"The R Word" (about rape and video games)
"Recently, there's been an explosion of articles about rape in videogames, both the depiction of the act and how the word gets used in slang. This one's going to be different. You're not going to read the words "rape culture" in this editorial, though it's been discussed in-depth elsewhere. Also, since I'm male, I'm not going to address sexism and gender issues because I have no interest in speaking on behalf of women like Patricia Hernandez , Susan Arendt , and Cara Ellison , who are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves. In fact, when writing here, I represent myself and myself alone.
I've seen a lot of comments on these articles suggesting that blowback about rape is part of some sort of "feminist agenda." This bothered me for a number of reasons, the first being that I think the "feminist agenda" can be summed up by the phrase "we would really like it if you treated us like people." The second fact is that I, as a rape victim, identified with a lot of the parties feeling upset about these topics, and I think there's been a disconnect. See, this isn't about feminists being offended, this is about how the ill-use of sensitive topics can hurt people.
Despite all the articles, I have yet to see one that helps people understand, in detail, why this is such a personal topic for people who have had rape in their past. Perhaps it's our fault for not taking you there, for just assuming you'd care about something that for you is an abstract idea, but for us is a painful reality."
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9766-The-R-Word
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