To you, my readers, I present a tale of fiction. The characters, though based on real people, are entirely fictional.
There once were two very different feminists, hereby referred to as Alice and Betty. Both girls believed in Girl Power, both girls wanted careers that were traditionally thought of as "boy's only" jobs. And both girls wanted to be involved with video games.
However, that was where the two were very different. Alice loved video games, you see, for she grew up with them. She played many, many games on her Playstation 1, her Nintendo DS, and her Playstation 2. She saved up for a Playstation 3 and bought the system herself, with her own money! Alice loved gaming above all things, and wanted to make her own game, work for a big gaming company. When she was younger, Alice read all about Rieko Kodama, and said "I wanna be like her."
Betty, on the other hand, didn't grow up playing video games. She had been exposed to them, yes, but they never held her attention. She preferred television and movies, dolls and toys. She owned many Barbies, many Disney movies, and so forth. When she was younger, she read all about Andrea Dworkin and said "I wanna be like her."
When they were 18, Alice and Betty attended college. They both had scholarships, so they could both study without worrying too much about the finances. Alice opted for Computer Science, while Betty chose Women's Studies as her degree. Both worked hard for their degrees.
When Alice finished her degree, she immediately started working on her game. She had a vision: a game starring an African American woman who could change powers at will. It would be a platformer/hack and slash hybrid, with HD 2D graphics. Alice had a dream, and she was going to work hard to achieve it.
Betty had finished her degree with honors. She immediately took to the Internet and began a blog that focused on feminist critique of film, television, and toys. But she did not get a large enough audience. That's when she remembered the video games she had been exposed to. She remembered not one of them had a girl in them. She decided, then, to concentrate her blog on feminist critique of video games.
Betty started talking about misogyny in gaming. She pointed out that figures like Princess Peach and Princess Zelda set back women 100 years because they were damsels in distress with zero autonomy and agency. Betty criticized everything about Peach and Zelda, and this gave her blog plenty of attention. She gained many followers, and haters. She got sent death threats by a few people. Betty made these threats public, and this increased her traffic.
Alice and Betty both became concerned over female representation in gaming. Alice decided to do something about it by making games with female characters in them. Inspired by the works of Lauren Faust, Alice worked hard on her first game. Inspired by the works of Valerie Solarnas, Betty began writing articles decrying the lack of female presence in gaming.
Betty began making vlogs, and like her blog, they became hugely popular. She posted these vlogs on Youtube at first, but then people began to talk. Betty argued that there was a "glass ceiling" for female game developers, and so you don't find many women involved in making games. When several gamers pointed to many female figures who not only made games but also ran gaming companies, such as Roberta Williams, Betty closed her comments section, claiming to be harassed by online trolls. Several gaming news sites reported on this, calling Betty a victim of the "misogynistic gaming culture".
And so Betty became an important, though controversial, figure in gaming culture. Her articles were supported by several big names in gaming culture, who defended her tooth and nail. But her articles themselves were still full of inaccuracies and misinformation. She claimed Star Fox 2 was canceled because Shigeru Miyamoto did not want any female characters in the franchise. She claimed Samus Aran didn't count as a Strong Female Character because she could be replaced by a male thanks to her suit and nothing would change. She called Lara Croft a male sex fantasy. And people ate it up. But the gamers who objected were silenced.
Alice worked in a small gaming company to support herself. When she caught wind of Betty's vlogs, she wrote an open letter debunking her claims, citing evidence from her gaming experience. She made the claim that there was no glass ceiling, that women had the resources to fight sexism in the work environment, and that women who worked hard had just as many opportunities as men. Several of Betty's fans sent Alice death threats for this open letter. Someone eventually doxxed Alice, and began a campaign against her. Betty's fans began sending angry letters to Alice's workplace, calling for a boycott against the company. Alice was fired for this, and the company had to issue several letters of apology to Betty herself for Alice's action.
Alice would cry herself to sleep. She felt her dream was slipping away from her fingers. But still she worked night after night on her game. She was blacklisted from other gaming companies because of the controversy her letter caused, so she worked in fast food to support herself. Still, she never gave up. Two years later, after many sleepless nights, many rounds of self doubt and self loathing, Alice finished her game. But she had no one to distribute it.
"Fuck this!" She said. "If no gaming company will have me, I'll start my own!"
And so she started a Kickstarter, showing screencaps of her game with the promise to distribute it once her new company, All or Nothing Games, was sufficiently funded. Alice opted to begin a company that could make games with strong, rounded, female characters. Many gamers donated to her cause. But Betty, once she caught wind of this campaign, called for a boycott, claiming Alice was a bully who was in league with the people who sent her death threats. In an unfathomable display of bitterness, Betty began her own Kickstarter, promising to start a new gaming company herself. Many more people donated to her than to Alice. But both managed to get sufficient funds.
As promised, Alice began her own company, and hired a few programmers, both male and female. She released her first game, Magical Nancy, to surprisingly low reviews from major gaming sites, yet glowing reviews from independent reviewers, Let's Players, and gaming blogs. Betty, however, never founded her promised gaming company.
Alice's company kept on releasing game after game, and without fail these games were eviscerated by major gaming publications whilst simultaneously gained praise from the independent publications. Gamers realized something was up, and demanded answers.
It was found out that many of these journalists were giving Alice negative reviews because they sided with Betty and her followers. When gamers found out, they abandoned these publications. They continued to buy Alice's games while ignoring Betty's blogs, vlogs, and open letters.
And so Alice's company became that big company she dreamed of working for. Thanks to her fellow gamers, she became the success she always dreamed of being. And Betty? She eventually became forgotten.
