[View the story "#GamerGate: misogyny or corruption in the gaming community?" on Storify ]#GamerGate: misogyny or corruption in the gaming community? Twitter users debate attitudes towards women and gamers. Storified by The Stream · Wed, Sep 03 2014 18:04:46
Isn't it interesting how when called out on their corruption, gaming media can't defend themselves and instead cry misogyny? #GamerGateRagnarok
I find it incredibly rude when these advocates of "social justice" try to catagorize gamers into a stereotype.Gamers are diverse. #GamerGateJennie Bharaj
#GamerGate emerged in the midst of the online
harrassment of
Feminist Frequency 's Anita Sarkeesian and game developer Zoe Quinn. Sarkeesian's harassment was tied to her
video criticising the depiction of women in video games. As for Quinn, she received backlash after her game
Depression Quest , which asks players to spend a day in the life of someone with depression, received favorable reviews from gaming writers. An ex-boyfriend of Quinn's
accused her of sleeping with various members of the gaming industry in order to advance her game.
Both Sarkeesian and Quinn reported receiving threats online that forced them to leave their homes.
Working in games has left me temporarily homeless, my family harassed, my friends' company destroyed for defending me, & my life threatened.Zoë ʻTom-Kunʼ Quinn
it's been 3 weeks of being terrorized. 3 weeks of apologizing to people being hurt for simply being CLOSE to me.Zoë ʻTom-Kunʼ Quinn
Some very scary threats have just been made against me and my family. Contacting authorities now.Feminist Frequency
I’m safe. Authorities have been notified. Staying with friends tonight. I’m not giving up. But this harassment of women in tech must stop!Feminist Frequency
As the women tweeted about their harassment, some alleged that real issue was "bullies" forcing social justice conversations into video game reviews and journalism. Technology commentator Milo Yiannopoulos
wrote at Breitbart that #GamerGate was the "widespread frustration from players that every blog out there seems more concerned with policing misogyny and 'transphobia' than reviewing the latest game releases". On Twitter, Yiannopoulos shared a series of screenshots allegedly highlighting corruption in gaming journalism by showing previous online interactions between Zoe Quinn and a writer who came to her defence.
But others say concerns about corruption in journalism are manufactured, and that the actual backlash is over shifting makeup of the gaming community. A new study from the Entertainment Software Association
found that adult women are the largest demographic of gamers. As women begin to play a bigger role in the gaming community, many are calling #GamerGate a silencing tactic.
The fake accusations against Zoe Quinn are an attempt to silence those who support women in gaming. #GamerGateWin98 High School
The guy who made the "Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian" game is a leading voice in #GamerGate. That should tell you a lot about the movement.Ian Miles Cheong
I genuinely wish women had the power to silence idiot gamers and reshape gaming culture the way #gamergate people fear. I want that so much.Alice is no fun
I don't buy that you care about Journalism, though. You care about terrorizing women and queers until they leave your playground. #GamerGatewinter
But some still insist they're concerned about journalistic integrity from gaming writers. An
article on the entertainment site What Culture maintained that the hashtag is not about misogyny:
Gamers are tired of being talked down to by closet-bigot journalists because they dislike pretentious and boring games such as Gone Home and Depression Quest (not saying that games can’t tackle these issues, but there’s certainly more entertaining ways to go about it – these are video games after all, not books).whatculture.com
On the hashtag, Twitter users shared similar sentiments.
Posts articles saying 50% of gamers are women. Gamers complain about journalistic integrity. Better call all gamers misogynists. #GamerGateJoshua Spinell
Most gamers seem to support equality feminism. What they reject is today's male-bashing, propaganda-driven, female chauvinism. #GamerGateChristina H. Sommers
While the debate rages on, some on Twitter are making light of the integrity concerns many shared through #GamerGate:
#gamergate if gamers are this mad about commerce infecting every aspect of video games, wait til they discover Everything Else In SocietyVirgil Texas
Think #GamerGate should add YouTube to its boycott for hosting Feminist Frequency and deleting commenters. Show you're serious guys!James Ball