By Siera Schubach, Staff Writer

Published in print Oct. 22, 2014

This article is the second in a three-part installment by Schubach on women’s role in media and pop culture.

In the span of one week, two leading women in the gaming world have received threats of rape and death. Video game developer Brianna Wu was forced from her home when her address was posted to social media by a malicious source. Video game critic Anita Sarkeesian cancelled a speech at Utah State University due to threats of a mass shooting.

Both of these women have tried to stand against the threats of violence, accustomed to the hostile environment of the male-dominated video gaming industry. Both of them have received threats before, yet this week the threats became so horrific that these strong women were forced to step down.

Twitter user “Death to Brianna” and #GamerGate were used to hurl abuse at both women, targeting them for their feminist criticism of the gaming industry. Brianna Wu recently released “Revolution 60”, which features more female characters than traditionally seen in modern video games. Sarkeesian is known for her online video blog “Feminist Frequency” where she openly criticizes the depiction of women in video games.

What is it about the video gaming industry that allow such misogynistic threats to be accepted? To fully answer this question involves an extensive look at the culture of the video gaming industry. In the minds of many Americans, it is assumed that video games are the domain of men. In an International Game Developer Association survey, only 21% of developers were female but according to the Electronic Software Association, nearly half of gamers are women. So video games aren’t just for men after all.

On Feminist Frequency, Sarkeesian has posted a series of videos criticizing the tropes associated with female characters in video games. Most women in video games are either damsels in distress, background decorations or objects of violence. In all of these instances the women are over sexualized and one-dimensional, their bodies the main focus of the viewer.

Some of the most popular video games in the industry such as Grand Theft Auto feature sexual violence against women. How will a man who abuses women in a game treat the real women he sees in his life?

Many of the threats aimed at Wu and Sarkeesian were directly attributed to their gender and their feminist comments. The email Sarkeesian received this week proclaimed that “feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge, for my sake and the sake of all the others they’ve wronged”. Likewise, some of the tweets received by Wu threatened “If you have any kids, they’re going to die too. I don’t give a fuck. They’ll grow up to be feminists anyways”. Most of the violent threats were specific to violent rape and genital mutilation.

In a gaming industry where women are relegated to objects it is no surprise that some avid fans would lack understanding or respect for feminism. But what matters most is where this hate comes from. Are these video gamers defensive to criticism about their favorite games? Do they believe that calling for gender equality is somehow justification to wage a gender war? Or is there something about video gaming that breeds misogyny? 

Perhaps it’s just the age old story of the treehouse with the sign “no girls allowed”. Brianna Wu told the New York Times, “From the top down in the video game industry you have all these signals that say, ‘this is a space for men’.” Despite this, Wu and Sarkeesian refuse to give up and have both declared their determination to change the gaming culture in the United States.

However inspiring it may be to see these women continue to fight for equality, it is unfortunate that they have such hate to overcome. Not one member of the gaming industry has come out in defense of Wu or Sarkeesian or to scold the people who are spewing such hate in the name of all video gamers.

As Sarkeesian said via Twitter, “The whole gaming industry must take a stand against these attacks on women in gaming. Silence is no longer an option.”