Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

polygon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 375 posts

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#31

Post by Jemaclus »

I read articles like this, and I think to myself, "Damn, I'm glad I'm not one of those guys."

Then every time I see a photo of Marissa Mayer, I think, "Damn, she's hot." And then I hate myself for making that my first thought instead of something more equal like, "Damn, she's accomplished and brilliant" like I do when I see a photo of Robert Downey Jr or Idris Elba or Benedict Cumberbatch. But no, if it's a woman, my first thought is about her looks instead of... well, instead of anything else.

I'm really glad I don't have kids (yet), and in a lot of ways, I hope I don't have a daughter. I'd rather raise a son to treat women fairly and with respect than to have a daughter who has to live in a world where articles like this are written. But if I had a daughter... I'd do my best to help her be strong and confident, and to make her way successfully in a world where this kind of shit goes on.

So senseless. :(

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#33

Post by ceejayoz »

spyglass wrote: post #15
ceejayoz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fully expected to see this here but it's still depressing to be correct. This is not "taunting". Threats of rape and violence are criminal acts.

If you think you have a case, file charges. But that would be inconvenient if you made up the fiction of harassment to push your agenda or sell your product, wouldn't it?

The cops (not to mention the services themselves - Twitter will close abuse reports if the tweets referenced were deleted, despite undoubtedly having a record of them) have a long history of not taking online harassment seriously.

What product is being promoted by this article, incidentally?

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#34

Post by rayiner »

jarin wrote: post #20

I would argue that men don't get rape threats because most men don't see rape as a realistic threat to themselves. Instead, we have our masculinity, loyalty, abilities, work ethic, and/or integrity attacked, because those are the things that cut us to the core. I'm not saying that women don't care about those things, I'm just saying that when someone is trying to be a dick they're going to go after the lowest hanging…

Someone calling you a pencil dick doesn't cut you. Its just words, not grounded in anything the speaker knows about you. What's scary about rape threats is that it points out an uncomfortable truth: the 95th percentile women is about as strong in the upper body as the 5th percentile man. The guy making the rape threat knows that and so does the target. Its backed by reality in a way most comments directed at men aren't.

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#35

Post by chillingeffect »

EarthLaunch wrote: post #6

What should a game studio to do counter this and make its employees safe from it?

Protip: Form an all-female software company. Gender-discriminatory hiring practices don't apply to small companies.

See Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e and following). Title VII applies to employers that fit into the following categories: private employers with at least 15 employees.

14 Women can get together and not hire any men if they want. They can make software for women and get rich and support their families if they want.

They don't need men. They can make this completely public, legally. 14 people not big enough? Form a second 14-woman company and subcontract out to them.

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#36

Post by coldtea »

Iftheshoefits wrote: post #27
jarin wrote: post #20

I would argue that men don't get rape threats because most men don't see rape as a realistic threat to themselves. Instead, we have our masculinity, loyalty, abilities, work ethic, and/or integrity attacked, because those are the things that cut us to the core. I'm not saying that women don't care about those things, I'm just saying that when someone is trying to be a dick they're going to go after the lowest hanging…

There is a nontrivial difference between the modes of attack you note that work better on men and those that work better on women to achieve a psychological impact. The difference is significant--for women, the difference is a matter of (literally) being physically assaulted or even killed. Men face that kind of threat far less from attacks against our masculinity, loyalty, etc. The article notes this. Women shouldn'…

>The article notes this. Women shouldn't be expected to distance themselves from a very real threat of physical violence, which men simply don't face to anything close to the same degree.

Mean deal with threats of physical violence all the time. Including actual attacks, which is far more common between men. They just don't deal with rape threats/attacks.

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#37

Post by Iftheshoefits »

eli wrote: post #19
EarthLaunch wrote: post #6

What should a game studio to do counter this and make its employees safe from it?

I think that's a good question, but what practical things can an employer do here? The harassment isn't really happening "at" work, it's coming in through tumblr and personal blogs. And (I hope!!) the people sending these threats are not other employees.

Actually, it happens through various mediums gaming companies control, such as in-game communication, forums, and the like.

Companies can, and should, take vigorous legal action against customers who issue such threats. It would be a good start.

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#38

Post by cobrausn »

jarin wrote: post #20

I would argue that men don't get rape threats because most men don't see rape as a realistic threat to themselves. Instead, we have our masculinity, loyalty, abilities, work ethic, and/or integrity attacked, because those are the things that cut us to the core. I'm not saying that women don't care about those things, I'm just saying that when someone is trying to be a dick they're going to go after the lowest hanging…

I follow a few twitter accounts of a few prominent game devs (both male and female), and I've noticed that the more attention (i.e., followers) they have, the more regularly you can expect to see threats and insults as a reply to practically anything they say. I think the same kind of people that would troll a male dev by calling him a 'fag' would probably be the same kind that would issue a rape threat to a female dev, and probably think there is nothing wrong with either.

On an related note, if I do ever make games, I won't have a public twitter account, facebook account, or personal blog. Something about the nature of that industry just brings out the worst in people.

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#39

Post by EarthLaunch »

falcolas wrote: post #22
EarthLaunch wrote: post #6

What should a game studio to do counter this and make its employees safe from it?

Perhaps hire fewer employees right out of college for crap salaries, and foster an environment where senior employees with families can work? There is simply very little diversity in applicants who apply for videogame jobs, and if your entire employee base is comprised solely of these applicants, it's going to become an echo chamber. The people who would not stand for this type of behavior are typically not those who…

That is off-topic. That cliche about the game industry is irrelevant to this question. These verbal attacks are from outside the work environment, and have no awareness of the composition of the company. And these attacks do happen to mature teams and people, I've seen it.

Re: No skin thick enough: The daily harassment of women in the game industry

#40

Post by [deleted] »

spyglass wrote: post #15
ceejayoz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fully expected to see this here but it's still depressing to be correct. This is not "taunting". Threats of rape and violence are criminal acts.

If you think you have a case, file charges. But that would be inconvenient if you made up the fiction of harassment to push your agenda or sell your product, wouldn't it?

[deleted]
Post reply on HN