Periodically this post gets linked from GamerGhazi, where the link here (thanks!) its accompanied by a bunch of attacks on me and the women in my game group (boo!) from folks participating in a smear campaign started by Paul Matijevic / Ettin and his conspiracy theorist friends from the Something Awful boards literally because I like the wrong edition of Dungeons & Dragons (as Mandy explains here). If you have any questions about me or the motive for this post, here's my Ask.fm--I can link directly to evidence, you don't have to ask random Redditors why my allegedly "toxic" rpg presence has gone all Social Justice.
Hi everybody,
As many of you know, we've been working on making new episodes of our D&D documentary series "I Hit It With My Axe" for the Escapist website.
The first time around they gave us a shoestring budget and we figured we'd do it anyway for the fun of it, but this time they gave us a lot more and we were looking forward to doing the show exactly the way we wanted this time--lots of interviews, in-depth looks at the players and how we played games, and lots more jokes. We've been working with the Escapist and combing through the footage since the summer.
But then this week they hired this douche:
Why? Well this is us:
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| Left to right, top to bottom: Wizard, Druid, Wizard Thief, Cleric, Wizard DM, Thief, Druid Thief, Ranger, Ranger |
Without comparing anybody's struggle to anybody else's, you don't need a degree in social science to figure out that since one of the people in our group is a Jew, six are people of color, two were born handicapped and like someteen are bisexual women and one is trans it would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we were, hypothetically, to make money for a company that would then give that money to an actively anti-semitic, racist, ableist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic person.
So the D&D With Porn Stars crew working with the Escapist under those conditions would be as hypocritical and self-defeating as supporting Think of the children!-anti-sex conservatives like Fred Hicks or Fox News. Here: we let you film us playing D&D, you make money, then take the money, buy a bullet, and shoot us each in the foot with it.
Well, every monday I log on to Google Plus and run a videochat campaign where Scrap Princess plays an awesome wizard and we're happy to have her. We owe her the same protection we owe all our friends. I'm not gonna shoot Scrap (or Sarah or Ana or Natalie or Morgan) in the foot just so we can have a TV show.*
And, for what it's worth--and many of you may not understand--I'm a porn performer, and so is most of the rest of the group, and you can't get too far in the adult industry without realizing the hours that trans people like Sarina Valentina, Bailey Jay, and Buck Angel put in on their sets are as real as the ones we put in on our sets and the stigma they face every day is real.
Maybe we'll put the new episodes of Axe out somewhere else, maybe not. The Escapist wants to give us a lot of money--but nothing is worth this compromise and any new gamers the show brings into the hobby are not worth the damage the Escapist does by telling people you can be openly transphobic and still get paid to talk about your dumb ideas.
Sometime maybe we'll get to see Stoya fight a manticore, but not today.
-Zak S.
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*Yes, I checked with Scrap before linking to her page here to make sure she was cool with this post. She was. I put her official response in the comments below this post if you want to read it.
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97 comments:
Zak, where are the best places to share this message for maximum effect? Is there anything those of us reading this and not wanting the Escapist's ignorant bullshit to kill 'Axe can do to boost the signal on this?
Everywhere. Forums are usually a good place to start. Facebook. Wherever.
I wholly support your decision, but would any level of apology make things better? I hate to see anyone "take their ball and go home" when all that may be needed is some serious talk.
I wish I could think of something deep and meaningful to say beyond, "you did the right thing" but...well, you did the right thing.
If they want you back, he needs to go. Otherwise, just go to Youtube or some other site and put up your videos.
When you say Fred Hicks, you mean the Evil Hat games guy?
I did not know
Wish more people had your integrity and work ethic!
Yeah, Fred Hicks is a dick:
https://plus.google.com/107088254806543142146/posts/g7hc3JL8Pie
Then when he called him on it, he joined the conspiracy theorists attacking us because I worked on 5th edition D&D. He's still doing it.
Much respect standing on principle over money. :)
Does Patreon allow projects of this... er... nature?
I hope you find a way to continue, of course, even for yourselves, if you are having fun then that's the main thing. Good luck to you all
Yeah. I agree about Jennell, and it is nice to see when our imagination is not for sale. Nice job.
