Sexual Harassment in the Gaming Industry
NeoGAF is a website that has been around for as long as I can remember. If it started in today’s day and age, it probably would have never seen the light of day, due to the dominance of social media. However, it started before social media was booming, and gained many followers in that time frame. The owners seem to be stuck in the years, when names weren’t being named, and women were not confident enough to voice their struggles. One of the websites owners, Tyler Malka, is subject of sexual harassment allegations. It sounds like it may be a reoccurring event, as well. Supposedly, this is not the first time it has happened, but this time, he is not going to get away with it.
Women are coming out in all kinds of ways, with stories of being sexually harassed. The source of new confidence, is mainly the #MeToo movement. #MeToo is a movement that went viral on Twitter, October 15th, 2017. The movement was initiated by actress Alyssa Milano, who adopted the “Me Too” phrase and tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Within 24 hours, “#MeToo” had gone viral, appearing on numerous social media platforms, prompting many celebrities to speak up about being a victim of sexual harassment and assault.
One person who spoke up, is film maker, Ima Leupp. Ima Leupp posted on Facebook about the terrible things that happened to her, back in 2015. At first she mentioned no names, but later on she posted a comment indirectly naming who it was, “Evilore.” This is where Tyler Malka and NeoGAF comes into the picture. Tyler Malka’s username on NeoGAF is “Evilore.” NeoGAF is known for temporarily taking the site down, when users get upset about something, that could potentially hurt the name. That is exactly what they did. The site is “down for maintenance,” and not many people are buying it. When users got word of what Tyler Malka was being accused of, they were not going to let it slide. Tyler Malka is apparently supposed to be commenting on the matter, but has not yet.
This is just bullshit, in my opinion. I hate that pathetic people are getting away with so many nasty actions. If Tyler Malka, does not get what he deserves for this, I will be furious. The gaming industry is involved in this particular sexual harassment case, but it doesn’t start nor end here. There are cases popping up every day. I am so happy that women are stepping up and using the platform that Alyssa Milano created. The world seems like a pretty messed up place right now. And maybe it is, but I believe it was the whole time, but no one had the voice to talk about it, or the power to do anything about it.
Fortunately, technological advances have provided us platforms, which in turn, provide people power to change the evil in the world. We are on the verge of becoming a better society, whether it looks like it or not. The gaming community is a part of the movement. The industry needs to make sure that NeoGAF’s Tyler Malka does not get away with this.
Works Cited
Gilbert, Sophie. “The Movement of #MeToo.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 16 Oct. 2017. Web. 06 Dec. 2017. <https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/10/the-movement-of-metoo/542979/>.
Rosenberg, A. (2017, October 23). One of the internet’s oldest gaming forums is imploding over sexual harassment charges. Retrieved December 21, 2017, from http://mashable.com/2017/10/23/neogaf-sexual-harassment-controversy-tyler-malka/#rxFAPW4EGiqi
Steinbuch, Yaron. “Time Names #MeToo ‘Silence Breakers’ as ‘Person of the Year’.” New York Post. New York Post, 06 Dec. 2017. Web. 15 Dec. 2017. <https://nypost.com/2017/12/06/time-names-metoo-silence-breakers-as-person-of-the-year/>.
