Penny Arcade says, "Rape culture is hilarious!"
Has anyone else been following the Penny Arcade Dickwolf Controversy (as I've taken to calling it)? The whole thing started with this comic, posted in August, which many readers took offense to due to an unfunny rape joke. The argument was revived with new fervor recently, and it's still ongoing. Personally, I'm finding it really difficult to enjoy the comic lately, because of the way this whole thing has been handled.

A better and more thorough write-up than I could ever hope to put together has been posted here.

Edit: Via seiberwing: An interesting protest movement has arisen on Tumblr.
Edit again: A couple of comments have indicated that the Tumblr linked in the above post has malware, so tread lightly.

Edit 3: Via lady7jane: This isn't the first time that Mike has exhibited douchebaggy behavior. "I don't know, Love Systems doesn't seem so bad to me."

Edit 4: Via airawyn and alexa: Jerry responds.

Edit 5: Via number13baby, Mike calls for the discussion to end.

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number13baby
2011-02-03 08:34 pm UTC (link)

I really, really don't get Mike's stance on this. His behavior in the PUA/Love Systems discussion link is so different. He says something stupid, people email him, he does some research, develops a more nuanced stance and posts about it. But now, he's completely unwilling to even look into the concept of rape culture and his behavior on Twitter is just beyond the pale. I'm sure he sees himself as a good guy who is working to make the gaming culture more inclusive and so having all those people calling him out as a rape apologist must be at odds with how he views himself and is probably pretty painful for him. But if he has a modicum of self-awareness, he has to realize that he's so not the victim here and that he's due for some serious examination of his actions. But no, he's just doubling down and acting more and more douchey by the day.

I was actually one of those people who did not think that the original comic was "that bad". It wasn't funny and there was no need to use rape as a punchline, but I was willing to let it slide as par for the course for PA. But in retrospect, everything that has transpired really illustrates the workings of rape culture and the connections between discourse that minimizes rape and acts of sexualized violence. And yeah, sure, it's "just" the Internet, but how else to describe the tweets of "Rape Rape Rape" and photos of mutilated women sent to a rape survivor?

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