Another intelligent woman online has to fear for her safety

[enderwoman]

Don't click if you're at work.

venturebeat.com/2014/08/27/critic-anita-sarkeesian-receives-online-death-threats-after-latest-feminist-frequency-video-on-games/

I find Anita Sarkessian's work clear and backed up with lots of evidence.

Wtf is wrong with people who send such vile trolling messages?

I really admire Anita Sarkeesian - both for her work and her ongoing resilience to rape/death threats.

I agree that her work is clear - she's commenting on female tropes in video games, films, adverts etc, and the damage these can do to women and girls.

The threats she (and other feminists) receive online, purely for their words are indicative of how violent and misogynistic our culture really is.

Her latest video was about how violence against women was treated as some sort of background decoration in some games.

Speak out against patriarchal male violence in some way as a woman, recieve threats of male violence. Always the same story.

Her latest video was just awful to watch. Half an hour of women being brutalised and sexually attacked in video games. No one could possibly watch it and think 'well that's just fine as casual entertainment.'

And yet some people watch it and are so incensed that they decide to totally validate her concern that such portrayal of women in video games might contribute to a culture in which women are seen as inferior sex objects in real life.

Like 'there isn't an issue at all with the way women are portrayed in video games you fucking bitch, I'm going to rape you' isn't proving her point.

But they are just trying to shut down the debate. From what I've seen, anyone on twitter who supports her attracts harassment.

Good luck to her, and I hope the bastard is tracked down and ends up in jail.

No one could possibly watch it and think 'well that's just fine as casual entertainment.'

That must be what the ones harassing her think, though.

I've seen people refer to the person who made those recent horrible death threats against her as "just a twitter troll". No. This is really serious. I hope the police gets him and that he is punished for what he has done.

There has been a lot of discussion about how 'she's invented the troll to make people feel sorry for her'.

Because believing the lie that a woman is trolling herself is easier to deal with than the truth that some men feel so entitled to do as they please that they think they can threaten to rape her with an iron bar.

Perhaps they should head on over to Joss Whedon's account and see what people have been saying there because he retweeted her video. E.g. mobile.twitter.com/josswhedon/media/grid?idx=1&tid=504821352688525313 nsfw.

If a famous guy attracts comments like that simply for supporting her, then it's bloody obvious she'll be getting the same and worse.

So many women have spoken out about being treated like this online - e.g. Mary Beard, that anyone who tries to argue this is anything but a regular occurrence for outspoken women are either exceptionally naive, or denialists with an agenda.

I completely agree with you OP, but even if her work wasn't clear and backed up, she still wouldn't deserve these threats.

Men talk shit on the internet all the time and no-one threatens them

What she has to say is so reasonable and sane and yet she still gets the death and rape threats. It's a way to keep all women quiet.

One of the posters on this site, AbortionFairyGodmother, has a blog in which she argues that one of the problems with the third wave is that it is feminism forged in the age of below-the-line comments and, therefore, feminism that anticipates and accommodates male reactions.

Is it a bigger problem than we think? Is it not just the case that male intimidation and criticism online stops women from expressing themselves but also that it actually changes the way women think?

just like noble said - the trolls are proving the point about the workings of the misogynistic mind and that it is a real problem. We need to keep pushing the cause and 'ousting' the hatred so that the severity of it is clear for all to see. It's almost comical in its irony. A woman speaks out against violence against women and some fuckwit pipes up with some tosh about raping her. The trolls are almost doing 'our' job for us aren't they?

Those videos are just ....... wow....... how can anyone think that's okay?

"There's no violence against women. And to prove it I'm going to issue a rape threat."
We can't be worried about trolls like this can we? Honestly.

This troll posted her address and some information to show he knew who her parents were too. That made it a credible threat and it should be taken very seriously.

"There's no violence against women. And to prove it I'm going to issue a rape threat."
No, the situation is more like this:
"I want no discussion of violence against women. And to silence you I'm going to issue a rape/death threat."

I know what you mean Briar, but we need to take some of the power away from these people.

What can we do? Seriously I feel the need to join something. Maybe we can get Object involved. They do great campaigns but don't think they have touched on the gaming industry.

The anti-Anita brigade is actually a mixed bunch I think.
We have of course, the hateful misogynists.
We have those who only listen to the anti propaganda and now believe she is a scam and that she says things she has never said.
We have the immature type of gamers who are basically afraid that the industry will now take away their toys, because of her videos.
We have those who jump on the opportunity to be a cruel bully.

Yes Stressing I wish there was a way to help too. Discussing this and sharing her videos is a first step, but otherwise I don't know.
Link to her channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Edgk9RxP7Fm7vjQ1d-cDA

I have male gamer friends who want to show support for her but the trolls use the argument that they are "saving a damsel in distress" so sexist themselves.

Gosh Ender and yet those trolls don't realise they themselves are living up to another trope - the violent, misogynistic male who wants to enact these tendencies on women who they view as inferior! Oh, the irony!

I really heart Anita Sarkessian. I hope the police find that twitter abuser, those messages are extremely worrying. The reaction to her first video was to develop a computer game where you could beat her up and it showed cuts, bruises and blood of the damage you could inflict on her face. It's insane.

It depends on how they defend her. If they just go 'back off you bullies' and then expect the damsel to sleep with them, or be eternally grateful then that's not good.

If they stop buying sexist video games, petition the games industry to get their act together, argue against the portrayal of women as disposable sex objects and encourage people to watch her videos or engage with what she is saying, then that's a good way to support her.

I find it heartening that there are men in the game industry who retweet her and agree with her or have gotten a better understanding of the issues.

Like this guy, twitter.com/TimOfLegend/status/504095132220526592 he was harassed too of course.

Sorry for the triple post, but look like this:
mrdappersden.tumblr.com/image/95942292047
Yes misogynists, please do boycot videogame developers. Leave gaming to us reasonable people

2014-2021

I game. I never ever let on I am a woman

You just get trolled all the time