Monday, July 18, 2005

The He-Man Woman Hater's Club

There are several things that annoy me in e-fedding. One of those things is the proclivity for some folks to take things more seriously than they are. I'm not talking about those who take wins and losses seriously, like those I described in a previous rant here, but those who actually treat it like it's a business. People who populate the Advertisement forums of FW, posting profiles for their characters as "free agents" waiting for people to fawn over them like they were Kevin Nash in 1996. Or people who will seriously angle politics for pushes like they were Triple H.

Or my favorites, those who push for über-realism in e-feds. Like, no stip matches, dry writeups, and my personal favorite... no women competing with men.

Those people crack me up. It's like, we're doing this thing called "fantasy wrestling" but you take the fantasy out of it. It's nuts. No imagination whatsoever. The first two offenses I listed there aren't as bad. However, it's the no women thing that drives me up a wall.

Seriously, what's the big deal if someone can handle a woman character well enough to win a match? Are people that insecure that losing to a girl would be that much of a shot to their egos? I mean, it's not like they lost to a girl in football or weightlifting. It's all linguistic.

There is no natural gender barrier in e-fedding. Why create one artificially? Why exclude people because they don't want to handle a male character when they're female? Why should Lindsay Troy be at a handicap in NFW when she's one of the top players on the East roster? It's mind-boggling.

If you can't allow yourself to suspend just a little disbelief and have a little fun, what are you doing in this hobby anyway? Women competing with men is no more unusual than some of the gimmick matches that I've seen around all the feds I've been in.

That's why they call it fantasy wrestling. So what's the fun in keeping the fantasy away from it? Especially when those afflicted are among the best in the hobby?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I resent the 'handicapped' notion, as you had to know I would. NFW East has a high-level calibre of roleplayers that I'd like to think anyone can win on any given match in 90 percent of the matches.

So far she's lost to Dan Ryan and Felix Red.

She's got Kin Hiroshi this week.

These aren't exactly cases where she's the big favorite to win...

...I think its until you see an actual decision that makes you feel that way that it's just heresey and FW backstage BS.

McNichols (the handicapper in question, everyone knows) wouldn't vote against Lindsay if its obvious she should win. But if its an even RP contest against Dan Ryan -- who's to say he's wrong for saying Ryan should get the nod based on his opinions? He's helped build the East, he writes the matches, he's got his 'take' if all things are equal.

Everyone does.

For anyone to win the East Conference, West Conference, NFW World Title, Ultratitle -- they're gonna have to PROVE they DESERVE it.

Whether you're male or female.

--You Know Who

TH said...

All are valid points, except for one:

Why would Lindsay necessarily not be favored against Felix or Hiroshi?

Anonymous said...

Because they're both just as good as she is as writers/RPers, IMHO. I mean, I heart Lindsay Troy -- don't get me wrong. But I wouldn't say she's on a pedestal above the rest of the roster in that department.

She's just as good as everyone else, meaning she'll have to work as hard as anyone else to get the win.