It's not all about you

I was in a discussion group today about "What SL means to/for women" and it took place inside Second Life. Initially I wasn't going to attend because I usually get royally pissed off at discussions like that, but I decided to see what it was about.

I should have listened to my instincts.

You know, I have been involved in online communities for a long time now, and one thing I do not, and will never understand is the apparent constant need for women to continually feel like 'the victim' online. I'm freaking sick of it, actually.

I'm a feminist, and I like that I'm a female. I freaking LOVE being a woman. Love it. This does not mean, however, that I blame men for everything wrong in the world. If someone sends me a private message in SL stating that they like my breasts.. I'm not offended, nor do I feel harassed or stalked. I do not feel terrorized or threatened, and I sure as hell don't feel like I need to 'escape' the situation or report them. My goodness people, get a grip. There are stupid people all over this world and sometimes.. SOMETIMES.. it doesn't f'ing matter if you're a female. Idiots are idiots and sometimes it's not all about you or the fact that you have a vagina for God's sake.

The discussion started with statistics about how many women play WoW and how many women are in SL, and what explains that difference? To me it's pretty damned obvious, but ok I'll play along. Women don't like to go around killing things as much as men might, and so we prefer SL where we can be more social and shop like fiends. This is no mystery.

The discussion quickly turned to defining sex, and how do we really define who is and is not female in online communities. This then logically (*eye roll*) led to the question of whether or not we'd be offended if there was an 'abuser' hiding as a female in our discussion group. Well at that point there was no turning back for me.. I was pissed. Why the hell did/do discussions like this always lead to this sort of stuff? Why could the 'abuser' not just as well have been female and why do we immediately start talking about abuse, stalking, harassment, etc.

Lots of women going on about how they often feel threatened in Second Life. One even mentioned that she went to a GUN SHOP in SL to consider purchasing a gun for protection. COME ON. What the hell!?

This is really not advancing the cause of women here people. Stop being the damn victim, stop pretending everything is about you being a female, and stop whining around and acting as if everyone's out to get you. Do your thing, be strong, and ignore the bullshit.

-xopixox