Anita Sarkeesian is a controversial figure, to say the least. Sarkeesian originally started out making a series of videos about female-centric tropes in video games, and eventually became one of the central targets for 2014's Gamergate movement. Now, she's refocusing her work in order to fight against cyberbullies and harassers.
Sarkeesian's original project focused on how games represented female characters. However, in a lengthy letter posted to Kickstarter, Sarkeesian is looking to expand her efforts. In addition to continuing her "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games" series, Sarkeesian's show, Feminist Frequency, will be starting two additional series. The first one will explore "the representation of men and masculinity in video games" and a short mini-series of "examples of positive female characters in video games." She also announced plans to hire additional staff for Feminist Frequency (now a 501 (c3), rebrand her site, and "continue and expand efforts to advocate for equitable online spaces by educating and consulting on issues of gendered online harassment".
Sarkeesian's work has attracted her a number of critics and attackers, with one threat she received from an individual in September 2014 causing her to leave her home out of fear. This, on top of a series of events surrounding female game designer Zoey Quinn, inspired a move of self-proclaimed gamers to campaign against Sarkeesian, Quinn, and any video-game focused outlet that promoted her material.
After this long year of harassment, Sarkeesian expressed how such actions changed her end-goals.
"While Tropes vs Women in Video Games was originally a project examining women's representations, the extreme harassment that I experience has become an intrinsic and inseparable part of this project, fundamentally changing my life and the landscape in which I release my videos," she said. "It became apparent to me that I should speak up and use my experience to help expose the epidemic of online abuse."
