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Tempo the Feminist Gamer (Re: Gamergate)
11 years ago
"Gamergate" is the recent backlash against female game journalists/developers who publicly questioned if some common tropes in games are sexist. This backlash has ranged from 1) accusations of professional and sexual misconduct to 2) sharing personal phone numbers and addresses to 3) rape and death threats to 4) (most recently) bomb threats at Game Developers Choice Awards (which the FBI is now investigating).
Personal attacks only serve to reinforce the opinion that we gamers are emotionally immature lowlifes.
Holding up details of someone's personal life (hearsay or otherwise) is known as an ad hominem attackāattacking the person to bring down their idea, rather than proving their idea wrong. In an era when we are concerned about governments and corporations getting our personal data, we should avoid spreading personal data to discredit other's ideas (or, worse, intimidate them into never critiquing the status quo) as this is one of the worst tactics we fear governments and corporations might use. Let's not do it to ourselves.
If we want talk about codifying or even legislating journalistic standards, that's a great discussion to have in the age of news services making money off of giving viewers a "bubble" that only affirms their views. However, the accusations of conflicts of interest and financial ties against developer Zoe Quinn are undermined by 1) arising from her ex-boyfriend and 2) being presented alongside rape threats and the release of her personal contact information. As for supposedly trading sexual favors for good reviews, I'd argue that the sex lives of journalists/devs are neither our business nor material to a discussion on improving game journalism. The Internet is an incredible resource, but places the burden of critical thinking on each of us to determine who is a credible source. Ex-boyfriends are not known for their unbiased opinions of those who jilted them.
What's more, as a gamer, I believe these women have valid points to make about the treatment of female/homosexual/non-white characters in games. I don't agree with every assertion, but that doesn't mean the community can't have a productive discussion. I agree journalist Anita Sarkeesian could be more positive in talking about games. (In particular, I'd argue games where one can opt to play as either gender, like Mass Effect, show considerable progress.) However, men ranting on video game topics is a mainstay of Youtubeāand we never demand they "show the good side" of whatever they complain about.
When men post videos similar to Anita Sarkeesian's (such as those by PBS and Extra Credits), we don't see massive reprisals, but we still see poorly-reasoned and emotion-driven arguments in the comments. What's more, any damage Anita Sarkeesian could've done to the public image of gamers is dwarfed by what a small number of angry gamers are doing to our image.
Consider two hypothetical headlines:
- "Woman Posts Videos about Sexism in Video Games"
- "Hundreds of Gamers Threaten Rape over Feminist Vid"
Which one is the mainstream media more likely to see as a newsworthy scandal? Which one reinforces the notion that gamers are socially-stunted man-children?
It's important to remember almost no one outside of the gaming world knew of Anita Sarkeesian before the backlash against her. How many gamers decided gamers are sexist assholes because of the videos directly?
By contrast, ABC's 20/20 interviewed her in October 2013 about how hundreds gamers on Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, et cetera publicly threading to rape and/or murder her and her family. That news program has an average viewership of 5.7 million people per broadcastāfew of whom are likely gamers. How many of those non-gamers decided we are sexist assholes?
While it's disheartening to see so much bile from a small segment of our fellow gamers, PBS posted an interesting piece about how their furious desperation might signify the decline of sexism in gaming.
Do Gamers Need Anita Sarkeesian's Feminism? | Game/Show | PBS Digital Studios
Having taken more literary analysis classes than I want to think about, I can assure you my stories have feminist themes. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines feminism as "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." I actively strive to have a diverse range of female characters in my stories and to make them as interesting and empowered as their male counterparts.
As a gamer, I show my support for equality in games via what I buy, play, and promote.
I love gaming. It's been an incredible learning tool for me. So I understand the knee-jerk reaction to any criticism of it. But defensiveness is not healthy or productive for gaming. Analysis of gaming shouldn't be taboo.
We are, as a species, still grappling how to reconcile gender equality with beloved institutions that traditionally haven't had it. Religious fundamentalists want to keep women in burkas and off of birth control. Conservative military leaders don't want female soldiers on the front lines. The gaming community is playing catch-up too; I'm thankful we don't have as far to go.
Just chill guys. These women aren't decrying gamers or gaming and, even if they were, no one ever proved they weren't an asshat by being an asshat. If you disagree with folks, explain why with impeccable respect and reason. If you're too upset for a logical rebuttal, ignore them.
TL;DR
Gamers attacking these women only proves their point.
Personal attacks only serve to reinforce the opinion that we gamers are emotionally immature lowlifes.
Holding up details of someone's personal life (hearsay or otherwise) is known as an ad hominem attackāattacking the person to bring down their idea, rather than proving their idea wrong. In an era when we are concerned about governments and corporations getting our personal data, we should avoid spreading personal data to discredit other's ideas (or, worse, intimidate them into never critiquing the status quo) as this is one of the worst tactics we fear governments and corporations might use. Let's not do it to ourselves.
