I will never understand the amount of hate Anita Sarkeesian generates?

She literally just presents evidence of deeply entrenched misogyny within a medium, in a systematic, calm, logical, and articulate way.

But she’s called a “bully” for pointing out how misogyny. She’s called misogynistic slurs just for having well spoken opinions with lots of ~buzzwords~ People claim she wants to bring down the gaming industry with no real evidence that those are her views. People act victimized by her opinions. Why?

Is the gaming community that insecure? I’ve seen dozens upon dozens of essays singing to the tune of “Video games saved my life! How dare she!” Except in her videos she says “It’s ok to find some parts enjoyable or meaningful while being critical of others”. She is not attacking you for finding escape in games, nor is she trying to “ruin” your escape or “destroy” it.

People levy that she “hated video games” before she started her webseries… even though that doesn’t mean anything. You don’t have to be a fan of something to critique it, which these people are against as well.

But if she were just talking about movies, no one would bat an eye. Movies or other forms of media, for some reason, don’t generate the same amount of protective fan loyalty. They don’t evoke as much passion in people, to the point of turning to abuse to protect it. I find that interesting and frankly disturbing, as the gaming community frequently touts how accepting and counter-cultural it is. I don’t buy that for a second.

The fact of the matter is that Anita is uncomfortable for gamers, because she points out the truth. Not even your escape gets a pass on being problematic. And if your escape so casually showcases problematic elements that you gloss over, what does that say about what you find relaxing and safe? The exploitation and degradation of a class of human beings? Ok.

We can be as cold and factual as you want, we’ll still get harassed and abused. How we say it never matters, because they don’t want us to say it at all.

I guess you don’t really catch more flies with honey.