February 2012
15 posts
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Daily Corgi
Original Article
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Bioware's Jennifer Hepler and Gendered Insults
EDIT: Her name is Jennifer not Jessica and this is why I write posts in the evening and review them thirty million times before I publish.
So Jennifer Hepler is a writer at BioWare and said some things about games which I disagree with but we’re not going to go there. She suggested a “skip combat” button in games. Since the schtick here at TeamV isn’t about critiqueing...
Sorry for having gone dark, guys. SUPER DUPER SICK. Liek woah. Promise we’re here. Will return next Tuesday.
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Daily Corgi
Happy Valentine’s Day from Team Valkyrie FTW!
Original Article
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Happy Valentine's Day!
It’s that time of year again! Â Where people in love try to make up for months of neglect with a bouquet of roses and enough candy to make anyone beg for insulin, or where everyone else waits for the day after to get gobs of heart-shaped confections at 75% off and binge away their misery at being foreveralone.
…Ok, maybe I overexaggerate a bit.
But! Â Valentine’s day is still a...
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Daily Corgi
THORGI
Original Article
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So Imma Talk About Once Upon a Time and Racefail
Note: This post is nothing but spoilers for the Once Upon a Time episode titled “Fruit from the Poisonous Tree.”
Okay, so, hopefully by now everybody’s at least heard of Once Upon a Time. If not, it’s a show on the televisions where all the fairytale characters of McEurope are in a small town in Maine and they don’t know they’re fairytale characters, and the...
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Daily Corgi
Original Article
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Making Math Nerds out of paired-up X-Chromosomes
While perusing through the fascinating links provided by our fantastic Head Valkyrie, I stumbled across this article discussing a new way to increase female participation in math contests. Well, the method isn’t new, exactly - affirmative action’s been around for years. But it’s working - and by working, I mean it’s bringing more girls into math competitions - so...
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Daily Corgi
Sorry for missing the Daily Corgi yesterday, guys! It’s been pretty crazy over here.
Original Article
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Gaming, Romance, and the Stupid Shit Other People...
So let’s talk about stupid shit.
The reason I get tense around Valentine’s Day isn’t because of oh how sad it’s Singles Awareness Day, or how it’s just a corporate holiday constructed to sell Hallmark cards, blah blah blah. I mean, sure, those things bug me, but I’ve gotten past the point where I need to bitch about them. No, it’s crap like what you see...
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Many Links for a Monday
I don’t have the ability to write up about things intelligently at the moment. Or the time, really. So I’m going to give a linkdump of interesting links that I want to share. This isn’t everything I want to share, some stuff I want to expand upon. But it’s a list.
[STEM] Feministing: What’s the deal with Facebook’s new ‘Women Connect’ campaign?
...
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Daily Corgi
I may have the brainded but, guys, corgi puppy.
Original Article
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Daily Corgi
Thanks to a totally official and scientific twitter poll, February is to be the month of corgis!
No other content for the rest of today because brainded. At some point I need to blog about the Technovation Challenge, but later… later…
Original Article
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This is Why No One Likes You: Geek Rage on Reddit
So some broface neckbeard decided he hates girls who are geeky — especially girls who are recently geeky — because apparently girls can’t be real geeks and blah blah blah. Thankfully, he got pretty promptly torn down, and one of the teardowns is particularly epic.
Folks, please. Can we stop drawing lines in the sand about what a “real” geek is? The only thing I give...
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Daily Kitten
Original Article
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Let's Get Rid of "Slut Plate"
Well this took a turn for the awesome. A quick aside, I’m pretty sure I’ve reblogged Apple Cider Mage before, and I’m doing it again, and ACM you should know I’m making you a friendship bracelet, and I hope I can finish it before summer camp is over, it’s got really pretty colors and everything.
So, like, we all know what the term “slut plate” is...
January 2012
151 posts
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The 2011 Galactic Suburbia Award: Activism in...
Galactic Suburbia announced today the winner of its first Galactic Suburbia Award for activism and/or communication that advances the feminist conversation in the field of speculative fiction. (For the un-initiated, “speculative fiction” is an umbrella term for science fiction, fantasy, and all the interstitial stuff in between.)
The Honor List:
Carrie Goldman and her daughter Katie...
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Let's Find Another Way to Talk About Women in...
For those of you who don’t know, a bit over ten years ago Gail Simone coined the phrase “women in refrigerators” as a shorthand for describing how, in comics, all female superheroes come to a bad end. This was originally coined after Alex DeWitt — Green Lantern’s girlfriend — was stuffed in a fridge so that Green Lantern could have some feelings about things.
...
