GamerGate, Misogyny, and Why it's Relevant to General DUers

[daredtowork]

28. I think it's mainly free to play games

And I can't speak with any expertise on it. I checked some of this out during a period when I was in bed a lot, and I was mainly just checking out the scene. I don't want to pretend to speak with any authority on it.

I think the anonymity problem is ending, though. While it does enable more "freedom", it also causes a lot of paranoia in-gaming. Now technology is catching up. People will insist on using mics, and that will make it harder for women to go "under cover" as men.

The problem with letting the "inner misogynist moron" out, is that if guys do spend so much time in that environment that it becomes the cultural norm for them - then this attitude seeps out into the real world. That's why I have a strong suspicion that the kids that played the "rape prank" were desensitized through gaming. Listening to rap music that glorifies rape is isolated and sporadic. Gaming is a social and continuous experience. It trains your brain on how to interact with people. Now we have 6 teenagers who may have difficulty getting into college or getting a job because somehow they've been immerse in an environment where such pranks seem funny. If that was a gaming environment, and guys have an interest in not ruining their real lives that way, they should reconsider letting that "inner misogynist moron" run free anywhere.