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Keza MacDonald writes that journalists have been contacting female developers for months since the allegations against Harvey Weinstein came to light. Hoping that they will come forward with stories of harassment or assault at work. Does this really happen? Have reporters been harping on women in certain industries to "get the scoop?" It's difficult to say as MacDonald doesn't provide evidence to support the claim. It's a possibility, but not likely.
MacDonald continues the article going over how some people/groups in the industry have been called out. And then follows up with 'women will be the one to determine when to come forward with their stories, not the movement or reporters.' True. It's up to the individual to decide if and when to speak.
MacDonald's case for why the gaming industry hasn't had a full surge of the #MeToo movement falls flat. Her argument focuses on women in gaming are more likely face a fallout compared to other businesses. They may receive additional harassment at their place of employment. Harassment online. Harassment in the media. There are emotional, physical, and job risks by coming forward - and MacDonald states this is why women in the industry are not speaking up.
Unfortunately for MacDonald, the reasons she provides are the exact reasons that could be applied to every industry. Politics. Science. Mathematics. Film/TV/Radio. Agriculture. Food Service. IT. Education. The reasons why people stay quiet about harassment are going to be universal. The physical and emotional toll can happen to anyone at any job if they have been sexually harassed. It's a narrow perception to assume that only women in the gaming industry are worried about losing their jobs, being verbally harassed online, and/or getting harassed in person by "fans" of the company. It happens to anyone (male or female) that comes forward with harassment/assault allegations.
So why hasn't the gaming industry been in a bigger uproar over #MeToo? The disturbance at Quantic Dream is the start. But the gaming industry is different from others in that the harassment goes beyond the people that work in the business. It extends out to the gamers (customers) as well. Men and women will receive countless threats against them when they log online, post their gaming videos, or join a gaming forum to discuss their favorite hobby. It happens every day. All the time. There are virtually no repercussions and many developers/publishers have relax reporting tools that don't address the need to ban players for their bad behavior. Verbal abuse is part of gaming culture. Unlike other industries, trash talking is common in gaming. We have to be able to address this problem first before #MeToo can truly blossom. But it also requires that we teach younger gamers that this type of behavior is never okay.
That's the real reason why we haven't seen or read about more female developers coming forward with their stories. It's not only the repercussions, but the way the gaming culture has fostered this type of harassment that has made it expected behavior.
Unfortunately for MacDonald, the reasons she provides are the exact reasons that could be applied to every industry. Politics. Science. Mathematics. Film/TV/Radio. Agriculture. Food Service. IT. Education. The reasons why people stay quiet about harassment are going to be universal. The physical and emotional toll can happen to anyone at any job if they have been sexually harassed. It's a narrow perception to assume that only women in the gaming industry are worried about losing their jobs, being verbally harassed online, and/or getting harassed in person by "fans" of the company. It happens to anyone (male or female) that comes forward with harassment/assault allegations.
So why hasn't the gaming industry been in a bigger uproar over #MeToo? The disturbance at Quantic Dream is the start. But the gaming industry is different from others in that the harassment goes beyond the people that work in the business. It extends out to the gamers (customers) as well. Men and women will receive countless threats against them when they log online, post their gaming videos, or join a gaming forum to discuss their favorite hobby. It happens every day. All the time. There are virtually no repercussions and many developers/publishers have relax reporting tools that don't address the need to ban players for their bad behavior. Verbal abuse is part of gaming culture. Unlike other industries, trash talking is common in gaming. We have to be able to address this problem first before #MeToo can truly blossom. But it also requires that we teach younger gamers that this type of behavior is never okay.
That's the real reason why we haven't seen or read about more female developers coming forward with their stories. It's not only the repercussions, but the way the gaming culture has fostered this type of harassment that has made it expected behavior.
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