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Let's Talk About Piracy
File Under: I have opinions.
After reading this bit on piracy over at ComicsAlliance, I feel like I want to talk about piracy.
So, look, first off, as someone who is creative, and has made some spare change in her creative efforts, and hopes to transition that phrase from “spare change” to, at least, “supplementary income,” I have a budding vested interest in the topic...
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Daily Kitten
Original Article
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Copywrong: How Copyright is Being Used, to the...
A Lee Martinez discusses copyright on his blog, and how it’s detrimental to creativity, and to original creators:
Certainly, not every character is timeless and a character or a concept might have a great appeal for a limited time. But some ideas and characters are so transcendent that they can stick around for a really, really long time. Batman is a great example. While he’s had his ups...
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Same-Sex Relationships in SWTOR?
Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be a post-launch feature.
I found out about this mainly because some nutjob right-wing conservative group was getting a case of the butthurt over this, and frankly,...
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One for Normal People, One for Women
Via MsMagazine, a series of images advertising basically the same thing, except while one ad is at “people in general” the other is “specifically women.”
The problem: This makes being female a “weird” thing and being male is normal. EVERYBODY is male. Oh, except when you’re female. Then I guess we’ll have something just for you awkward things.
...
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Google Thinks I'm a Dude
So everybody knows by now that Google thinks us nerd ladies are in fact dudebros with penids right?
I opted out of that shit post-haste, but that was mostly because I didn’t want to deal with what might come out of changing my gender to reflect accurately who I am. Because I’m not sure what the result will wind up being. Will I change their algorithm? Will it be smart enough to...
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Daily Kitten
Original Article
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Body Shaming is Bullshit
A truly awesome post from Molly Tanzer, managing editor at Lightspeed and all-around rad person, about body shaming and why it’s stupid. Not just the obvious stuff, but some of the subtler stuff, too, stuff people may think is actually celebrating certain body types, but really isn’t helping the situation at all.
… I do believe 100% in body-positivity… It’s healthy to love...
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The Data We Need On Women And The Entertainment...
Alyssa over at ThinkProgress discusses data points we need to understand what the entertainment industry looks like for women, as opposed to their male counterparts, namely more openness about how they are being compensated and treated, and what projects come their way. She talks about film, but I think it’s something that should apply to all things, forever. Other good metrics to observe...
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Daily Kitten
Original Article
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Less Tits and Ass, More Kicking Ass
A tumblr called Less Tits and Ass, More Kicking Ass is rocking my damn face right now. This takes those comic book covers and panels where women are drawn into anatomically impossible positions, and corrects them.
Por ejemplo:
So, yeah, that’s pretty awesome. It’s possible to be sexy and anatomically correct! Go figure!
Original Article
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iFanboy on Buying Comics for a Four Year Old Girl
Over at iFanboy, Jim Mroczkowski discusses the frustrations of buying comics for his four-year-old daughter:
It’s frustrating. This is yet another one of those times when I feel like I am taking someone by shoulders and saying, “I am trying to give you my money. Please, just take it,” and they’re going, “Sorry. We have nowhere to put it. Hey, does your daughter by any chance want to see Catwoman...
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Crossing the Threshold: A Vote for Girls in Comic...
I feel like today is comics day.
Over at ComicsBulletain, Kate Leth discusses how she lives in a pretty rad world of comic geeks where being a lady-type isn’t that rare and kind of taken for granted. And then she recognizes the uniqueness of that:
My shop, though, is a bit of an exception. I tend to forget it until I travel, until I wander into a badly-lit basement outlet with one guy...
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DC New 52: Blue Beetle
I literally found out on Saturday that in the company-wide reboot, DC was bringing Jaime back. On his own.
One the one hand– ugh. I’d had enough of DC before DiDio’s blow-ups at NYCC, the hugely problematic reboots of several female characters (in particular the Bat-family rewrites to erase all the female Robins and retconning Barbara Gordon from Oracle back into Batgirl), and, to be totally...
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Comics are a Man's World, a comic by Faith Erin...
sauce. I like this one because, well, yeah. We’re going along, enjoying our geek, minding our business, and then someone jumps in our faces and reminds us this isn’t for you. And it’s frustrating. It breaks up my fun with bullshit. I just want to have fun!
Original Article
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Daily Kitten
Original Article
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Announcing a New Valkyrie: Imriaylde
teamSize++
I’m really stoked to announce the addition of a new Valkyrie, my good friend Imriaylde! She and I met while playing World of Warcraft, back around 2006, I think, and she and I often complain about the same stuff in gaming. Really excited to have her aboard!
