I have a habit of not writing about my own prerogative on matters of social justice across the board, given that many folks have written or said it better than I ever could. However, after the past week or so, I can't stay silent any more. Even if there is (and there are) folks who can say or have said it better.
I'm here to talk about the rampant sexism and sexual harassment in the video game industry.
Yes, it's an age old topic and much has been written about it by a plethora of different people. Yet, for all the writing, all the talking, all the raising awareness, two women were driven from their homes last week. Two women faced threats and had their personal information shared online, and all for what? One, for having an alleged affair with a games journalist and other members of the community, and the other for sharing an opinion on how women are treated in video games.
I'm sure you've heard of both of these women at this point: Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian. Zoe Quinn is a female game developer behind the narrative game, Depression Quest, which was green-lit for Steam back in February and recently released as free-to-play in the wake of Robin Williams' suicide. Anita is known for her channel, Feminist Frequency, and her Tropes vs. Women in Video Games video series.
As a woman who is attempting to enter the game industry, this scares the living daylights out of me. I've personally appreciated Sarkeesian's critique and examination of the female tropes in games, and I'm outspoken in the support of female players and developers all over. Watching recent events unfold over the past week has left me shaken and appalled. The amount of hate that has come out of the community is overwhelming and horrifying, all in one go. I had thought better of the community--yet, I'm hardly surprised.
I was introduced to the situation around Zoe Quinn and Depression Quest last week, after speaking about the game with a co-worker. Given the articles I have read, my understanding is that Quinn's ex-boyfriend, Eron Gjoni, posted a series of blog posts about Quinn and the alleged affairs she had at the end of their relationship. He implied that said affairs were in order to promote her game (you can find his posts here and here, if you'd like to read them yourself). Given that the information came directly from her ex, I have been skeptical about the whole accusation and the ensuing 'discussion' of ethics in game journalism. I'm afraid this is not about corruption in game journalism. It goes well beyond that. Additionally, it has since been said and revealed that one of the writers involved, Nathan Grayson, only ever mentioned Depression Quest in passing, and never wrote an actual review for a game. There is a GeekParty article that speaks about the accusations pretty succinctly, which I highly recommend you go read here.
Were we discussing an issue of infidelity, or the ethics (had there ever been any evidence for 'ethical' question) of her actions, I'd be less moved to write. I'd understand some of the general critiques on her character, along the lines of, "Infidelity isn't cool," and we'd move on. However, the Internet has taken it upon themselves to slut-shame and harass Quinn for a matter in her personal life that should have never made it to a public forum in the first place. GeekParty author Josh Wirtanaen put it rather succinctly:
"...whether this information is true or not, it was super shitty of [Eron Gjoni] to make this information public. It's damaging to Quinn's reputation as a game developer, and going public with this puts several people's lives into a complete whirlwind. At least one person could potentially lose his job, and one couple could get a divorce.
While these are the natural consequences of Quinn's alleged actions (that, at the time of this writing, haven't been confirmed), they're actions that should be handled privately. For those directly involved, this life-destroying knowledge is possibly going to be discovered on the internet, and that's easily one of the worst possible ways to find out someone's been cheating on you.
Let me restate that: These are real people who have real lives that are currently being torn to shreds over this."
If she did have an affair, that is between Quinn, Gjoni, and whomever else was involved. The fact that it has become the basis to shame a woman for her sexual activity and involvement in the games industry is abhorrent. It should not be the basis on which to pass judgement on her game, either--a game which engages with the difficult, painful nature of depression in a way that makes it accessible to others who may or may not have had direct experience with the mental illness. The game is a huge resource and a great way to raise awareness: yet that fact has been lost amidst the name calling and jeering that Quinn has faced both on- and off-line in the last few weeks.
Sarkeesian has faced a similar backlash after she posted her latest video, which examined the 'woman as decoration trope,' as she called it, in recent games. She called attention to the casual violence often enacted against background female characters, and the way that it usually is used as titillation rather than to contribute anything meaningful to the narrative. She makes some very good points in her video, which can be found here.
