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With the recent events which have happened in the game industry, I felt the need to express my beliefs about how gender had influenced the creation and treatment of video games, my own experiences in the midst of the "gamer" community and where I stand on these issues.
I believe that the perceived gender of those who play video games has greatly influenced the theme, genre and tone of games, as well as their marketing, visuals and the culture which has been associated with them. I will not go too far into this topic, as I could write a master's thesis worth about it. Instead, I wanted to touch on just one of these points as an example; often in video games, women are portrayed in a light that would generally appeal to those who are sexually interested in women. As a female who started out playing games with first person shooters, the first women I recall seeing in video games were the cocooned women or the strippers in Duke Nukem 3D. While I realize that my exposure to such games may have not been age appropriate, it does not change the fact that one of my very first experiences with women in a video game required my father to explain to my inquisitive eight year old self why "you give the dancing ladies money." I do not believe the "babes" would have been included in the same way while attempting to appeal to a gender neutral audience. This is not necessarily bad, in my opinion, this simply means that this game was meant to appeal to those who view women as sexually appealing. Therefore, the target audience is most likely males.
I do believe that many games are intended to be played by both genders equally, but there has previously been a lack of compelling games developed with women as the intended audience, at least in the US. This led to the development of two sets of games, one which appeals mainly to just men and one which appeals to both genders. While some modern games try to be part of that elusive third category of women targeted games, the lack of such games earlier in the rise of the popularity of gaming has led most of these efforts to be focused on more accessible game platforms, such as Facebook and mobile. These platforms are not always regarded well by those who have been invested longer as consumers of the game industry. In fact, the term "casual" is often used in reference to these games, platforms and even those who are deemed "unfit" to consider themselves "true gamers."
To those outside this strange community, it may seem confusing why the term "casual" would be considered derogatory in regards to what most would consider a casual activity. Gaming is, however, very often considered an enthusiast's activity within the community; PC builds are discussed as fervently as much as some talk about car modifications, varying opinions of game play and opposing faction alliances are debated just as passionately as politics and religion, and the knowledge, experience and time dedicated to be able to wear that "gamer" badge is held as a bragging right. Thus, the influx of games and game players who do not uphold these same values, but are being grouped in the same category as these "hardcore gamers", has caused some of these "gamers" to lash out and protect what they see as their community and their honor. The unfortunate side effects of this are criticism of games which do not fit in their mold, attacks on people who challenge these definitions of "gamers", and protecting the exclusivity of their group with harsh words, threats and challenges to those who try to join.
I have, unfortunately, experienced harassment due to my gender in gaming. I am not sure where this harassment spawns from, but I believe it is likely due to those in the "gamer" group who wish it to remain exclusive. Of course, harassment in online games is fairly common for both genders, but I feel that it is not often understood how extensive such harassment can be. Countless insults have been slung at me due to my gender, I have been accused of using my gender to advance myself in games (sorry, EPGP doesn't work that way), and I've battle doubt after doubt and question after question about whether I am a "real gamer" or just a "gamer girl", as if my gender somehow makes a casual interest in games even more vile.
Without provocation, I have received remarkably explicit messages about sexual acts, often violent ones, which have been disturbing at best. One letter I received in World of Warcraft read "I would totally pull your hair and leave scratches down your back, playing with your clit while im fucking you from behind....oh baby lol." Additionally, due to my expression of my passion for various games through cosplay, my image has been on the receiving end of comments such as "fucking her would be like fucking a bag of antlers" and "that bitch is fucking disgusting."
My worst experiences, however, revolve around a group of guys who played an MMO on the same server as me. When I was chatting freely in one of the channels, I was told to "go back to the kitchen" by one of them. I retorted and an argument broke out between us, with insults being slung both ways, though all of the ones I received were base on my gender, appearance and worth as a female. While such a confrontation seemed relatively minor, it persisted and grew from them harassing me within the game and on the forums to threats of violence. I received phone calls from that left voicemails threatening me with violence and sexual assault. I was stalked online, my old social media accounts targets of their attacks, digging up every bit they could use to harass me or to find out more about where I was living. Then, one day, upon learning a location I would be at for certain, they threatened and assured me that they would show up and harm me.
