DISCLAIMER: I’m going a little rogue here in my presentation but not out of line with YMB’s attitude. This is kind of like a journal entry… just words and emotion.
We need to get a few things straight here. I’ve been sticking up for women in gaming before it was cool. I have and always will be an advocate for getting more women into the game space. I do my best to make any game space I inhabit, an inclusive one. I do not see any reason to start being a pig or a hound dog just because a girl enters the space. I am indifferent to women running their own development team. It does not matter which gender it is, only that there is a fair representation of the gaming community.
Recently, because of some things I’ve written on the subject of harassing women online, the term “white knighting” started getting thrown around. It has been heavily implied that I’m hitching my wagon to a hot topic so my star rises faster. This is absolute bullshit!
The very notion of even accusing somebody of this… white knighting while they are sticking up for people who feel the need to leave their home over the rampant harassment… is bullshit. I have no doubt there are attention seekers out there using opportunities like this to steal as much of the spotlight as they can but I am not one of them.
This nonsense with women being harassed is not exclusive to the video game community but we as a community have a significantly higher tolerance for this type of behavior. I get it. Gamers vent and in some ways once the player presses start, they become a different person, Gamers say some things when they are online that they would never say in reality. Part of it is the veil of anonymity and another factor is the avatar we embody is not us. It is something out of our imagination. Some gamers are more creative than others.
All things considered, there is absolutely no reason to harass anybody no matter what role you may be playing online. You are just an asshole when you harass people. Not a cool Denis Leary asshole, just a regular asshole that is going to die angry and miss everything fun.
Is there really a benefit to me “white knighting”? It is not as if I champion the idea of being nice to women and they shower me with their panties. That is not how it works.
(At this point in writing, I took a break and promptly fell asleep. I resume my words several hours later)
I defend whatever group or person is getting pointless hate aimed at them by rude, ignorant and vile cowards that must hide behind the internet. There is no room for this malicious behavior and it needs to stop. It doesn’t even make any sense.
Anita Sarkeesian’s whole point is that there is too much sexism out there and we need to be aware of it. This is not an unreasonable statement. You can debate it, for sure, but it is not unreasonable. The best part is Sweet Anita tours the country and gives lectures on Sexism/Harassment on the internet and every day the haters on internet make her an expert on the subject.
All the effort haters attempted to rain on Brianna Wu’s game, probably only gave her a slight bump in sales at some point. My favorite former Ubisoft employee Jade Raymond, (peace onto her
As she smiles onto thee) is no stranger to getting the harassment treatment. Around the time Assassin’s Creed was being promoted, rumors were started about how she got so far in a male dominated industry within a short amount of time, which in itself is kind of a sexist question to ask. Basically the implication was, because she is attractive, there is no way she has the skills to climb the ladders. That is a very light way of putting it.
Ok. Here. This, ladies and gentlemen… is Michele Wood.
She is not an actor. She is a Chicago homicide detective.
You want to talk about catching heat in a male dominated area, try looking like her, in Chicago, on the police force. YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD! She has to be good. There is absolutely no way you can rise to any position and stay there unless you’re a shill. Michele Wood and Jade Raymond are no shills. They are hard working and very passionate about what they do.
I get it. Maybe it is hard to see somebody you want to see naked, succeed higher than your wildest dreams. But that is your problem, quit taking it out on them.
The Jaded Gamer
IamFN2K@gmail.com (@IamFN2K)
Your Momma's Basement 