On February 11, 2015, Law & Order SVU aired an episode “ripped through the headlines” of GamerGate, dedicated to the harassment of feminists in gaming and having a main character instead transparently drawn from components of Anita Sarkeesian, Zoe Quinn, and Brianna Wu. This will be its tale.
I do want to start with stating that in university I happened to be a die-hard fan of legislation & Order, both the old series that is original SVU, and viewed each and every day. Brand New episodes, re-runs on TNT, you identify it. It absolutely was a ritual for my roommate that is freshman-year and after dinner. I’ve hot feelings that are fuzzy Law & Order. Or at the very least used to do.
The episode starts with a discussion between Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and her specialist for which Olivia covers the gender-typical “boy” behavior of her newly used son, Noah. Noah apparently is a breaker-of-toys-and-teapots, destroyer of bookshelves, and usually an all-around “boy, ” something about which both Olivia plus the laugh that is therapist.
And my hackles are actually up. This “boys are going to be boys” sorts of attitude – although the episode will not really condone such excuses – is highly problematic, and supplying it as a good ghost of reason for outlandish and improper behavior just exacerbates the flagrant problems our culture currently has with harmful sex stereotypes (against males, females, and other-gendered people). Continue reading “Ripped from the Headlines: exactly exactly What Went Horribly incorrect in legislation & Order”