This experience has not been a brief feud over some snarky quips back and forth in a video game. It has persisted, rising up now and then for the last seven years. I've been harassed for seven years by these people because I stood up against them when they told me to return to the kitchen like a good woman. I have long since stopped playing the game, but I will get the occasional harassing comment on one of my YouTube videos or message on Reddit. And that is what I have experienced for upsetting one small group of people in my years of gaming. Other harassment has been prevalent, but none has been as consistent or as threatening.
I developed methods of handling the abuse, of downplaying it. When people would ask me directly about my gender, I would joke about how "girls don't exist on the internet", a common saying, which provided protection at the cost of continuing to downplay the role of women online. Sometimes I would simply deflect it, by talking about my character directly and playing dumb as to their real questions. And it helped, but at what cost? None of my male friends had to carefully consider how to word their sentences or address questions to avoid harassment. I felt guilty as well, because I felt that, by playing the word games to avoid the harassment, I was helping it persist.
Yet, now, I am a game developer. After helping other game companies, I have steered myself on to the exhilarating path of creating my own game at my own company. It is exciting, but there is a fear that burns in the back of my mind that should not be there. I wonder if the next one I upset so badly will come to my door. I wonder if speaking my mind against the treatment of women by the industry and the community will make me a target for one of those who has sent horrific threats to other women. I wonder if the next one will follow through with their threats, if they will show up at my door or my office or at an event I will attend.
As if fighting the self-doubt and the imposter syndrome that is so prevalent in our industry is not challenging enough with doubts deeply ingrained about my abilities and worth created by the treatment of women in these fields, I also have to fight fear, fear that I may be the next target. No one should have to experience that, regardless of their gender or their profession or what articles they write or hobbies they have or beliefs they hold.
So that is what I stand for, that is why I am writing this. This harassment of gamers, developers and journalists is wrong. I want everyone in my industry to be treated well, because video games are mine just as much as they are anyone else's. If that makes me a "SJW" that has to bear harassment so that others will be able to experience games in a friendlier, healthier community, so be it, but, just so you know, I'm really a social justice druid.
 
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haters gonna hate. You can be targettted for your ethnicity just as easily as you can for your gender, it's just easier to recognize that you are female then what kind of asian country you are from to craft more accurate verbal slurs.
We live in a world where there are winners and losers. Realistically speaking there are always going to be poor people in this world, there will always be disease, and certainly there will be abused children, hungry people, and mistreated people in their respective industries. Some people have no choice in the matter. Sometimes you are born with a chronic disease and you are going to die by the age of 20. Sometimes you have limitations or obstacles to overcome, everyone who has ever made something of themselves has gone through this. The worst thing that can happen to you short of someone actually physically abusing because of your gender in the industry is to give into the negative things people on the internet say about you, because when you do you are acknowledging that they are right, and you become a loser.
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
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28104 Posts
On October 16 2014 11:57 lichter wrote:
the internet scares me
You scare me 
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I have recently been following this rift between genders in gaming, so I wanted to provide my thoughts on this issue.
I won't get into the whole "journalistic integrity", because I feel that is a different demon that needs to be slain another day.
In the past, gender roles in other settings was clearly defined. Women and men were not seen as equals; men were superior to women in all ways. Males were bigger, stronger, smarter, and in general better at all things. Females were considered a counter-part to men; rarely would a female not be associated with a male. Even the famous quote, "behind every great man is a great women" implies that a women can't be great without a male counterpart.
Slowly, women started pushing to receive more visibility, autonomy, freedom, and rights. From suffrage to careers, women across many nations were standing up and demanding more. It was a slow movement, but one that gave women more choices than ever before.
