Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, perhaps, but with the advent of social networking, that fury is being swapped out for public disclosure and condemnation today, as female developers, journalists, and gamers take to Twitter to talk about sexism in the gaming industry.
The trending hashtag #1reasonwhy is updating just about every second, with stories from women about their experiences, and it’s the same tragically predictable checklist of sexual harassment, discrimination, double-standards, and “fake geek girl” prejudice as usual – and it’s the “as usual” bit that’s part of the problem, people.
The whole thing started last night when indie game developer Luke Crane asked, “Why are there so few lady game creators?”
Some of the reasons?
“Because I got blank stares when I asked why a female soldier in a game I worked on looked like a porn star.”
“Because if I succeed, I’m exceptional. And if I fail, I’m proof that women shouldn’t be in the industry.”
“I’ve had guys turn to the men I hired to help at the booth for information on the game I wrote. That has my name on the cover.”
“Being told by punters on my stand at EGExpo they wanted to talk to someone ‘in marketing who knows the game”, not a “promo girl’.”
“GDC every year for me is assuming I’m PR or I’m the girlfriend of the dude I’m standing next to.”
“I asked in a games shop for a game and they spoke only to my husband even though it was me asking and paying for it.”
“Because conventions, where designers are celebrated, are unsafe places for me. Really. I’ve been groped.”
“Sometimes I feel that I have to work twice as hard in order for people to take me seriously.”
“The fact that an intelligent debate about diversity cannot exist without jokes about kitchens and sammiches’.”
“When I win in multiplayer I’m a fat whore. When I lose I’m a typical representative for the entire female gaming population.”
I’d say it’s thought-provoking stuff, but honestly, this is pretty much what I live with myself. Maybe the worst part is that where my colleagues’ enthusiasm for gaming has never been a subject of any debate whatsoever, my own interest in gaming (and my appearance, for that matter) is questioned, challenged, and criticised constantly.
Most recently, I was persistently harassed on Twitter by somebody who’d decided I was too “f***ing ugly” to have opinions about anything, and that my 60K Gamerscore wasn’t good enough anyway. So I guess that’s my #1reasonwhy.
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It’s funny… when I started gaming (27 years ago now) and all through my teens, I would have killed to have more girls/women involved in gaming!! WTF is wrong with these guys?