>That's banter? That's equivalent to being "fat" or "dorky"?
First, I find this "words in my mouth" thing infuriating. Have I written anywhere that this specifically is "equivalent to being fat or dorky?" Why not respond to what I DID say?
As for banter, yes it is. 99.99999% of such talk is BS bravado from kids that would never do anything to act on that, and in fact would go to bed crying if someone told their parents what they said.
Second, is that kind of talk like the one you quote constrained against women? In the gaming forums males say things like "I'll kill you and piss down your neck" all the time. And lots of males (and maybe females) uses such threats over the internet anonymously to other men too. Including the words "rape", "nigger", "kill", "faggot" and tons of variations on maming, killing, hurting, etc.
I used to get a few of those per month as a simple general topic blogger, not even related to games.
What you did say, and are saying, is that it's banter. You then go on to give qualified examples of banter that apply to the other gender ("don't (usually) get rape threats"; "do get death threats"; "do get comments that they're 'fat', 'dorky'"). Whether you intended to draw the equivalency or not, that's what your phrasing achieved.
Secondly, I agree. I don't believe it's constrained to women, but at the same time I don't think the volume or impact is the same when it's thrown at men. A few per month is, apparently a very low volume ("Feminine usernames incurred an average of 100 sexually explicit or threatening messages a day. Masculine names received 3.7"[1] -- although I need to find the actual study).
This isn't a topic I particularly enjoy discussing. I'm not in a position to speak for those who are threatened, and there are myriad reasons and subtleties why I'll never truly understand their plight. I'm sorry you feel like you were misunderstood.
First, I find this "words in my mouth" thing infuriating. Have I written anywhere that this specifically is "equivalent to being fat or dorky?" Why not respond to what I DID say?
As for banter, yes it is. 99.99999% of such talk is BS bravado from kids that would never do anything to act on that, and in fact would go to bed crying if someone told their parents what they said.
Second, is that kind of talk like the one you quote constrained against women? In the gaming forums males say things like "I'll kill you and piss down your neck" all the time. And lots of males (and maybe females) uses such threats over the internet anonymously to other men too. Including the words "rape", "nigger", "kill", "faggot" and tons of variations on maming, killing, hurting, etc.
I used to get a few of those per month as a simple general topic blogger, not even related to games.