Comments on: ‘Portal’ Is for Lesbians http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:15:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: I Don't Think So http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-121608 I Don't Think So Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:06:00 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-121608 I really can't stand this sort of thing. It's like being back in high school English - people projecting their own personal opinions and perspectives onto the work as opposed to simply reading and absorbing the author's intent. I'm seriously tired of the queer and feminist communities reading too far into media and turning them into talking points. Though, I will give the queer folk credit - at least they take it in a positive light, you know, "Hey, this thing is about being gay! Yeah!" The feminists perpetually go negative, they see something and start screaming PATRIARCHY PATRIARCHY MISOGYNY MISOGYNY RAPE RAPE RAPE! And for all the feminists (I should say, feminist activists) who are pissed off by what I just said, take a look at this: http://users.livejournal.com/_allecto_/34718.html. QED. Honestly, Portal isn't about homosexuality - or sex at all. It just isn't. When GLaDOS talks about love or her heart being broken, she's trying to guilt-trip the player. She does it throughout all of level 19. But there's nothing (and I mean NOTHING) to indicate that what she talks about goes anything beyond the platonic, particularly with the Companion Cube. The game wants you to care about the Cube, it doesn't want to you to have sex with the Cube or be attracted to the Cube. GLaDOS doesn't want you to be attracted to her, have a relationship with her, or have sex with her - (how would you go about screwing a series of spheres anyway?) she wants to kill you. She wants to lure you into a false sense of security and kill you. She doesn't want to lure you into that false sense of security by turning you on and taking advantage of your passion, she wants you to feel like you're safe, and then murder you in your sleep. I don't see how you read "lesbian" into this, unless you're implying that most lesbians are half-deranged, psychotic-yet-lovable murderers. As for the portal-vagina thing... how else would you design a portable portal intended for human transport besides an ellipse of the approximate dimensions of the human body? You don't want to waste energy creating a portal that is spherical or square. The shape they chose is the most efficient one. I don't think the creators went "Hey, let's put some vaginas in this game!" Particularly since the gameplay was invented far before any of the story came into play. The story was built around the Portal device, not the other way around. Finally... no. FPS games are not about raping others with your penis-gun. They're about emulating war. And I'm sure you can go on and on about how war is just men's sexual repression expressing itself as violence or some other addle-brained idea, but war is about killing people, usually people who are trying to kill you. That tends to be what the FPS genre is about. Killing people, without the real-world consequences of killing people. Sure, if you think about it too long, you realize it's pretty sick. But damn, it's fun. I really can’t stand this sort of thing. It’s like being back in high school English - people projecting their own personal opinions and perspectives onto the work as opposed to simply reading and absorbing the author’s intent. I’m seriously tired of the queer and feminist communities reading too far into media and turning them into talking points. Though, I will give the queer folk credit - at least they take it in a positive light, you know, “Hey, this thing is about being gay! Yeah!” The feminists perpetually go negative, they see something and start screaming PATRIARCHY PATRIARCHY MISOGYNY MISOGYNY RAPE RAPE RAPE! And for all the feminists (I should say, feminist activists) who are pissed off by what I just said, take a look at this: http://users.livejournal.com/_allecto_/34718.html. QED.

Honestly, Portal isn’t about homosexuality - or sex at all. It just isn’t. When GLaDOS talks about love or her heart being broken, she’s trying to guilt-trip the player. She does it throughout all of level 19. But there’s nothing (and I mean NOTHING) to indicate that what she talks about goes anything beyond the platonic, particularly with the Companion Cube. The game wants you to care about the Cube, it doesn’t want to you to have sex with the Cube or be attracted to the Cube. GLaDOS doesn’t want you to be attracted to her, have a relationship with her, or have sex with her - (how would you go about screwing a series of spheres anyway?) she wants to kill you. She wants to lure you into a false sense of security and kill you. She doesn’t want to lure you into that false sense of security by turning you on and taking advantage of your passion, she wants you to feel like you’re safe, and then murder you in your sleep. I don’t see how you read “lesbian” into this, unless you’re implying that most lesbians are half-deranged, psychotic-yet-lovable murderers.

