- Just a quick word about the charges of sexism at the PS4 announcement:
- My wife likes to send me links to stories she reads throughout the day. They're mostly news or child rearing articles. But every once in a while a video game story finds its way into her sphere. When she sends me such a link, I know it has reached beyond our little, insular community. That was what went through my head when I received a link from The Verge about the lack of any women on stage at the PlayStation Meeting. Couple this with the crap that Patricia Hernandez is getting for her article at Kotaku and we have a full blown nightmare here.
- No one is accusing Sony or any of the developers on stage of overt sexism. There weren't any women denied a spot on stage. And it would have been the worst kind of tokenism to seek someone out just to diversify the presentation. That's not what anyone is saying in these articles, but that's how all of the anti-feminists are taking it.
- What everyone is pointing out is de facto sexism. Women make up half of people on this planet. The fact that not even one woman has risen to a place where they would be a natural fit on that stage is an indictment of the industry as a whole. Everyone knows the history of gaming, how it got started, and who the pioneers are. But that doesn't mean that gaming wouldn't be richer without a wider variety of perspectives. You just have to look at how much of gaming is guns and boobs to know that we could do better.
- So don't take it personally when this kind of sexism is pointed out. But also don't contribute to an environment that drives women away. If you defend the status quo, then you are part of the problem.
© 2013 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.
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