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[Vice]

I'm curious. As someone who hasn't followed her videos nor paid much attention to her initial Kickstarter... could someone provide (an unpoliticised) perspective on why exactly she's both lauded and disdained?

(Beyond the internet and particularly twitter often being a cesspool.)

Lauded:
-Started a large discussion about gender and games
-Easily digestible videos.
-Developers feel she is doing good and her work has influenced them to create better female characters (See: Druckman and TLoU)

Disdained
-In earlier videos used video clips she did not create without attribution
-Out of context clips, though she does say that many of the games are good titles that needlessly use the tropes in the video
-People feel she is pushing an agenda to change gaming in a way they don't like.

 

[FlyinJ]

Because I think he is more intelligent than that, he is probably just being polite or doing what he thinks is right in light of the way she is treated by some people. Ashley Johnson is the reason Ellie changed based on what was said on the documentary.

Everyone who disagreed with the way this issue is being handled is quickly labeled as insane or someone who hates woman. Polarization seems to be the only way modern society reacts to anything. Being less self-righteous would help everyone, If I was sure I was absolutely right I won't even be discussing it.

You are my favorite poster in this thread.

 

[Foggy]

You can't give in to shit like this, it'll only encourage people

Honestly, any and every reaction encourages those people. Might as well speak about what you believe in.

 

[Freeman]

Everything you say is something you've heard someone else say and it's cute you want to use this as if you know what you're talking about.

Heard who say what?

 

[Oersted]

Because I think he is more intelligent than that, he is probably just being polite or doing what he thinks is right in light of the way she is treated by some people. Ashley Johnson is the reason Ellie changed based on what was said on the documentary.

Everyone who disagreed with the way this issue is being handled is quickly labeled as insane or someone who hates woman. Polarization seems to be the only way modern society reacts to anything. Being less self-righteous would help everyone, If I was sure I was absolutely right I won't even be discussing it.

"He was just polite", "she isn't a real gamer"... even this thread gets all the classics.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Because I think he is more intelligent than that

This sentence says so much more about you than you may realize.

 

[stufte]

Lauded:
-Started a large discussion about gender and games
-Easily digestible videos.
-Developers feel she is doing good and her work has influenced them to create better female characters (See: Druckman and TLoU)

Disdained
-In earlier videos used video clips she did not create without attribution
-Out of context clips, though she does say that many of the games are good titles that needlessly use the tropes in the video
-People feel she is pushing an agenda to change gaming in a way they don't like.

I was worried that the response to that question was going to be hyperbolic, but you did a great job summarizing the +/- of the situation.

 

[bigmf]

What she does is important to a lot of people.

How she does it, well, you know... but no one else is doing it so I'm not going to criticise.

The backlash she gets is deplorable.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Looks like the paparazzi to me... No problems, right?

NVM, I read the follow up posts.

 

[Freeman]

You are my favorite poster in this thread.

Irony?

 

[Atomski]

All this lately has been very disappointing, all I do is hope is these guys smarten up and realize what they are doing. I know when I was in my teens I was really dumb.. homophobic and a womanizers. Eventually I grew the fuck up and realized how stupid I was and fixed that.

I imagine many of these guys later in their years will look back just like me and feel embarrassed.

 

[televator]

The Sarkeesian Effect shitbags ask their followers not to harass her, as it would undermine their claims of her lying about being harassed.

Then one of them proceeded to retweet this:

This guy... I owed so much of my development into atheism to his initial videos. Yet now all respect and I do mean all of it has gone out window. What an embarrassing dirt bag.

 

[Altazor]

I'm curious. As someone who hasn't followed her videos nor paid much attention to her initial Kickstarter... could someone provide (an unpoliticised) perspective on why exactly she's both lauded and disdained?