If we want talk about codifying or even legislating journalistic standards, that's a great discussion to have in the age of news services making money off of giving viewers a "bubble" that only affirms their views. However, the accusations of conflicts of interest and financial ties against developer Zoe Quinn are undermined by 1) arising from her ex-boyfriend and 2) being presented alongside rape threats and the release of her personal contact information. As for supposedly trading sexual favors for good reviews, I'd argue that the sex lives of journalists/devs are neither our business nor material to a discussion on improving game journalism. The Internet is an incredible resource, but places the burden of critical thinking on each of us to determine who is a credible source. Ex-boyfriends are not known for their unbiased opinions of those who jilted them.
What's more, as a gamer, I believe these women have valid points to make about the treatment of female/homosexual/non-white characters in games. I don't agree with every assertion, but that doesn't mean the community can't have a productive discussion. I agree journalist Anita Sarkeesian could be more positive in talking about games. (In particular, I'd argue games where one can opt to play as either gender, like Mass Effect, show considerable progress.) However, men ranting on video game topics is a mainstay of Youtubeāand we never demand they "show the good side" of whatever they complain about.
When men post videos similar to Anita Sarkeesian's (such as those by PBS and Extra Credits), we don't see massive reprisals, but we still see poorly-reasoned and emotion-driven arguments in the comments. What's more, any damage Anita Sarkeesian could've done to the public image of gamers is dwarfed by what a small number of angry gamers are doing to our image.
Consider two hypothetical headlines:
- "Woman Posts Videos about Sexism in Video Games"
- "Hundreds of Gamers Threaten Rape over Feminist Vid"
Which one is the mainstream media more likely to see as a newsworthy scandal? Which one reinforces the notion that gamers are socially-stunted man-children?
It's important to remember almost no one outside of the gaming world knew of Anita Sarkeesian before the backlash against her. How many gamers decided gamers are sexist assholes because of the videos directly?
By contrast, ABC's 20/20 interviewed her in October 2013 about how hundreds gamers on Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, et cetera publicly threading to rape and/or murder her and her family. That news program has an average viewership of 5.7 million people per broadcastāfew of whom are likely gamers. How many of those non-gamers decided we are sexist assholes?
While it's disheartening to see so much bile from a small segment of our fellow gamers, PBS posted an interesting piece about how their furious desperation might signify the decline of sexism in gaming.
Do Gamers Need Anita Sarkeesian's Feminism? | Game/Show | PBS Digital Studios
Having taken more literary analysis classes than I want to think about, I can assure you my stories have feminist themes. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines feminism as "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." I actively strive to have a diverse range of female characters in my stories and to make them as interesting and empowered as their male counterparts.
As a gamer, I show my support for equality in games via what I buy, play, and promote.
I love gaming. It's been an incredible learning tool for me. So I understand the knee-jerk reaction to any criticism of it. But defensiveness is not healthy or productive for gaming. Analysis of gaming shouldn't be taboo.
We are, as a species, still grappling how to reconcile gender equality with beloved institutions that traditionally haven't had it. Religious fundamentalists want to keep women in burkas and off of birth control. Conservative military leaders don't want female soldiers on the front lines. The gaming community is playing catch-up too; I'm thankful we don't have as far to go.
Just chill guys. These women aren't decrying gamers or gaming and, even if they were, no one ever proved they weren't an asshat by being an asshat. If you disagree with folks, explain why with impeccable respect and reason. If you're too upset for a logical rebuttal, ignore them.
TL;DR
Gamers attacking these women only proves their point.
I'd like to also point out, regarding Zoe Quinn, the one she allegedly had a relationship with didn't even write anything about the game except a minor blurb. But as if it mattered anyway. The game had coverage and notoriety on uts own merits, long before the alleged "scandal" took place.
I may have to look into this for additional furry Twine games of mine... ; )
I've seen some legit criticisms, including poor ways that she is presenting arguments or poor practices (such as not crediting the sources of Let's Play game footage). But you can't talk about these things without the discussion being about the abuse, or your disagreement meaning you get lumped in with abusive people in the eyes of bystanders.
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I think a part of this goes back to how much we also dismiss internet toxicity. Someone says something you don't like, hey call'm a retarded shithead. People saying absolutely ugly insulting things about another person just gets shrugged off as "Well, it's the internet."* So when people who don't get their behavior checked really come out in force, it shows itself. I think we have to expect more out of internet behavior, to curb this.
*Not saying that people shrug their shoulders at rape/death threats. But anything short of that, it's just "Welp, don't read the comments."
For the most part I always had a distaste for these sites and this whole debacle just reinforces it.
There's a documentary that's being put together, but even that is under attack. People are threatening to get it shut down before it's even finished yet.