However, even though they fought hard to get what they want, there was still an imbalance between genders. Women were given every opportunities men received, yet were still perceived as the weaker gender. As I ponder this thought, I realize that perception needs another entity on the other side perceiving things. This entity I refer to are males.
Men have always perceived women to be inferior. When women gained suffrage, it was men that granted them that right. When women wanted better jobs, it was men that offered them the jobs. Of course that perception is not as strong in today's society, and women truly are equals to men in every way, but there are still a small group of men that retain the old ways of thinking.
So some of you reading this may ask "Jett, we already know this. What's your point?"
Well my point is that women are in a constant battle to fight for equality in nearly every setting. Even though they have fought hard in the past to achieve greatness, with no strings attached, they still have to fight hard today. Its a disgusting, ugly, and downright dirty fight. And this battle permeates through everything.
Now that video games have been elevated to mainstream culture, we again see the battle of the sexes arise. Of course, prior to video games of today, the target audience for a large majority of games were males. I say 'of course' because well, men were the first to develop video games. It only stands to reason they would develop games tailored to their interests.
So we have women becoming more prevalent in the gaming industry, and another tug-o-war between the sexes, but this time its different.
First, the men that want to keep women out of gaming are fighting back, and fiercely. They are trying to keep the last vestige of male dominance. They are doing everything in their power to keep video games in the realm of the "old boy's club". They are fighting dirty, and are not afraid to fight dirtier.
Second, women no longer require men to help them fight their battles; we see them standing up on their own. Women have developed the structure and tools necessary to level the playing field. And they are fighting dirty also.
This rift between males and females in video games is an old story, but one that is re-told with a new spin.
Before I end this reply, I would like to bring up a very important aspect to game development. Can we please stop having games associated to a gender. I am tired of seeing games like Cooking Dash associated with a girl, or Grand Theft Auto associated with boys. I hope Rockstar makes a GTA with the main character a girl, and not a hot girl wearing nearly nothing. or Cooking Dash 6 (I chose a random number because I have no idea how many Cooking Dash games have been made) with a male character. Games needs to squash the gender roles that have been ingrained deeply in our culture. Fuck, society needs to squash gender roles that have been ingrained deeply in our culture.
Riku, thank you for sharing your experiences in video games. I truly hope that this nonsense can one day be relegated to forgotten memories, but I don't think society easily forgets buried grudges.
sidenote: I have specifically left out buzzwords such as "misogyny" or "feminism". The issue isn't about males hating females or vice versa. The issue is about how gender roles are still ingrained deeply into societies psyche. We need to realize that gender no longer plays a role in our lives. I hope for the day when men and women can choose any role in life, without being stigmatized.
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
On October 16 2014 15:47 TheEmulator wrote:You scare me
is it because i'm a goat in a wizard hat smoking a pipe
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Riku, thanks for sharing your experiences. It gives me something to think about. Cheers 
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On October 16 2014 15:59 Jett.Jack.Alvir wrote:
First, the men that want to keep women out of gaming are fighting back, and fiercely. They are trying to keep the last vestige of male dominance. They are doing everything in their power to keep video games in the realm of the "old boy's club". They are fighting dirty, and are not afraid to fight dirtier.
I think you're getting a wrong idea about the male motivation here,
sure there's some of the "old boy's club" and misogynist's out there, but a large group is just average men that get upset when some SJW jumps in, condemns the game they play is moraly wrong and demand's change when they're more often than not not even involved in said game, and whenever said men complain they're suddenly misogynist's.
that's one good way to get people upset, and partly a contributor why this thing blew up so big.
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u cud try to remember that like 80% of people on the internet are like 14 year old children to begin with .............
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On October 16 2014 16:32 lichter wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2014 15:47 TheEmulator wrote:On October 16 2014 11:57 lichter wrote:
the internet scares me You scare me is it because i'm a goat in a wizard hat smoking a pipe
And also you can press the BAN USER button freely. 