(Beyond the internet and particularly twitter often being a cesspool.)

she basically makes youtube videos that concern the problematic portrayal of women in videogames, which can fall into certain "tropes" (like "damsel in distress" or "background decorations" or "women in fridges" and so on) and she has criticized certain aspects of certain videogames for that portrayal. Some people believe the evidence she seems to present is problematic, that she has looked at certain things within VG in a biased way, that her criticisms are too shallow, that she has ignored evidence to the contrary, or many other doubts regarding her arguments. Others have praised her for drawing attention to these problems - problems many women face every day of their lives, and how changing the narrative of the games to correct these shortcomings or viewpoints can benefit us all as a society.

And some other people has somehow taken this too personal, believing (I don't know how) that "the feminists" are trying to take away "their rights" (?) and they must "fight back". And then they do stupid, harmful shit like threatening to rape and kill her and harm her family. Because that's naturally what someone would do in case of a disagreement.

EDIT: If I didn't make myself clear: disagreeing with her is fine. Threatening/harassing her isn't.

 

[Oidisco]

Because I think he is more intelligent than that, he is probably just being polite or doing what he thinks is right in light of the way she is treated by some people. Ashley Johnson is the reason Ellie changed based on what was said on the documentary.

http://youtu.be/Le6qIz7MjSk?t=36m47s

During this talk, he specifically points to Sarkeesian as an influence in writing the story. Her Kickstarter made him realise that there was a problem with female representation, which lead to him to having an agenda while writing ellies character (his words, not mine).

I recommend watching the whole thing, since he talks at length about how development of the story consistently failed, largely due to representation of women in early versions of the story.

 

[Foggy]

http://youtu.be/Le6qIz7MjSk?t=36m47s

During this talk, he specifically points to Sarkeesian as an influence in writing the story. Her Kickstarter made him realise that there was a problem with female representation, which lead to him to having an agenda while writing ellies character (his words, not mine).

It's very convenient how the video is cropped not to show the gun being pointed at his head. Nice try!

 

[Amir0x]

Because I think he is more intelligent than that, he is probably just being polite or doing what he thinks is right in light of the way she is treated by some people. Ashley Johnson is the reason Ellie changed based on what was said on the documentary.

Everyone who disagreed with the way this issue is being handled is quickly labeled as insane or someone who hates woman. Polarization seems to be the only way modern society reacts to anything. Being less self-righteous would help everyone, If I was sure I was absolutely right I won't even be discussing it.

Read your comment. The reason people are self-righteous is because of the self-evident diarrhea splurging from individuals mouths like so many of these so-called "objective" gamers who just want to have a "discussion." Like this nonsense in your post.

You think Neil Druckmann is more intelligent than that? What in the unholy fuck is that supposed to even mean? He's so intelligent he doesn't need to take advice from some woman? He's so intelligent that I can't comprehend he'd view such a pedestrian video and take insight from it? He's so intelligent that he'd understand Anita's background and be skeptical? What the fuck are you saying?

 

[ab.aeterno]

Also, Anita is not a gamer and has contradicted herself in the past saying she is and elsewhere saying she isn't. She often steals footage for her videos, uses scenes out of context just to try proving her points and further her feminist agenda.

Well no shit, the point of the series is to be a feminist critique of tropes in games. If she didn't further a feminist "agenda" she wouldn't be doing what she was given money to do.

 

[Freeman]

http://youtu.be/Le6qIz7MjSk?t=36m47s

During this talk, he specifically points to Sarkeesian as an influence in writing the story. Her Kickstarter made him realise that there was a problem with female representation, which lead to him to having an agenda while writing ellies character (his words, not mine).

And he didn't knew that before? How?

Read your comment. The reason people are self-righteous is because of the self-evident diarrhea splurging from individuals mouths like so many of these so-called "objective" gamers who just want to have a "discussion." Like this nonsense in your post.

You think Neil Druckmann is more intelligent than that? What in the unholy fuck is that supposed to even mean? He's so intelligent he doesn't need to take advice from some woman? He's so intelligent that I can't comprehend he'd view such a pedestrian video and take insight from it? He's so intelligent that he'd understand Anita's background and be skeptical? What the fuck are you saying?

