Jason Beck writes eloquently and thoughtfully about discrimination and its possible solutions on his blog “The Bored Gaymer” (BoardGameGeek’s most popular blog with the words “Bored” and “Gaymer” in the title!). This time he discusses what men can do to make the gaming hobby more friendly towards women.

That is, men ought to be interested in feminism, broadly speaking, for two reasons: first, because we ought to want equal rights, equal dignity, fair treatment, and so on, for the women in our lives (i.e. not just as an abstract philosophical notion, but because we can and should look around us and see mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, girlfriends, aunts, co-workers, friends, all of whom are impacted by structural inequality); and second, because men (generally speaking) hold the positions of power and, as such, are positioned to encourage more rapid change.

What I’d like to do, then, is consider the ways in which Ms. Watson’s speech can be applied at the micro-level of our gaming communities and at the macro-level of gaming culture.

Linky: On the Role of Men in Re-Shaping Gamer Culture for the Better

Gaming has a cost.

I don’t mean the dollars or pounds or kroner you’re likely to spend on the game, the shipping, the gaming table and the popcorn. I’m talking about what it takes to put a gaming session together, the mental, physical and emotional effort it takes to assemble a group of like minded people in the same space and at the same time, i.e. what’s required to organize your standard gaming session.

But that’s not all we’re requiring from our players. In fact, while that’s the visible part, we’re requiring quite a lot more out of them. (more…)