RPS just published an article about the constant opposition and denial of the problems of sexism in the games industry. It's pretty disheartening to read about the amount of opposition and name-calling that John Walker has received for covering the issues the games industry has in terms of gender imbalance, inequality, and discrimination. Most importantly, Walker provides convincing reasons for why this is an important issue and that constantly deflecting it is simply not acceptable.
I imagine some people on GAF are tired of this issue, but it is an important one and people need to be aware of that people are actively harmed and/or marginalized in our culture and industry, and that all should strive to completely reduce it. I think RPS's piece should be sufficiently convincing.
Why the topic matters:
About the opposition RPS has received when covering it:
About the things people should NOT write or respond to when it comes to the topics of sexism in the games industry. If you want to read why you shouldn't use these types of responses, read the article.
Conclusion
I imagine some people on GAF are tired of this issue, but it is an important one and people need to be aware of that people are actively harmed and/or marginalized in our culture and industry, and that all should strive to completely reduce it. I think RPS's piece should be sufficiently convincing.
Why the topic matters:
About the opposition RPS has received when covering it:
In having written about the subject of women and games over the years, I’ve received a significant amount of abuse. (I’m not going to fret about saying, “But of course not as bad as…”, because of course it’s not as bad as…Most of the abuse I receive is lazy insults, and until recently I tended to assume them fairly innocuous. Some has been extreme, such as forum threads dedicated to associating my name with acts of child molestation to skew Google results, personal threats, and deeply personal insults. All of it has one purpose: to intimidate. Whether the purpose of the intimidation is because the person wants to read about new screenshots for a game and not gender politics, or because they are violently defending their privilege, it’s always about intimidation.
It can fit into a variety of categories, but there’s always just that one intent. While a lot has been extreme, the majority just want the discussion to go away, and angrily tell me why I need to stop talking about it. And indeed the vast majority of the non-hostile communication takes the form of, “I just wish you’d stop talking about this.” But the thing is, that’s not okay, either.
About the things people should NOT write or respond to when it comes to the topics of sexism in the games industry. If you want to read why you shouldn't use these types of responses, read the article.
These replies are all false and should not be echoed again and again each time the issue of sexism is talked about. I've seen the same fallacies come up on GAF on numerous occasions, so it would be great if people would realize the wrongness of invoking them and cease negating the issue. For reasons why, check the article itself.
Conclusion
