Man-Made Environments and the Language of the Pick-Up Artist
Women, thus unable to regulate their interactions with male strangers in public places, are robbed of an important privilege of urban life: their anonymity. Women learn to be constantly on the alert, both consciously and unconsciously, in order to protect vulnerable boundaries from male trespasses. Researchers have demonstrated that women avoid eye contact, stiffen body posture, restrict movements, and move out of the way of pedestrian traffic more than men, a pattern of submissive behavior observed in animal societies. Irwin Altman, a psychologist, maintains that this behavior requires an enormous amount of energy which "places great stress on adrenal and cardiovascular systems, resulting in heightened psychological tension and anxiety...[and] psychic damage. (1)
The environment, however you may want to define it as such, is not something we can easily control, unless it is within the comfort or confines of the home. Even in the home, various types of behavior and media will make its way into the home for consumption. The home can be a lonely place if allowed to sit and wallow in solitude, which may provoke one to go out, be social, and engage. In Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment, scholar Leslie Kanes Weisman offers insights into proverbial American home and on to the consumerist space of the shopping mall through a gendered lens. Although it may seem strange to bring up feminist architectural theory in relationship to gaming, they are inextricably tied. The minute any woman steps away from their home, they are subject instantly to public space where little control is afforded to them. As Weisman stated, anonymity becomes a moot point. Our public space is riddled with harmful expressions, inappropriate behavior, and other unpredictable, unchecked and potentially detrimental variables.
In a recent article in Esquire UK, journalist Finlay Renwick interviewed and participated in Kezia Noble's boot camp style workshop on dating and seduction. Apparently Noble is the "world's leading female seduction coach." Despite the attempt at objectivity, Renwick's article leaned more on the side of skepticism of seduction. Not only are these participants–predominantly men–spending an exorbitant amount of money, they are learning how to be social, less awkward, and charming. During Noble's seminar, the participants are asked to memorize a mnemonic as a way to remember specific elements when speaking to women.
Although traditional cisgender, straight male PUA tactics such as negging (which involves insulting a woman to capture her attention and intentionally making her feel less than) are not taught during the seminar, a PUA course taught by a woman remains disconcerting. The fact remains – courses with a demand and necessitating facilitation and encouraging control of women – speak to the overall systemic issues within global patriarchy and capitalism.
In Angela Washko's The Game: The Game, an important aspect deeply affecting how women and men interact in public spaces is language. Renwick states,
Like many subcultures, the jargon woven into the culture and dogma of pick-up is a scattered patois of acronyms and colloquialisms, constantly evolving. Groups of women are 'sets', appearance and fitness is known as 'outer game'. 'Pawning' is to use a woman who you are not genuinely interested in as 'social proof', social proof being a popular psychology term relating to humans desiring that which is desired by others - in this case, a woman wanting you because she's seen that another already does. The list goes on. (2)
While environmental and architectural space cannot be modified at one's whim, language assists us in navigating through space. The vernacular of the PUA space creates an insular community, and the terminology sits far too snugly within the parameters of heteronormative, misogynistic behavior. While Noble and her instructors may encourage a man to focus, exude authority, pay compliments, show empathy, and instill safety, the undercurrent of these tactics perpetuates men to find the capacity and bravado to control these variables.
In The Game: The Game, there is no incentive for the player. It is not meant to be a ludic experience where one is rewarded for a particular action or task completed. Rather, the game is meant to be meta-critical. The game is meant to show an aspect of how one gains power over another within a space or environment. The eerie yet striking composition by Xiu Xiu amplifies the tension of the simulated interaction. The music playing throughout the game heightens, as opposed to supplements, the feelings a player might experience in these hypothetical situations. With each measure of music, the game becomes even more irrefutable in its attempt to show the treacherous nature of language within public space. The digital interface also enables an atypical role-playing for any player regardless of sexual orientation, gender, or sex. The game forces and pushes towards dialogue, not against it. It requires one to be uncomfortable and sit with discomfort. Despite the nature of the interactions, the game warrants multiple playthroughs out of sheer curiosity for different outcome in the hopes of something redeeming that never quite presents itself.
Despite the success of Kezia Noble's aforementioned bootcamp dating and seduction workshop, it doesn't lend itself well to the overall dialogue of dispelling PUAs. Rather, it plays at the root of patriarchy and veils the desire many men seek in any environment, and, sometimes, at any cost - power. Washko's game subjects the player to strategies marketed as "proven" to work by well-known PUAs. The Game: The Game delves deep into the insidious nature of how language can be laborious, harmful, and destructive. ■
(1) Leslie Kanes Weisman, Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992), 69.
(2) Finlay Renwick, “What It's Like To Attend A 'Pick Up Artist' Class Run By A Woman” (Esquire UK, 2017), http://www.esquire.co.uk/life/sex-relationships/longform/a14154/female-pick-up-artist/
Dorothy R. Santos is a Filipina American writer, editor, and curator whose research interests include new media, digital art, and biotechnology. Born and raised in San Francisco, California, she holds Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of San Francisco, and received her Master’s degree in Visual and Critical Studies at the California College of the Arts. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Film and Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz as a Eugene V. Cota-Robles fellow. Her work appears in art21, Art Practical, Rhizome, Hyperallergic, Real Life Magazine, VICE Motherboard, and SF MOMA's Open Space. She has lectured at the De Young museum, Stanford University, School of Visual Arts, and more. Her essay “Materiality to Machines: Manufacturing the Organic and Hypotheses for Future Imaginings,” was published in The Routledge Companion to Biology in Art and Architecture.
This essay was written for the exhibition Angela Washko | The Game: The Game 2.0 at Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center. On view September 15–December 9, 2017, Tuesday–Saturday, 12–5pm. The gallery is free and open to the public.
Stills: Angela Washko, The Game: The Game. Ren’Py application. Soundtrack by Xiu Xiu. 2015-2017.
