Sure, and there's no doubt that there's a cultural double-standard there. Some cultural double-standards exist because people are different...whether those differences are attributed to gender, race, etc. - they exist. Women have a lot of sixual brutality directed toward them by men. Sure, not all men or all women, but it's enough to make your average woman more sensitive to something like this than a man would be. People are welcome to try to buck the standard and insist on inequality in every cultural facet. Good luck not making yourself look like an insensitive ass in the process, though. Any way you look at this situation the guy made himself look like a jerk. I don't really see any of his excuses as valid...it was an insensitive, crass thing to do.

On the contrary, other than the obvious, literal difference between the skills required, I don't see how they're substantially different at all.

I don't think there is any thing wrong with trash talk, naturally as long as it does not take a sixual turn. However that sort of behaviour is only ever socially acceptable if you are with friends of whom know that you are their friend and know that you do not truely mean the things you say. (or maybe its ok among your friends to say sixually violent things to each other, im not going to judge)

however on a professional level, by which i mean televised events or competitions, it is certainly not professional to trash talk. Even if you are in a competitive event.

It is HORRIBLE sportsmanship and i think that the people who co-ordinate professional competitions should adopt similar policies to that of Professional sport associations that have penalties for un sportsmanly conduct.

and if for no other reason than this, trash talking of such levels should be greatly dissuaded, is that in most countries such verbal abuse can and is likely an infraction of law.

Censor everything. The hell with rights.

Who's talking about censorship? The guy was being a [censored]. I think he deserves to be called out for it. That's not censorship. Establishing rules for sportsmanlike conduct in an organized competition isn't censorship either.

And, the way I see it, subjecting people to abuse for no good reason is impinging on their rights.

Would it be censorship to come down hard on someone for expressing themselves with backhanded slaps? As the saying goes, "Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words can wound forever".

The right to harass others? Start up a group to defend those "rights" if you feel threatened by their censorship.

you forget that he is daggerfallftw he is likely trolling you

Freedom of speech comes with responsibilities. If you want to ask about a colleague's bra size, tell her off for shielding her chest by crossing her arms, and go over to sniff her then you may consider that within your rights (personally, I would put up with far less in a professional environment), but don't expect that whenever you exercise your perceived freedom of speech or "rights" for people to not treat you as the pariah you are, or to accuse you of sixual harassment. Chances are when you got employed you signed an agreement which stipulated that, while you were acting as a spokesperson, you acted as half decent human being.
There is a difference between being PC, censorship and sixual harassment. Something has gone seriously wrong for you if you can't see that.

True, there is that.

regarding freedom to to this or that, every one seems to forget one thing.

you have the absolute free will to do WHAT EVER you want, and every one else has the absolute free will to retaliate.

freedom of speech =/= freedom from consequence

Indeed.

Personally, I'm of the view that freedom is responsibility... the two are inseparable, intrinsic to each other.

This is something a lot of people really fail to understand. If you say something unpopular, and people ostracize you, that's not censorship. You do not have a right to be liked. Indeed, freedom of speech guarantees others the right to criticize you for what you say, and their freedom of assembly gives them the right to ostracize you.

I have no respect at all for people who make provocative statements, then whinge and play the victim when they get the very reaction they were trying to provoke.

Basically, if you care about what people think of you, don't act like a [censored].

Given the sheer amount of male-aimed fanservice that goes into fighting games I'm somehow not surprised.

.. gee, I don't know but maybe they are substantially different because, when you actually participate in a real-life fighting sport, you are actually getting punched in the face, and it is your actual blood dripping from your nose, and the longer the fight goes on, the more you are gasping for air to breath? ...

It's a different set of skills but it's still a serious competition, which is pretty much what the post you quoted already stated.

I would argue however, that there is a difference between trash talk and blatant sixism. Just as racist slurs would not be tolerated within the bounds of trash talk neither should sixism.

I don't know, racism is a double standard. If someone can be call me a Cracker, and I can't be offended, or am told 'it's just a joke', why can't I use that same logic? Granted I wouldn't. I'm very anti Political Correctness personally, but I don't some things because I find them 'crude' and the like.

White people I'm around joke like this all the time, but all hell is broke lose if you call a black guy the N word. Nevermind that most arguements between 2 of the same african american race will be calling each other that after every other word.

I've come to the conclusion that it's less a case of "pervasive sixism" and more a case of "pervasive stupidity" and/or "pervasive immaturity", which are, after all, really the root of any problems the gaming "community" has.

"and if you remove that from the fighting game community, it's StarCraft".

That's total [censored].

There are circles where a four letter word starting with "c" is frequently used among friends, but should an outsider yell it at them, it would be taken as fighting words. I don't take that as political correctness; within the group, it is part of normal vocabulary, but they still realise when it's being used to insult them, and, funnily enough, get insulted.

And I would say one is perfectly within one's rights to be insulted when called a cracker, as long as one is not a racist [censored].

There is a difference between trash talk and being a down-right ass hole that comes off as some rapist. If I said something like the things he said in public, chances are I would either.

A. Get my ass beat

B. Get arrested

C. Get sprayed in the eyes.

D. Get killed.

E. All of the above.

People like this guy need to grow the [censored] up, and not try to justify things they know is wrong to do, but they do anyways.

The equivalent of a white person making several racist remarks toward a Korean person on Starcraft, and than saying "LOL IT WAS JUST TRASH TALK."

I hate that C word. It sounds so.....vulgar. I don't even use the P word term for it because it sounds a bit to vulgar to my ears.

Anywho, I'm not a stickler about things, it's just I find the 'N word' is not that offensive, as it's more or less, to my best understanding, originating from Southerners incapable to properly say the word 'Negro' which is spanish for 'Black'. But eh.

The word has taken on a negative connotation over the years, like how the f-word (synonym for a gay person) is offensive. The history doesn't matter, just the modern perception.