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Last month I wrote about the release of the LEGO Ideas Research Institute set. This set, which is a collection of three female scientists, sold out on LEGO’s website within 6 days. Recently, LEGO announced on their website that the Research Institute would no longer be available online, but (hopeful) […]
I feel like all of our blog posts lately have started with something along the lines of “in the wake of recent conversations”. Nonetheless, here I go: in the wake of recent conversations, I’ve been thinking again about what seems to be an eternal debate among gamers and in game […]
As we have seen over and over in the past week, feminist are rarely, if ever, in full agreement on any topic. We may have general goals that we share, for example full equity for women, but as for how we go about that, it varies. I have even seen […]
As you may know, the Sims is one of my favorite franchises. In high school, my mom, my boyfriend, and I had a computer schedule so that we could each get the same number of Sims hours in per day. I was, am, and always have been, obsessed. People wonder […]
In my experience as a consumer of Japanese animation, I have found that most anime can be grouped into two overarching categories. The first are those that actively embrace fanservice or, in other words, scenes or even full sequences that pander to the male gaze in a distinctly sexual way. […]
Yesterday, I got sucked down the rabbit hole of watching anti-Sarkeesian YouTube videos. Many of the arguments against her are laughably ironic, but one in particular stood out to me as not ironic, but just sad. In the video, Anita was accused of shutting down the conversation because she has […]
At a faculty picnic last week I was asked if I was a gamer by a very well-meaning (but completely out of the loop) fellow faculty member. I almost laughed- it’s been a pretty rough few weeks in gaming culture and I know this faculty member didn’t have any idea […]
Game critic Anita Sarkeesian and her family were driven from their house earlier this week after she received a series of extremely violent sexual threats towards her and her parents. The week before that, game developer Zoe Quinn (creator of Depression Quest) had her personal life (both real and imaginary) […]
So I have to make a confession to make, I tend to taunt casual gamers relentlessly. Not because their not gamers, but because it’s just fun. Especially since I go through periods where all of my gaming happens on my phone or tablet. But I have to admit that I […]
Episode 84: Standing Around With Your %#@& In Your Hand: On Terrorism, Zoe Quinn, and Anita Sarkeesian (“Save As” to download or head over to iTunes to subscribe) In this episode we talk about the difference between harassment and terrorism on the Internet and the goings on of the last two weeks.
Check out our live podcast happening right now at https://plus.google.com/events/comaa6q49d8d3vkeans03nrn03o
We’re all busy. And, since I entered the dissertation stage of my academic career, I feel busier than ever. Or, at least, I feel more internal pressure to be busier than ever. At the same time, I recognize that I need balance. All-dissertation-all-the-time may sound like a good idea in […]
Hey folks, You may or may not know that last week marked my first week as a professor (yay!). This week classes have begun, and with it my stress meter is off the chart. I haven’t had time to do much gaming. Primarily I’m playing online Settlers of Catan (iPad), […]
Have you ever thought of what animatronics do after closing time? How do they preoccupy the midnight hours between the rounds of screaming children? Do they need some release after being poked, prodded, and pulled by greasy fingers? Do the smiles of those kitschy mascots stay innocently cheesy even in […]
It’s been a rough week. As I started trying to compose this week’s post, I knew wanted to talk about comments. I wanted to use this story as a lead-in to my conversation: The Real Problem with Sex Workers in Video Games. I wanted to talk about women’s voices and […]