The Fight Against Misogyny in Gaming Enlists Some Big Names (including Wesley Crusher!)

[REP]

What prompted a gaming writer to go on a Twitter rampage against actress, gamer, and self-described "new media geek" Felicia Day last weekend? The now-fired blogger says he was just acting "drunk and stupid." But the incident is yet another example of how easy it is for gamers to bond over misogyny.

"Does Felicia Day matter at all?" Destructoid contributor Ryan Perez tweeted to no one in particular last Friday night. "I mean does she actually contribute anything useful to this industry, besides retaining a geek persona?" Then, he tweeted directly to Day: "Could you be considered nothing more than a glorified booth babe? You don't seem to add anything creative to the medium."

Perez' tweets could've gone unnoticed a few months ago; if the U.S. had a dollar for every bitter, ignorant dude online, we wouldn't be in a recession. But there's been so much rampant misogyny in the gaming industry lately that people are justifiably on edge when it comes to sexism, and Perez woke up on Sunday morning to an onslaught of Twitter followers (he had around 50 when he first tweeted at Day, now he has almost 2,500) thanks to shoutouts from people like technology reporter Veronica Belmont and Wil Wheaton, who each have way more than a million fans following them on Twitter. "I have fucking had it with idiot asshole men being shitbags to @feliciaday because they're threatened by her creativity and success," Wheaton tweeted. "I'm sick of idiot men giving *any* woman grief in gamer and geek culture. Enough already, we're better than that."

Wheaton criticized Destructoid for employing an "ignorant misogynist," and soon, the website cut ties with Perez. "Destructoid has ended its relationship with Ryan Perez, effective immediately. We again apologize to @feliciaday and all others concerned," the website's editors tweeted. Perez also made a big, pathetic multi-tweet show of apologizing to Day, who classily accepted his apology.

You might think, what's done is done: a nobody writer says a shitty thing and pays the price. But let's revisit the original question: why did a gaming blogger risk ruining his career by calling Day a "booth babe"? Because he didn't think twice about the repercussions of calling a prolific, well-established gamer a "booth babe" since the idea that women gamers are "lesser than" is so pervasive within the community.



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[Scootaloo]

1. Man, do NOT piss Wil Wheaton off

He will go Axis of Anarchy on you so fast, and then make you kiss his bekilted ass to boot.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. Wil Wheaton is an asshole!

One of my favoritest things about him

and Felicia rocks
http://www.watchtheguild.com/

[whathehell]

2. Glad to hear it...From what I read and hear, it is a major problem. n/t

[Starry Messenger]

4. I love Wil!

I'm glad he puts himself out there to support women. Honestly, a lot of times you need someone like him to put the smack-down on a fellow male who is being a db for people to finally see the problem.

It's pissed me off for years that internet misogyny was just brushed off as "typical trolling".

[FloridaJudy]

5. I always thought Wil Wheaton had to be pretty cool IRL

To be able to mock himself on The Big Bang Theory. Usually people who really are assholes lack the facility for self-criticism. I just can't imagine Trump or Sheen getting up in front of an audience and admitting "I can be a real asshole at times". No, they seem to believe that they're God's gift to humanity or something.