#1ReasonWhy there are not more women in the gaming industry.
Most of you know or have figured out by now that GEEKPR0N is run by feminist women. Now, before you think this post is about male bashing, it’s not. We don’t do that. Feminists are not man haters despite what some people like to think. If you are a man or woman and believe in equality for women, you, my friend are a feminist. Not scary at all, is it?
Many people from both genders think that feminism is a dirty word, and if you want people to like you, you better keep your mouth shut with all your equal rights, equal pay, and respect crap. To those people I say, NO! Our bra burning mothers did not stand for this in the 60’s, and today, neither do we.
Recently, Twitter hashtags #1ReasonWhy and #1ReasonMentors have yielded some unexpected results. Many female and male users, some who are kind of a big deal in the gaming world, are using the #1ReasonWhy and #1ReasonMentors hashtags to express their frustration with the inequality of women in male dominated industries, as well as offering advice and support to those who have been targeted. A big thanks goes out to Kotaku for compiling some of the best tweets from what is now a top trending topic.
#1reasonwhy because there’s not enough investment in AAA games about something other than war, cowboys, football, cars. sorry, but it’s true
— Jane McGonigal (@avantgame) November 27, 2012
my #1reasonwhy is being too afraid to share my artwork because it was an “appropriate occupation for a woman in the video games industry”
— Vanessa Hunter (@VanessaH_Art) November 27, 2012
#1reasonwhy I get asked by douchebags if my female co-hosts actually play games.
— Shaun Hatton (@megashaun) November 27, 2012
I wish I wasn’t almost too scared to post this. Here’s my #1reasonwhy: alivetinyworld.com/2012/11/27/too…
— Katie Williams (@desensitisation) November 27, 2012
Because you can’t just be a “game developer.” No, you will always be a “female game developer.” #1ReasonWhy
— Erin Reynolds (@reynoldsphobia) November 27, 2012
#1reasonwhy Because not enough people bother encouraging women/girls to get into technical fields (i.e. game design).
— Ryan Perez (@PissedOffRyno) November 27, 2012
#1reasonwhy is, as men, most of us can’t, won’t or don’t understand, and we don’t try nearly enough to. Because it’s hard. We can do better.
— Patrick Klepek (@patrickklepek) November 27, 2012
Whenever I write about my experiences about getting discriminated in gaming culture, I get rape and death threats #1ReasonWhy
— Mattie Brice (@xMattieBrice) November 27, 2012
#1ReasonWhy because your studio never orders any women’s t-shirts in swag orders, and certainly not in sizes bigger than XS or S.
— Tami Baribeau (@cuppy) November 27, 2012
#1reasonwhy men like me are badasses, so cool and hilarious. i’m a disrespectful loudmouthed bitch.
— leighalexander (@leighalexander) November 27, 2012
because a coworker told me, “if the main character is a woman, then she has to be hot, no one will play otherwise” #1reasonwhy
— danocox (@danocox) November 27, 2012
None of my women developer friends will read comments on interviews they do, because the comments are so brutally nasty. #1reasonwhy
— Charles Randall (@charlesrandall) November 27, 2012
I know women in the game industry who were propositioned by their bosses, and fired when they complained. #1reasonwhy
— Charles Randall (@charlesrandall) November 27, 2012
I’ve had prominent designers compliment my games, while complimenting my wife’s appearance, when we develop together. #1reasonwhy
— David A Hill Jr (@davidahilljr) November 26, 2012
Because conventions, where designers are celebrated, are unsafe places for me. Really. I’ve been groped. #1reasonwhy
— filamena (@filamena) November 26, 2012
Because my husband is getting paid more for the same work. #1reasonwhy
— filamena (@filamena) November 27, 2012
When a guy talks about what he wants in a game, s’good. When I talk about what I want? It’s political. #1reasonwhy
— filamena (@filamena) November 27, 2012
#1reasonwhy Once heard an Art manager say ‘We don’t need any more women, they’re more trouble than they’re worth’ as he viewed applications
— Gabrielle Kent (@GabrielleKent) November 27, 2012
When I suggest a focus on my skills instead of my looks, people imply I should change the way I look to be taken seriously. #1ReasonWhy
— Shanna Germain (@shanna_germain) November 27, 2012
Being mistaken for male co-founder’s assistant …three times? four? #1reasonwhy
— Caterina Fake (@Caterina) November 27, 2012
Because once I’ve been told “we don’t need women in order to know what female players want from this industry” #1reasonwhy
— Marina Rossi (@RedPill) November 27, 2012
#1reasonwhy Because the original concept wasn’t “fuckable” #quote
— Sarah Grissom (@smgrissom) November 27, 2012
#1reasonwhy games aren’t universally hailed as culturally relevant works of art: there aren’t enough women helping to make them!
— Victor Lucas (@Victor_Lucas) November 27, 2012
“#1reasonwhy Wah! I don’t know how to take a stand.”
I have a solution, grow some fucking COURAGE. It seems to have worked for the males in the workplace. Learn to take a stand. Ranting on Twitter or your blog isn’t going to do anything. Perhaps you should actually fight at your workplace for what you believe/want. If your workplace isn’t treating you the way you should be treated, sue their ass if it is discrimination. If some idiot neckbeard sexually assaults you at a convention, get the authorities involved. Laws are in place for a reason.
All this posturing that there’s something wrong in the gaming industry is nothing more than “my feelings are more important than your rights” BULLSHIT. Here’s a great timeline as a LIFELONG FEMALE GAMER I actually agree with: http://i.imgur.com/GrDnv.jpg – it’s sad.
Bringing awareness to the issue IS taking a stand and it takes courage to talk about this when you’re being flamed for even bringing it up.
This site and my job takes a special interest in educating people on issues like this one, hence the article. Explain to me how this is not taking a stand?
Sorry, I should have been more clear, I meant “you” as in addressing women in the video game industry – the ones these tweets purport to be about.
g33kpron has done a fine job riding the the coat-tails of a popular twitter hash tag here today. However this is not taking a stand… it’s mindless virtual pandering… a circlejerk of “Me too! I’m a victim too!”. “Raising awareness” is pretty much the most useless kind of activism there is.
Wow, how completely ignorant of you. Raising awareness is useless activism? What do you think activism is? RAISING AWARENESS FOR A CAUSE.
We are here trying to do exactly what you said, standing up for ourselves. Instead, you make yourself out to be no better than the rest by attacking us for having the COURAGE to talk about it. Unreal.
Since it’s become very obvious that you’re just here to be rude and start a flame war, kindly take your comments elsewhere.
Wow, how completely ignorant of you. Raising awareness is useless activism? Maybe you should look up the definition of activism.
It’s become very clear that you’re only here to start a flame war for whatever sad reason. Kindly take your negativity else ware, and maybe read a book while your at it.
Can’t fathom a reasonable response? Insult their intelligence. Just the kind of class I expect from the writers of a site called “g33kpron”.
C’est la vie. Good luck with your “awareness campaigns” (I bet you were big on the whole “occupy” train too weren’t you?).
Your response wasn’t reasonable it was completely wrong and uneducated. Go troll somewhere else. Clearly you have nothing better to do.
You’re a straight up asshole. Unlike you, many of the women who were posting in the #1ReasonWhy hashtag actually WORK in the games industry or have firsthand knowledge of it. So before you go on a little disgusting fit of victim-blaming misogyny, go and research the topic which you are going to spew shit out about beforehand.
I’m a woman, I write GLSL shaders for a game company owned by a larger game company. I’m pretty sure that qualifies me to speak about women in the gaming industry.