That he knew there was a problem with woman representation and portrayal in the industry before this videos started showing up? I can be wrong, this is the way I'm interpreting things with the information I have, I also don't know him, I just assumed that to be as competent as he is he had to be well informed for a longer time.

 

[Vice]

And he didn't knew that before? How?

People can go their whole life without seeing the viewpoints of others. It's not that foreign of a concept. Many people have their view of the world changed later on in life and it's a partof growing up.

For example, there are still people, alive in 2014, that do not believe being gay is a normal thing until they interact with someone who is gay or see how bad the discrimination against them is.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

This dude. So distrustful of Anita, but so trusting of Neil as to create false realities and motivations for him in order to mentally separate the two characters for himself. He can't handle the cognitive dissonance.

 

[RageBot]

That's literally how almost everyone who doesn't have an inner network enters the game industry.

I thought that most people enter the game industry by working on a game.

 

[JumpJeff84]

I just watched Anita's latest tropes video.

Man, THIS is the video that's getting her death threats? A video where she points out how violence against women is used as a crutch by developers to make their worlds seem gritty?

THIS is what's making people mad? Of all the horrible, vile shit on the internet THIS is what warrants death threats?!?

Fuck, this shit is depressing.

 

[Oidisco]

And he didn't knew that before? How?



That he knew there was a problem with woman representation and portrayal in the industry before this videos started showing up?

It seems obvious now (and it has been for a long time) but if you're not specifically looking for it, it can hard to really notice that it's a problem. Anita's videos are exactly what made me notice, whereas before I was completely oblivious to it.

So yea given what Neil has said, it's obvious that Anita had a fairly big influence on the story.

 

[Amir0x]

That he knew there was a problem with woman representation and portrayal in the industry before this videos started showing up?

My God. Do you have like zero actual life experience or some shit? Are you blissfully unaware of how many endless human examples there are of people who are in various positions who should know about something that seems obvious to everyone but who, because of their status, are insulated from having to take a hard look at the problem? It happens millions of times per year in every conceivable human experience.

So, Neil's a liar. Or Neil's being manipulative. Or Neil's more intelligent than this. Or Neil should know better. Or whatever bullshit nonsense you have to tell yourself just to be able to avoid admitting this perfectly intelligent woman could have had an influence on someone. Occam's-fucking-razor.

 

[sntstbn]

This thread deserves a sociological study on its own.

http://youtu.be/Le6qIz7MjSk?t=36m47s

I recommend watching the whole thing, since he talks at length about how development of the story consistently failed, largely due to representation of women in early versions of the story.

I'm watching this. Really interesting stuff. I think having a daughter of a certain age made him give a lot more importance to the idea of role models in media.

 

[RageBot]

nevermind...

 

[Necromanti]

It's always weird to see people use criticisms of her work as an after-the-fact justification (or a subtle condonation) of her harassment. If only most people showed that they were interested in discussing the flaws of her body of work rather than focusing on her character and her being a woman through personal threats. But I guess it makes sense when the same people who defend it admit to caring nothing about what her work concerns; it's what she represents that bothers these people.

 

[Altazor]

I just watched Anita's latest tropes video.

Man, THIS is the video that's getting her death threats? A video where she points out how violence against women is used as a crutch by developers to make their worlds seem gritty?

THIS is what's making people mad? Of all the horrible, vile shit on the internet THIS is what warrants death threats?!?

Fuck, this shit is depressing.

this, so much this. I can't believe some people can stoop *so* low over a video like this one.

 

[Alex_Mexico]

"You SJWs got it all wrong! We don't hate women!" as they basically force her out of her home for expressing her opinion.

Bullshit.

I never got the SJW term. Since when being a "Social Justice Warrior" should be a bad thing? Why do ppl use it as a pejorative!? By mere definition a social justice warrior should be a great thing! Hell I'll be glad to be named one, especially if all I'm doing is defending someone else's freedom of speech.

