{"id":9303,"date":"2015-03-31T18:35:17","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T18:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/?p=9303"},"modified":"2015-03-31T18:35:17","modified_gmt":"2015-03-31T18:35:17","slug":"women-not-welcome-here-female-gamers-and-harassment-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/?p=9303","title":{"rendered":"Women not welcome here? Female gamers and harassment online"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Oct. 14, 2014, feminist blogger and media critic Anita Sarkeesian cancelled a lecture at Utah State University. Both Sarkeesian and the university received anonymous emails threatening the \u201cdeadliest school shooting in American history\u201d should she give her lecture. As an online\u00a0gamer, Sarkeesian is vocal about sexism and misogyny in the gaming world. As a result, she became the target of many rape and death threats, like this one. But Sarkeesian is not the only female gamer who faces these issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

While playing video games online, many women are forcefully harassed. This could include sexist comments, and even threats of physical or sexual violence. Women like Sarkeesian who choose to speak out about what they\u2019ve experienced will often face even harsher intrusions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a study by the Entertainment Software Association, female gamers made up roughly half of all gamers in 2014. This represents a steady climb from 40 per cent in 2010. But even so, women are struggling for acceptance in the gaming community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Online<\/a>
Online gamers can communicate via headset, which may bring\u00a0the onset\u00a0of insults, even\u00a0threats.
[Photo \u00a9 Ross Heale-Whittle]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most popular video games have an online component which involves playing with other people around the world. Popular games like League of Legends<\/i>, Call of Duty <\/i>and World of Warcraft<\/i> often involve gamers fighting each other, or teaming up against computer-controlled bad guys. Players can set up profiles, and communicate via headset or instant messaging with other gamers. Communication can be one-on-one, or to a group. It is here that most harassment occurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Genevieve LeBlanc is an Ottawa gamer and \u201call-around huge nerd.\u201d As someone who\u00a0\u201ccosplays,\u201d she will impersonate story\u00a0characters at comic conventions. She also writes for Nerd Reactor, a geek news website, and does video game reviews for Ottawa radio station Live 88.5. LeBlanc started playing video games when she was a kid. According to LeBlanc, she gets harassed every single time she games online.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It is not the same kind of trash talk other people experience. It\u2019s very specific threats of sexual violence,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

LeBlanc notes that she will receive threatening and harassing messages, as well as inappropriate photos. This can occur in game, or via social media platforms and email.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI should be able to play these games without these kind of consequences, and without it being some kind of toll on my emotional and psychological well being,\u201d Leblanc insists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0\u2018It is not the same kind of trash talk other people experience. It\u2019s very specific threats of sexual violence.\u2019 \u2013<\/span> Genevieve Leblanc, gamer and game reviewer<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"As<\/a>
Gaming\u00a0enthusiast Genevieve LeBlanc (here dressed\u00a0as Jill Valentine from Resident Evil) is routinely harassed online.\u00a0[Photo courtesy of Genevieve LeBlanc]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In order to continue gaming online, LeBlanc has to take precautions to hide her gender. She will turn off her headset, and use a gender-neutral username. However, the continued harassment has largely turned LeBlanc off of gaming online.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that it\u2019s by far a small minority of players that are engaging in this kind of stuff, but a lot of the other players in the game will just kind of be silent about it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s very unwelcoming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The silent majority<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stephen Langton is an avid online gamer and a third-year game development student at Algonquin College. He says that he has often witnessed gamers make sexist comments while gaming online.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout my gaming career I have met countless people who are misogynists. It\u2019s always been there,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Langton says that while gaming, most players will be bullied at some point. But female gamers are targeted more often. In Langton\u2019s experience, very rarely will someone speak up for the players being harassed: <\/span>\u201cMost players wouldn\u2019t say anything. They will brush it off, and ignore it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Langton believes male gamers stay silent about this harassment to avoid becoming a target themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re afraid of the people turning against them instead of someone else,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the internet, and people can act out without having any repercussions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This harassment has frequently been labelled as \u201ctrolling\u201d. A troll is someone who attempts to hijack a discussion through harassment or an inflammatory comment. Trolling can be humorous, but can sometimes turn threatening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Langton believes that harassment against women is not something specific to video games, but that video games provide a public platform for abuse that happens everywhere. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s on the internet, everyone\u2019s hearing about it and it\u2019s in the spotlight,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gamergate<\/span><\/h2>\n

Lately online bullying has been given a new dignity, under the banner of enforcing full-disclosure ethics in video game journalism. \u201cGamergate\u201d is the online movement that unintentionally\u00a0has brought sexism and gaming to the attention of the non-gaming community. Gamergate began when game developer Zoe Quinn was accused of having a romantic relationship with a journalist, which supposedly led to positive reviews of a game she developed. As a result, Quinn was harassed voraciously online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporters of Gamergate state that the issue is ethics in video game journalism. Critics of the movement say the misogynistic and aggressive comments made by those supporters point to the bigger issue of sexism in video games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kaye Elling is a former game developer and a lecturer in computer games at the University of Bradford in the U.K. Elling says movements like Gamergate are dangerous for women in the game development industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGamergate has set women back in the industry by a good decade, if not more, because of the very real threat of doxing, let alone the threats of violence, rape and death,\u201d she says in an email. Doxing involves digging up personal details, and posting them online. Both Quinn and Sarkeesian have been victims of doxing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shocking, terrifying, and has wide implications for all kinds of industries and women\u2019s rights in general,\u201d Elling says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Blogger<\/a>
Tweets like these, aimed at blogger and gamer Anita Sarkeesian, are deemed acceptable by Twitter’s harassment policy. [Photo courtesy of Twitter]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Elling believes stricter online harassment legislation could be a start for combatting online bullying.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to take better legislation and application of current legislation to make a difference.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A\u00a0fundamental problem<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/b>Currently, cyberbullying legislation exists in many countries. In Canada, most provinces have legislation which specifically address cyberbullying. If cyberbullying escalates into criminal harassment or uttering threats, the perpetrator could face criminal charges, including jail time. However, online anonymity can make it difficult to track those who harass, and some laws are still outdated in regards to how to handle cyberbullying.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most video games have their own policies in regards to harassment. Functions in the game allow players to report players who use offensive language or make threatening statements. If a player is reported consistently, his or her\u00a0account can be suspended, or in extreme cases banned permanently. Certain games, like League of Legends<\/i>, have tightened their policies, leading to more players being suspended.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tighter harassment policies have also appeared on social media sites like Twitter. Recently, Twitter has started to increase its rate of deleting\u00a0or\u00a0banning users who post threatening messages. Features added in December make it easier for users to report threatening or abusive tweets, and block people from viewing those\u00a0accounts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rena Bivens, a professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University, studies social media and gender. Bivens believes that while these functions may act as preventative measures, this isn\u2019t enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe block-and-report features only respond to the incident after it\u2019s happened, which puts the responsibility on the victim,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as Gamergate goes, Bivens believes the issue comes down to a power struggle between male and female gamers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an idea that there\u2019s one type of gamer, which is a young male. That\u2019s not the case anymore,\u201d Bivens says. \u201cMale gamers have the power, and now they feel threatened, and like something is going to change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bivens maintains that the only future solution requires addressing the real problems in gamer culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about changing our culture, and being intolerant of these assumptions of gender and power which are a part of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[Front page photo courtesy of Genevieve LeBlanc]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across the internet, with female gamers on the rise, sexual harassment has become a blight that can\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":9323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9303"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10486,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9303\/revisions\/10486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}