I probably shouldn't talk too much on the topic of Fred and sexism, but over-sexualization *can be* a symptom of sexism particularly when there is a lack of *non* over-sexualization representation. In your industry it would be worth your while to recognize that there are issues there in that middle -- in the same ways that there are issues with transphobia and homophobia -- that are not easily addressed simply by deciding that someone is evil or a prude.
And whatever you might say, IMO you lose credibility by lumping people like Fred Hicks (who is opinionated, for sure) with Fox News, especially when your article really has nothing to do with that and is simply a random swipe at someone unrelated to the topic.
It can be really difficult for people to separate parts of the porn industry as to which parts are abusive and which parts aren't. But I can say with some certainty that the Evil Hat folks are people who respect diversity and while maybe they don't understand your flavor of it, your goals and ideals are more aligned than they are not aligned.
Weirdly enough, the last products I bought from Jennell Jacquays (then Paul) were the "Central Casting" books. These books ("Heroes of Legend" et.al.) provided detailed character generation tables, and at the time they were denounced for being homophobic: Transsexualism and homosexuality were classified as "sexual disorders" and "Darkside personality traits." Either we misread him, or his views have changed a lot over the years.
Not sure what the lesson is for Brandon Morse, but food for thought.
Well, I'm officially done with the Escapist. I guess I'll have to find a way to live without Zero Punctuation. And y'all should totally do a patreon for your show.
I'm going to link to this on my Tumblr. Is it okay if I include some of the pictures in the post?
Totally supporting your decision, have shared this article in my university gaming society and have written to the escapist informing them of why i am boycotting them.
Her views have changed over the years, as she's been happy to tell everyone in the Inclusive Gaming Fb group. You should probably ask her.
Would LOOOOOVE to have the conversation about what constitutes "oversexualization"and where the rights of women to dress how they like end but Fred ran away from that debate and then
piled on to the women in my group and I when we were being harassed by his friends and will not talk to me.
So we can't.
If you can ever convince him to have a conversation like a grown up, let me know.
Until he can do that: he is a bigot who is actively supporting harassment.
Absolutely
I think a post done up like a news item that could be linked to would go far - im seeing so many good ppl cave nto trolls in nerd industry, academia and grafitti
Righteous decision folks.
He is also responsible for getting a card game removed from RPGNOW because "muh feelz".
THANK YOU!!!
I am a trans games artist, and to back up what you say, there are many, many key people in the industry who are transgender.
My work alone includes licences Unreal Tournament, Dungeons and Dragons, God of War, Civilization, Dragonage and Lord of The Rings Online.
Games such as Bards Tale, Descent, Dragonwars, Battlechess, Halo Wars, Assasins Creed, all of these products had trans people as part of their makeup.
What amazes me is people like this idiot do not read the science behind transgender before they comment. Transwomen have PHYSICALLY FEMALE BRAINS, trans men physically male brains. It is a form of intersex development in utero. Psychiatry has removed transgender from the diagnostics manual because it is not a mental disorder... it cannot be 'fixed', it is not a delusion. It is a physically true thing, backup up by top scientists and the medical industry.
You would think a company hiring smart people would hire someone capable of reading. Right?
The number of people who just don't engage, period, is depressing.
You put the science in front of people and they always find a way to evade it.
I read your blog and I am very happy with your decision to end your relationship with a company that doesn't respect others. Good job.
Why can't we support both sex-positivity and pushing back against sexual exploitation?
If you're vague enough, WE CAN SUPPORT EVERYTHING!!!!!!! YAYYYY!!!
If you're specific, then life is more complicated.
Fred called things "sexual exploitation" that were not
The only group by that name I see on FB is a closed group with 2 members. Has she posting anything refuting her previous homophobia on G+?
Personally I think you made the right decision for yourself and your friends. All my best to all of you in this.
Thank you! <3
Thanks for sticking up for my friend Jennell, and others in the industry (and elsewhere) like her. It's important that those of us who are tolerant -- no matter who or what we are -- continue to spread light against the darkness of ignorance and hatred. I hadn't really heard about your group, but I will check it out sometime soon. Again, thanks. Keep fighting the good fight.
