Dear The Internet, This Is Why You Can't Have Anything Nice
Anita Sarkeesian's project to expose stereotypes in video games attracts a maelstrom of hate.
By Helen Lewis Published 12 June 2012 11:34
Something wonderful happened on the internet this week. And something horrible happened at the same time.
A Californian blogger, Anita Sarkeesian, launched a Kickstarter project to make a web video series about "tropes vs women in videogames". Following on from her similar series on films, it aimed to look at women as background decoration, Damsels in Distress, the Sexy Sidekick and so on. Her pitch is here:
Sarkeesian was after $6,000 to cover the cost of researching the topic, playing all kinds of awful games, and producing the videos. Seems reasonable, doesn't it? Even if you don't like the idea - or don't believe that women are poorly represented in games (in which case, you would be wrong) - then isn't it fine for other people to give money to something they believe in?
Except some kind of Bastard Klaxon went off somewhere in the dank, moist depths of the internet. An angry misogynist Bat Signal, if you will. (It looks like those charming chaps at 4Chan might have had something to do it.)
In Sarkeesian's own words:
The intimidation and harassment effort has included a torrent of misogyny and hate speech on my YouTube video, repeated vandalizing of the Wikipedia page about me, organized efforts to flag my YouTube videos as "terrorism", as well as many threatening messages sent through Twitter, Facebook, Kickstarter, email and my own website. These messages and comments have included everything from the typical sandwich and kitchen "jokes" to threats of violence, death, sexual assault and rape. All that plus an organized attempt to report this project to Kickstarter and get it banned or defunded.
Let's take a look at that Wikipedia page, shall we?
As the pixellated pinkness might suggest, that's what tabloids call a "sex act" happening in the top corner. There are also references to Sarkeesian being "of Jewish descent", an "entitled nigger" and having a "masters degree in Whining" (because why stick to one prejudice, when you can have them all?) More than a dozen IP addresses contributed to this vandalism before the page was locked.
Meanwhile, her YouTube video attracted more than 5,000 comments, the majority of them of a, shall we say, unsupportive nature. The c-word got a lot of exercise, as did comments about her personal appearance, and a liberal sprinkling of threats of violence.
Sarkeesian archived a picture of the abuse, and you can find it here. I'm sorry to subject you to it, but I think it's important that you see the kind of stuff you can get called for the crime of Being A Woman On The Internet. Shall we play sexism bingo? Here goes:
Tits or GTFO
You're a bolshevik feminist Jewess
LESBIANS: THE GAME is all this bitch wants
Why do you put on make-up, if everything is sexism? ... You are a hypocrite fucking slut.
Would be better if she filmed this in the kitchen.
I'll donate $50 if you make me a sandwich
... and so it goes on. The only light relief is this one, because I don't think this is quite the threat this chap thinks it is:
Sarkeesian decided to leave the comments on her video, as proof that such sexism exists. I think it's important that she did, because too often the response to stories like this, "Come on, it can't be that bad". There are two reasons for this: first, that if you don't experience this kind of abuse, it's difficult to believe it exists (particularly if you're a man and this just isn't part of your daily experience). Secondly, because news reports don't print the bad words. We've got into a weird situation where you have to get a TV channel controller to sign off a comedian using the word "cunt" after 9pm, but on the internet, people spray it round like confetti. We read almost-daily reports of "trolls" being cautioned or even jailed, but often have no idea what they've said.
This story should be shared for several reasons. The first is that a horrible thing happened to Anita Sarkeesian. She did nothing to deserve the torrent of abuse, and the concerted attempts to wreck her online presence. It's not the first time this happened: Bioware's Jennifer Hepler was similarly hounded out of town for expressing some fairly innocuous statements about videogames. Every time this happens, more women get the message: speak up, and we will come for you. We'll try to ruin your life, tear you apart, for having an opinion.
The second reason this story deserves wider attention is that in Britain, a law is being debated which will encourage service providers to identify internet trolls, without their victims having to resort to costly legal action. Until now, the perception has been that you can say anything you like on the internet, without any consequences. Recent cases, such as that of Liam Stacey (jailed for mocking footballer Fabrice Muamba) show that is getting less and less true.
