How do you change a norm?
Looking through responses in regard to the Jade Raymond incident, there have been some decent enough men who understand why it’s such a fuss. There was one particular type of response that struck me, and that was admitting that there was misogyny in the gaming industry, but we are powerless to stop it.
So how does one ’stop it’? How does one change a societal norm?
This reminded me of a story my Psychology professor told me. Ohio State, as any American who follows college football knows, are fierce rivals against Michigan. The hatred is intense, and even more so during football season. Tradition went along the lines of a massive party celebration held along High Street whenever Ohio defeated Michigan, and rioting whenever Ohio lost. As the years went by, the ‘celebration’ grew and grew in size, until the police decided to cordon off an area specifically for these people. Only if you stepped beyond these physical boundaries would you be in trouble.
Celebration then turned to rioting. Whether Ohio State won or lost, rioting would be had in the streets. This tradition eventually reached its climax in 2002, where an enormous riot occurred after Ohio’s win over Michigan. Cars were burned, streetlamps smashed, kids getting drunk and doing crazy things in the streets, etc. I have to remind you that this was tradition. It’s natural to celebrate after a win, and die-hard football fans understand the joy of beating a long-time rival. Unfortunately, this tradition turned to chaos, and it was deemed natural.
So more policing was implemented. High Street is now littered with policemen, and even more so during football season. Any whiff of crazy is instantly stopped, unlike what they did by cordoning off an area for making mischief and letting it spiral out of control. Ohio State’s win over Michigan this season was extremely mild. There was no massive celebration, much less rioting.
I don’t know if it’s actually fair to draw parallels, but changing norms is certainly possible. Rioting too, can be considered freedom of expression, but why is it more wrong than others who openly discriminate and get away with it? Both can be considered ‘freedom of expression’, but why is the former considered ‘more wrong’ than the other? Perhaps we value too much on the physical harm done than the psychological, given our tried and true mantra of ’seeing is believing’.
Speculating the methods that can quell misogyny (or misandry, for that matter) would be like speculating when Christ would descend from the heavens, but I’d like to point out a couple of observations here. The action done was undertaken by a higher authority, and policing was involved. One can rage about freedom of expression all they want, but censorship plays some part in our everyday lives, whether it be implemented by the glass ceiling or by ourselves. Perhaps one day ‘no discrimination’ wouldn’t be seen as a form of external censorship, but a societal norm instead.
