Feminist Frequency

When I opened the latest issue of Game Informer magazine I was...

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:38:00 -0700

When I opened the latest issue of Game Informer magazine I was surprised to see a quote from my own GDC talk “Equality or GTFO: Navigating the Gendered Minefield of Online Gaming Spaces.”

The section titled “Overheard at GDC” features many female voices including Robin Hunicke, Brenda Romero, Susan O’Connor and Elizabeth Sampat discussing their desire for a more inclusive gaming industry.

“With thousands of programmers, animators, and producers in attendance, the Game Developers Conference is a great place to take the pulse of the industry. This year, much of the chatter had to do with challenging the game industry to move out of its comfort zone, whether that be escaping well-worn game design conventions, embracing more diverse characters, or making the development culture more inclusive to women.”

Print advertisement for ATARI from 1982 featuring a young girl...

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:39:33 -0700

Print advertisement for ATARI from 1982 featuring a young girl playing video games.

Doctor Who Cares? - A spinoff in which all is right with the...

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:56:20 -0700

Doctor Who Cares? - A spinoff in which all is right with the ladies’ storylines and they take custody of the TARDIS every weekend to explore the universe together

“Don’t talk down to me Batman! You have no idea what...

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:52:56 -0700

“Don’t talk down to me Batman! You have no idea what I can or can’t do!”
- Batgirl, Secret Origins #20 (1987)

The Princess Who Saved Herself

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:29:00 -0700

Jonathan Coulton’s song about a princess who doesn’t need saving by anyone is soon to be turned into a children’s book with Greg Pak via a stretch goal on this crowdfunding project.

lacigreen: and if you’re not sure about someone’s gender...

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:54 -0700

lacigreen:

and if you’re not sure about someone’s gender pronouns, just ask! respectfully, of course. (✿◠‿◠)

(e.g. “what are your preferred pronouns?”)

Allan G. Johnson is the author of the excellent book The Gender...

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:35:05 -0700

Allan G. Johnson is the author of the excellent book The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. I highly recommend it.

“The Great Debate” by The Escapist’s Cory...

Sun, 05 May 2013 10:00:55 -0700

“The Great Debate” by The Escapist’s Cory Rydell and Greg Carter

Of all the criticism thrown at Anita Sarkeesian, the bitching about her decision to disable YouTube comments in the face of an an organized campaign of harassment is the most misguided. It’s a dumb position for a couple of reasons. First, it implies that anyone who makes a video is honor-bound to lend their credibility and popularity to the opposing argument, they are not. Second, it implies YouTube comments contain anything that could remotely be called criticism, they do not. “I hope you get raped,” is not criticism. “Feminazi whore,” is not criticism. “Make me a sandwich,” is not criticism, nor is it funny.

"Most of my life, I would have doubted myself and backed down. Having public standing as a writer of..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:10:28 -0700

“Most of my life, I would have doubted myself and backed down. Having public standing as a writer of history helped me stand my ground, but few women get that boost, and billions of women must be out there on this 6-billion-person planet being told that they are not reliable witnesses to their own lives, that the truth is not their property, now or ever. This goes way beyond Men Explaining Things, but it’s part of the same archipelago of arrogance.”

- The origin of the term Mansplaining derives from Rebecca Solnit’s 2008 article “Men Explain Things to Me”

Mansplain (v.) When a man explains something to a woman in a patronizing manner, assuming total...

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:58:06 -0700

Mansplain (v.) When a man explains something to a woman in a patronizing manner, assuming total ignorance of the subject matter on her part.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) May 4, 2013

Meta-Mansplaining: Informing a woman that she is being “sexist against men” for using...

Fri, 03 May 2013 20:37:55 -0700

Meta-Mansplaining: Informing a woman that she is being “sexist against men” for using the word Mansplaining
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) May 4, 2013

Mansplaining: Sending patronizing emails to a woman who researches video games for a living to...

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:31:00 -0700

Mansplaining: Sending patronizing emails to a woman who researches video games for a living to inform her that a game called Metroid exists.

— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq)

May 4, 2013

I recently spoke with CNN International about online harassment....

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:11:00 -0700

I recently spoke with CNN International about online harassment. I have to say I was a little taken aback by how terrible the interviewer was. Predictably they tried to frame me as a “victim of trolls” but I did my best to try to re-direct the conversation to a more systemic big picture understanding of the problem.

Note: As always don’t read the comments on YouTube.

bombsfall: A quick editorial cartoon about the intersection of...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:43:49 -0700

bombsfall:

A quick editorial cartoon about the intersection of self-pity, entitlement, rape, territoriality, misogyny and fear of women. You see it all over the place online in the form of Men’s Rights Activists (of whom there are a few reasonable non-misogynists), Men Going Their Own Way, Pick Up Artists, and dudes touting the “Red Pill”, because The Matrix is a good movie. Look any of these up if you have the stomach for it. These are extreme examples, but watered-down forms of these ideas are everywhere.

In lurking their blogs and youtube channels for a while, I’ve noticed that beyond the standard patriarchal chauvinism there is this deep fear of women - what they will do to me, how they will reject me, how they will use me, how they are changing society in a way that does not favor me, how they are making men into something I don’t like, how they are making themselves into something I don’t like, that they won’t give me what I want, and that they won’t give me what I think is rightfully mine. This goes beyond fear of feminism- this is fear of women at its purest. And that, to quote a puppet, leads to anger and hate. It’s sad.

I am a feminist. I think there’s enough ice cream to go around, but it does mean those of us with 3 scoops might have to give one or two up. Also, The Matrix is a fun movie but probably not anything you should be basing a philosophy on.

Check out this amazing and hilarious short animation about ice cream and male entitlement called “But I’m a Nice Guy” by Scott Benson. Also be sure to check out his other beautiful work in his demo reel.

Occasionally while researching a bunch of particularly sexist...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:04:51 -0700

Occasionally while researching a bunch of particularly sexist video games I start to feel exactly like this!

Notice a pattern here? Damsels in Distress from the 2007 PSP...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:00:51 -0700

Notice a pattern here? Damsels in Distress from the 2007 PSP game Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles developed and published by Konami.

Here are a few images by photographer Alex Lazara from my visit...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:59:00 -0700

Here are a few images by photographer Alex Lazara from my visit to the Rusty Quarters Retro Arcade & Museum in Minneapolis Minnesota.

dresdencodak: Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:43:10 -0700

dresdencodak:

Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link.

Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos.

This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap.

Hope you like it!

"Online discussion of sexism or misogyny quickly results in disproportionate displays of sexism and..."

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:31:00 -0700

“Online discussion of sexism or misogyny quickly results in disproportionate displays of sexism and misogyny.”

- Anita’s Irony is an Internet Law stated by Joseph Reagle

"As an online discussion about sexism continues, the probability of a woman who speaks out being..."

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:28:00 -0700

“As an online discussion about sexism continues, the probability of a woman who speaks out being called a feminazi approaches 1”

- Godwin’s Feminist Corollary is an Internet Law stated by Joseph Reagle