Feminism Vs Gamer Gate

I wasn't sure whether I should post this on SD, Random or here (probably be better off in IB tbh, lol). Since this is related to gaming, I decided to put it here.

If you live under a rock, there's been a bit of controversy involving a feminist by the name of Anita Sarkeesian and the gaming community. As of late, she has been highly critical of games not representing the female gender in a more politically correct light. It seems she has made it her mission to change the gaming industry by making them appeal more to female gamers. Some developers have actually made changes to their games in order to suit the cause.


Some of you may say this is a good thing. However, there is a group out there that feel that the changes would harm the industry rather than improve it. That group goes by the name of Gamer Gate. According to them, they feel that games shouldn't be represented based on some false idealogic agenda, but be the product of the creator's imagination and creativity.

Anita has a youtube channel where she pretty much bashes the games she views as misogynistic and praises the games she feels represents the true female persona. She has often times been found painting a negative picture on male gamers in general. While it is true she makes a lot of straw man arguments, it doesn't help the opposition where you have a select few (Probably from Gamer Gate) making death threats to her.

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Anyways, what do you think about Anita and her agenda to change the gaming community? Do you feel that she is right in some way, and that the majority of games cater to the male supremacy mindset? What do you think Gamer Gate can do to clear up any misperceptions the oppositions have about gamers (male gamers in particular)?

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MO:

Honestly, I understand Anita's stance on video games, but she's doing it wrong in addition to being misinformed (The sad thing is, I don't think she cares whether she's right or wrong. Just as long as she makes money and pushes her agenda, she wins.). For one thing, Gamer Gate isn't comprised of only "White, straight males". Females, bisexuals, homosexuals, transexuals have been found to make up or at least support Gamer Gate. Secondly, Gamer Gate's agenda isn't to oppress women. Granted, there are trolls out there that have gave the impression that Gamer Gate could be about male supremacy and female oppression, but it is of the small minority. Speaking of which, I find it ironic how Anita constantly bitches about how games set up the "Damsel in distress" scenario when she herself acts like a victim whenever she gets death threats.

I've gotten death threats too, but I never cowered in fear of my life. IDK, maybe she was faking it to further her cause. In the end, both sides of the argument have valid points, so there has to be a middle ground where we can all be satisfied. Unfortunately, it seems as though the wrong person is fighting for the feminists side. This is a person who doesn't give a damn about video games...at all. You can see this on her Youtube channel, she picks out the crappiest looking games and polishes the hell out of those turds just because it coincides with her agenda. Her less than 200k followers are most likely not even gamers. If she really wants to see her vision bear fruit, she should encourage more female, homosexual and transexual game creators to contribute to the scene so their perspectives in terms of storytelling can be brought to light...the right way. Its much better than forcing male developers to give up their male perspectives and adopt a more feminine viewpoint to make their games cater more to women.

I'm not here to argue about Sarkeesian or what she does; I think she's a disingenuous, opportunistic, piece of shit professional victim. I'm just here to educate the misinformed.

You have no clue what you're talking about, so I guess sleeping under rocks is a hobby. GamerGate is a consumer revolt spawned as a result of a reveal of corrupt journalistic practices that was later dismissed/ignored by the gaming press. It didn't begin as GamerGate initially, but got rolling after a rough start with Zoe Quinn, who tried to remain relevant, but she's not. Similarly, Sarkeesian has fucking nothing to do with GG. She's not part of the gaming press, so as far as GG is concerned, she's a worthless nobody who also wants to stay relevant and connected to GG as it furthers her victim narrative. She once got a death threat when she was about to speak at a university. Naturally, fuckwits concluded GG had to be involved, but a reading of the threat will reveal to those capable of basic reading comprehension that, at best, it was an anti-feminist. It was likely just a troll, if not a sympathizer of Sarkeesian who wanted to play up her victimhood. Anita also made big bucks afterward by crying about it. The press couldn't help report on her status as the most distressed damsel. All that money must have healed her achy breaky heart, as she's never without her shit eating grin.

Just read the god damn gamergate wiki: http://wiki.gamergate.me/index.php?title=GamerGate

Actually, I did know that GG was the result of a revolt against corrupt gaming journalism practices, but since that didn't have anything to do with Anita and her agenda, I left that part out intentionally. Its true GG had that goal in mind to clean up the journalism, but I was certain they were also against Anita's agenda to change the gaming community. I guess my sources were misinformed, my bad.

Both players are full of shit. The feminists are happy acting like victims and once gamergate started doxxing they lost all credibility. It's become nothing more than a social media war in which both sides are happy to perpetuate. They don't deserve my attention.

