Normally, I would want to talk about the new Nintendo news going on like the Smash Bros Leak, the Pokemon/Tekken fusion and the Mario Kart 8 DLC. But I have to get this out of the way.
Days ago, I talked about the flight of Sony Online CEO John Smedley getting diverted to Phoenix, Arizona over a false bomb threat. And once again, it seems there is a new low within gaming. This time, directed at the host of "Tropes vs Women" Anita Sarkeesian.
Ever since the start of her kickstarter towards the "Tropes vs Women" video blog, Anita has been on the receiving end of harassment by various gamers and trolls. Defenders like Tim Schafer and Jim Sterling had to stand up for her, with Jim pointing out that Anita wouldn't have had this kind of publicity if the angry gamers didn't flip out over this.
But now, it has come to this.
Sarkeesian, whose video articles showcase negative representations of women in video games,
often publishes captions of threats she is sent via Twitter, email and
though other communication channels. Many of these threats include
sexual violence, while some mention her address and family.
On Wednesday the situation had escalated to the point that she contacted the authorities and vacated her home.
"Some very scary threats have just been made against me and my
family. Contacting authorities now," she wrote on Twitter, before
adding:
"I'm safe. Authorities have been notified. Staying with friends
tonight. I'm not giving up. But this harassment of women in tech must
stop!"
The threats and hateful comments sent to Sarkeesian are often in
response to her collection of essays, called Tropes Versus Women, which
examines why women are often represented as powerless, sexualised and
enfeebled characters in games.
Though a vocal, and often abusive, minority of games enthusiasts
condemn her work, Sarkeesian's analysis is widely praised by some of the
most prominent games industry figures, from Tim Schafer to Naughty Dog
creative director Neil Druckman.
I'm no fan of Anita. Heck, I barely even watch her videos. But this kind of attack was a new low for many of these gamers. And I, frankly, am ashamed that this is happening. To those of you who justify this, you need to get a grip. There is no justification to this what-so-ever. You can like or dislike her videos. But these kinds of attacks need to stop for the sake of sanity, because by doing this, you will end up justifying Antia's arguments.
That is all.
Works Cited:
Computer and Video Games
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment