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Investigating One Feminist's View of "Sexist" Video Game Tropes

Nine months ago--June 2012--, feminist vlogger and pop-culture critic, Anita Sarkeesian, riled the video-gaming community when she proposed a Kick-Starter project to investigate the sexist tropes of women in video games. The modest $6,000 proposal outraged some among the online community, calling it "exorbitant", "excessive", & "undeserved" (since most YouTube game-reviews are made by fans for free) but by the end of the KS project, nearly 6,000 supporters donated close to $160,000 to Sarkeesian's project.

What exactly set Sarkeesian's proposal apart? What launched her project into lucrative overdrive? 

While noting the malignant "sexism" that is rife and altogether obvious in classic video games isn't anything new--feminist researchers have been writing intelligently about the topic for over twenty years (see here, here & here), Sarkeesian applies a distinct blend of ideological savvy & reference material with a vlogger-style colloquialism to the feminist discussion. This though was certainly not the impetus for Sarkeesian's monetary success. 

What ultimately rocked Sarkeesian's KS project was a campaign-style series of vicious attacks by online "trolls". 

Anyone familiar with internet subculture, online forums, & hyperbolic gamer bellicosity, knows all-too-well the hackneyed criticisms that flood discussion boards & affiliate websites (i.e. Reddit). While troll-comments are everything but new and are rarely shocking, the scale of the attacks extended far beyond the traditional forums. Apparently, a small group of aggressive and childish critics vandalized several of her online sites including her personal website, Feminist Frequency and her wikipedia page. One gamer went so far as to design a game in which the only objective is to punch a virtual Sarkeesian in the face. 

Instead of being cowed into silence, however, Sarkeesian took advantage of this online abuse by emphasizing the degrading & misogynistic comments as "online bullying," depicting her personal victimization as a greater attack on feminism and feministic principles. This emphasis became a rallying call for men & women alike who support "consciousness raising" on issues of social inequality and it consequently paid off in spades. In response to the negative feedback and anonymous vitriol, thousands of sympathetic supporters flocked to Sarkeesian's "cause" with their cash in hand.

Fast-foward nine months, to this week. Sarkessian released her first video (6 months late), "Damsel in Distress: Part 1 - Tropes vs Women in Video Games"--of the proposed thirteen--yielding a considerable viewership. In only 4 days, the video has collected three-quarters of a million views and a whole lot of online-buzz.

Unfortunately, critics and fans alike have been almost entirely excluded from the conversation that Sarkessian started. YouTube comments and ratings have been disabled forcing viewers to reply by writing blog-posts and video-responses. Opinions, as they undoubtably will be on the topic of feminism, were varied and difficult to pin down. While Some criticized the gaming community's lack of tact in responding to the Sarkessian's project, others, like MundaneMatt challenged Sarkessian's choice of censorship, still others offered more nuanced critique of the video's analysis highlighting the limited scope of games referenced (Mario and Zelda franchises) and the wikipedia-grade content of those references (read here, here, & here). Some were disappointed to see the video's absence of counterpoint. Here's an example of a woman chiming in regarding "women of color". 

One rather interesting accusation that cropped up repeatedly in the discussions of Sarkessian's new video was the ironic resemblance of her personal narrative to the "damsel in distress" trope. Since such an observation doesn't address the video's content, it'll be left for others to arrive at their own conclusions. 

For other insightful comments on the video check out self-identified feminist and avid gamer, Jen Bosier's VGW article and Jordan Shapiro's Forbe's article that ties his focus of Jungian psychology in Video games and Sarkessian's first Tropes video. And in news that just surfaced, check out Mike Mika's Wired article, "Why I Hacked Donkey Kong for My Daughter".

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