Reddit Makes it Worse: How Misinformation and Strawmen Inform Social Issues

Geoffrey Ayers
Sep 3, 2018 · 3 min read

In attendance this year at PAX West is Riot Games, and in the wake of their recent scandal involving deep rooted misogyny and sexism, they’ve created a set of events specifically for women and non-binary individuals in the now infamous Room 613. These events are hosted by women Rioter’s and are specifically targeted towards people who do not identify as cis males.

The games industry is dominated by white, cis-gendered males. This is not an inherently bad thing, however, it does mean that minority voices can often be lost or talked over. And indeed, Riot Games has been shown to be particularly poor at listening to the voices of the women who work for them. So it makes sense that Riot is taking a step back and trying to create a platform for women to both share their voice and also hear the voices of other women to encourage them. In fact, Riot has gone so far as to ask those who identify as cis males to not attend events in this room until 2:30 PM each day. However, no good deed goes unpunished. And the League of Legends sub-reddit has taken up arms in order to destroy this good thing in the name of anti-sexism.

PAX West, Main Floor

According to Reddit, exclusion of men in this context is sexist.

It feels wrong to exclude men in the name of inclusion. We should be bringing women and non-binary individuals up by creating platforms for them to share their voice, not by excluding men from events, right? And I agree with that sentiment. It is wrong to exclude men from general presentations in the name of equality. But I think what has been lost is that these presentations aren’t meant for the male audience. These presentations and events are meant for women and non-binary individuals.

The core problem is that Reddit is attacking a strawman that they’ve created. They say that the problem is that Riot is excluding men from events that would be beneficial to them, but Riot did not ever specify that they intended these events to be general content or appeal to men looking to start their career in games development. These events were designed in order to appeal to women and non-binary individuals and help them get engaged in the games industry.


“But why, why are men being excluded? Even if the events are intended for women, can I not still enjoy them as a man?” Reddit asks. And it’s a fair question, but I think what we need to realize is that because cis-gendered males is the dominant demographic among game developers, it would be very easy for this group to outnumber women and non-binary individuals 3:1. It would be counter-productive to have a room for women and non-binary individuals where there are more cis men than either of the former. The reality is when you’re part of a minority group, it can often be unduly stressful sharing your voice because you are not always sure how the dominant group will perceive it. And if the dominant group perceives it in a negative light, you could be in for a lot of trouble regardless of your intentions. By making sure that the audience is predominantly women and non-binary individuals, Riot is protecting the voices of those who will be sharing in that room. Both the speakers and the audience will be more free to participate and speak as they wish without the fear of men in the room not understanding what they are talking about.


And I’ll be honest with everyone, it’s not an ideal situation. But it is a necessary one at this time. In a perfect world there would be no need for this simplistic form of segregation in order to protect the voices of women and non-binary individuals. But the reality is that we do not live in a perfect world, time and time again we have seen minority voices be dismissed and taken for granted by majority demographics. Time and time again we have seen a minority group of men make it impossible for women to share their stories by constantly harassing them. That is wrong, and Riot is taking practical steps to avoid that, as clumsy as they may be. And ultimately I applaud Riot for doing the right thing.

Geoffrey Ayers

Written by

Currently a junior English student at the University of Minnesota, Geoffrey enjoys writing poetry, playing video games and watching Overwatch League.

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