Articles
Why We Need Anita Sarkeesian
but I’m thankful that it is more
visible than ever before. After
all, you can’t fix a problem you
don’t know about. By attracting
such a strong reaction from
the right wing elements of the
gaming community, Tropes
vs Women in Videogames
has illuminated a problem
in our network of players,
developers, and commentators
that can’t be ignored.
almost irrelevant now. When
she speaks out on an issue,
everyone knows that she will
address it with basic concepts
found in Feminist Studies 101.
Hell, she could say “GTA V has
male characters” or “I like
X-Com” and there would be a
war of retweets and hashtags
that would make headlines.
What Anita says is eclipsed
by what she represents:
That is why Anita is a crucial
the destruction of the “boys
figure in the gaming community. only” club of videogames.
She is the lightning rod for
When she makes a video,
debate and discussion, however she draws a line in the sand
caustic it may be. Her personal
and the community takes
contributions to the debate are
notice. We line up on either
Issue 64 • February 2015
side brandishing our many
and varied digital weapons
and that’s a good thing. Now
more than ever before we
are discussing a problem
in our shared identity that
needs addressing. Developers
are being held accountable,
women are speaking out on
their challenges as workers
in the industry and as players
at home, and representation
issues are seen as legitimate.
We have a long way to go for
gender parity and while Anita
Sarkeesian is far from perfect,
having her as a focal point
for debate and discussion is
what we need right now.
10 • GameOn Magazine