I’m a Feminist and I Understand #GamerGate

As a feminist and a gamer for over 30 years, I’m pretty pleased about the direction that games are heading in. Despite all the prostitutes, I loved playing Duke Nukem. And when I got a virtual statue of myself in the town square for being the top PvP killer of the week in Warhammer, I was annoyed for two seconds that the breasts on my statue were a bit inflated.

Then, I celebrated with some more death and destruction. I loved so many games despite their sexist humor and lack of female characters. But I’m pretty sure I would have had just as much fun if their dev teams had replaced the sexist content with some clever storyline or humor.

For an example of female-centric humor and clever storyline, please see Portal 2. One of the funniest games of all time. Here’s my favorite line from the menacing villain GladOS: “We’ve both said a lot of things that you’re going to regret.” Strikes terror in your heart, doesn’t she? I’m also not ashamed to admit that the ending made me tear up a bit.

Some gamers are worried that feminists, with their word-smithing and purchasing power, will be able to stop the production of enjoyable, sexist games. People fear change. That’s natural. Hell, I’m scared that console games will destroy the market for my beloved PC games. However, change is inevitable. And no hashtag is going to stop gaming culture from changing.