As for the portal-vagina thing… how else would you design a portable portal intended for human transport besides an ellipse of the approximate dimensions of the human body? You don’t want to waste energy creating a portal that is spherical or square. The shape they chose is the most efficient one. I don’t think the creators went “Hey, let’s put some vaginas in this game!” Particularly since the gameplay was invented far before any of the story came into play. The story was built around the Portal device, not the other way around.

Finally… no. FPS games are not about raping others with your penis-gun. They’re about emulating war. And I’m sure you can go on and on about how war is just men’s sexual repression expressing itself as violence or some other addle-brained idea, but war is about killing people, usually people who are trying to kill you. That tends to be what the FPS genre is about. Killing people, without the real-world consequences of killing people. Sure, if you think about it too long, you realize it’s pretty sick. But damn, it’s fun.

]]> By: The Plush Apocalypse » Blog Archive » How can a game be subversive? http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-102420 The Plush Apocalypse » Blog Archive » How can a game be subversive? Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:55:55 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-102420 [...] connections rather than destroying life.” Bonnie Ruberg equates the portals with vaginas, [...] […] connections rather than destroying life.” Bonnie Ruberg equates the portals with vaginas, […]

]]> By: Lil-Kitty http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-98676 Lil-Kitty Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:17:59 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-98676 NOt all games that have a female character is all gay for one. I am a game player in these games XD and I am not gay or a lesbo or whatever :3 it's about having fun so stop saying every game is all about lesbos and gay guys damn XD just play it and actually enjoy the game aye? NOt all games that have a female character is all gay for one. I am a game player in these games XD and I am not gay or a lesbo or whatever :3 it’s about having fun so stop saying every game is all about lesbos and gay guys damn XD just play it and actually enjoy the game aye?

]]> By: The Guy http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-98411 The Guy Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:28:34 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-98411 It's a game about CAKE!! Creator commentary much? It’s a game about CAKE!!

Creator commentary much?

]]> By: Portal: A game for tied-up lesbians? http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-97518 Portal: A game for tied-up lesbians? Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:06:54 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-97518 [...] Heroine Sheik makes the point that Portal features an all-female cast (the weighted companion cube is referred to as “he”, but c’mon, there’s pink hearts all over it!), and GLaDOS references Chell breaking her heart, implying some sort of relationship. I never took her comments in that light, it seemed more like the ramblings of a crazy person than an admission of romantic love. [...] […] Heroine Sheik makes the point that Portal features an all-female cast (the weighted companion cube is referred to as “he”, but c’mon, there’s pink hearts all over it!), and GLaDOS references Chell breaking her heart, implying some sort of relationship. I never took her comments in that light, it seemed more like the ramblings of a crazy person than an admission of romantic love. […]

]]> By: auntie pixelante › glados bound http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-97213 auntie pixelante › glados bound Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:06:56 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-97213 [...] also reminds me of heroine sheik’s reading of portal as queer, though slut loves to get on my nerves by suggesting it can as easily be read as a game about penis [...] […] also reminds me of heroine sheik’s reading of portal as queer, though slut loves to get on my nerves by suggesting it can as easily be read as a game about penis […]

]]> By: CelebrenIthil http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-96105 CelebrenIthil Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:59:06 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-96105 Portal = Hole = Vagina. Way to go. Make sure you don't look too closely at your noserils... or your ears... or your belly button.... Anything that is vaguely oblong = penis. Great. Pencils, guns, lamp posts, trees, a lighthouse, nails.... Well why don't you take one of those and stick it in one of your orifices stated above? Everything should work out well and nice according to the proper logic of things. Also, more than 1 woman in the same general area without proper male supervision = hot lesbian sex. Also, lesbians, when not having hot sex, like to burn males. Finally; "insert sexist joke about the fact a game without any male in the cast is an abomination or a porn thing (then it's good), about woman being inferior and how your penis is awesome and how they should shut up and bake you some cake afterwards" and laugh a lot. Then laugh some more- if you manage to sound like an ape you win 30 extra points. Then show your post to your mother and feel proud. /sarcasm Portal = Hole = Vagina.
Way to go.
Make sure you don’t look too closely at your noserils… or your ears… or your belly button….