So, after looking at the page, I can kinda see where it might offend some, and so I am curious on your take, as most of the people I know (I work in social services) would deem some of the cards over the top (for example, white speaker nico, in a bikini top and legs spread).
I am all for expanding my view though, and would love to discuss it if you wouldn't mind, and help me out.
100% agreement on this, Zak.
I haven't been happy with the escapist in a long time. It was fun to meet you at their booth a couple years ago. And as a few have already mentioned, take a look at patreon. I am sure you could get this project funded and you could post the videos on youtube.
Out of curiosity, I'd love to hear your perspective on that conflict between women expressing themselves, cultural attitudes towards sex (which are often a right mess in their own right) and shitty nerd culture around women.
I mean, you don't have to, I'm a random nobody who happens to glance at your blog once in a while.
But I'd love to :)
In any event, good on you for sticking to your guns regarding the Escapist.
Just to clarify my point, I am TOTALLY for a sexually charged/positive game, it just seems very one sided...
Was it over the kickstarter game or your project? It seems that his comments are absent so context is hard to glean.
Theres always a small handful of "scientists" or "experts" who can make a profit spouting nonsense. Like the "geologists" who claim the planet is 6000 years old.
ALL I WANNA DO IS WATCH STOYA FIGHT A MANTICORE!!!! :(
@Earl, look, I can't speak for Zak but to me, either you're against excluding people based on their gender identity, sexual expression, or whatever, or you're not.
Comparing Hicks/Hurley/Erlington style "I'm for diversity but not TOO much diversity (i.e. as long as you're not too different from me)" hypocrisy to the more open bigotry on display in Morse's tweet above, the difference is one of degree, not kind. Hicks et al are in full agreement with the bigot's basic moral claim that it's okay to be shitty to people based on those characteristics. They just disagree about who, and maybe about the degree of shittiness.
Whereas I think that's never okay ever. And while as I said I don't speak for Zak, I'm guessing that's pretty much his view as well.
(Okay, you can strawman that with cases like raping a child if you really want, but then I think we can all agree there's more than just sexuality at stake.)
At best, Hicks' heart is in the right place, but his brain isn't.
I like the argument in the comments on the post to the effect that repeated exposure conditions behavior... by that logic my 2 decades of super Mario exposure has logically turned me into turtle enemy number one... does explain all the endangered sea turtle shells stacking up in my closet.
not sure if my previous comment posted.. but yea... wtf! Lets crowdfund the rest of the $$ so we can keep making this. Probably one of the most fun projects i've ever done in my whole life. Frak that guy. We shouldn't have to suffer ignorants like him. also... WE DO WHAT WE WANT!
It is unfortunate that Alex Macris appears to be such a terrible person, because I really like his ACKS stuff.
@Ivan
None of that is specific. If you want general things, all I can say is: read this blog, read Mandy's blog, read the things the women in the group post.
If you have a specific question: ask.
He attacked Kingdom Death. Someone else's project (somebody I don't know, btw) There's a link.
Fiction for adults can be sexualized. This isn't for kids and it's not labeled A Primer On How To Treat People, it's a specific person's personal imagined space for grown ups and its labeled that way.
No reasonable person could possibly have an argument against that.
So, much respect for finally doing the right thing, but why now, and not when the editor in chief was taking a personal interest in doing interviews with vicious harassers like RogueStar and Adam Baldwin, and in silencing criticism of same?
Is it just that it took some time to get out of the contract, like what happened when Jim Sterling left, or if not, what's different about Morse than what Macris has been pulling for months?
Sexuality isn't the issue, that matter is objectification. You don't get a free pass to do whatever you want without criticism.
Thanks for doing the right thing. The Escapist has lost my business.
I wasn't really following any of that stuff--I don't follow video games or hang out on the site.
I barely know those names except Macris. I just saw an RT from a trans friend:
https://twitter.com/ashleylynch/status/569120601132175360
…and I was like "Hey I know the Escapist" so I went and looked the guy up.
Then I spent Sunday making sure that everybody was cool with the decision and contacting the Escapist and hearing back.