Another "pejorative" term I don't get? White Knight. Shit, sing me up for that one too!

 

[shinra-bansho]

Lauded:
-Started a large discussion about gender and games
-Easily digestible videos.
-Developers feel she is doing good and her work has influenced them to create better female characters (See: Druckman and TLoU)

Disdained
-In earlier videos used video clips she did not create without attribution
-Out of context clips, though she does say that many of the games are good titles that needlessly use the tropes in the video
-People feel she is pushing an agenda to change gaming in a way they don't like.

she basically makes youtube videos that concern the problematic portrayal of women in videogames, which can fall into certain "tropes" (like "damsel in distress" or "background decorations" or "women in fridges" and so on) and she has criticized certain aspects of certain videogames for that portrayal. Some people believe the evidence she seems to present is problematic, that she has looked at certain things within VG in a biased way, that her criticisms are too shallow, that she has ignored evidence to the contrary, or many other doubts regarding her arguments. Others have praised her for drawing attention to these problems - problems many women face every day of their lives, and how changing the narrative of the games to correct these shortcomings or viewpoints can benefit us all as a society.

And some other people has somehow taken this too personal, believing (I don't know how) that "the feminists" are trying to take away "their rights" (?) and they must "fight back". And then they do stupid, harmful shit like threatening to rape and kill her and harm her family. Because that's naturally what someone would do in case of a disagreement.

EDIT: If I didn't make myself clear: disagreeing with her is fine. Threatening/harassing her isn't.

Thanks, that was exactly what I was after.

 

[Alex_Mexico]

I wonder what they said to make her feel unsafe. Judging by the comments I've seen in public places, she already gets lots of vile, disgusting shit thrown her way. Must have been something personal to put the spook in her beyond the normal comments she gets.

Check her twitter timeline (@femfreq) she posted a picture of said threats where the harasser apparently told her her own and her parents address. And I say apparently because she blacked out that part obviously when she shared that.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

I never got the SJW term. Since when being a "Social Justice Warrior" should be a bad thing? Why do ppl use it as a pejorative!? By mere definition a social justice warrior should be a great thing! Hell I'll be glad to be named one, especially if all I'm doing is defending someone else's freedom of speech.

Another "pejorative" term I don't get? White Knight. Shit, sing me up for that one too!

White Knight's the worst. It's trying to make it so no one comes to a woman's defense out of fear of wearing that label. It tries to disqualify any reasonable discussion into being about the people and their motivations together. Luckily no one's buying it.

 

[Freeman]

According to several people on this page, it doesn't exist!

I was actually quoted several times by intelligent posters who hadn't looked at the REAL ID issue Blizzard had tried to push from a different point of view. My speaking about it brought to light something that they hadn't considered, because it wasn't something they experienced. And that changed their perspective.

What you are arguing with this post is that everyone already knows about sexism in gaming circles, so no one should talk about it. He might have known about it, but perhaps he saw it in a different light after her videos, and wanted to actually do something about it, like writing a compelling female character.

I never said it shouldn't be talked about, it is about talking about it in a constructive way without painting the image that gamers (or whatever you wanna call the people that play games) are the enemy.

My entire experience with games is about people coming together, there is always the occasional troll but the the overall experience be it being part of an MMO guild, playing a multiplayer or coop game, competing on a arcade or lan-house,talking about games with people people it has always being an inclusive and positive experience (Mobas aside). I don't think its fair to paint anyone as the bad guy here (i'm talking about people that play games, not people making death threats, just to be clear).

 

[EmiPrime]

Mike Krahulik disproved it personally.

Beautiful.

 

[Cymbal Head]

The fact (ahem) of the matter is that news outlets can no longer afford (in terms of both money and time/opportunity) to fact check as they did maybe two decades ago. This is not their fault, but both the fault of technology and their dispersing readerships.

I'm trying to be charitable and find the interpretation of this that is not you simply implying that Anita is a liar who would be caught if journalists did their jobs better.

