I don't know if others have seen this in today's NY Times, but it's about a feminist cultural critic who wrote about the misogynistic roles women play in video games, getting death and rape threats. She recently had to cancel a talk at Utah State after getting an email from someone using the name of a Canadian mass murderer, threatening to kill attendees. Utah is an open-carry state (not intending to make this about gun laws).
WTF is wrong with people? Does anyone really argue that women in video games are poorly represented (for the most part), and are they that threatened that those roles may be changed to actually reflect, I don't know, real women?
GamerGate - (
New Window )
She got the reaction she was looking for/deserved.
They're video games for crying out loud. There are plenty of video games in which female characters have leading roles (Tomb Raider, Perfect Dark, the list goes on).
What does she want to see, a RPG about female CEOs.
Delete this post before you get destroyed.
I guess Princess Toadstool should have been dressed like Rosie the Riveter in your mind, right?
Hands NYGmen58 a barf bag
This (of course) got latched onto by the nut jobs on the fringes have turned it into something that just makes you shake your head. That people are sending death threats to anyone is kind of pathetic, but to be assured - this is the reaction they wanted. A throwaway troll account sends a threat and it is suddenly blown into video game culture being a misogynist dinosaur that is enabling the abuse and exclusion of women.
To be sure, there's improvements to be had in how women are presented in various media, but this is trolls vs. trolls and people in the middle left to have bombastic articles like this written to rile casual observers up with no idea of the whole story that's been going on.
Fair point, I shouldn't have been as editorial. Not being a gamer, I'm a little surprised that what Princess Toadstool wears has any relevance to players' enjoyment of the games.
Who said she shouldn't? At the same time, however, using an anonymous email threat as a trump card in a much larger controversy is frankly silly.
UA's post is really good.
He made it a compound argument by also raising the question about how people view or are threatened by how women are graphically depicted in video games. People are focusing on the second part probably because there's nothing to discuss/argue about with the first. Of course people shouldn't be afraid to state an opinion.
And yet, here we have threats of death and rape, publication boycotts, pressure on advertisers to pull their ad buys, etc. It's really quite silly.
I think it's important that the video game industry shine a light on some of the tropes that are used constantly and examine their storytelling. A little self-reflection is good in general. But every time she drops a new installment there's about 50 articles harkening the "DEATH OF VIDEO GAMES".
Framing any oppositon to her as that radical is very problematic.
If that is true - it more than just a throw away troll. It becomes much more serious issue.
Framing any oppositon to her as that radical is very problematic.
I get that, but if she was in fact threatened because of it that is certainly newsworthy.
And yet, here we have threats of death and rape, publication boycotts, pressure on advertisers to pull their ad buys, etc. It's really quite silly.
Treating your audience with scorn and contempt is generally not considered to be a sound business practice, particularly when it comes to light that the gaming media got together to coordinate those attacks, which is why there were a bunch of "gamers are over/gaming is dead" pieces that all got published within about a day of each other. Zoe Quinn was the straw that broke the camel's back, that's all.
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Sure, there are huge ethical problems in games journalism. There have been for decades, everybody knows it, and no mass movements were raging about it a few months ago. But some indie developer sleeps with a journalist who didn't even write about her stuff isn't the problem. And, as far as I know, nobody is sending death threats to the managing editor of IGN because of their relationship with EA's marketing department.
And yet, here we have threats of death and rape, publication boycotts, pressure on advertisers to pull their ad buys, etc. It's really quite silly.
Treating your audience with scorn and contempt is generally not considered to be a sound business practice, particularly when it comes to light that the gaming media got together to coordinate those attacks, which is why there were a bunch of "gamers are over/gaming is dead" pieces that all got published within about a day of each other. Zoe Quinn was the straw that broke the camel's back, that's all.
Oh, come now. Nobody got "attacked." Sure, it wasn't smart from a business point of view, but that doesn't come close to justifying the reaction it has gotten. If a media outlet insults you, you find somewhere else to get your news, or start your own competitor. This is what the internet is great for.
They're mostly pissed because games media folks made feminist-sounding political statements. Which triggered the same kind of knee-jerk "anti-political-correctness" derpfest that appeals to privileged folks everywhere who would prefer to pretend that they're the victim.
NeoGAF - ( New Window )
Thanks for the added background - I am guilty of casually following this and chalking it up to another black mark on an outlet built on inappropriate relationships and back room dealings. Seems this has a nastier undertone than I expected.
