Texas is just looking worse and worse lately. Texas, why so jerkish? Do you not realize that you have a reputation as kind of a yokel and a hick anyway? Doesn't it behoove you to try and fight that perception? But yet again, we have an awesome story of Texans behaving stupidly.
A large LAN party organized to celebrate the release of Battlefield 3 has decided that the best way to prevent "uncomfortable guests or lots of tension" is to ban women from the event. After all, if your problem results from "mixing immature, misogynist male-gamers with female counterparts," why not just ban the women? PROBLEM SOLVED.
This approach to dealing with difficult social situations is hardly novel, of course. Nor is its tone of victim-blaming, or its craven attitude of sucking up to the power structure by catering to its basest instincts. It's like the worst example of permissive parenting, writ large. "Oh my dear boy," the LAN party organizers seem to be saying. "I can't bear to reprimand you for behaving badly! Instead, I shall banish those icky girls that bring out the worst in you."
I admire the LAN party organizers for being so brazen about their motives for making the party male only. Nothing fosters a "boy's club" atmosphere like excluding women, after all! And heck, I'm sure it gets pretty difficult, having to demand respectful behavior from all of your attendees.
In their last revision, they claimed that they were excluding women for their own good. How thoughtful of them! It's heartwarming, really, how much they care. Imagine the Hallmark Card! "Apartheid: for when you care enough to exclude 52% of the population."
Of course, anyone who has ever played with their headphones on knows that this is only the tip of the iceberg, as far as bad behavior from young male FPS players. After all, why not extend your courtesy to black people who might otherwise be upset by these players' constant use of "the N word"?
I expect future LAN parties will also be free of homosexuals, black people, Asians, Hispanics… basically anything other than young white males who enjoy using the term "rape" as an all-purpose term to indicate anything even mildly unpleasant.
In theory, the organizers of an event could hold attendees responsible for their behavior. They could institute a code of conduct, possibly even an ethics declaration. They could insist that attendees behave like reasonable adults, and sanction or eject anyone (male or female) who acts out.
But hey, I guess "complete capitulation to the worst elements of your target demographic" works, too!