So far all I have is: you accidentally posted in the wrong thread.


Help me out here.

 

[Altazor]

Mike Krahulik disproved it personally.

man, I can't believe I missed this. Perfect response.

 

[Vice]

I never said it shouldn't be talked about, it is about talking about it in a constructive way without painting the image that gamers (or whatever you wanna call the people that play games) are the enemy.

My entire experience with games is about people coming together, there is always the occasional troll but the the overall experience be it being part of an MMO guild, playing a multiplayer or coop game, competing on a arcade or lan-house,talking about games with people people it has always being a inclusive and positive experience (Mobas aside). I don't think its fair to paint anyone as the bad guy here.

Your experience is not everyone's experience though.The same group that welcomed you with open arms is likely to alienate a large amount of other people. For example, in the Fighting Game Community, there is a large amount of race diversity and support for transgender members of the community, such as Kayo Police or Ricky Ortiz, but it still struggles with how they treat women in many ways.

It is not the trolls who are the problem it is people who use language or imagery that make others feel uncomfortable without knowing. Such as a player saying they're going to rape another or make someone their bitch all inside a game where it is likely that female characters are either non-existent or victims 99% of the time.

 

[Ivan el Trolazo]

SJW is a real term because there are "feminists" that are all talk and no action..it means all you do is talk and create concepts but not initiate any action

also the videos try to stablish a link in popular culture for males, and that is between violence and sex, and because of the violent (and mixed with sex) reactions, looks like she is right, studio artists are adding elements that reinforce seeing misoginy as natural part of history, or are not inserting elements that contradict that assumption

 

[televator]

And he didn't knew that before? How?



That he knew there was a problem with woman representation and portrayal in the industry before this videos started showing up? I can be wrong, this is the way I'm interpreting things with the information I have, I also don't know him, I just assumed that to be as competent as he is he had to be well informed for a longer time.

In aswer to whether or not he was aware of the sad state of female representation in games, watch the video and listen to him talk about the game he previously wanted to design... The one where women are monsters and men had to save the day by shooting these sick crazy women in the face...

Its not a matter of smarts, it's a matter of awareness.

 

[Acorn]

Some fucking people.

 

[Freeman]

In aswer to whether or not he was aware of the sad state of female representation in games, watch the video and listen to him talk about the game he previously wanted to design... The one where women are monsters and men had to save the day by shooting these sick crazy women in the face...

Its not a matter of smarts, it's a matter of awareness.

I remember that, that was a very poor idea indeed, maybe he was really unaware.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

SJW is a real term because there are "feminists" that are all talk and no action..it means all you do is talk and create concepts but not initiate any action

So what, though? Not everyone's willing to go through what Anita does.

 

[stupei]

Because I think he is more intelligent than that, he is probably just being polite or doing what he thinks is right in light of the way she is treated by some people. Ashley Johnson is the reason Ellie changed based on what was said on the documentary.

Everyone who disagreed with the way this issue is being handled is quickly labeled as insane or someone who hates woman. Polarization seems to be the only way modern society reacts to anything. Being less self-righteous would help everyone, If I was sure I was absolutely right I won't even be discussing it.

You believe he would present her with an award for all the good work she is doing if he did not sincerely believe she did good work? You believe the game designer who responded to you directly saying that many teams have changed their work because of her is also just being kind, or are they lying for some reason?

Not suggesting you hate women, to be clear, since you seem very worried about that. Just having a lot of difficulty following your point.

And you still haven't told me how I was being dishonest by responding to your exact words, but I suppose the moment's passed.

 

[Biker]

I find it hilarious when I get accused of being a White Knight.

I would rock some chainmaile y'all.

Motion to name this guy the patron saint of "SJW"s and "White Knights"

 

[Xenon]

I'm curious. As someone who hasn't followed her videos nor paid much attention to her initial Kickstarter... could someone provide (an unpoliticised) perspective on why exactly she's both lauded and disdained?

(Beyond the internet and particularly twitter often being a cesspool.)

