Aishwarya Kalimireddy

Social Psychology
05/08/1998
Ms. Mcleod

Gamergate Essay

The Gamergate movement shows that there was an issue amongst the video gamer
journalists who lacked ethics and the other group of video gamers who harassed
creative women who enjoyed making, writing and playing video games.

Gamergate was a movement that was not just for gamers but also for the day-to-day
internet users. It has now become a internet culture was which caused many creative
female gaming designers and journalists such as Zoe Quinn, Anita Saekeesian, Jenn
Frank, Mattie Brice as well as a regular twitter user, Brianna Wu to flee from their
homes. They were receiving various death threats, rape threats that were extremely
specific and false accusations along with hackers stripping down their privacy.

The real reason as to why this was happening was because this issue was the perfect
example of online misogyny and sexism within the geek culture. Even though there is a
minority of the women in the gaming industry, they still have to face issues when they
share their opinions.

Many offender or trollers in the gamer gate issue were operation under pseudo names
who were posting irrelevant messages such as “kill yourself” which ended up attracting
various other men’s rights activists, neo nazis and other unsavories. it is a fact that
many people who go pseudo names usually are more aggressive and argumentative
when they don’t go by their real names but this still does not give them the right to do
that.

The gender bias isn’t however the main core of the problem in the movement is about
how we share and define out cultural space, who and who isn’t allowed to speak out
their opinions and the tension between tradition and incorporation.
From here on, we can only work our way out of this polluted thinking by the death
threats and personal attacks on public speakers must stop. Everyone is one in the
community is here for the common passion so it taint anyone’s effort or love for their
views. We need to learn to come to a middle ground and have mature discussions
about genuine issues like the gamer identity or female perspectives There will be
multiple perspectives and differences of opinion. Let's debate them, but do so civilly and
rationally.