There is a lot going on in the video game industry right now. There are a multitude of highly anticipated releases coming out in the next few months (Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Assassin’s Creed Unity, The Master Chief Collection, to name a few), there’s the entire video game journalism corruption debacle (you know what I’m talking about), and today, industry critic, Anita Sarkeesian received rape and death threats on Twitter. Fun stuff, right?
For those of you who don’t know, Anita Sarkeesian is the creator of Feminist Frequency, a web series that explores the portrayal of women in popular culture.
An outspoken media critic, gaming included, Anita Sarkeesian has recently posted videos exploring how women are misrepresented as sexual objects and victims in the realm of video games.
You can watch the video that caused the hostile response below:
Anita Sarkeesian: Tropes Vs. Women In Video Games
Naturally, when speaking out against how women are represented in video games (or any hot button topic), fierce criticism is sure to come about. However, threats of rape or death shouldn’t be part of it.
Apparently, the violent threats and obscene name-calling forced Sarkeesian to depart from her house, and stay with her friends. The situation escalated so much that authorities were notified, and had to make sure she was safe.
Anita Sarkeesian has shared an image containing a sampling of the threats she received, you can view them here (be warned, they’re pretty unsavory, do so at your own discretion). You can view some her tweets regarding the situation on Feminist Frequency‘s Twitter page, @femfreq.
Harassment in the video games industry is nothing new, but the topic seems to be spreading like wildfire as of late. You can find some articles written by the GamerHeadlines staff that are related to the subject, here, here, and here.
Ultimately, video gaming is supposed to be about having fun, enjoying time either to yourself or with friends. Currently, that is not the case.
Honestly, in this article, I’m not here to speak out for anyone, or give my opinion. I’m just reporting facts. Nevertheless, from an objective standpoint, this type of malicious response towards anyone, no matter if they are male or female, has no place in any industry.
What do you think about this news? Does this type of response belong in the video game industry? What’s your opinion on the recent sexism and/or harassment debate? Let me know in the comments section below. As always, stay tuned to GamerHeadlines.com for the latest in video game and technology news.
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