ChloChloaca@JessTheUnstill it's so stupid too bc it's actually real and not a conspiracy theory at all. 🤦♀️
@CordiallyChloe the fact that we lost millions of millennial men for no other reason than they were angry anyone dared to criticize their God given right to have video games with one dimensional blow up dolls and eye candy.
@JessTheUnstill My wife and I were watching Love is Blind and discussing this.
A majority of the men this season are absolute trash. But just a few seasons ago, men that acted like this were laughed out of the pods.
It's only been like 5-6 years that we've seen such a massive, devastating shift in these men.
Hell, I thought for a while I might be bisexual. I just identify as a lesbian now but I actually don't know if that's because I really only like women or because every (single) man I've met since coming out has been atrocious.
@CordiallyChloe I genuinely feel bad for het women these days. All these incels and their mindset are making the dating pool toxic. But then I also remember, it was only a comparatively brief window of time that the dating pool WASN'T dominated by patriarchal assholes.
@JessTheUnstill Yep same. I have some close cishet girl friends who are dealing with this. And I've seen how they have to drop their standards just to get a date. And the excuses they make for these guys are...horrifying.
I know one girl who went on a 2nd date with a guy "because he didn't do anything wrong." She didn't even find him attractive and found him incredibly boring! He just...idk, didn't call himself an alpha male I guess.
I know girls who are choosing to stay single because it's less exhausting.
Men are destroying the dating scene all on their own. 🤦♀️
@CordiallyChloe Het women are the real involuntary celebates here simply because they dare to have the slightest crumbs of self respect.
@JessTheUnstill Have you heard of mankeeping? If not, this comic explains it REALLY well.
(Please don't subscribe to this subreddit. It's AWFUL.) But the comic is still on point and the concept is talked about in a lot of feminist circles right now.
Keith@CordiallyChloe @JessTheUnstill that comic is brilliant! I’m fortunate that I have a great group of friends (many of whom I have been friends with since high school), but this explains a lot of the struggles I’ve seen in other guys around my age and younger.
Rooktallon@CordiallyChloe @JessTheUnstill Ok not gonna lie, I just came to reply to this because I genuinely like your username. I know I'm probably weird. Signed, a man who likes the name Chloe.
Jennifer Kayla | Theogrin 🦊I hate how much of this has a direct and causal link to Jeffrey Epstein et al, too. You're looking at some of the most horrible abusers on the planet worried that the cultural shift might eventually expose them to blame and consequences, so they concoct a memetic conspiracy theory to discredit the MeToo movement amongst other things like creating a violent group of disaffected men.
And it sounds bonkers. It is bonkers. Were it put to the stage, I would condemn it as an improbable fiction.