On topic, one's sex doesn't matter for me. Male or female as an opponent, I play for fun, I would even admire a girl that is playing at a high level in this male dominated scene. Like, Scarlet, she is like a breath of fresh air. However if my daughter ever plays games and is threatened by some nerds from Bulgaria, I will be on my way to see that they actually meet my daughter face to face and then say what they would do to her, sexually or whatever. And then off would go some nerdy teeth. Someone threatening my sweet child, be it online or not, that would piss me off to no limit.
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On October 16 2014 17:32 FFGenerations wrote:
u cud try to remember that like 80% of people on the internet are like 14 year old children to begin with .............
As a former 14 year old child on the internet I am deeply offended
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I can't believe you pulled through all that stuff and are still a games developer and are setting up your own company! Good luck in all your future endeavors!
When studying any sort of system like the games industry it is essential to look at it in terms of who holds power in relationships. In the gaming journalist paradigm the people who hold the power are mostly the publishers and their PR teams. They undoubtedly have the largest say in what appears on the frontpage of IGN/Gamespot etc, for better or worse (I don't mean that in the "pay for coverage/scores" sense more of the "they decide which questions get answered/who gets access" sense) The same publishers have a large say in what goes into games as well. It certainly isn't small indie devs/journalists with paetrons who are the holders of power and yet seem to have raised an incredulous amount of ire among certain sectors of the gaming community.
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I wanted to dismiss your post at first because females usually don't realize just how obscene, vicious and sadistically creative the everyday abuse that goes on between males in the online environment has been since, like, forever (only in our case it's not called harassment but instead flaming, though there isn't really much difference between being called a slut or a cancerous faggot whose parents deserve to burn in a car crash after having contracted a variety of novel ebola strains), but your story is really frightening.
It's safe to say kids who get extremely vicious on the internet are those who get physically bullied at home or in school and are in general helpless and miserable so it's usually not a big deal or even worthy of pity, but these guys deserve a solid beating at best : /
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It's horrifying what the internet can do. I've always thought that the hate was over dramatized, but being stalked for seven years and receiving threats like that... just makes me wonder if these people have any clue of the damage they're causing to other people, and if they cared at all if they did.
Well written, and very brave of you to come out like this especially given the abuse you've already had.
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On October 16 2014 15:59 Jett.Jack.Alvir wrote:
Well my point is that women are in a constant battle to fight for equality in nearly every setting.
That may be your worldview but I would say citation needed on this and the rest of how you summarized the world according to sex.
On October 16 2014 15:59 Jett.Jack.Alvir wrote:
Before I end this reply, I would like to bring up a very important aspect to game development. Can we please stop having games associated to a gender. I am tired of seeing games like Cooking Dash associated with a girl, or Grand Theft Auto associated with boys. I hope Rockstar makes a GTA with the main character a girl, and not a hot girl wearing nearly nothing. or Cooking Dash 6 (I chose a random number because I have no idea how many Cooking Dash games have been made) with a male character. Games needs to squash the gender roles that have been ingrained deeply in our culture. Fuck, society needs to squash gender roles that have been ingrained deeply in our culture.
You know the characters in video games are not real? Like I'm not upset about Zerg rights that there have been no good Zerg characters since Brood War because it has no relationship to the real world. If one demographic or another enjoys a video game what do you care? what's the problem?
On October 16 2014 15:59 Jett.Jack.Alvir wrote:sidenote: I have specifically left out buzzwords such as "misogyny" or "feminism". The issue isn't about males hating females or vice versa. The issue is about how gender roles are still ingrained deeply into societies psyche. We need to realize that gender no longer plays a role in our lives. I hope for the day when men and women can choose any role in life, without being stigmatized.
You would be satisfied with equality of opportunity?