A man who targeted Louise Mensch was yesterday given a suspended sentence, and banned from contacting a list of celebrities. Few papers reported Frank Zimmerman's full remarks, with the notable exception of The Guardian: they included a reference to the film Sophie's Choice, in which a mother is forced to choose which of her children dies, and the following: "We are Anonymous and we do not like rude cunts like you and your nouveau riche husband Peter Mensch... So get off Twitter. We see you are still on Twitter. We have sent a camera crew to photograph you and your kids and we will post it over the net including Twitter, cuntface. You now have Sophie's Choice: which kid is to go. One will. Count on it cunt. Have a nice day."
We can argue all day about the sentence handed to Liam Stacey, but Frank Zimmerman made an unequivocal threat. He no more deserves anonymity than those who targeted Anita Sarkeesian with rape and death threats. But, of course, they will never be found out.
I said at the top of this blog post that something wonderful happened on the internet this week, at the same time as something awful. You'll be pleased to know that Anita Sarkeesian's Kickstarter project has gained 2,301 backers and a total of $55,671 at the time of writing. It's more than enough for her to make a whole series of shows about tropes and women in games, and luckily, she still plans to do so despite all the abuse.
I am certainly not the first woman to suffer this kind of harassment and sadly, I won’t be the last. But I’d just like to reiterate that this is not a trivial issue. It can not and should not be brushed off by saying, “oh well that’s YouTube for you“, “trolls will be trolls” or “it’s to be expected on the internet”. These are serious threats of violence, harassment and slander across many online platforms meant to intimidate and silence. And its not okay. Again, don't worry, this harassment will never stop me from making my videos! Thank you for all your support!
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339 comments
Comments on this piece are now closed.
- "But, of course, they will never be found out."
Not quite.
http://storify.com/WiTOpoli/why-is-this-conversation-necessary-ben-spurr...
Ben Spurr is the fuckwit who made the game about punching Anita.
From this article and the comments I have seen here I am convinced that most of you are new to the internet.
I think it is time for you n00bs to learn something about TROLLS. Trolls are all over the internet and can be found in particularly strong concentrations in areas of the internet where young people congregate.
A troll is someone who tries to make you mad because it is funny to them. That's it. No political agenda, no gender politics, no racism, nothing. It is done because it is funny to tear people down. Look up this phrase: "I did it for teh lulz" It literally means "I did it because it is funny".
The point of trolling is to make the person angry, as angry as you can. How do you do this? by finding out what makes them tick, by pushing their buttons. If they are younger than you attack their age. If they are fat attack their weight. If they are a different race then attack their race and of course if they are a woman then attack them for that.
A troll does not believe any of the things they say. They simply press your buttons. Let me repeat it again for those of you who are a little slow: they are just pressing your buttons.
How to choose a target for trolling? Find someone who is vocal or active online. The best "lulz" are gained from people who will fight back, get angry and spread the story. This girl scamming kickstart and ignorant people with too much money was a perfect target. She obviously has strong views and is vocal about them, she has a significant web presence so she can be easily trolled and because she is a woman she will immediately receive sympathy from feminists and columnists who like to write on these topics.
Not only did the trolls successfully anger her, they also angered feminists writers. Did you get angry and leave a comment on this article? Congratulations you have been trolled and someone is now masturbating to your words.
Read my comment again. Does any of it offend or make you angry? Perhaps this section did: "This girl scamming kickstart and ignorant people with too much money". That was bait for her supporters, they would write an angry reply about how she is not scamming and I will laugh because i got the response I was looking for.
So now you know what this is all really about what can you do? I am going to tell you the secret to ruining trolls and making the most of the internet. Ready?
Grow a pair, stop getting offended at everything you disagree with and IGNORE THE TROLLS. Don't respond to their comments, ignore obvious troll posts. Do not debate, shut them down.
The result? They don't get their lulz. They wasted all their time and get nothing in return. You win.
That's all children. Class dismissed.
Hi Voice of Reason,
What you say has an element of truth to it, but is entirely misdirected in this case. Most of what we're talking about here is not trolling in the sense you use it. For example, this guy:
http://storify.com/WiTOpoli/why-is-this-conversation-necessary-ben-spurr...
