Emily S. Whitten: A Female Gamer in the Maelstrom of #Gamergate

Emily S. Whitten

Emily S. Whitten writes everything from news, reviews, and interviews to how-tos, con round-ups, and opinion pieces for ComicMix and others; as well as comics featured on ComicMix, MTV.com, and Reelz.com; and occasionally even award-winning poetry and fiction. When she's not writing for fun or profit, she’s sharing geeky thoughts on the Fantastic Forum radio show and podcast Made of Fail. Emily is a convention organizer and consultant, and co-chair of the fourth North American Discworld Convention, which she co-founded. She has been Program Coordinator for Awesome Con and staff for several genre cons. Emily is a program moderator for Awesome Con and Fan2Sea; and you might also recognize her from her days of answering questions online as her alter-ego, Ask Deadpool. In her copious spare time, Emily enjoys crafting and cosplay, and looking after the cutest three-legged dwarf hamster in the world, ElliePuff. Oh, and when she's not doing all that, Emily is an active member of The National Press Club and holds down a 9-to-5 as a senior attorney for the federal government - although that may just be her superheroine cover identity.

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7 Responses

  1. No One Too says:

    It isn’t the gamers who are saying that gamer can’t be part of your identity because you are a woman. That’s from the articles declaring “gamers” to be dead, that’s from everyone shouting down #notyourshield as sock puppets.
    The things you’re saying don’t fit into the side you’re saying they do.

    • Nope says:

      You are literally spouting garbage kid.

      • Emily S. Whitten says:

        You have literally contributed nothing of substance or intellect to the discussion, which is not garbage, whether you agree with my opinions or not. Also I am not a “kid.” Way to be condescending to someone you don’t know.

    • Emily S. Whitten says:

      I’ve seen and experienced gamers expressing the opinions/viewpoints I discuss above. I am not saying (and did not say above) that every gamer believes these things (they don’t) – but I am saying I’ve encountered it, and others have encountered it, and it’s not something to be dismissed. It does, in fact, fit the “side” of some gamers, even if it also fits other speakers as well.

  2. Mindy Newell says:

    Whew! And women thought they had it tough in the comics biz!

    Stay strong, Emily!

  3. neverminde says:

    oh poor you you’re so hard done by being a girl in a world with filthy horrible men in it poor thing.

    i was being sarcastic you’re a biased and very possibly corrupt journalist.

    • Emily S. Whitten says:

      Nothing in my column asked anyone to feel sorry for me or indicated I think men are filthy and horrible – that you read it that way is an indication of your mindset and kneejerk reaction to this topic, not mine.

      My column discusses a problem that needs to be addressed, and postulates that women should not have to live in a gaming world where they are treated as lesser beings due to their gender. There are factual situations (cited in the column) of a number of instances where women have endured extreme harassment and criticism disproportionately and more publicly than any man in the gaming industry (unless you have a counter-example?). And that’s only the high-profile cases. It’s an ongoing, systemic problem, and needs to be dealt with. I’m not asking for sympathy: I’m asking for fairness and for CHANGE.

      This is clearly a problem in the gaming world, or the discussion of these issues would not be an ongoing thing. There’s a huge different between any of that and what your belittling response to my column implies.

      Oh, and do you have any basis for an accusation of corruption? Have I falsified or invented facts? Have I misquoted? Nope! This is an opinion piece and thought discussion rooted in a factual situation that has been, and is still, ongoing in the gaming world. Nothing wrong with, oh, I don’t know, expressing one’s opinion in an OPINION piece, is there? Please, please educate me about this subject. I’m sure you know better than my journalism education and highest marks in journalism ethics classes about how all of this journalism and ethical stuff works. (Note: I was being sarcastic just there.)

      Oh, and in case all of that is too much for you to comprehend, I can always reply in your writing style instead:

      oh poor you you’re so hard done by being a person who can’t comprehend and discuss the merits of a column about systemic problems articulately and must instead personally attack someone whose opinion you don’t like poor thing.

      i was being sarcastic you’re a troll of the internets and very possibly part of the problem which is why you can’t recognize it.