Ani Raven Haines and Lyn Moelich turn their attentions once more to the War on Women- this time looking at the case in point of Gamergate.
The online gaming world is notoriously male dominated- and when women our speaking out to change this bastion of sexism, they have been targeted by vicious online harassment and retaliatory threats. Anita Sarkeesian was forced to cancel a speech at Utah State University last week after the school received an email threatening to carry out "the deadliest shooting in American history" at the event. The email sender wrote: "feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge."
Sarkeesian spoke with Democracy Now earlier this week about her campaign to expose misogyny, sexism and violence against female characters in video games despite repeated physical threats. She says that "Online harassment, especially gendered online harassment, is an epidemic. Women are being driven out, they’re being driven offline; this isn’t just in gaming, this is happening across the board online, especially with women who participate in or work in male-dominated industries."
Local gamer Monica Olsen will be in the studio to talk with Lyn and Ani about her experience in the gaming community. You are invited to join in this conversation by calling 503-231-8187 with your questions and comments during the show.
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- KBOO