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On October 16 2014 15:59 Jett.Jack.Alvir wrote:
This rift between males and females in video games is an old story, but one that is re-told with a new spin.
according to Rob Pardo its not a simple straightforward analogy. according to Pardo Blizz doesn't get the quantity and quality of candidiates stepping forward to work for them.
based upong my experience in software engineering and software project management.
i agree to Mr. Pardo.
were there females in my electrical engineering and software engineering courses?
sure there were.
all the loner code warriors were male... a thoroughly voluntary position any one can choose to take.
and when the gaming industry began you needed guys like Bob Fitch willing to do just that to get products out the door.
every software project i've worked on that was in trouble and required someone to pull an SC1 Bob Fitch rescue mission.
it was a guy that locked himself in a room and only came out for food and water for 6 weeks that saved the project.
i've never seen a female step forward to do it despite working with many dozens of female employees. its always a guy. and it is a voluntary position... no one wants to do it...
at the cutting edge of every new segment of the software engineering profession is the loner code warrior.
the new entrepreunerial company does not exist without this animal in the employee ecosystem.
this is a reason men dominate the software engineeering aspect of the gaming industry.
all important decisions about game design revolve around the core engine driving the game.
its not a simple matter of "men think women are incompetent" and trying to superimpose this template in the area of software engineering is an off base overgeneralized white-wash.
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Australia1191 Posts
Something that bothers me greatly about this debate is when you look at the demographic of Gamers, they still are massively male, so to not expect a lot more male demographic games over neutral or women is silly, the same way romance novels are massively dominated by women, so the massive majority of romance novels are targeted at women, saying "we need more women in games" at this point feel like a complaint by a salty minority, contrary to what the salty minority wants people believe no one is stopping women from getting out there and making what ever games they like, if you wanna target women only, go for it, but don't expect CoD, WoW or Halo sales, it just wont happen when the audience isn't there, but if what they say is true and the audience can be built, by all means do it, what you shouldn't be doing is telling companies who are making a new game targeting men, to be inclusive and also target women, that is not what they want to do currently with their time and money, nor should they have to, the same way the novelists targeting women with their romance or erotic novels dont have to be inclusive of men, I honestly dont ever see the gaming scene not being dominated by men, again the same way i dont ever see the romance novel market ever really appealing to a large number or men.
As was said in this thread and pointed out by Rob Pardo, companies do not turn down women for jobs in gaming because they are women, in fact many companies have gone out of their way to hire women over men these last couple of years to be "inclusive" but at the end of the day a company is going to want to hire the best people for the job and when you get 100 resumes and 12 are women, 88 are men, that 88 has a higher chance of having that best person for the job, that's just maths.
I truly wish the debate would just go away, but there's a very vocal minority who wont let it and they aren't just targeting games, they're targeting anything they consider to be male dominated, but they could care less to understand why, and that is exactly the reason this vocal minority doesn't understand why people cringe at the mention of what they call themselves... Feminists...
And for those in this thread who like to claim gender shouldn't be a thing this day and age, please take a legit gender biology course, Men and women are very very different and that will never change, we think differently, we interact differently, we love and hate differently, we have brains that communicate and process information in different ways which makes us who we are... and fuck..i like it that way, I would be much less attracted to my girlfriend if she did not have Female thoughts and interests as i am attracted to females... not genderless humans.
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On October 16 2014 15:59 Jett.Jack.Alvir wrote:
I have recently been following this rift between genders in gaming, so I wanted to provide my thoughts on this issue.
I won't get into the whole "journalistic integrity", because I feel that is a different demon that needs to be slain another day.
In the past, gender roles in other settings was clearly defined. Women and men were not seen as equals; men were superior to women in all ways. Males were bigger, stronger, smarter, and in general better at all things. Females were considered a counter-part to men; rarely would a female not be associated with a male. Even the famous quote, "behind every great man is a great women" implies that a women can't be great without a male counterpart.
Slowly, women started pushing to receive more visibility, autonomy, freedom, and rights. From suffrage to careers, women across many nations were standing up and demanding more. It was a slow movement, but one that gave women more choices than ever before.