So what moral is there to the story? If there is one, I leave it to you to discover it.
There once were two very different feminists, hereby referred to as Alice and Betty. Both girls believed in Girl Power, both girls wanted careers that were traditionally thought of as "boy's only" jobs. And both girls wanted to be involved with video games.
However, that was where the two were very different. Alice loved video games, you see, for she grew up with them. She played many, many games on her Playstation 1, her Nintendo DS, and her Playstation 2. She saved up for a Playstation 3 and bought the system herself, with her own money! Alice loved gaming above all things, and wanted to make her own game, work for a big gaming company. When she was younger, Alice read all about Rieko Kodama, and said "I wanna be like her."
Betty, on the other hand, didn't grow up playing video games. She had been exposed to them, yes, but they never held her attention. She preferred television and movies, dolls and toys. She owned many Barbies, many Disney movies, and so forth. When she was younger, she read all about Andrea Dworkin and said "I wanna be like her."
When they were 18, Alice and Betty attended college. They both had scholarships, so they could both study without worrying too much about the finances. Alice opted for Computer Science, while Betty chose Women's Studies as her degree. Both worked hard for their degrees.
When Alice finished her degree, she immediately started working on her game. She had a vision: a game starring an African American woman who could change powers at will. It would be a platformer/hack and slash hybrid, with HD 2D graphics. Alice had a dream, and she was going to work hard to achieve it.
Betty had finished her degree with honors. She immediately took to the Internet and began a blog that focused on feminist critique of film, television, and toys. But she did not get a large enough audience. That's when she remembered the video games she had been exposed to. She remembered not one of them had a girl in them. She decided, then, to concentrate her blog on feminist critique of video games.
Betty started talking about misogyny in gaming. She pointed out that figures like Princess Peach and Princess Zelda set back women 100 years because they were damsels in distress with zero autonomy and agency. Betty criticized everything about Peach and Zelda, and this gave her blog plenty of attention. She gained many followers, and haters. She got sent death threats by a few people. Betty made these threats public, and this increased her traffic.
Alice and Betty both became concerned over female representation in gaming. Alice decided to do something about it by making games with female characters in them. Inspired by the works of Lauren Faust, Alice worked hard on her first game. Inspired by the works of Valerie Solarnas, Betty began writing articles decrying the lack of female presence in gaming.
Betty began making vlogs, and like her blog, they became hugely popular. She posted these vlogs on Youtube at first, but then people began to talk. Betty argued that there was a "glass ceiling" for female game developers, and so you don't find many women involved in making games. When several gamers pointed to many female figures who not only made games but also ran gaming companies, such as Roberta Williams, Betty closed her comments section, claiming to be harassed by online trolls. Several gaming news sites reported on this, calling Betty a victim of the "misogynistic gaming culture".
And so Betty became an important, though controversial, figure in gaming culture. Her articles were supported by several big names in gaming culture, who defended her tooth and nail. But her articles themselves were still full of inaccuracies and misinformation. She claimed Star Fox 2 was canceled because Shigeru Miyamoto did not want any female characters in the franchise. She claimed Samus Aran didn't count as a Strong Female Character because she could be replaced by a male thanks to her suit and nothing would change. She called Lara Croft a male sex fantasy. And people ate it up. But the gamers who objected were silenced.
Alice worked in a small gaming company to support herself. When she caught wind of Betty's vlogs, she wrote an open letter debunking her claims, citing evidence from her gaming experience. She made the claim that there was no glass ceiling, that women had the resources to fight sexism in the work environment, and that women who worked hard had just as many opportunities as men. Several of Betty's fans sent Alice death threats for this open letter. Someone eventually doxxed Alice, and began a campaign against her. Betty's fans began sending angry letters to Alice's workplace, calling for a boycott against the company. Alice was fired for this, and the company had to issue several letters of apology to Betty herself for Alice's action.
Alice would cry herself to sleep. She felt her dream was slipping away from her fingers. But still she worked night after night on her game. She was blacklisted from other gaming companies because of the controversy her letter caused, so she worked in fast food to support herself. Still, she never gave up. Two years later, after many sleepless nights, many rounds of self doubt and self loathing, Alice finished her game. But she had no one to distribute it.
"Fuck this!" She said. "If no gaming company will have me, I'll start my own!"
And so she started a Kickstarter, showing screencaps of her game with the promise to distribute it once her new company, All or Nothing Games, was sufficiently funded. Alice opted to begin a company that could make games with strong, rounded, female characters. Many gamers donated to her cause. But Betty, once she caught wind of this campaign, called for a boycott, claiming Alice was a bully who was in league with the people who sent her death threats. In an unfathomable display of bitterness, Betty began her own Kickstarter, promising to start a new gaming company herself. Many more people donated to her than to Alice. But both managed to get sufficient funds.
As promised, Alice began her own company, and hired a few programmers, both male and female. She released her first game, Magical Nancy, to surprisingly low reviews from major gaming sites, yet glowing reviews from independent reviewers, Let's Players, and gaming blogs. Betty, however, never founded her promised gaming company.
Alice's company kept on releasing game after game, and without fail these games were eviscerated by major gaming publications whilst simultaneously gained praise from the independent publications. Gamers realized something was up, and demanded answers.
It was found out that many of these journalists were giving Alice negative reviews because they sided with Betty and her followers. When gamers found out, they abandoned these publications. They continued to buy Alice's games while ignoring Betty's blogs, vlogs, and open letters.
And so Alice's company became that big company she dreamed of working for. Thanks to her fellow gamers, she became the success she always dreamed of being. And Betty? She eventually became forgotten.
So what moral is there to the story? If there is one, I leave it to you to discover it.
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