#1reasonwhy – Women in Gaming Panel

This past Sunday at the insanely crowded Toronto Fan Expo, I had a chance to sit in on the #1reasonwhy panel and discuss women within the gaming industry. The panel was hosted by the gracious Soha El-Sabaawi, who asked some interesting questions that sparked a positive and inspiring discussion. The panelists present (in order of appearance) were Michelle Lyons-McFarland, Cecily Carver, Leisha-Marie Riddel, Yuliya Boublikova and Jonathan Lavallee, who are all involved in the gaming industry in some way and brought a variety of viewpoints to the table.

If you aren’t already aware of the #1reasonwhy or the #1reasontobe hashtag, here’s the low down. Luke Crane sent out a tweet one evening that read, “Why are there so few lady game creators” with the hashtag #1reasonwhy. The result was pretty impressive and a large-scale discussion emerged that illuminated the extent of sexism that women in the gaming industry faced regularly. This discussion soon popularized #1reasontobe, where women in the gaming industry tweet positive reasons why they remain in the industry or why more women should break into the industry.
(If you would like a more in-depth look at the discussion that spawned #1reasonwhy check out this post on GamesIndustry.biz.)

Below you will see some of the key questions that were posed to the panelists, and some of the unexpected answers that followed.

Why is feminism important in this industry and why is this industry still such a “boys club”?

• Women always have to prove why they are in this industry, as if we don’t belong. There always has to be validation or explanation for a women in the gaming or tech industry.
• With every push forward towards positive change there is always a pushback.
• Women have always been here, but have been working in the background behind male frontmen to get the work done. Most people don’t realize how many women are involved in the background of the gaming industry.
• Some women need to apply for jobs via text-based modes of communication, like e-mail over Skype, so the employer can focus on your credentials and not your gender/sex.

Is this a nerd culture problem or is this a problem prevalent in the gaming industry alone?

• This is a cultural problem beyond nerdisms.
• Basic study on the masculine gender identity. Whoever has the power in that culture decides who “fits in” or what is “masculine”, and the type they are drawn to are those most like themselves. In this case mostly white males. Any threat of losing this power and comfort is a threat to their perceived “masculinity” and these people become very protective of their position in power. This reaction is natural, but there needs to be support to open their minds to change.

How do you open a discussion on gender or feminism in this industry?

• Encouragement through game content – feature a strong single mother as a lead character for example.
• Work towards changing our own default presets when making/writing concepts for games.
• As a guy – shut up and listen. As a straight white dude you are like a boat floating atop the ocean. There is a lot of stuff going on below the surface that you are unaware of or won’t understand. If you happen to make a mistake out of ignorance just shut up and listen, and be open and accommodating to the change requested.

What are some of the main challenges in responding to discussions regarding feminism and how do you avoid these?

• Being labeled instantly as a “white knight” or “sexually desperate” if you are a man.
• A lot of harassment comes from a critique of something loved. DamesMakingGames focusses on creating new content rather than criticizing the old content so that may be a reason why there has not been a huge backlash on DMG specifically.
• Engage the trolls, in real life or online. Don’t feed into them, but make sure to inform them that you disagree with their opinion. Even a simple “No.” is suffice. Studies have shows that in the minds of people who truly believe in racism/sexism or any form of discrimination, your silence is taken as approval or agreement to them.
• Humans are tribal. Individuals who are the most similar to us are those we feel the strongest kinship to. The oppressors need to hear the feminist message from those people, their kin, because that is the most effective way of bypassing their defences and potentially opening their minds to a new way of thinking.

Overall the experience was a really uplifting one. Plenty of rational points were made followed by nods of enthusiasm from every person packed into that tiny room. I’m so proud to see the monumental change feminists have fought for so far, and the growing enthusiasm and support for this continuous battle.
(DamesMakingGames Website)