An average game studio.[/caption]In case you haven't seen, the twitter hashtag #1reasonwhy is being used by females working in video games to bring the sexism that comes with a male dominated industry to light. Even if the thought of this makes you roll your eyes and you think that this topic doesn't matter, I really wish you will take a second and scroll through these tweets. If you are not willing to even try to put yourself in another's shoes, you are part of the problem. You can read them here. From what I gather, this started after someone on twitter asked the simple question: why are there so few female game developers? The ladies then assembled their answers under the hashtag #1reasonwhy. These stories from women that work in the video game industry are infuriating and sad at the same time. Everyone deserves to have a career they love and they shouldn't have to worry about being bullied and treated differently because of their gender. It's sad that it is almost 2013 and women still get treated this way have to do something like this to bring attention to it.
This has even affected my day job. I just sell video games and electronics stuff and I have to deal with some of this this crap. It's just mostly little stuff, but it can be irritating. Customers come up to the counter to ask about a video game or a general tech question, if there is a male working and he is standing next to me, they will almost always turn to the guy instead of me. The other day, a lady was buying games for someone and she didn't know what to get. She asked what was popular and what was good. Then, a random guy showed up in the aisle and she asked him. He gave her the exact answers I was going to suggest. They assume that I don't like or know about video games or electronics.
Some really good stuff has already come out of #1reasonwhy. They were afraid that the horror stories from the #1reasonwhy hashtag would discourage women from wanting to make games, so they started #1reasontobe which is a collection of reasons why they love making games and why they put up with all the crap. Another hashtag that started is #1reasonmentors where women in the industry let other women who are interested in making games, either independently or trying to get employed by big companies connect with them so they can help them. This is great! This can make getting women into games a little easier. Women in general need to support each other more.
I think this showcases twitter's genius. It is making it super easy for these woman to come together and try to fix the problem. I am very aware that this isn't going to instantly change the video game industry. It's just a step in the right direction. It's shedding light on something that is easier to just keep quiet and keep working.
Of course there is already backlash. Yeah, it's not always kittens and sunshine for guys in games, but we are not talking about that. Women are a minority in the field and are actively getting discriminated against. This is workplace sexism. Plain and simple. This. Is. Not. OK. The industry needs to change. Can you imagine all the great things that could happen to video games if there were just as many woman making games as men? We would get more variety and better games. Much like books or film, the more people behind the creation of this stuff the more unique viewpoints we get to experience. Women are half the population and deserve to be treated like they are. This is a conversation that needs to be had.
I hope if you are a woman that has an interest in making games, you find inspiration and hope from this whole thing. We need you!
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