Imriaylde had this to say:
As a fellow geek and great admirer of all of Morgan’s work, I’m delighted to have...
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Oh Brother: Comics and Supposed Target...
I like this post.
[My younter brother has] been into superheroes for about a decade now – about as long as I have. (That’s not a coincidence – who do you think got him into them?) And as a white, straight, cisgendered, sort-of-Christian, middle-class dude just shy of 18, he’s part of that oh-so-coveted demographic (usually expressed as just “males 18-34,” but come on now) that comic book...
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Dragon Age 2 and Straight Male Privilege: A Video
OMG it’s ten minutes, go watch it or at least listen or something. It’s a really solid discussion of what privilege is, what it looks like, and why it’s kind of lame. I know it starts with gaming but really, this is a general discussion.
Best part, around 3:20 in:
The other day I was at a bar, talking with a friend of a friend — he was really open minded, really...
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The 2012 Rainbow List
The American Library Association has released its 2012 Rainbow List, a list of books which the both the Social Responsibilities Round Table and the Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Queer Round Table, in a joint effort, have decided to highlight as awesome.
Some of the super-awesome bolded titles are Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray, Huntress, by Malinda Lo, and Shine, by Lauren Myracle.
Original Article
Really good discussion about the problems of tying race and culture together in DnD:
The basic “problem” is this: When you pick a race in D&D, you’re also getting a pre-packaged culture with that choice. This happens because all races in D&D that are not human have a single monoculture that is assumed to be true and consistent across both space and time. You can see the effect of this...
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Daily Kitten
Original Article
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Outer Alliance Podcast #16: The "Queer SF&F" Panel...
At Arisia there was a panel about queer science fiction and fantasy, hosted by Julia Rios. The panelists were JoSelle Vanderhooft, Meredith Schwartz, and Don Sakers. Rios recorded the panel, and posted it on OuterAlliance as a podcast. Go listen. (Be advised: It’s an hour and fifteen minutes long.)
Original Article
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Yesterday In History: Science Academy Tells Marie...
So we all know about Marie Curie right? My personal hero growing up? (Polish scientist lady? Obviously she was my hero growing up.) Apparently, despite being five kinds of awesome, the French Academy of Sciences did not allow her within their hallowed walls. Despite having won the Nobel prize, being the head of the physics lab at Sorbonne, and being the first-ever woman to earn her doctorate and...
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Eleven Year-Old Builds Charitable Apps for Sick...
File Under: I Got Something In My Eye
Via The Escapist:
Connor Haines is an 11 year-old iOS developer who has decided to use his skill with drag-and-drop app development platform GameSalad to build apps dreamed up by children afflicted with cancer.
First of all this melts my cold black heart. And second of all, holy shit someone hire this kid.
Original Article
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TheMarySue and How Games are Changing in 2012
Okay so a thing I didn’t know about Mass Effect 3:
The change in ME3 that I’m super stoked about is one that will have no bearing on my game whatsoever. No, I’m not talking about the Collector’s Edition tin, which will finally picture both male and female versions of Shepard. I’m talking about the fact that, at long last, BroShep and Garrus will be able to declare their unrequited love...
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Women and Pay Negotiations
This is a rerun with some new stuff at the end that is so worth your time.
So there was this reddit thread going around: I work for a large multinational tech company, I regularly hire woman for 65% to 75% of what males make. I am sick of it, here is why it happens, and how you can avoid it.
Obvious solution! Women just need to negotiate for themselves! Oh my god, Ladies, why did we never...
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Daily Kitten
If is not for sits, why is made of warm?
Original Article
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What Cannot Be Unseen: Fail in Writing, and How...
So, there’s an arrow in the FedEx logo.
Take your time.
For many people who don’t see negative space well, the arrow may not have ever been apparent. However, some people spot the arrow, and some people will forever see the arrow. They cannot un-see the presence of the arrow.
How does this apply to storytelling? LiveJournal user innerbrat writes:
That’s the gist of the...
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Chris Dodd Upset that Government Will Not Stay...
Who is Chris Dodd? He’s a former senator who became a lobbyist for the MPAA (despite promising when he left Washington that he would not return as a lobbyist). And on FoxNews last Thursday, Chris Dodd is quoted as saying the following:
Those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who’s going to stand up...
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AbleGamers Names SWTOR Mainstream Game of the Year
AbleGamers has named Star Wars: The Old Republic as its Mainstream Game of the Year for its accessibility to disabled gamers. Some of the features noted were:
Companions: Provides support to players who need it without requiring they rely on the help of other gamers (which can be a mixed experience, let me tell you)
Full subtitles
Queueable actions
Colorblind friendliness of minimap
...