Ben Spurr, is a jerk. He is not, however, merely "trolling". The kind of troll you're talking about is mostly disingenuous and just out the a rise for its own sake. If they think someone's gay, they'll call them a f*gg*t, even if they aren't actually a homophobe at all - that's the sort of thing you mean.
This is quite different; the abuse referred to here by the likes of Ben is by people who are actually insecure, threatened, and hoping to achieve a specific goal.
These people may seem like they're 'trolling' to your naive eyes, and I can understand that. But it's only in as much as their behavior overlaps with troll behavior. To paraphrase Obi Wan: these are not trolls you're looking for.
You see, Mr. Troll, we normal people don't take kindly to your kind of harassment. You have no right to purposely upset people. The day will come when your kind of behaviour is illegal as it should be, and you can troll your cellmate and see what kind of response you get.
Or you're also a troll.
The point is, if it's all trolls - which I sincerely doubt - why is it okay for them to use slurs and harassment? Why this campaign?
This is not an isolated incident. Bloggers have to deal with harassment all the time.
Article: http://tigerbeatdown.com/2011/10/11/on-blogging-threats-and-silence/
You do not get to dismiss this incident because those people are trolls, because if they are 100% trolls, then they are still 100% misogynistic, racist people to think it is okay to harass people in such a way in the first place.
This is how these people really think. It's disturbing to know that under the belief they are anonymous they will say what they really think and what they really think is just disturbing.
Perhaps the human race isn't so evolved after all.
It's a new age of the internet VOICEOF REASON. Trolls and apologists will get pwned.
http://www.illdoctrine.com/2012/06/why_you_should_feed_the_trolls.html
Thank you for the link and the further reading from that link.
I don't see how the linked articles support your point though. If you have the time I would appreciate some clarification.
From your choice of nickname I am guessing that you have been bullied online by trolls or have made it a personal task to bring them to account? It is a very noble goal, I wish you all the best with it but I am not entirely sure you will succeed.
Trolls thrive on attention and adverse reactions from you. It doesn't matter how you address them, by doing so they win. Since attention is they primary goal, withholding of attention is the best solution. If they get no response from you, if you keep doing what you do normally then they lose, get bored and look for other targets.
Acting the martyr, writing reasoned replies, sending back hateful comments or anything else that acknowledges them feeds them. They win, simple as that.
That is not to say you can't do anything about it. If you moderate a site ban them, delete their comments, block their ips, report them to their isp anything like that is helpful. If you are a normal user then block, report etc. If legislation exists in your country then turn the matter over to the police.
If you are a real bad mofo then counter troll. How? Collect "dox" and hit back with "life ruination tactics". Google them if you are a bad enough dude.
Interesting, do some random chat here then
This woman edits and probably makes up most of these comment to play the victim card as much as she possibly can. I left her two comments that were labeled as hateful and sexist. Take a long look
"Oddly enough the only thing sexual about cortana is what fantards do to her, its sick but not to damaging to society as a whole. Her reproductive organs are not and have never been visable. She is also rather useful to MC hacking enemy communications, providing Real Time Intelligence, and providing sound strategic advice."
If this is sexist Anita needs mental help!
Why always women being some public news attention..??
Maybe you should not mod the comments here. This is vile stuff.
expose stereotypes? she's not exposing anything, she's ranting on about stuff people have known about for years. the reason she got mocked so hard is because her presentation is rude, her words are pretentious and her study is flawed.
I think you're confusing her presentation with your, Spanky.
As Ms. Sarkeesian has been repeatedly censoring my comments and refusing to listen to me, I figured I'd get the word out here: She is a scam artist. She doesn't need $6000.00 to make a few youtube videos, and she certainly doesn't need $160,000.00, which is the amount she actually received. She has not stated any intention to give any of this money back, even though it is far more than could ever conceivably be required for such a minor project. The fact that people said mean things to her on the internet is being blown completely out of proportion in comparison to the real issue here - she committed fraud and scammed people out of a small fortune, and whenever someone tries to confront her about this she simply censors them, further proving her guilt. Anita Sarkeesian is a CON ARTIST, don't give her your money!
