Misogyny, Bigotry, and the Gaming Community

[Jaicee]

DarthMetalliCube said:

I was ready to roll my eyes upon learning that a fairly major publication I write for is straight up boycotting writing about all Activision/Blizzard titles (after all isn't us cutting off all coverage for the foreseeable future only harming the hundreds of innocent developers, streamers, and others associated with the games as well)? But upon actually looking into the details, a lot of this stuff is pretty deplorable, and frankly makes me bummed as a major Overwatch fan.

I think a lot of it comes from the sort of predatory nature of this corporate culture of these major companies, with some of these big shots thinking they're untouchable and can do virtually whatever they want. Not to say misogyny/harassment/assault doesn't occur on the lower levels and among average gamers, but I do think that higher corporate studio level is when it becomes a far more widespread, harsher, and more of a systemic problem. And this obviously goes well beyond gaming. Hell look at Harvey Weinstein for instance..

Obviously I don't have the answers, other than all this malignant systemic behavior starts at a personal level. It starts with you. "Be the change you want to see in the world." The individual should be the focus. "Individual" means not associating "blame" or pigeonholing a group, but it also means striving to make a difference and set an example on a personal level. You do what you can and hope for that ripple effect. What you do does matter, even if it seems small. It extends outwards and effects others. View it as a bottom-up approach. The goal for me is total egalitarianism and total respect for others, men and women. We're all just people; people who seek respect, equal treatment, and to go about their business in peace. Treat others the way you'd want to be treated. Oldest cliche in the book but it applies.

And again, I think a lot of it is maintaining a humility. I think a lot of these bigger studios are filled with guys who think they're "owed" something and that they can get away with anything. That needs to change. Always stay considerate and humble.

I agree with the spirit of this post, but not necessarily with the letter of it. I think we share a common goal here, but maybe disagree on how one gets from here to there.

While it's a good idea to live out a positive example, simply being a decent person yourself just is not an adequate response to the scale of this problem. There's a logical mismatch between the cultural nature of this problem at companies like Activision/Blizzard and the individualist solutions you propose. Cultures are defeated by counter-cultures (rival cultures with opposing values), not by lone individuals acting separately.

Concerning boycotts, I'm not generally a fan of those anymore because I find that these days the tactic is most often used to try and suppress the philosophical and/or political speech of artists, which is a goal that just goes against everything I stand for and believe in. This though, what we're talking about here, is not a speech issue, it's a harm issue. If companies like Activision/Blizzard respond to a boycott, or to the state of California's lawsuit, by punishing innocent workers with waves of layoffs and pay reductions and such then I suspect that response will be seen for what it is and that the company will consequently have fewer willing workers in the future, as many will respond by taking their talents elsewhere. I am perfectly okay with that.

We agree though that a general sense of entitlement is going on here that is at least circumstantially related to the scale of some of these companies.

twintail said:

TallSilhouette said:

How do we fix these intrinsic issues?

give women more leadership roles.

That would generally tend to help as well, as would unionizing the workers in the sector.