Anything that is vaguely oblong = penis.
Great. Pencils, guns, lamp posts, trees, a lighthouse, nails….
Well why don’t you take one of those and stick it in one of your orifices stated above? Everything should work out well and nice according to the proper logic of things.

Also, more than 1 woman in the same general area without proper male supervision = hot lesbian sex.
Also, lesbians, when not having hot sex, like to burn males.

Finally; “insert sexist joke about the fact a game without any male in the cast is an abomination or a porn thing (then it’s good), about woman being inferior and how your penis is awesome and how they should shut up and bake you some cake afterwards” and laugh a lot.
Then laugh some more- if you manage to sound like an ape you win 30 extra points.

Then show your post to your mother and feel proud.

/sarcasm

]]> By: Anonny http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-95519 Anonny Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:48:33 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-95519 Companion cube=AWESOME! Cake=lie That's all, folks! Companion cube=AWESOME!
Cake=lie

That’s all, folks!

]]> By: Diego M. http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-85502 Diego M. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:14:50 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-85502 After all, in the "Half-Life: Raising the bar" book, the developers explain that many of the creatures in the HL universe have "sexual themes" a good example is the Gonarch or "Big Momma", who looks like they are the "headcrab queens", they give birth to the "Headcrab" creatures. Well, in the book, many of the developers of the game (between them Marc Laidlaw, the writer of the whole HL universe, in which Portal is situated), refer to it literally as a "Giant testicle with spider/crab legs", and it was intentionally designed as such. It's not that strange that Portal mentions so much the women, maybe it's strange for gamers that haven't seen any female-centric games. Also, it's not that strange that the Portals=Vaginas is a rather good theory. That's all, Valve likes to have complicated stories at their games, and sexual themes, but not in the manner that they are applied to other games (Example: Exuberant Men/Women that serve as sexual reclaim, well yeah, maybe Alyx from HL2 it's a bit sexual reclaim, but it's as exuberant as other women that I usually see and talk), but in a more, subtle, Lovecraftian if you like, way. And sorry for any misspellings, I'm not a native English speaker. Greets! After all, in the “Half-Life: Raising the bar” book, the developers explain that many of the creatures in the HL universe have “sexual themes” a good example is the Gonarch or “Big Momma”, who looks like they are the “headcrab queens”, they give birth to the “Headcrab” creatures.
Well, in the book, many of the developers of the game (between them Marc Laidlaw, the writer of the whole HL universe, in which Portal is situated), refer to it literally as a “Giant testicle with spider/crab legs”, and it was intentionally designed as such.
It’s not that strange that Portal mentions so much the women, maybe it’s strange for gamers that haven’t seen any female-centric games.
Also, it’s not that strange that the Portals=Vaginas is a rather good theory. That’s all, Valve likes to have complicated stories at their games, and sexual themes, but not in the manner that they are applied to other games (Example: Exuberant Men/Women that serve as sexual reclaim, well yeah, maybe Alyx from HL2 it’s a bit sexual reclaim, but it’s as exuberant as other women that I usually see and talk), but in a more, subtle, Lovecraftian if you like, way.

And sorry for any misspellings, I’m not a native English speaker.

Greets!

]]> By: Pete Tong http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-78613 Pete Tong Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:12:03 +0000 http://www.heroine-sheik.com/2007/10/17/portal-is-for-lesbians/#comment-78613 The companion cube is reffered to as he, but in the end you do kill him. a metaphor worth exploring? The companion cube is reffered to as he, but in the end you do kill him.
a metaphor worth exploring?

]]>