To be a 'CON ARTIST', you have to actually lie to people. Everyone who gave Sarkeesian money knew exactly what they were putting it towards. Heck, just because you made this stupid comment, I'm going to go and give her some more of my money.
Doesn't need $6000? She said there would be extensive research done into hundreds of games. Assuming those hundreds of games are at least $30 dollars+, not to mention the gaming systems, film equipment (though this she has already, but then there's upkeep) the hiked up electric bill...
Six thousand may have been too little, depending. Unless she only intends to read about the games, but that can definitely be flawed.
Why would she have to give the money back?
The people who donated--keyword--knew what they were doing. They chose to give money. No one is expecting it back. She isn't expected to give the money back because now the project is funded, that's how it goes. And no amount of all the reports has bothered the people over kickstarter because they're still letting her do her thing.
And why do you assume she's a scam artist? Maybe the reason she's censoring you is because she's offending of such a blatant accusation that has no real proof except your belief that it "shouldn't" take so much money to make a video. When you have no way of knowing just how this thing is going to down because it hasn't been made. What if she decides to animate it? Hire some well known gaming bloggers who won't work for free?
You shouldn't presume she doesn't need the money. Besides, the person above me is right. She didn't ask for that much money but people willingly chose to give it to her. You can't fault her for that.
She couldn't have possibly known that she'd raise that much money.
I came for the article, stayed for the comments.
Some clarification is needed for some netizens out there about the gaming industry, it's history and demographics. (All gamer demographic stats from: www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2012.pdf) For starters, women make up more then 40% of gamers and are the fastest growing demographic of video game consumers are women, and women over the age of 30 make up more gamers them males 17 and under. Our influence on the industry is glaringly apparent to those who matter (owners/developers/marketers) and the industry is flexing hard to accomodate these newly found facts. The biggest players nowadays, the social and mobile game developers like Zynga, know that women spend more time on social media sites as well as out post all male demographics. The old guard know that adult women are most likely the ones purchasing games and game consoles for their family, and as it turns out, we spend a good deal of time playing, too.
With all the money and time females have invested in the game industry we have earned the right to be flustered at the flat digital representations of our gender and want to move past the over sexualized, fun-house versions of the strong kick-a55 courageous women we know ourselves to be. But we women want to play games! We want to buy games, beat games, play them with our friends, family and partners we haven't even met yet. We want to see the industry embrace more female game designers and team leads. We want to see Silicon Valley funders to give money to deserving start-ups run by women. We know that hard work, great ideas and game design are not gendered skills, however, we also know that the glass ceiling is still ever present and very difficult to transcend (even though people obfuscate it as much as they can to pretend it doesn't even exist at all.) So yes, females (and their allies) are angry that the internets still responds to any vocalization of misrepresentation with "tits or go home." (4chan, go suck an egg)
Does this mean that we should support every project trying to 'expose' games for gender misrepresentation? Certainly not, and as for this young woman, I just did not feel enough intellectual presence to throw any money her way or give her a youtube thumb up. Unless the money she raised is going to send her to college to study game design and comparative gender theory it is most likely that her opinions will be sophomoric and undeveloped, lacking in a cohesive understanding of the complex issues at hand and possibly spread misinformation unhelpful to evening the playing field in the game industry. This is not the kind of internet activism I will wholeheartedly support, even though her heart is in the right place. (also, the AVGN and other vloggers do a pretty good job pointing out bad sexist tropes in video games already, why did she not source them for better examples?)
What can we all do to help make the world of gaming a better place? Encourage females to enjoy and participate in the industry. There are few women in the game industry because there are few women in the game industry, just like STEM careers, it's a vicious cycle of non-participation and it takes a gihugic amount effort to reverse the trend. What can we do to help women everywhere? Donate money to a global foundation like GirlEffect that reduces gender prejudice, child marriage and poverty by keeping girls in school through adolescence (and it works too!) don't let anyone you know believe that there actually exists a gap between the mental powers of male and females (we're good at math ok) and don't let sexism against either gender pervade/poison your life. The hardest part is being honest about your own prejudices and negative expectations you have for yourself and others. Peace. gonna play minecraft now....
I don't think she's as young as you think, she already has a Master's...
