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Fat Princess Video Game Has Some Feminists Fuming
July 30, 2008 07:03 AM
by
Josh Katz
Sony unveiled a new capture-the-flag-like PlayStation game over a week ago called Fat Princess, sparking anger from some in the online feminist community.
30-Second Summary
The game is based on the format of capture-the-flag, but the flag is the princess. To protect one’s princess from capture, users can fatten her up by gorging her with cake to make her harder to carry away.
Feminist bloggers did not see the humor. In the Shakesville blog, Melissa McEwan tells Sony that she’s “positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative [jerks].”
The Feminist Gamers blog suggested an alternative strategy to the game. “Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest. The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry,” said Feminist Gamer’s “Mighty Ponygirl.” She went on to say, “Oh, but that’s not as ‘cute’ as cake and fat chicks. Right.”
But on the technology blog SlashGear, Abby McVay argues that the feminist bloggers are overreacting, and says, “It couldn’t possibly be that it’s just an innocent game and you women are just looking for the latest and greatest thing to [complain] about.”
Fat Princess joins a number of other video games that have recently generated controversy. Some people have charged the newest version of Grand Theft Auto with encouraging violence and sex, and politicians have rebuked the Nintendo Wii game Beer Pong for the promoting binge drinking.
Feminist bloggers did not see the humor. In the Shakesville blog, Melissa McEwan tells Sony that she’s “positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative [jerks].”
The Feminist Gamers blog suggested an alternative strategy to the game. “Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest. The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry,” said Feminist Gamer’s “Mighty Ponygirl.” She went on to say, “Oh, but that’s not as ‘cute’ as cake and fat chicks. Right.”
But on the technology blog SlashGear, Abby McVay argues that the feminist bloggers are overreacting, and says, “It couldn’t possibly be that it’s just an innocent game and you women are just looking for the latest and greatest thing to [complain] about.”
Fat Princess joins a number of other video games that have recently generated controversy. Some people have charged the newest version of Grand Theft Auto with encouraging violence and sex, and politicians have rebuked the Nintendo Wii game Beer Pong for the promoting binge drinking.
Headline Link: Fat Princess has enemies
Sony’s upcoming video game Fat Princess has upset some people, particularly some feminists. According to Yahoo Games, “you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.”
Source: Yahoo Games
Opinion & Analysis: For and against the game
The Feminist Gamers blog says that the task of fattening up a princess could easily be replaced by adding weight to a treasure chest. “That could be cute, and silly, and not reinforce nasty stereotypes about women and the obese.”
Source: Feminist Gamers
On the technology site SlashGear, a female blogger expresses her opposition to the feminist bloggers who called Fat Princess offensive. “I’m sorry what? What stereotypes does it reinforce?! That cake has calories and too much of it makes you gain weight? Yes, you’re right, that’s truly appalling.” Soon, game creators will just stop making games with female characters, she argues.
Source: SlashGear
Related Topics: Grand Theft Auto and Beer Pong
The game Grand Theft Auto generated controversy when it was released in April, with the Parents Television Council arguing that it promoted violence and featured pornographic content. An attorney even claimed that earlier versions of the game “inspired his client Devin Moore to murder three police officers.”
Source: findingDulcinea
Some activists and politicians were none too happy with a Nintendo Wii game called Beer Pong, which is a video game version of a popular college drinking game. The makers of the game decided to change its name to Pong Toss and removed the beer from the plastic cups.
Source: findingDulcinea
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