In general: if you have questions about this stuff:
PLEASE bring them to us.
If your friends go "Zak did this" then ask about it (anon if you like). We want people to understand why we came to this decision.
That's not very specific.
If you have an example of something that crosses the line into "objectification" and what a valid criticism is. I'd be happy to talk about it. But right now you're just talking on a plane where anyone could agree with you or disagree with you because it's vague.
Also, in this context I'm extremely suspicious of that form of criticism because it has a pretty extensive history of turning into the exact thing it's ostensibly criticizing, i.e. denying the agency of the female members of Zak's group. Which is the most un- and even anti-feminist thing I can think of, pretty much, but that hasn't stopped lots of people who take themselves to be feminists from doing it.
I'm pretty sure they would. I follow at least one erotic comics artist with a Patreon.
Plenty. Follow her on Facebook and wait a couple weeks and relevant stuff is bound to come across your feed. I've only seen her tangentially refer to her old views (but then I haven't gone out of my way to look for such references), but she certainly makes her current views clear enough.
Y'all have class, and not just the D&D kind.
I spoke to the Escapist before posting this. It went nowhere.
Sorry to hear there won't be more of the show, but totally support your reasoning.
After reading the entirety of the twitter feed I understand his point; the real problem is twitter's horrendous word limit.
His point is simple:
You're Trans
Who gives a fuck
To presume that people should treat you differently or specially on the internet because of something you identify as irl, lest you be "triggered" is the highest form of egotism and arrogance. No one aside from the echo chamber actually cares that you are trans, and none of those people really matter.
I mean have you guys bothered having a chat with the guy? The twitter feed only has insults being thrown in his direction with little room for discourse. While I understand their feelings, such comments only serve to further cement the feelings that Brandon has for the internet SJW community.
Funnily enough, not giving a fuck is the purest form of tolerance.
We gave the Escapist a chance to respond, they said nothing about the guy's motives, that's when we made the announcement.
I asked trans people I know and trust about that and other things he said. They said this is straight up ignoring something that is important in their ongoing problem with being accepted.
Also: his justifications were dumb and evasive:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-Zc4EaCMAAAA9B.png:large
Like: nobody saying "Obey a code"
they're saying
"You will be judged by people on how you treat people"
which is true of every person all the time in every situation. You're _allowed_ to kick people for being short, it doesn't mean they won't decide you're a dick.
If a person I know and respect wants to be called something and they say that being called that is important to their life and what they're going through, I fucking call them that. This is a real situation I face in real life, it's not theoretical. Some of the smartest, sharpest artists and critics I know are trans. They aren't nutjobs looking for an emotional handout.
I think the MOST charitable explanation I can think of is not twitter's word limit, it's that Morse doesn't really know any trans people and so can't see this.
In which case maybe this is a (very mean) wake-up call.
Thank you for this.
Great amounts of respect to you guys for standing up for what you believe in and actually putting your wallet where your mouth is.
TheEscapist got WAY better lately, and I have a great deal of respect for them too, but I do wonder why they decided to hire a bigot. If I use TheEscapist in the future, I'll definitely skip the articles by that guy. #GamerGate
if it's an issue of funding, why not try a kickstarter campaign to raise the cost of production for the episodes? I would totally back that project.
Great article, and you are totally correct and awesome! The rampant supremism that runs in gaming is scary and shocking to me. For me, I couldn't care a whit about color/race/sex/creed/character class etc... the only important thing for any kind of activity is that the participants enjoy themselves. It is a shame to hear that the Escapist has hired someone clearly for the purpose of stirring up trouble. I agree with many others here, start a youtube series of your own!
Prior to this point, I had never heard of your blog, but now it has been added to my list of always checked sites.
keep up the good work, and don't let the trolls (monsters or internet idiots) drag you down!
Wait, what? Really? Man, now I'm really bummed.
Excuse me? In what universe is there an alternate explanationation to 'Don't expect people to pretend with you'? There is absolutely no justification for this; twitter's word count included, that makes him anything less than a bigot. He cannot accept Trans people and rather than choose to go with it and keep his mouth closed, he has chosen to insult and belittle trans folk. There is no charitable interpretation for this tweet. It's bigotry, close mindedness, and arseholery all in 140 characters or less.