I think there's basically a few thing most people can agree on:
- The video game industry and associated press covering it is an incestuous cesspool of backroom deals and questionable ethics, with both parties willing to offer inappropriate things (money, reviews, etc.) for favorable coverage/access/etc.
- Any death threat of violence/death/rape, whether or not its from a troll or not, is a serious and should be treated as such
- Using the actions of a fringe micro-minority to paint the majority of individuals, most of whom can function in society and not interpret how women are depicted in games as having any basis of reality are not even aware of this issue, is also not right
- Mainstream media is lazy and will paint with a broad brush to present a click-bait article and vilify an entire group - especially one as loosely defined as "gamers" - when a small subset made up of anti-social idiots stoop to these levels
Its not a justification of what's happening, but this is a self-fulfilling story. Victim shaming is not something we should engage in, but as another poster put it - this is hitting a hornet's nest and then crying to the press (and increasing your prominence in your field) when a hornet with a burner account, anonymous IP and TOR browser sends a threat for the "lolz".
There's a real conversation to be had about women in video games, the industry itself and the media around it. That conversation, however, is lost in the extremes on both sides posturing for the attention they want. Meanwhile, those that are aware are digging in and moving to the extremes - basically a total polarization (and politicization) of the industry.
This kind of crap is what turned a minor bunch of grumbling into a big deal.
Again - the hyperpoliticization of every corner of life is a bad thing.
Link - ( New Window )
UA's post is really good.
except for the fact that the suggested "sex for positive review" never actually happened - as it turned out. At least, I read as much on Deadspin.
Didn't stop the fallout though.
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I'll just leave this here. NeoGAF - ( New Window )
Thanks for the added background - I am guilty of casually following this and chalking it up to another black mark on an outlet built on inappropriate relationships and back room dealings. Seems this has a nastier undertone than I expected.
I think there's basically a few thing most people can agree on:
- The video game industry and associated press covering it is an incestuous cesspool of backroom deals and questionable ethics, with both parties willing to offer inappropriate things (money, reviews, etc.) for favorable coverage/access/etc.
- Any death threat of violence/death/rape, whether or not its from a troll or not, is a serious and should be treated as such
- Using the actions of a fringe micro-minority to paint the majority of individuals, most of whom can function in society and not interpret how women are depicted in games as having any basis of reality are not even aware of this issue, is also not right
- Mainstream media is lazy and will paint with a broad brush to present a click-bait article and vilify an entire group - especially one as loosely defined as "gamers" - when a small subset made up of anti-social idiots stoop to these levels
Its not a justification of what's happening, but this is a self-fulfilling story. Victim shaming is not something we should engage in, but as another poster put it - this is hitting a hornet's nest and then crying to the press (and increasing your prominence in your field) when a hornet with a burner account, anonymous IP and TOR browser sends a threat for the "lolz".
There's a real conversation to be had about women in video games, the industry itself and the media around it. That conversation, however, is lost in the extremes on both sides posturing for the attention they want. Meanwhile, those that are aware are digging in and moving to the extremes - basically a total polarization (and politicization) of the industry.
In other words, it's no different than most fields out there.
Same applies to the polarization/politicization of the industry. Once it stopped being a niche group of people...
Also, this post constitutes the sum total of my knowledge about gaming.
Carry on.
Utah State University Bulletin - ( New Window )
I get it - you agree that video games should be a platform for bludgeoning people with leftist politics. Just be forthright about it, so you don't look as stupid as you do when you admit that one of their major grievances is entirely true but simultaneously act like the entire thing is a figment of imagination.
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So what if it was coordinated? Doesn't make the response any less stupid.
I get it - you agree that video games should be a platform for bludgeoning people with leftist politics. Just be forthright about it, so you don't look as stupid as you do when you admit that one of their major grievances is entirely true but simultaneously act like the entire thing is a figment of imagination.
"Should be" goes too far, and, of course, "bludgeoning" is silly hyperbole. People should be able to publish leftist critiques of games and games culture if they want to. Or right-wing critiques. Or critiques based on Zoroastrian aesthetic principles.
A reasonable response for those offended by games criticism would be "you're wrong because ___" or "I'm not going to read that publication anymore" or "whatever, I'm still pre-ordering Slutshooter 4: The Revenge of the Teabagger." Instead, we got a massive rage-fest (with a side-line of abuse and intimidation) about "social justice warriors" who were out to censor games. Childish and stupid.
That is hilarious. Perfect name for FPS parody.
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I'm still pre-ordering Slutshooter 4: The Revenge of the Teabagger."
That is hilarious. Perfect name for FPS parody.
Fixed.