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'''Anita Sarkeesian''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ɑːr|k|i|z|i|ə|n}}; born circa 1984)<ref name="ms mag">{{cite web|last=Nathman|first=Avital Norman|title=The Femisphere: Video Bloggers, Part 1|url=http://msmagazine.com/blog/2012/08/06/the-femisphere-video-bloggers-part-1/|work=Ms. Magazine|accessdate=March 8, 2013|date=August 6, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Wired">{{cite web | url = http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/06/anita-sarkeesian-feminist-games/ | first = Angela | last = Watercutter | title = Feminist Take on Games Draws Crude Ridicule, Massive Support | publisher = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired.com]] | date = June 14, 2012 }}</ref> is a Canadian-American [[feminist]], media critic and [[blog]]ger. She is the author of the [[video blog]] "Feminist Frequency" and the video series ''Tropes vs. Women'', which examines [[trope (literature)|tropes]] in the depiction of women in [[popular culture]]. In 2012, following her announcement of a new series, ''Tropes vs. Women in Video Games'', she was targeted by an online harassment campaign that drew media attention and placed her at the center of discussions about [[misogyny]] in [[video game culture]].
'''Anita Sarkeesian''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ɑːr|k|i|z|i|ə|n}}; born circa 1984)<ref name="ms mag">{{cite web|last=Nathman|first=Avital Norman|title=The Femisphere: Video Bloggers, Part 1|url=http://msmagazine.com/blog/2012/08/06/the-femisphere-video-bloggers-part-1/|work=Ms. Magazine|accessdate=March 8, 2013|date=August 6, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Wired">{{cite web | url = http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/06/anita-sarkeesian-feminist-games/ | first = Angela | last = Watercutter | title = Feminist Take on Games Draws Crude Ridicule, Massive Support | publisher = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired.com]] | date = June 14, 2012 }}</ref> is a Canadian-American [[feminist]], media critic and [[blog]]ger. She is the author of the [[video blog]] "Feminist Frequency" and the video series ''Tropes vs. Women'', which examines [[trope (literature)|tropes]] in the depiction of women in [[popular culture]]. In 2012, following her announcement of a new series, ''Tropes vs. Women in Video Games'', she was targeted by an online harassment campaign that drew media attention and placed her at the center of discussions about [[misogyny]] in [[video game culture]].


{{POV}}
==Background==
==Background==
Sarkeesian was born near [[Toronto]] to [[Armenian people|Armenian]] immigrant parents.<ref name=Moore>{{cite news |title= Woman's call to end video game misogyny sparks vicious online attacks |author= Oliver Moore |url= http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/womans-call-to-end-video-game-misogyny-sparks-vicious-online-attacks/article4405585/ |newspaper= The Globe and Mail |date= July 11, 2012}}</ref> They later moved to [[California]]; Sarkeesian identifies as [[Canadian American]].<ref name=Moore/> She earned a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[communication studies]] from [[California State University, Northridge]] and a [[master's degree]] in social and political thought from [[York University]]. Her master's thesis was titled ''I’ll Make a Man Out of You: Strong Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television''.<ref name = "FemFreqAbout">{{cite web | last = Sarkeesian |first = Anita | title = About | work = Feminist Frequency | url =http://www.feministfrequency.com/about/ | accessdate = June 12, 2012}}</ref>
Sarkeesian was born near [[Toronto]] to [[Armenian people|Armenian]] immigrant parents.<ref name=Moore>{{cite news |title= Woman's call to end video game misogyny sparks vicious online attacks |author= Oliver Moore |url= http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/womans-call-to-end-video-game-misogyny-sparks-vicious-online-attacks/article4405585/ |newspaper= The Globe and Mail |date= July 11, 2012}}</ref> They later moved to [[California]]; Sarkeesian identifies as [[Canadian American]].<ref name=Moore/> She earned a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[communication studies]] from [[California State University, Northridge]] and a [[master's degree]] in social and political thought from [[York University]]. Her master's thesis was titled ''I’ll Make a Man Out of You: Strong Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television''.<ref name = "FemFreqAbout">{{cite web | last = Sarkeesian |first = Anita | title = About | work = Feminist Frequency | url =http://www.feministfrequency.com/about/ | accessdate = June 12, 2012}}</ref>

Revision as of 00:08, 13 October 2013

Anita Sarkeesian
photograph
Anita Sarkeesian in 2011
Born1984 (age 39–40)
Ontario, Canada
CitizenshipCanadian-American
EducationBA (communication studies), California State University, Northridge
MA (social and political thought), York University
Occupation(s)Media critic, blogger
WebsiteFeminist Frequency

Anita Sarkeesian (/sɑːrkiziən/; born circa 1984)[1][2] is a Canadian-American feminist, media critic and blogger. She is the author of the video blog "Feminist Frequency" and the video series Tropes vs. Women, which examines tropes in the depiction of women in popular culture. In 2012, following her announcement of a new series, Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, she was targeted by an online harassment campaign that drew media attention and placed her at the center of discussions about misogyny in video game culture.