Great article you and your crew are an amazing group of people. Keep the dice rollin :)
you should be suspcious of it . Essentially if puritanism masked as trying to empower woman or some nonsense . When really it just old prejudices Americans north American have to the idea of sex and it association with evil . This is why objectification become this vague thing , that can be applied to damn near everything really from a woman with big breast fully clothes all the way to actual sex . The only consistent thing I've seen about this generic criticism is it has something to do with "Someone somewhere..being attracted to a hot woman ? " That about it . could be an entire game with story and characters and just that one girl being attractive with breast ruined it . Then you have these Trolls pretending to save woman talking about the objectification and the damage it doing to all woman/abstract . It ..well pretty stereotypical tactics . you could have a woman there screaming " I LIKE Pinup " and then you will have someone talk down to her she (Brainwashed doesn't understand herself etc etc . Zombie , We need to save her " sound like old school church Christianity me with a new political correct package.
NO MORE VAGUE COMMENTS.
If you want to talk about a thing, put an example out there.
No aimless swiping at groups and concepts.
While I can see that, I would not say no reasonable person could have an argument against it. I mean, I admit that it is difficult for me and others to see this pretty much EVERYWHERE, and even in this game it is not balanced, the sexualization seems primarily focused on the women.
I admit that I would love to live in a world where this was not common, and thus I could just be like 'ya, is a one off, no big deal' but it isn't, this stuff is everywhere and used in pretty cruel ways.
I am not saying everyone should be up in arms, but I am saying there is room to be bothered by it, especially as a woman.
Sexualization is asymmetrical and that is bad.
That isn't the question we're addressing, however.
The question on the table is: is an attack of _this one person's vision_ the way to address that asymmetry?
Of course it isn't.
The way to address it is to give equal opportunities to other people to ALSO CREATE their works that sexualize men or that don't sexualize anyone.
The solution to a lack of peanut butter on the sandwich isn't necessarily to get rid of jelly.
Do you understand what I'm saying? Kingdom Death is responsible for being Kingdom Death. Other games are responsible for being themselves. Gatekeepers are responsible for making sure there's a variety of representation across the board, not in each game.
http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2012/02/hire-women.html
Why not do this on youtube?
If you take a look at Morse's Twitter feed you will see him whine about how he is a victim now.
Apparently, he doesn't like being told that he is transphobic, but he doesn't have trouble telling a whole group of people that they are not something that they are.
Stellar logic on his part, and speaking of logic..
https://www.facebook.com/LogicAndCriticalThinkingAwarenessMonth
Yeah, you can look at stuff like this (http://innuendostudios.tumblr.com/post/104288647532/why-the-escapist-wont-talk-about-gamergate) and his twitter feed to see that he has a lot of weird attitudes about feminism and politics. It's very much the issues with some libertarians that Zak mentions in his next post. ("Terrible person" is perhaps slight hyperbole, but it is the internet.)
I just found out about this blog entry via Jennell Jaquays.
I take my hat off to all of you, for standing up for other people, especially when doing that means turning down paid work.
I don't own a big fancy D&D website (I help out at The Piazza, but I don't own it and it doesn't have money for paying for videos and other cool stuff) but I wish that I did own a fancy D&D website, so that you could come and make I Hit It With My Axe somewhere else*.
* = If I was uber-rich and I hired you to work for me, you would of course need to rename this blog "Playing Spelljammer With Porn Stars". I do have my reputation...as a SJ uber-nerd to consider. ;-)
I really hope that you find someone else to sponsor your videos. Good luck!
And thanks again for being "part of the solution". :-D
I don't know what to feel about Alex. I feel like the South Park guys did after they found out Isaac Hayes was a Scientologist.
Just popped in to Hi5 u. Sorry for the crap. Onto better things. U should start a gamer group so we can watch u all shit talk each other in split screen while blowing stuff up.
Just popped in to Hi5 u. Sorry for the crap. Onto better things. U should start a gamer group so we can watch u all shit talk each other in split screen while blowing stuff up.