I think its bullshit. Really. Not every guy is an asshole who believes girls have there place. I honestly think some girls are even better at certain things then us guys. It terms of gaming i been playing since i was 5 and my ex had only been playing for a year (she was 19 at the time) and holy shit she wrecked me at everything from CoD to Battlefield and Halo. Admittedly there has been a strong male presence since the beginning but even that far back there were girls, there are just more popping up these days due to gaming becoming more global and online. Now this girl is just an attention whore. She just wants to see how many people come running when she yells 'fire' and just how much money she can make off of it.

Sarkeesian brings up a few valid points but handles them terribly. She's also little more than an opportunistic conman.

That a majority of games caters to the "the male supremacy mindset" as OP put it is something I absolutely consider to hold some truth, not because "every male gamer is a misogynist" but because I think that most people doesn't care. I believe that catering to the majority of the gaming community through boobs, stereotypically depicted(genderwise) characters stems from the fact that many games that do include these tropes sell, and many content-creators adhere to the "don't fix it if it ain't broke" mindset. They then keep on creating content they think will sell and one factor many don't dare to change being these kinds of tropes. Something that ofc stems from the notion that still exists about the majority of gamers being horny neckbeards living in their mothers basements.

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I'm not a fan of GamerGate, just like with many things there are too many asshats that affiliate with them for me to take them seriously, even if the core notion was a good one.

It's conWOman, you misogynistic pig porker. Check your fucking privilege.

I'll have you know I'm a card carrying member of The Patriarchyâ„¢ with a Shitlord score of 160.

I am just going to leave this here and run away, while still is hot.

Never seen this channel; thanks for recommending. Always on the lookout for good anti-feminist/social justice videos.

You are welcome.

Just one thing. He is not really "anti-" anything. He just takes videos and bullshit from others (generally femenist or SJW or Mysoginist or other stupid groups) and basically, breakdow ech one of their stupid claims and "arguments".

Doesn't need to be. His playlists on social justice and feminism are what I'm after. As long as he's logical and intellectually honest and consistent, all's well. Watched one vid and so far so good.

I have not offered a second thought to either GamerGate or Anita. Are overall females in games sort of portrayed as more of a sex symbol instead of a character in a world? Maybe but what does it matter. Games are a creation of a groups imagination and something as gamers we get to work our way through and sometimes create our own paths.

I do think some more companies should have strong female leads that aren't half dressed if dressed at all. Also would like to maybe see more games with two options for who will be the lead, male or female like in Fire Emblem. In the end it just feels like a minor issue that 2 parties are making into a bigger deal. I will continue to not care unless by some crazy notion it affects me.

Until games become Ubiquitous, to the point everyone is a "gamer", that is not going to be the case. Right now, generally speaking, there is a similar amount of "girl gamers" compared to "boy gamers". However, boys still are the "main market" and on top of that, girls tend to like different game compared to boys, making the Industry focus more on "boys" and making the games more appealing to them... and well sex sells... =/

Also... males are depicted in ridiculous ways too in videogames, but Feminism fail to realize that...

I do not think games depict any of the stupid things feminism is saying, but ey... I am a misoginist straight white male who should not have a say on this because *reasons*.

I guess I'll add my perspective since I'm technically a female gamer.

Never had a problem with how media portrays women, just how people react to it. I see game's as fantasy so to me who cares if the women are sexy or the men are badass and dashing. Even characters that are labeled "your average person" don't look or act like it meaning they still have a degree of beauty to them that makes them different from the average person.

I don't like when women are treated poorly in real life and I don't like when men are treated unfairly in real life as well. Media can enforce these behaviors to a degree, but they are not the root of it. If all you ever did was let a child play bloody games that beat women up without any guidance then there is a chance they could become a monster, but only a chance. There are too many factors that influence a person's life as well as there innate personality.

I've been treated like any other gamer if not better, but it's because I enjoy gaming. I've had some shit comments based on my gender such as "wtf is a girl doing playing a man's game" or "hey baby why don't you put down the controller and suck my dick?" I don't blame all men for the comments, but a lot of the negative comments I have gotten were from men. Usually though they are either immature/young and were assholes outside of gaming.

I guess the only thing I don't like as a girl gamer is the type of attention that comes with it. It's flattering and sweet to have people appreciate you for being a gamer, but when all they see the girl part you questions whether they like you for your stats or your stature. I want to be treated like anyone else and with respect, I think any gamer would want the same. If people want to try and hit on me that is fine, just don't expect me to reciprocate the same feelings or to feel happy you only want to talk to me because I am a girl. I just want to chill with fun people and do just that; if you can't do that then we probably won't be friends lol.

I also don't mind cursing such as "suck it bitch" or "fuck you mother fucker" since I curse just as bad, but as long as it's used in good fun, not to insult the person idc. Also not a fan of the word cunt, but that's a personal thing really.