I don't think she's as young as you think, she already has a Master's...
If you take away the ability to have stock female characters, then only male ones can be stereotyped. Then all the female characters would be similar and thus boring. Also videogames are a method for escaping reality for most of us. And for those of us who are 'Forever alone' replacing the princess who kisses us after we save her and her kingdom with a nasty shrew who rejects us. Well there goes that avenue of escapism. You'll be turning people towards things like porn (which is even worse for feminists) because they have no other fantasy outlet.
Sexism causes women to make only two-thirds the wage of a man with the same job. It causes women to be viewed as sex objects to be raped. It hurts innocent human victims. Your lack of a sex life doesn't mean you get to take our your insecurities passive-aggressively by giving money to companies that make games that aggravate the problem of sexism. And by the way, video games are a sport to most of us, not an escape from reality.
Your comment is a contradiction in terms. A stereotype by definition is a stock character, of sorts. Just like a character actor. A stereotype is the assumption that all of whatever you are looking fits into a single category, whatever that may be. Taking away a stereotype would then BY THE DEFINITION OF A LACK OF A STEREOTYPE would allow for many things that don't fit into that particular stereotype to take form. Put down the video game of the huge-titted Japanese girl being done by tentacles and open a dictionary. Definitionfail.
If you can't have stereotypes, everyone will be so similar that they're boring? How does that work? I think of stereotypes as the cardboard cutouts, where knowing one thing about a person fills in all the variables. Actual individuals tend to not fit perfectly in their assigned stereotypes.
Sometimes, it's a shorthand, similar to how naming a character after someone in the bible ties in some overhead. And I guess some people like their fantasies to stay simple. But really, why should the princess marry her rescuer? Why not give him a job of importance in the kingdom instead?
I'm so glad that this comments section is full of people who know exactly what the state of the video game industry is, where people ought to be spending their personal finances, and how much money it costs to research and make a documentary video series.
Thank goodness we've got this roomful of experts here to totally not prove their own ignorance and derail from the point of the article.
it saddens me that people truly believe anita is doing something valuable and worthwhile
That's not what people are talking about. It's the fact that so many people actually felt the need to scream and whine and threaten her over WHAT she was wanting to do. Why the fuck do people care if she wants to vlog about sexism in video games? The reaction to her project is more telling than anything.
Does anyone else think that anyone who gets worked up over a video game - either for or against- is a bit of a loser?
No moreso than anybody who gets worked up over how any other mass medium portrays a social minority group that perpetuates how the majority perceives, classifies, and relates to it. Yes, you are literally one of the last people left that supports the old cliche that games (or maybe strong feelings about media? or fiction?) are for losers.
Keep up with the times.
I think the original poster meant getting worked up to the point of threatening someone else's life, safety or children. Getting worked up about a fandom is one thing (I'm an enthusiast myself, and I know how easy it is to go a bit over-the-top) but to threaten a person's life or say you will rape them or kill their children... I believe that someone who goes that far overboard is yes, a loser indeed. Those people will always be losers.
Indeed. Yes to clarify - there is a huge difference between enthuisiasm or indifference to a game and aggressively defending or attacking it - or gaming in general - with threats and intimidation. Such people are clearly losers and shouldn't be given the air of publicity.
Good point, well made.
Perfect and eloquent response, thank you for posting before the rage.
Keep up the tantrum, boys - think of all the money you're raising for this worthy project with every whining comment you post! XD
Just letting you know that like 80% of donations were from men...so yeah...
:-)
well said
I agree that sexism towards woman in videos game/media exists poretty rampantly.At the part where she mentions that you call the boys to put out the fire and the girls to make food. Thats sexism both ways! I know some mean chefs of both sexes! heehee
Sexism works both ways. Stereotypes are working both ways... just btw
Take out the half naked overly buff dudes with bulges in their pants too.
it isnt just a feminist issue...
we need to be fair and include everything:
-Males
-Females
-LGBT
-Hermaphrodites
O.o
'Sexism works both ways. Stereotypes are working both ways.'
Annnnnnd... how many chicks have you picked up recently Timo?
:-P
Annnnd... you EVER picked up a chick that you didn't have to pay for?