She's not the hero they want but she is the hero they need. In other words she brings attention to a matter that needs attention. Personally I believe she is an opportunist. Many civil rights leaders, union officials and politicians who act as symbols for a group's plight have been opportunists . People who feel strongly about the cause will downplay this fact while those targeted or against the cause highlight it.

But we also need to give some credit to internet dickheads who have helped make Anna so popular and are helping to bring about the change they so desperately fear.

 

[APF]

So far all I have is: you accidentally posted in the wrong thread.

There was a meta discussion on fact-checking in new media that I was responding to.

White Knight's the worst. It's trying to make it so no one comes to a woman's defense out of fear of wearing that label. It tries to disqualify any reasonable discussion into being about the people and their motivations together. Luckily no one's buying it.

My understanding of the term "White Knight" is someone who comes to the defense of women's interests not because they have a genuine agreement, but because they feel doing so will advance their own narcissistic goals:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=884030

I guess I missed that. What were the facts in question?

People were saying folks on the internet like to jump to conclusions.

 

[Cymbal Head]

There was a meta discussion on fact-checking in new media that I was responding to.

I guess I missed that. What were the facts in question?

 

[Freeman]

You believe he would present her with an award for all the good work she is doing if he did not sincerely believe she did good work? You believe the game designer who responded to you directly saying that many teams have changed their work because of her is also just being kind, or are they lying for some reason?

Not suggesting you hate women, to be clear, since you seem very worried about that. Just having a lot of difficulty following your point.

And you still haven't told me how I was being dishonest by responding to your exact words, but I suppose the moment's passed.

I disagreed with your interpretation of my word most likely.

First off, no one is painting gamers on a whole as 'the bad guy'.

Second, because your experience with gaming has been awesome doesn't mean that everyone's has. I would invite you really look sometime, at how your guild mates speak about women, how general chat in MMOs does...because you have been exposed to it. I've been playing MMOs since MUDs were a thing. I know how it goes. As I've said before in this thread, I ran a raiding guild in WOW simply because I couldn't find a guild that didn't make everything about my being a women. I wiped raid simply because I exposed my gender by speaking on vent. I've put up with a ton of vile shit just to be able to enjoy my hobby.

So just because your experience with gaming was inclusive and wonderful, doesn't mean mine was. Or most women's have been either. If you could put yourself in our shoes for a moment, you might be able to see that.

I can pretty much assure you that because of my contributions to this thread, someone somewhere, be it on one of the numerous gaf offshoots, or twitter, or reddit, is calling me a cunt. Or fake. Or some other vile thing. Yet the male members of this forum saying the same things I am (perhaps aside from some of the most outspoken ones) won't be mentioned at all.

My WoW guild was mostly Canadian maybe that plays a part in my impression of how polite people tend to be on guilds (no offense to Americans I hope), they had no issue with me being foreigner and with having a terrible connection. For regular competitive multiplayer I just play in my own country, people are generally so uncivilized that you can hardly single out any specific reason why they are miss-behaving and you better of just muting people. My real life interaction with gamers have all being positive since I was a kid, even simple things like meeting someone to trade a game, going to the arcade or LAN centers, I can't count the number of friendships I made that started with something gaming related. Maybe I'm seeing everything in a better light than they were but I still believe the majority of people want more woman playing and making good games, some people just don't wont their hobby to take the blame once again for something that was out of everyone's control.

I'm ignoring the fact that I was bothered my entire life for playing games by people who din't play games (mostly woman, I don't know if I should say it), but for me that is not game related but related to people being ignorant.

Your experience is not everyone's experience though.The same group that welcomed you with open arms is likely to alienate a large amount of other people. For example, in the Fighting Game Community, there is a large amount of race diversity and support for transgender members of the community, such as Kayo Police or Ricky Ortiz, but it still struggles with how they treat women in many ways.

