One of the biggest questions in #GamerGate and the discussions related to it are about identity. So, here’s mine. I’m a black American male, i’m a feminist, a social justice activist, a YouTube culture critic and a gamer. I was part of #GamerGate since pretty much day one. Back then it consisted of a lot more discussion and research into the state of journalistic media in gaming, and a lot less defending ourselves and hand-wringing about media coverage. The majority of people I’ve followed and befriended during GG have been women and feminist gamers. I’ve seen some of them doxxed and threatened with rape and death for supporting or even being neutral towards #GamerGate. I’ve seen people claiming to be part of GG doxx, harass and threaten women and men who oppose it. I’ve called those people out, and seen some of them banned from Twitter or ejected from livestreams. But, in the beginning, GG had a bad habit of being in such a hurry to distance themselves from trolls that they dismissed or minimised the harm that was being done. I’ve seen GG move away from that and actively seek out and report/call-out people from both sides who participate in the nasty stuff.
As someone who’s interested in social justice and feminism, I’ve lost friends because my involvement with #GamerGate. Some people were unwilling to look past the negative aspects of the movement, and see that if me—their friend who’s always been pretty serious about issues of social justice and feminism—would support it, it could not be even a little bit about misogyny. Especially considering the very public stink I’ve raised about certain issues online. Now, there’s a lot to say about the awful things done in the name of #GamerGate. I’ve never been one to deny that or condone it. There’s no excuse for it, pretty much full stop. Do I feel personally responsible for those things? No. Because I don’t make excuses for them, or equivocate on them. They’re wrong, and I report them. I recently reported a ‘pro-GG’ YouTuber who made really awful racist comments in a video. I no longer follow the people involved in that. I publicly denounced them. I take responsibility as an adult to recognise the people I might be associated with and let it be known that I make a separation between us, and I’m not going to just let anything happen.
Now, there’s a lot to say about the awful things done in the name of #GamerGate. I’ve never been one to deny that or condone it. There’s no excuse for it, pretty much full stop. Do
I feel personally responsible for those things? No. Because I don’t make excuses for them, or equivocate on them. They’re wrong, and I report them.
You might be wondering, how do I remain part of a movement, when I admit some people who are part of it are racist, or misogynists, or who use terror tactics to make points? Hopefully, this analogy can help make sense of it. Look at #GamerGate as a country club. We all have a shared interest in golfing, and improvements to the quality of the club. It’s something we all care about. Some of us are also concerned with the expansions in membership; some are excited about having another hundred members, others prefer to keep it small, some don’t care either way. I happen to encourage new members, and an inclusive selection process. Another group of club members don’t like a female member who often disseminates flyers about the lack of acceptance of new female members. Some people actually like her, some people don’t care. I don’t like her methods, but I’m interested in having more female golfers accepted into the club. There are members who are racists, or misogynists. Say I discovered a group of them using racial epithets and spreading misogynist flyers to counter the above-mentioned woman’s. I report them to the club management, and send a letter of apology to the female member for the abuse other members visited on her. Should I quit the club? Am I also a misogynist because of those members I reported? I think the answers to those questions are no. But, can I still profess to want more female golfers or GoC (Golfers of Color) in the club, even though there are some members who vocally oppose that? Absolutely. That’s how I feel about #GamerGate. There’s definitely bad. But there’s so much good, too.
Look at #GamerGate as a country club. We all have a shared interest in golfing, and improvements to the quality of the club. It’s something we all care about. Some of us are also concerned with the expansions in membership; some are excited about having another hundred members, others prefer to keep it small, some don’t care either way.
Relatively recently, there was an attempted doxx of Zoe Quinn on 8chan that would have revealed a ton of information on her history, private life and family. Dozens of GG people stayed up through the night (these are mostly Americans) flooding 8chan with spam to cover the doxx attempts until the morning when a mod could ban the doxxer’s IP. It was a really cool thing and was totally ignored by most media. In addition, GamerGate, through and with 4chan, helped to raise over $70,000 for a project to help women make games. They raised thousands for an anti-bullying charity in protest of the awful comments from Gawker’s Sam Biddle. They’re also raising charitable donations for UNICEF and have raised over $1,000. #GamerGate also started a ‘Harassment Patrol’ to actively look for and report harassment and abuse against men and women in discussion surrounding #GamerGate. I’ve taken an active role in this, and feel proud to have brought some semblance of online justice to the trolls who make life miserable for a lot of people. In the end, Zoe Quinn and journalists Leigh Alexander and Jason Schreier thanked those good aspects of #GamerGate for their initiative, attention and kindness.
Relatively recently, there was an attempted doxx of Zoe Quinn on 8chan that would have revealed a ton of information on her history, private life and family. Dozens of GG people stayed up through the night (these are mostly Americans) flooding 8chan with spam to cover the doxx attempts until the morning when a mod could ban the doxxer’s IP.
If it’s not clear, I’m pro-#GamerGate. But, I get anti-#GamerGate. So, here’s my middle ground.
People from #Gamergate have done shitty stuff. Not just people who claim membership, but actual identifiable supporters. People from GG have also done awesome stuff. The same can be said for the people who oppose it. When you take a movement made of hundreds or thousands of people and condense it into “these are misogynists,” you miss a lot. Just like if you take their opposition and say “these are fascists.” I think we can all agree that harassment and threats are wrong. No one should have to feel so unsafe they lash out at everything, because they expect to be led into a situation where they can be attacked and belittled. The people who have participated in activities that caused this were wrong, and are probably mean and nasty people through-and-through. The people who condoned those actions are also wrong.
I can use my eyes and see that in an average game dev team there’s between 0 and 1 woman. And it’s not a issue of women not being qualified. That’s a problem. I can use my eyes and see that in almost every gaming publication #GamerGate has been called everything from a group of white male misogynists and their puppets to ISIS 2.0, and even fifteen minutes research into the other side’s point-of-view demonstrates that’s not true. That’s a problem. There’s a major problem with female representation in gaming. There’s also a problem with fair and truthful reporting and journalistic ethics in (mind, the very, very young) gaming media. Those are problems we can solve. Both are important enough for me to take an active stance. In my identity as a social justice activist and culture critic, I use social media and YouTube as platforms to hopefully engage in a community that will positively affect culture and society. And, with my newly created gaming journalism watchdog project, The Sentinel Wire, I hope to inspire greater discussions around ethics and accountability in the gaming media.
When you take a movement made of hundreds or thousands of people and condense it into “these are misogynists,” you miss a lot. Just like if you take their opposition and say “these are fascists.” I think we can all agree that harassment and threats are wrong. No one should have to feel so unsafe they lash out at everything, because they expect to be led into a situation where they can be attacked and belittled.
There are also issues of competing ideologies in #GamerGate, and those are critical to some of the underlying issues that triggered the movement. But, that’s an issue that goes beyond gaming, and can’t be as easily ‘solved’ if there’s even a solution. But, though people don’t share the same ideology, I think they can agree to treat each other with kindness and respect. And, I think they can give other humans the benefit of believing they aren’t monsters, and allow interactions with them to prove whether or not they are. In the end, questions of identity, ethics and accountability are important, and I urge those opposed to #GamerGate to take those questions seriously. In addition, being brave enough to stand against problematic areas of groups you associate with are just as important, and I encourage those proponents of #GamerGate to take a firm and active stance against harassment and abuse, even if you have to make some very uncomfortably adult admissions about people you may like to do so. Have great discussions. Enjoy our hobby. Assume the best in people. And, as ‘GamerGaters’ often tell me when I’ve said something controversial; be safe.
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