However, even though they fought hard to get what they want, there was still an imbalance between genders. Women were given every opportunities men received, yet were still perceived as the weaker gender. As I ponder this thought, I realize that perception needs another entity on the other side perceiving things. This entity I refer to are males.
Men have always perceived women to be inferior. When women gained suffrage, it was men that granted them that right. When women wanted better jobs, it was men that offered them the jobs. Of course that perception is not as strong in today's society, and women truly are equals to men in every way, but there are still a small group of men that retain the old ways of thinking.
So some of you reading this may ask "Jett, we already know this. What's your point?"
Well my point is that women are in a constant battle to fight for equality in nearly every setting. Even though they have fought hard in the past to achieve greatness, with no strings attached, they still have to fight hard today. Its a disgusting, ugly, and downright dirty fight. And this battle permeates through everything.
Now that video games have been elevated to mainstream culture, we again see the battle of the sexes arise. Of course, prior to video games of today, the target audience for a large majority of games were males. I say 'of course' because well, men were the first to develop video games. It only stands to reason they would develop games tailored to their interests.
So we have women becoming more prevalent in the gaming industry, and another tug-o-war between the sexes, but this time its different.
First, the men that want to keep women out of gaming are fighting back, and fiercely. They are trying to keep the last vestige of male dominance. They are doing everything in their power to keep video games in the realm of the "old boy's club". They are fighting dirty, and are not afraid to fight dirtier.
Second, women no longer require men to help them fight their battles; we see them standing up on their own. Women have developed the structure and tools necessary to level the playing field. And they are fighting dirty also.
This rift between males and females in video games is an old story, but one that is re-told with a new spin.
Before I end this reply, I would like to bring up a very important aspect to game development. Can we please stop having games associated to a gender. I am tired of seeing games like Cooking Dash associated with a girl, or Grand Theft Auto associated with boys. I hope Rockstar makes a GTA with the main character a girl, and not a hot girl wearing nearly nothing. or Cooking Dash 6 (I chose a random number because I have no idea how many Cooking Dash games have been made) with a male character. Games needs to squash the gender roles that have been ingrained deeply in our culture. Fuck, society needs to squash gender roles that have been ingrained deeply in our culture.
Riku, thank you for sharing your experiences in video games. I truly hope that this nonsense can one day be relegated to forgotten memories, but I don't think society easily forgets buried grudges.
sidenote: I have specifically left out buzzwords such as "misogyny" or "feminism". The issue isn't about males hating females or vice versa. The issue is about how gender roles are still ingrained deeply into societies psyche. We need to realize that gender no longer plays a role in our lives. I hope for the day when men and women can choose any role in life, without being stigmatized.
This is the effect that political correctness has on our society, eventually people start believing it as truth. Men and women do not have the same preferences or the same aptitudes. There's plenty of indisputable evidence that you're wrong on "women are truly equals to men in every way", the fact that you would even consider this a rational thing to say just underlines how much political correctness has permeated our culture.
By the way, the video game industry isn't trying to "keep women out of gaming", so you can drop the victim complex. Companies just don't want to deal with people like you who want to turn everything into a war of the sexes, when none exists in reality.
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Canada13430 Posts
I think the whole debate is stupid and the core concerns are extremely complicated.
And I am finishing an MA in Sociology and I greatly enjoy gender studies.
Its interesting really. Its almost like the false assumption that Gaming is a "male" space is leading to people being stupid on the internet. For some of these people its really just their male masculine space being invaded. Since they don't fulfill the "traditional" masculinity perhaps they feel bad about their male space being invaded and they kinda lash out.
You see similar things associated with calling very "male" guys homosexual for example.
But this is a far too theoretical discussion to have here.
I wish you the best of luck Riku in navigating your profession as a female. Like women in Tech before you (not good atm but better than 30 years ago), women in gaming are going through a difficult time and its only made worse by the internet. Instead of closed doors, you have open anonymous spaces where these things are said.
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EPT