This is what I read just then:
"You don't think sexism and stereotypes is a problem just for women? You CLEARLY mustn't be getting any puss"
Yup no social problems there... (BTW this last line was sarcasm)
'what I read just then',
I know, I know, I knoooow.
'last line was sarcasm',
I knooooow, and that's why I asked...
Remove your stereotypes and chicks are yours! Stereotypes ---> sexism.
oh no, poor little white girl was subjected to online bullying...what oh what is the world coming to?!
Jesus christ what a load of bulls*ht.
There are scores of women in the world suffering REAL abuse, physically and psychologically...this here? this pathetic case of "waah waah i'm being cyber bullied" doesn't even warrant a second glance compared to that...
What a crock of sh*t...talk about first world problems; f*ck me to hell. /facepalm
So Women of Colour don't game, is that what you're saying? It's important that women of every ethnicity is properly represented in every media.
Not to mention that we generally need more people of colour in games as well. There's too many white males. :/
Congratulations on missing the point.
It's not that one woman was harassed, it's that every person who attempts to challenge a society built against them is subjected to ruthless insults, malicious "jokes" and threats of violence. The anonymity of the internet just allows some people to express how they really feel.
The physical and emotional abuse that women, as well as many other groups of people, face every day is directly related to the mentality expressed by the hateful posters. THAT was the point and THAT is why it's important to bring these disturbing comments to light.
By your logic, your own argument is a crock of shit, because there are worse things in the world then someone complaining about first world problems when there are bigger fish to fry.
So why are you here wasting your and our time with your complaining when you should be off solving world hunger or something?
Go! Hurry! For the good of the world!
...
Your tactics here boil down to a bad excuse for feminists critiquing western society to stop doing so, not because the critique is invalid, unvalueable, or unnecessary, but instead because something else over there is worse.
That's a red herring.
The value and validity of Anita's work and her arguments are relative only to her work and her arguments. Just because something else is going on somewhere else that is worse, that doesn't reduce the value or validity of her arguments and ciritisism right now.
You're using a red herring to distract from the issue.
You're making yourself part of the problem.
A small part, of course. But a part nonetheless.
If you don't want to be supportive, fine. You're entitled to that. But at least try not to make the environment worse.
I'm not saying 'don't criticise'. Criticism is good.
But if you're going to criticize, keep it logically valid, supported through specific examples to back up the premises of that ciricism, make it valid and relevant to the context, and make it incisive and insightful.
Anything less and you're just providing crappy criticism, and increasing the amount of shit in the world.
If you want an example of what good criticism looks like, check out Anita's videos. Anita is a very good critic. Even if you disagree with her, you could learn a lot about critical technique from her.
Very well put!
In relation to the point that you make about the existence of other problems being used as a reason not to address the issue at hand...
I noticed that amongst the string of horrible comments left on Anita's YouTube clip that there was a strong theme of 'men are stereotyped too' and 'men are disenfranchised by women having too many rights.'
I just wanted to put forth that the word 'feminism' is not synonymous with hatred of men!
As was previously mentioned in this thread (insightfully, I thought), exploration of one gender's representation in pop media gives insight into the other gender's stereotyping too, rather than hindering it.
Thus, Anita's research into female stereotyping in video games inversely sheds light on male stereotyping in games and is of significance to people interested in both or either side of the issue.
As a female and a feminist, I care about my male counterparts in society and their well being! I care if they experience negative stereotyping because of their gender (or for any other reason).
I think that the argument that feminists are 'men-hating bull dykes' is really very tired and very unimaginative. I am amazed that people would spend so much time and energy trying to convince themselves and others that this is the case (and defaming Anita) - especially when, to me at least, it seems like the reality is that most women who consider themselves feminists feel the same way as I do. That is, they care about the welfare of men.
How much more exciting it seems to me to imagine that the world is full of people, of both genders, who care about each other and are interested and supportive of each others attempts to understand the world and our society and make them better places for us to co-inhabit.
Thankfully, I can see from the fairly equal representation of people of both genders in the positive remarks made about Anita's project that like-minded individuals such as these exist in plentiful supply.
Well done Anita and well done to the awesome people showing her support! Can't wait to see the finished project!
*Slow Clap*
Great response.