Background

Sarkeesian was born near Toronto to Armenian immigrant parents.[3] They later moved to California; Sarkeesian identifies as Canadian American.[3] She earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from California State University, Northridge and a master's degree in social and political thought from York University. Her master's thesis was titled I’ll Make a Man Out of You: Strong Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television.[4]

Feminist Frequency

Sarkeesian is the creator of the video blog "Feminist Frequency". The blog includes the video series Tropes vs. Women, a series created with Bitch magazine to examine the use of tropes to depict women in film, television and video games, with a particular focus on science fiction.[5] Videos produced in this series include "The Manic Pixie Dream Girl", "Women in Refrigerators" and "The Smurfette Principle".[6] She has also produced a number of other videos analyzing popular culture from a feminist standpoint, such as applying the Bechdel test – whether a film has at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man – to films nominated for an Academy Award.[7]

In 2011, Sarkeesian co-authored the essay "Buffy vs. Bella: The Re-Emergence of the Archetypal Feminine in Vampire Stories" for the anthology Fanpires: Audience Consumption of the Modern Vampire.[8] She has spoken at conferences and workshops about media criticism and video blogging, and was interviewed by The Observer in March 2012 about modern media culture. Her blog has also been utilized as material for university-level women's studies courses, and she has spoken at universities on the topic of female characters in pop culture.[9]

Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Kickstarter campaign and subsequent harassment

File:Tropes vs woman.jpg
Picture used for the Kickstarter bid

On May 17, 2012, Sarkeesian began a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new series of short videos that would examine gender tropes in video games. The campaign was featured as a campaign of note on the official Kickstarter blog,[10] and reached its funding goal of $6,000 within 24 hours.[11]

The project triggered a campaign of sexist harassment that Amanda Marcotte in Slate magazine described as an "absolute avalanche of misogynist abuse," in which "[e]very access point they could exploit was used to try to get to her".[12] Helen Lewis of the The New York Times reported that Sarkeesian was e-mailed images of herself being raped by video game characters.[13] Attempts were made to hack her Twitter and Google accounts, doctored images of her were posted online, and negative comments were posted to her YouTube and Facebook pages.[14][15] Her Wikipedia article was repeatedly vandalized with images of sex acts.[16] Her website was subjected to denial-of-service attacks, and there were efforts to obtain and distribute her personal contact information.[17]

Sarkeesian posted examples of the harassment on her blog, and supporters responded by donating over $150,000 to her project.[14][15] This further enraged the harassers; one man made an internet game called Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian, where users could punch her image until the screen turned red.[14][18] The people behind the campaign awarded each other "Internet points" for the abuse on forums; Sarkeesian argued that they had "gamified" misogyny.[13]

The initial campaign of harassment helped bring the issue of pervasive sexual harassment in the video game culture to mainstream media attention, with discussions occurring in a range of publications and outlets, including The New York Times, The Guardian and New Statesman.[19] Sarkeesian told the news show 16x9 that online harassment and threats have become the norm for female gamers.[20] She told The New York Times that "The gaming industry is actually in the process of changing. That's a really positive thing, but I think there is a small group of male gamers who feel like gaming belongs to them, and are really terrified of that change happening."[14]

The campaign also led to speaking engagements on related topics. In 2012, Sarkeesian was a speaker at the TEDxWomen conference, discussing online sexual harassment and the nature of online communities.[21] In June 2012, video game developer Bungie invited Sarkeesian to its offices to present on the creation of female characters in games.[22]

Video series

Production

Title card used in the Tropes vs Women videos

Sarkeesian initially planned to release the Tropes vs Women in Video Games series in 2012, but pushed it back explaining that the additional funding allowed her to "expand the scope, scale and production values of the project". On January 2013 Sarkeesian launched a Tumblr web page called "Bits of Tropes Vs. Women in Games" previewing samples of the first video.[23]

The first video in the Tropes vs Women in Video Games series, "Damsels in Distress (Part 1)", was released on March 7, 2013.[24] The delay led some critics to question how she was using the money.[25][26] Jesse Singal of The Boston Globe noted that the production values of the new series were high, saying "so far, she appears to have put the money to good use."[27] Fruzsina Eördögh of ReadWrite also confirmed that the production quality of the videos had increased from her previous works, but didn't think the improvement justified spending the total amount raised, and said that disclosing the project finances would also help other video bloggers.[26]

Parts 2 and 3 of the series were released on May 28 and August 1, 2013. The second video was briefly removed due to abuse of YouTube's "flag" system, though it was quickly restored.[28]

