Editorial: #Gamergate exemplifies the issues within gaming culture

The gamer culture has always been regarded as a sort of boys club. Most game developers and players are men, and the majority of female game characters are over-sexualized. Recently, the ‘boys club’ perception has been exacerbated by the #Gamergate movement. 

What originally started as a protest against corruption among the video game press, for it was alleged — and later proved false — that female game developer Zoe Quinn was exchanging sex for positive reviews, #Gamergate eventually turned into a question of gamer identity. Who are “gamers?” What do they and the games they play represent?

Traditionally, one thinks of “gamers” as white, middle class, younger males. But women have become more and more prominent within the gaming community, and not everyone is willing to accept the trend.

Leigh Alexander, an editor for the video game news site Gamasutra wrote that #Gamergate shows just how controversial the term “gamer” is now.

“‘Gamer’ isn’t just a dated demographic label that most people increasingly prefer not to use. Gamers are over. That’s why they’re so mad,” she wrote.

In essence, a larger audience, one that actively includes women, is threatening the traditional “gamer” identity. As more women become active in the industry, the more backlash the gamer community receives — stemming specifically from #Gamergate.

For instance, indie game developer Quinn was slut-shamed and threatened consistently on Twitter after accusations arose that she was sleeping with gaming journalists. 

Another game developer, Brianna Wu, had to leave her home after her address was released through 8chan — a 4chan spinoff that was removed from the site — and she began receiving threats in response to her public criticism of the #Gamergate movement.

The most striking example of the #Gamergate backlash against outspoken women regards Anita Sarkeesian. Sarkeesian is a prominent feminist video game critic who has posted vlogs such as “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games.” Her talk scheduled for Utah State University next week was canceled after she received a threatening email from someone claiming to be part of the #Gamergate movement.

“If you do not cancel her talk, a Montreal Massacre-style attack will be carried out against the attendees, as well as students and staff at the nearby Women’s Center. I have at my disposal a semi-automatic rifle, multiple pistols and a collection of pipe bombs,” the anonymous email said.

Obviously, the people who are reacting extremely and violently aren’t part of the majority, yet those making threats do seem to be part of the movement — one that seems to be hypersensitive to any form of criticism or change.

But why are “gamers” so defensive? Other forms of media, such as movies, TV shows and books, receive similar forms of criticism based on gender portrayals. But criticism is typically not met with violence as with these cases simply because, as Sarkeesian says in “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games,” “It’s both possible, and even necessary, to simultaneously enjoy media, while also being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects.”

Most criticism of video games does not intend to eradicate the media but tries, instead, to make it better. Naturally, such criticism is met with desired changes, such as more women taking part in the industry itself. Hollywood has responded to this, as critiques of submissive female roles has spurred an increase in strong female leads — see: “The Hunger Games.” So why is it that video games have to be, somehow, different?

Perhaps it is because, in video games, players actively participate in the media itself, which makes them more sensitive to the “gamer” identity and, thus, more defensive against change and criticism. But this doesn’t mean that the “gamer” identity can’t expand to include other voices and points of view.

Stephanie Roman, a video game beat writer for The Pitt News, said in regard to this trend in the video game industry, “The more outspoken you are, the more attacks you will receive … if you post something critical on a website and they see that you are a woman, you are more likely to be attacked.” It doesn’t help that, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, feminine online usernames incurred an average of 100 sexually explicit or threatening messages a day.

When asked about whether or not the gaming community is accommodating enough towards women, Roman said, “If I think about my white male friends and listen to their comments while playing ‘Call of Duty,’ I don’t think so.” She went on to explain, “I don’t want to say it’s an exclusively white middle class male problem, but parts of the gaming community that used to be really accommodating to women are on the decline.”

The gaming community must accept criticism to become more accommodating towards women. For that to happen, those in the gaming community who are not OK with backlash women such as Quinn and Sarkeesian received need to stand up in support of them.

Perhaps this can be done with a new hashtag, #WomenAreGamersToo.