Also I agree idmb22 on the controversy of sexified female versus male characters. Why do we have the right to complain about how women are treated in video-games when men are portrayed just as unrealistically? I really love my sexy women and my sexy men so I don't complain. People need to look past the shallowness of games and look at the true meaning or story that is trying to be portrayed.

Edit: The only other thing I wanted to add is who the fuck cares what I wear when I game or watch anime? I try to not dress slutty or provocative for since that's not my style, but when I hear some gamers get pissed off by what a woman wears saying she is "teasing" or "is a slut" it's insulting to say the least. We cannot help that we have asses and breasts so no matter what we wear they can show to a degree. I know I'm proud of my body and wear clothes I am proud to wear, but don't show off my figure for attention, it's just who I am. Wanted to throw this out there because it's another issue I've had in the past personally and it is a topic that's brought up every now and then. Hell most of the time I just wear nerdy shirts and shorts.... I can't help I have a bubble but (-3-)

She made the mistake of calling AOS out.

I like you. You seem to be what modern feminists give lip service to being. Regarding the sexual attention you get while gaming: it's a biological thing for the most part. Men are just generally more aggressive when it comes to expressing their sexuality. Some are simply assholes about it.

Also

See my avatar for more info. I'm just a simple man enslaved by hormonal impulses.

oh boy this is a hot pocket right now, both sides angry, both sides just yelling at the other and refusing to actually sit down and speak frankly. I dont want to put forward an in writing oppinion until all the facts are set in stone, and also, both partys just need to chill

that being said, i feel that video games are made mostly for you men and teenagers, so portrayal of women is always going to be a bit, you know, sexualized and off a bit.

I can assure you it is not the case and that men and women are evenly sexualized in the same ridiculous way. XD

I was actually wondering how long till GG discussion came to fakku. OP, the title for this thread is very dishonest. There are a lot feminist Gamergate supporters, in the same way there are a lot of Traditionalist who hate GG. It has almost nothing to do sexism.

I don't consider myself pro-GG but I'm a bit sympathetic. I don't believe objectivity exist but I do think all journalist, not just gaming one's, should at least pursue objectivity and have balanced articles out. Being completely honest here though, even if gaming sites like kotaku and polygon started being more honest about their left leaning tendencies and started disclosing things, gaming critique and journalism wouldn't really increase in quality. The best critiques for gaming I've seen are relatively small youtube channels like Mathewmatosis. I feel like if most GG supporters who really wanted to change the industry they'd try carving their own space in the industry rather than play watchdogs.
I also believe games can be whatever the creator wants them to be, and if someone wanted to make a game chock full of political beliefs and ideas, so be it. If game critics want to apply political and/or social aspects to their reviews/criticisms/analysis/whatever, they're free to do so. Even though I don't like "SJWs" or assfagots who think Critical theory is useful, they have every right to be here.(and you have every right to call them shit)

It being an open hashtag is probably the most detrimental to the movement though, since everyone can use. Despite that, I think those who strongly opposed gamergate to be a lot more insidious and ill-tempered than they claim gamergate is. Just yesterday they called in bomb threats to a small meet up they had in Washington D.C. When the hashtag started, I was called a "house nigger" for disagreeing with the narrative certain media outlets set.

I'd also like to say that it was only a matter of time before something like GG happened. And although I'm not exactly happy with GG, it's opponents, and a lot of people who claim they're "neutral", I did hear a lot of new interesting voices and opinions.

3 Biggest things that I learned because of Gamegate:
1.Game critics & their communities tend towards cults of personalities. People need to stop jerking of over people like Totalbiscuit, Jim Sterling, MovieBob, Anita S., etc. etc.
2. Intolerance for the intolerant is still intolerant.
3. 5 Guys burger and fries have delicious cajun fries. :y

Don't kid yourself. Men are sexualized a lot less, or do you only play games like Tera Online. Most games made on decent budgets are competitive and/or violent, which are the kinds of games most men like play. Naturally, some of the budget is spent on making sexy women to pander to men's sexuality or just because the developers themselves are men who like to see that kind of thing in their own games. I've noticed that japanese games tend to have more bishounen, or good looking men, than other games, but they're also more heavy handed in their sexualization of women. The japs have mastered titty jiggling technology. None of this is inherently wrong and I used the word "naturally" earlier because human expressions of sexuality will never go away, but don't bullshit yourself into thinking that there's some sort of parity to the sexual pandering. For every game you name that sexualizes men to a degree equal to or greater than women, I'll name at least 3 that focus on having more bonerific women.


What a stupid, simple minded philosophy. It's the context, the "why" that matters when being intolerant. Intolerance of intolerance is justified when the intolerance not being tolerated is, for example, bigotry or pernicious values.

"What's that, KKK, you want to kill black people? How intolerant of you, but we can't do anything about it because being intolerant ourselves would make us superficially seem like hypocrites."