“What message does it send to the world about the treatment of women in a predominantly male tech sphere?”

Two weeks ago, video game critic King of Pol was sent a kitchen knife in the mail with a note instructing him to “please kill yourself.” Just four days later a fire was reported at his house, sending a team of fire fighters to intimidate the Internet figure. King of Pol had his information previously leaked onto the Internet, allowing for such attacks to occur, frequently and anonymously.

What was great about the gaming community is that it was so inclusive of everyone who wished to join and play

This incident occurred a month after Breitbart journalist, Milo Yiannopolous was sent a syringe filled with a mysterious liquid. As the narrative in the mainstream media currently stands, you might be forgiven for believing these figures stood on the same side of the GamerGate debate, when actually these men were harassed for speaking out in favour of the growing consumer revolt.

While figures such as Anita Sarkeesian (who wishes for critiques such as hers to be taught in school) represent members of the education technology sector and speak of the harassment surrounding the scandal, there is little to be read about the harassment of those who support the boycotting of corrupt journalistic websites. When you bring light to the harassment of Sarkeesian and Wu, don’t leave out the doxxing of GG Feminist, academic feminist, or death threats sent to Boogie, a prominent YouTube celebrity, in the shadows.

So, what does the situation look like at the moment for girls and women in the industry? Well, here is my experience. A feminist, a gamer, and a journalist writing for TechRaptor and Gamesided, and yet a woman who does not agree with Sarkeesian’s critique, I am an outsider. I have been harassed on Twitter and Reddit, I have had my personal e-mails hacked, and it is certainly not by those who support this revolt. It is by trolls and those who believe that as a woman, I am a traitor to my gender for not wishing to quell this debate, for not automatically siding with Anita. I am a woman who wishes to listen to both sides of the debate, and so I must have internalized my misogyny, I must be misguided, and blinded by the ideas of men. I am now excluded from a community that used to include me.

Duly noted.

It is not just me: female developers have claimed that the benevolent sexism that has sparked from the debate has affected them, too. Male developers who once treated them as equals now treat them with kid gloves, scared they might offend them or exclude them from discussion. What was great about the gaming community was that it was so inclusive of everyone who wished to join and play, even those who had been outsiders throughout their lives.

Online harassment is not only something that is not purely targeted towards women, but also something which not only surrounds GamerGate. Online harassment is bred from the anonymity that the Internet provides. It was around long before GamerGate, and will not end when the revolt does. The hidden truth is that people coming from every side of the debate, wish to see more women, minorities, and LGBTQ people involved within the industry, after all, you never know when the next Kim Swift will want to join.

This article was written in response to Audrey Watter’s views on the relationship between #Gamergate, sexism in the tech industry and tech education that appeared here on The Open Standard.

by-sa