I discovered this blog (and your show) a couple of days ago when a friend of a friend on Facebook posted this article - with the complaint that he couldn't make out exactly what you were complaining about. It came across my news feed when my friend was calling him on it.
What you're complaining about is crystal clear to me. I'm glad you're taking a stand, and saddened that you have to. Good luck finding another sponsor.
... well this libertarian (and trans-ally, sex-positive, feminist, and bisexual, and who thinks gamergaters are insane) is deeply impressed by your refusing to go along with punching down, even at the cost of some material success. Kudos. I'll be on the lookout for any crowd-funding effort you folks put together to sustain and grow this without Escapist funding.
Values over money, a heart-moving act Zak.
I appreciate it that you first talked to the people from the Escapist and also checked with Scrap Princess before deciding and posting. Well done.
I almost entirely agree with Zak.
I almost entirely agree with Zak.
Hmm, I can't find a FB page under her name. Is she posting there under a pseudonym?
Have you parted ways with them already, or is it still in the air? I have no real dog in this fight, not following yourself (I roll Earthdawn not D&D) or Morse, but after looking up this Morse chap it sounds more like they're buying his audience to replace Jim Sterling's.
http://redalertpolitics.com/thirty-under-thirty-2013/brandon-morse/
It's a tough choice to make I know, but I personally feel like it might have been better to fight this directly, by continuing to be a contributor and then showing his audience 'hey, these are all entirely normal people.'
Morse himself is still a young man so, who knows, perhaps you could change his outlook. if LGBT can make inroads into the catholic church of all places, why couldn't it do the same for areligious conservatives?
Everything about this to me sounds like a highly cynical move from the business-side of Defy Media. "If these guys are leaving because of that guy's views, but then everyone else stayed, then lets hire more people that would appeal to the crowd that remains."
IMO the best ammunition against cynical-minded corporatism is to force it to backfire. In this case, it would be educating and befriending a new and yet-untested group.
At the least, could at least get him to begrudgingly acknowledge the rights of the other party, as this catholic priest did in Portsmouth.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2007/11/08/uk-religion-prostitutes-idUKL0880620520071108
Sometimes the best person to lead a fight, is the person who wasn't looking for a fight at all.
(The nuclear punch of course would be to leap onto a stream of his with Jennell, or alternatively goad him into coming onto one of yours)
Anyway, excuse me for barging in like this out of nowhere, but I'm just afraid of my favourite site becoming the Free Republic of entertainment media once the new blood floods in, and feel like an opportunity is being passed over at the moment.
If you want my opinion of the "stick around and provide an alternative view" tactic, go to RPGpundit's site. He had the same idea and I addressed how that does not work for us there.
I would just like to add my support for your crew and your decision.
I'm following her under her actual name. I forget exactly how I found her on there, perhaps there's a chain of mutual friends in there somewhere. Don't know why you'd be having any trouble finding her, beyond the obvious stuff (e.g. make sure you're spelling her name right, including but not limited to not deadnaming).
@troll:
My 'friends getting together to play Dnd' include transpeople who have to deal daily with prejudice.
They get to decide the conditions of their good time--not you or me.
Hi I have so much respect for all of you
not only your opinions, your jobs, physical appearances, but overall your personalities.
I am a born Hermaphrodite pkaying BECMI style D&D, making maps and other materials.
I am checking through my Google+ posts before everything is removed (2 april 2019) and found this article.
Great. Continue doing this...we maybe different than mainstream, byt we're all human
If you had been living in the Netherlands I sure would have likes playing D&D with either of you.
Hugss from Groningen
Robin
@anonymous
Erased. No anonymous comments allowed.
Nobody gets to snipe from cover.
Indeed, No anonimity.
Saw the recent comment, and my reaction almost 4 years ago
Viewed the Photos anew, and you are all gorgeous.
You are so strongwilled, just and worthy
Love the openess, directness and honesty
Loved to meet you.
If you are interested in my Mystara BECMI D&D stuff; https://www.deviantart.com/6inchnails
and my own Blog; https://breathofmystara.blogspot.com/
Hugs from Groningen Netherlands
Robin
@Eltharian
There is no end.
Oh good, that's make me happy.
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