Reception

The first three videos discuss examples of the "Damsels in Distress" trope, in which passive and often helpless female characters must be rescued by the male hero.[27][29] Paul Dean of IGN described the videos as an analysis of sexism that, while possibly "difficult to swallow" for some video game players, did not attack gaming itself but only "disappointing" stories in games.[29] Aja Romano of the Daily Dot noted that even "strong female characters" are portrayed under this trope, and not treated as equals of male characters.[30] Maddy Myers of Paste commented on the difficulty Sarkeesian faces due to the "impossible and insurmountable expectations" and intense scrutiny placed on her and other female video game critics.[31] The Boston Globe wrote that the videos' strength lies in Sarkeesian's "deft[ness] at anticipating rebuttals", and said such work was important in challenging the industry to move away from overused tropes.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nathman, Avital Norman (August 6, 2012). "The Femisphere: Video Bloggers, Part 1". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  2. ^ Watercutter, Angela (June 14, 2012). "Feminist Take on Games Draws Crude Ridicule, Massive Support". Wired.com.
  3. ^ a b Oliver Moore (July 11, 2012). "Woman's call to end video game misogyny sparks vicious online attacks". The Globe and Mail.
  4. ^ Sarkeesian, Anita. "About". Feminist Frequency. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  5. ^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (June 14, 2012). "Lara Croft battles male jerks". Salon.
  6. ^ Sarkeesian, Anita (March 22, 2011). Tropes vs. Women, YouTube.
  7. ^ Barthel, Michael (February 25, 2012). "The Oscars’ woman problem", Salon.
  8. ^ Jenson, Jennifer and Sarkeesian, Anita (2011). "Buffy vs. Bella: The Re-Emergence of the Archetypal Feminine in Vampire Stories", in Gareth Schott and Kirstine Moffat. FANPIRES: Audience Consumption of the Modern Vampire. New Academia Publishing, LLC.
  9. ^ Duggan, Padraic (March 4, 2012). "Feminist Frequency comes to SOU". The Siskiyou.
  10. ^ Marketos, Cassie (May 21, 2012). "New Projects Are Sci-Fly". Kickstarter.
  11. ^ "Tropes vs Women in Video Games". Kickstarter. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  12. ^ Marcotte, Amanda (June 13, 2012). "Online Misogyny: Can't Ignore It, Can't Not Ignore It". Slate.com.
  13. ^ a b Lewis, Helen (December 25, 2012). "Game Theory: Making Room for the Women", The New York Times.
  14. ^ a b c d O'Leary, Amy. "In Virtual Play, Sex Harassment Is All Too Real", The New York Times, August 1, 2012.
  15. ^ a b Watercutter, Angela (June 14, 2012). "Feminist Take on Games Draws Crude Ridicule, Massive Support". Wired.com.
  16. ^ McHugh, Molly (June 11, 2012). "Kickstarter campaign leads to cyber-bullying". Digital Trends. Digital Trends, Inc.
  17. ^ Totilo, Stephen (July 3, 2012). "She's Not Hiding From The Hate She's Getting For Examining Video Games. She's Exposing It". Kotaku.
  18. ^ O'Meara, Sarah (July 6, 2012). "Internet Trolls Up Their Harassment Game With Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian". The Huffington Post.
  19. ^ Zerbisias, Anita (January 28, 2013). "Internet trolls an online nightmare for young women", Toronto Star.
  20. ^ Dangerous Game: Tropes vs Women bullying, 16:9, accessed November 4, 2012.
  21. ^ TEDxWomen - Anita Sarkeesian
  22. ^ Petit, Carolyn (June 12, 2012). "From Samus to Lara: An Interview With Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency". GameSpot.
  23. ^ Stephen Totilo (January 30, 2013). "Anita Sarkeesian's First 'Tropes vs. Women in Games' Video May Come Out Next Month, But Her Tumblr's Live Now". Kotaku. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  24. ^ Feminist Frequency - "Damsels in Distress (Part 1)" accessed May 28, 2013
  25. ^ Kevin Morris (February 13, 2013). "Anita Sarkeesian is not stealing Kickstarter money to buy Gucci shoes". Daily Dot. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  26. ^ a b Fruzsina Eördögh (March 19, 2013). "Anita Sarkeesian, I Love You. But Please Show Us The Money". Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  27. ^ a b c Singal, Jesse (June 22, 2013). "Taking on games that demean women". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  28. ^ Hamilton, Kirk (28 May 2013). "New Anita Sarkeesian Video Calls Out Gaming's 'Women in Refrigerators'". Kotaku. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  29. ^ a b Dean, Paul (May 31, 2013). "Video games are more important than ever before, and so is cultural criticism of them". IGN. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  30. ^ Aja Romano (August 02, 2013). "Anita Sarkeesian still can't catch a break". Daily Dot. Retrieved 19 September 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Maddy Myers (June 4, 2013). "Hyper Mode: Anita Sarkeesian And The Trouble With Magic Bullets". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 20 September 2013.

External links

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