It is not the trolls who are the problem it is people who use language or imagery that make others feel uncomfortable without knowing. Such as a player saying they're going to rape another or make someone their bitch all inside a game where it is likely that female characters are either non-existent or victims 99% of the time.

I get it and I get that people sometime mistreat other people without even noticing. What I don't get is why this people should be the focus, when I know devs and most people that play games would like a more diverse community and certainly games that properly portrayed human beings. Today games are so good that its easy to attract people to play them (aside from the fact people that don't play game have a terrible time controlling them and usually that is what keep them from moving forward), this shouldn't be the time to be pitting people against each other to the benefit of a handful of people.

 

[Toxi]

I thought that most people enter the game industry by working on a game.

Mark Rosewater, head designer of Magic the Gathering and one of the most influential forces in the development of the game, first entered the games industry when he wrote Magic puzzles and articles for The Duelist magazine.

People break into the games industry in weird ways.

Motion to name this guy the patron saint of "SJW"s and "White Knights"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had feelings for me. Oh dear me, pretend you didn't hear that! Hahahahaha!"

 

[FacelessSamurai]

First off, no one is painting gamers on a whole as 'the bad guy'.

Second, because your experience with gaming has been awesome doesn't mean that everyone's has. I would invite you really look sometime, at how your guild mates speak about women, how general chat in MMOs does...because you have been exposed to it. I've been playing MMOs since MUDs were a thing. I know how it goes. As I've said before in this thread, I ran a raiding guild in WOW simply because I couldn't find a guild that didn't make everything about my being a women. I wiped raid simply because I exposed my gender by speaking on vent. I've put up with a ton of vile shit just to be able to enjoy my hobby.

So just because your experience with gaming was inclusive and wonderful, doesn't mean mine was. Or most women's have been either. If you could put yourself in our shoes for a moment, you might be able to see that.

I can pretty much assure you that because of my contributions to this thread, someone somewhere, be it on one of the numerous gaf offshoots, or twitter, or reddit, is calling me a cunt. Or fake. Or some other vile thing. Yet the male members of this forum saying the same things I am (perhaps aside from some of the most outspoken ones) won't be mentioned at all.

I've been in several wow raiding guilds since Vanilla and there have always been women in my guilds (my wife being one of them as she always raided with me). I've seen women of all ages, from 18 years old to even early 40s stay at home moms, and never experienced anything you mention in your post. They were always considered the same as every other members and even though it's a mostly male populated game, it's not like women are that rare is in almost every guild I was in, on a 25 men raid, we always had between 3 to 5 women, and guys were not acting weird because all of a sudden "OH MY GOD GURLZ IN MA GAEMS!!!".

The only bad case I've seen was of a guild leader prioritizing his girlfriend over others for loot, she got called a whore, but then the guy had a complain done against him and was banned for a while from the game.

And when we go to gaming/anime conventions every year, we see a mostly even split representation of men and women and no mention of harassment or inequality ever. Sure, some girls will be stalked a bit because of the way some are cosplaying, but when you dress like that, you should expect to be looked at anyway.

This Anita/feminism thing is blown out of proportions. No one ever talked about this stuff before, we've had several successful women in this industry, now more than ever, that have worked their asses off for a long time to get where they are just like anyone else should. Anita isn't part of this industry and never was, yet she acts like she is important now and is having a meaningful impact that will change the way we play games or whatever. People like Anita just come in, try to create a problem/conflict where there is none, people all feel entitled now and Mario games are considered feminist/racist (seriously, wtf!), gaming conversations on forums all turn to shit and there are no more good gaming dedicated discussions anymore, people instead have stopped playing games to come to places like here and talk about this "problem" that doesn't exist.

Why was none of this ever mentioned before of never a problem before? It's not like female rights have completely changed in the last 2 to 3 years to make these kinds of discussions apparently more relevant now. It's just a minority creating all of this turmoil and getting called out for it by people who enjoy games as a hobby and are tired of all the important stuff we care about being left aside to these unimportant discussions that have taken too much time in the spotlight.

Also, thank you 4chan!