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When things go awry in the video game world and everyone has an opinion,  “Meet the VG Press” tries to make sense of the whole mess and keep it real.

As you’ve probably already heard of by now, there has been quite the furor recently over this charming little game, right on the heels of Resident Evil 5’s racism controversy. The issue this time around is that the whole concept of upcoming PSN game Fat Princess is supposedly anti-feminist and promotes negative stereotypes about obesity. People have voiced this complaint because the goal of said game is fatten up the princess so that it makes it harder for the opposing team to steal her away to their home base, from yours. And in a humorous touch, you fatten up the princess with pieces of cake. I’ve seen a range of responses to both the game and to the feminists who wrote about it, and have come away disappointed from the whole thing.

What we need here is a little perspective, and appreciation for freedom of speech while still you know, not being a jackass about it. What do I mean by this? Well, if you read the first salvo by Feminist Gamers, you’ll see that they’re weren’t all that hard on the game. They suggest changing the plump princess into a treasure chest full of loot, and merely say otherwise the game might “reinforce nasty stereotypes about women and the obese.” Honestly I find it ok to be somewhat offended by the game. As much as it’s the designer’s right to make the game, she has the right to express her disapproval.

But, here’s where things get ugly.

The significantly more aggressive feminist blogger Shakes picks up on the above story and takes it a little farther, adding, “the only thing I can’t figure out is why anyone would want to rescue a fat princess in the first place, since everyone knows that fat girls are unlovable human garbage at whom any sensible bloke would sooner hurl invective than cast a longing glance.” Let’s step back for a second. There’s a contradiction here. The characters in-game want to save the princess. That’s the whole point of the game. So that means that they want to protect her, and value her, no matter how much she weighs. Doesn’t that seem like just as valid an interpretation? She then adds that, “The PS2 sucked,” which shows she’s clearly trolling.

On the other end of the spectrum, the ever-sensitive and intelligent Destructoid manages to make me lose a bit of respect for them. Their story on the issue reads: “Feminists sh*t all over Fat Princess, real people laugh.” The irony here is that writer Jim Sterling proceeds to shit all over feminism like it’s no big deal. First of all he spouts a few things that just reek of cultural unawareness, like: “I’ve never seen a negative stereotype about a fat person.” Come on now. In about 90% of any Hollywood films out there, the obese are ridiculed and portrayed as lazy and/or stupid. He then makes fun of Shakes’ grammar and vocabulary, saying it makes her sound “pretentious.” Sadly in this case, it just makes Jim Sterling look like the lesser-educated of two evils. Then, we finally get to the point where he reveals how little he really knows: ‘Or maybe self-styled ‘feminists’ who think that the movement is all about getting angry and using buzzwords are simply retarded.” Feminism, like any movement or community, does have its own special terminology. Second of all, they get angry to remind us that the sexes aren’t equal yet.

Do I think Fat Princess should be changed? Not at all. I don’t find it offensive. What is offensive is degrading an entire philosophy, and thus gender in the process. The internet is a great place where we can all express our views more freely than otherwise, but we should draw certain lines and speak about our opinions responsibly. On the one hand, if people like Shakes had their way all the time, our media would be sorely limited and watered-down. On the other hand, rants like Sterling’s show a lack of professionalism (which one should have for a popular blog) and understanding.

So to all you out there, let this be a reminder to think before you blog.

[Feminist Gamers] [Shakesville] [Destructoid]