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Social Media Freaks
Author: Dustin Kidd
Chapter 5: GamerGate
Gender Perspectives on Social Media
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Overview
In this lesson, we will…
1. Examine the phenomenon of GamerGate and the
way it played out in social media,
2. Utilize feminist theory to understand the role that
gender played in GamerGate,
3. Review the ways that scholars are studying gender
in and with social media, and
4. Review the role of social media tools in collecting
and sharing data from a virtual ethnography.
But first, an invitation…
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Invitation
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Invitation
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Theory
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Feminist Frequency
Feminist media project run by Anita Sarkeesian,
launched in 2009
Earliest videos reviewed Dollhouse, Veronica
Mars, and True Blood
Well known for posts about the Bechdel Test
gendered toys
Launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 to raise
$6,000 for the series “Tropes vs. Women in Video
Games” that actually raised $150,000
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Theory
Feminist Frequency Addresses Video Games
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Theory
Feminist Frequency Addresses GamerGate
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
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Screencaps and Social Media Archives in Virtual Ethnography
Although there are multiple ways to archive a webpage,
there is the risk that the archive will be taken down or have
limited functionality
Screen captures are a nice way to grab an image of a site or a
platform at specific moment in time
Screencaps can be saved to image archives on Flickr or
Google Photos and shared publicly
Disparate videos on YouTube can be collected and shared as a
playlist
Pinterest allows these archives of images AND videos to be
collected, curated, and shared
Prezi is an additional helpful resource for collecting, curating,
and sharing, and allows the researcher to add a narrative.
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
• Created by Zoe Quinn
• Released in 2013
• “[S]uddenly I started getting
stuff sent to my email. “Oh I
saw your game on
Greenlight and I hope you
kill yourself.”
• An attack on DQ was
organized on Wizardchan, a
site for male virgins over 30
who are Not in Education,
Employment, or Training
(NEET).
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
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Game_Jam and The Fine Young Capitalists
In late March 2014, Quinn was invited to participate in the
taping of a reality show “Game_Jam”
The show fell apart when the host kept making sexist
remarks
Quinn was accused of undermining the show deliberately
Also in 2014, Quinn critiqued a group known as the Fine
Young Capitalists, who were sponsoring a contest for
women game developers:
– Quinn accused them of using women for free research and
development
– She also raised concerns about their transgender policy
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
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TL;DR
Eron Gjoni began writing his blog, The Zoe Post, about
his relationship with Quinn, in August of 2014
The TL;DR post claimed that she’d had a sexual
relationship with Nathan Grayson, and with other folks
in gaming and games journalism
This unleashed a social media storm directed at Quinn,
organized on 4chan, perhaps by Gjoni himself
Quinn had to go into hiding and has taken Gjoni to
court repeatedly for violating a restraining order
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
Mundane Matt and The Internet Aristocrat
2 vlogs that took the lead on GamerGate
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
Me Jayne
• Actor Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb on
Firefly) dubbed the controversy
GamerGate with this tweet on
August 27, 2014
• Baldwin has also written several
pieces for Breitbart, where his fellow
author Milo Yiannopolis has led the
defense of GamerGate
• The same day, Anita Sarkeesian
received rape and death threats on
Twitter and had to flee her home
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
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8chan and Open Carry
When 4chan banned GamerGate
discussions, it moved to 8chan
When game developer Brianna Wu
tweeted about GG, the Twitter
account pictured here began
sending her disturbing and
threatening tweets
Wu went into hiding
Soon after, Anita Sarkeesian, was
scheduled to speak at Utah State
University but canceled because
the school refused to screen
visitors for weapons due to Utah’s
‘open carry’ gun law, despite
anonymous threats of violence
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
GamerGate Moments
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The End of Gaming?
No arrests have been made from any of the harassment cases, despite
an FBI investigation
Multiple commentators have questioned whether GG would be the
end of gaming or the end of the gamer identity
Gaming persists, as does GG
Researcher Jennifer Allaway, whose survey on GG was flooded with
responses like “suck my dick” and “kill yourself,” argues that GG should
be seen as a hate group.
Multiple commentators have drawn parallels between GG and the
election of Donald Trump, including GGers.
– Doxxing of major figures, especially women
– Creation on message boards of conspiracy theories
– Coordination with Breitbart and other alt-right media outlets
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Discussion
How should sociologists make sense of GamerGate?
– Is it really about ethics in games journalism?
• Is it possible or reasonable to approach GamerGaters with a
spirit of empathy?
– Where would this approach lead us?
• Why gaming?
– What is it about gaming culture that allowed this controversy to unfold
here rather than in other spaces that have been critiqued by feminist
perspectives?
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Discussion
• What issues does GamerGate raise about social
media?
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Doxxing
Harassment
Anonymity
Free Speech
• What can we do to make social media safer?
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Wrap-Up
Key terms, concepts, and names from this unit:
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GamerGate
Eron Gjoni
Depression Quest
Zoe Quinn
Wizardchan
2chan
4chan
8chan
NEET
Hikikomiri
Game jam
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Vlogger
Reddit
Doxxing
TL;DR
SJW
Feminist Frequency
Anita Sarkeesian
Brianna Wu
Adam Baldwin
Vivian James
Autobotika
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.
Resources
To explore these topics further:
• Some Twitter users have made tools to protect themselves from
GamerGate. You can block GamerGaters from harassing you by
visiting this site and clicking “Block All and Subscribe”:
https://blocktogether.org/showblocks/5867111278318bd542293272f75147f8fc5931bea431e7ca16
e9242964965d66494a6fb68f3518b82f171bcf0e419ccc (or search
on Google for “Block Together.”
• Read the essays in: The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Video
Game Culture.
• Follow Women in Gaming International (@GetWIGI) on Twitter and
get to know there work to promote gender equality in gaming:
http://www.womeningamesinternational.org.
Westview Press, an imprint of Hachette
Book Group.