The video received a great deal of public support from entertainment power houses like Joss Whedon and William Gibson, both who re-tweeted her video and recommended their viewership to watch and consider her points. Unfortunately, this led to another slew of harassment from the users of the Internet, prompting Sarkeesian to contact authorities and remove herself from her home. She posted one of the threats on her twitter with the comment, "I usally don't share the really scary stuff, but it's important for folks to know how bad it gets." The tweet can be found here, though there is a trigger warning attached for violence and sexual assault. Her comment implies that this is not the first time she's received a threat like this, which is an unsettling prospect.
The situations faced by both of these women is downright terrifying, on multiple fronts. What continues to unsettle me is that this could happen to anyone who speaks out against the misogyny in the game industry: especially women in the industry with a public image. Even if it's constructively built, even if they're willing to engage in discourse about it--it is almost a certainty that they will be harassed in some way, shape, or form (see Phil Fish and his support of Zoe Quinn, and the subsequent retreat he made in the face of retaliation). This could happen to one of my friends. This could happen to me.
This is what happens when we push boundaries to enact change. Those who don't want to change, don't want to lose the 'solidarity' that they've tied to the white, male-centric corner of the industry, are lashing out. My guess is that their actions are in fear. They fear the change, fear being shunned again for their interests, fear that their views and interests will somehow be invalidated by providing equal representation for others. Dan Golding has an intriguing article to this point (here), and speaks to what, he believes, is some of the reasoning behind the harassment. It doesn't make it right. Hell, no one deserves to be driven from their home just for speaking their mind, or for their personal affairs. But understanding the 'why' of this situation is a step towards creating change.
So where do we go from here? How do we move forward?
The community took a small step this week as over 600 developers, creators, writers, what have you, signed an open letter asking the community to cease the harassment. Some of the biggest names in the gaming community have signed, including developers from studios like EA, Ubisoft, and Blizzard. Though a small step, the fact that the leaders in the industry are speaking out is a cause for joy. It is an acknowledgment of what has occurred, and an action to discourage it from happening again. It may not solve the problem, but it's a start. (You can find a brief article and the letter here.)
Going forward, we can expect harassment like this to occur again. It happens everywhere--online, on the show floor, in studios (if you'd like more specific cases, check out this article from Polygon). If we keep speaking out, calling attention to the harassment and supporting those developers being attacked, we can change the way that the industry looks at critiques and at the female developers among them. We can promote games like Zoe Quinn's and make sure that they get the recognition they deserve, because the games are talking about real issues faced by real people every day. We can support Zoe in her career, encourage her to continue as a developer, and bring to light the upsetting nature of her harassment and the ultimate uselessness of those actions. We can help bring the focus back to where it should be: on the games, not on a developer's personal life. (As a note, whether or not Quinn actually did have a series of affairs should not be the basis to dismiss her game. She has to deal with the consequences of her actions, whatever her true actions were, and that is none of our business as far as I'm concerned.)
Likewise, we can promote Anita's videos and share the critique on female tropes in games. We can call attention to the inequalities and show that we will not let them slide past, unnoticed. We can encourage awareness, share thoughts and engage in adult discourse about her critiques and the accuracies or inaccuracies therein.
It will be slow. It will be hard. But we'll move forward. The goal--equal representation--may be an ideal that is not realized for a number of generations. And that's ok.
If we don't fight for that now, support others who fight for equality, who will?
Below are some of the articles I read and/or referenced above. If you'd like to learn more, I recommend taking a look:
"We Might be Witnessing the Death of an Identity"
"Gamers Don't Have to be Your Audience. Gamers are Over"
"Video Game Harassment"
"Eron Gjoni Clarifies the Zoe Quinn/Nathan Grayson Timeline"
"The Anti-Zoe Quinn Rage is Completely Out of Hand: Let's Talk"
"Phil Fish Goes on Epic Twitter Crusade to Defend Zoe Quinn"
