My Absolute Favorite Response to Roe v. Wade Comes From an Indie Video Game Developer
Short, simple, and to the point.
The move didn’t surprise anyone paying attention, yet feeling disappointed doesn’t begin to cover the weight of emotions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last Friday. Companies and corporations also started commenting. Social media is full of statements from various companies on where they stand and how they plan to help those who are affected by the decision. It’s comforting, but also infuriating that we’re at this point.
While scrolling through Valentine Powell’s ongoing thread, I came across a response that perfectly captured my mood. In situations like this, companies tend to offer a paragraph or two of reassuring words in a pretty civil manner. Team Meat, known for “you’re gonna die a whole lot” games like Super Meat Boy, had a different approach.
They aren’t the only ones to inject a fierce “fuck you” into their statement, but they were the first post I saw that just left it as a single sentence. They do have a follow-up tweet that gives a more detailed response to the Supreme Court’s decision that reads, “This isn’t about ‘life’ at all, people with uteruses are going to die getting unsafe, illegal procedures. It’s terrifying and this will go down as a dark day in American history.” This is actually a fitting stance to see from Team Meat, as Super Meat Boy is a game about abortion.
The games literal plot is that a fetus holds Meatboys loved one hostage, and in trying to save her you go through a hospital, hell, and the end of the world itself just to be with her again.
— Jayconian🏳️🌈 (2/3 Commisions Slots Open) (@Jayconian) June 25, 2022
Artist and illustrator Jayconian lays out the game’s theme in the above tweet.
Super Meat Boy’s main theme is literally about the hardships and difficulty going through an abortion. No matter how it is hurts, how you need to pull through despite it because eventually there will be peace at the end. The creator himself, Edmund McMillan, confirmed it.
The games literal plot is that a fetus holds Meatboys loved one hostage, and in trying to save her you go through a hospital, hell, and the end of the world itself just to be with her again.
As Jayconian says, the game’s abortion theme was confirmed by Edmund McMillen, who created Super Meat Boy with Tommy Refenes. McMillen wrote about it on Tumblr years ago.
100% pro choice
Danielle and I had to make this choice when we met 17 years ago, it was very difficult but it was the right thing to do and its great that we were able to make another choice later in life when we were totally ready for a child.
Fun fact: this is what meat boy was actually about… but some of you knew that already right?
This never occurred to me back when I played Super Meat Boy, but seeing it laid out like this really makes a whole lot of sense. While McMillen is no longer with Team Meat, the game’s message and studio’s stance is still holding strong today.
Fuck you is exactly how I feel right now
When Roe v. Wade was overturned on Friday the overwhelming sensation I felt was a mix of exhaustion and numbness. I didn’t feel the burning rage or drive to fight harder than ever before, I was just … tired. I was tired because the decision felt like yet another thing that was being stacked against me. As a Black queer woman, it just feels like that’s the default setting of my entire existence. I can’t explain what it feels like to grow up learning about and experiencing discrimination over things that are truly out of your control. By the time I came out at 18, one of the reactions I had was, “Great, here’s another thing someone is going to hate.” I’d come to fully embrace it over time, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified about adding homophobia to my list of things to be stressed about.
What’s truly upsetting is that there comes a time when you learn that the hate you have to deal with isn’t just on a “stranger looks at you kinda funny” level. You learn that there are people with the power to legitimately take away your rights because they just … feel like it. That’s what hit me on Friday. I can write articles and speak at events about why folks should let me live my life in peace, but the decision with Roe v. Wade was a swift kick to the gut about HOW powerful the folks I need to convince are. I’ve always known this, but Friday felt like a reminder to not get too comfortable because one day you’ll wake up and need to ask the Supreme Court for permission to eat in your own house. It’s hard to digest this truth, especially when you realize that, once upon a time, your own mother was fighting for the right to decide what she does with her body, saw Roe v. Wade come to fruition, and is still around to see it overturned.
When I saw people encouraging us to fight I felt so defeated because it feels like I’d been fighting my whole life to protect some aspect of it. Truthfully, I have. Posts about how this was NOT America being America exhausted me because this has always been my America in some way, shape, or form. I felt nothing when I saw reminders about the Supreme Court “coming for (insert thing) next” because someone has always been trying to reduce my ability to live comfortably. I made two semi-lengthy posts, and by “lengthy” I mean “can fit in a single tweet.” One was begging people to not suggest leaving the country. That’s always someone’s go-to comment as if there’s some magical safe space with zero issues that I can easily uproot my entire life to. My second tweet was just … reminding folks to breathe.
The reason why Team Meat’s post hit me so hard is that it went straight to the point. I couldn’t form the words that illustrated my feelings, but that single message telling the Supreme Court to “go fuck itself” felt like the perfect summary of how I felt, and how I still feel. It feels entirely unfair that folks can impose their beliefs on all of us like this. It feels entirely unfair to have to fight to be able to make decisions that won’t affect anyone else but me, myself, and I. It feels entirely unfair to have to prove that I’m worthy of something called “HUMAN rights.”
It feels that way because it is unfair. So yeah. The Supreme Court can go fuck itself.
(Featured image: Team Meat)
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
