A little realization hit me while I was watching videos about #GamerGate recently. MRAs and #GamerGaters really seem to enjoy depicting themselves as cartoon villains. Above, the skull-in-a-Koolaid-pitcher mascot of MRA videoblogger Bane666au.
Below, a screencap from a video by Mundane Matt, one of the movers and shakers behind the whole #GamerGate thing.
Once the smokey skull intro is over, here’s what you look at the rest of the time when you watch one of his videos:
And while we’re at it, the logo for his channel:
When they’re not depicting themselves as evil skulls with creepy eyes, MRAs and other antifeminists like to identify themselves with fictional villains:
That is, when they’re not posing as supervillains themselves:
Oh, hey, it’s our friend Davis Aurini, from earlier today, in an unphotoshopped screenshot from a video of his.
Oh, and here’s a screenshot from a more recent video of his. Note the skull. That’s right: he owns a freaking skull.
I hate to tell you guys, but I think YOU’RE THE BADDIES.
Yes, I know I’ve posted this video before, but once again it seemed very very apt.
@Tyler Owen
We had this three or four times already. They targeted a woman as a scapegoat for an industry and tried to shame her into silence about it by calling her a slut. One of their many strategies was to redistribute nude images of her in what they figured was a move to socially discredit her.
It really doesn’t matter what they said or not said about feminism after that because all of that is straight out of the gendered harassment playbook.
@Tyler..seriously, dude, you blew it.
If you didn’t know Hoff Sommers is anti-feminist, then nothing you have to say is worth listening to.
Credibility = 0.
@Aitch:
I honestly don’t think they’re thick. I think they’re gamer dudes who are completely untapped into the wider discussion that happened to see what appeared to be incriminating screen-cap collages first, and decided to jump on board. No research, no real interest in the actual issues. Just saw the propaganda and decided to be part of the crowd.
Also, regarding the skull – my Masonic lodge needed a skull*, and the Grand Lodge informed us that we should get a not-real one. Using actual human body parts is considered disrespectful to the dead. So (at least in our jurisdiction) the Masons try to be less creepy than Anton LaFail up there.
*Probably better if I don’t explain.
Yes, you’re mightily protesting and boycotting Call of Duty and telling those companies to keep killing POCs for AMERICA out of your games. Go on, impress me and whow me those angry letters you sent to the army for daring to use video games as recruiting tools.
@Kakanian
Yah, when these folks talk about “ideologies” they always seem to mean, “I unexpectedly ran into something that didn’t exactly mirror my personal experience, and made me think about someone who wasn’t exactly like me.”
@kirbywarp:
It just seems like a staggering lack of web awareness. But if you feel like being nice today, I won’t stop you. 🙂
Did Tyler flounce without even saying goodbye and telling us how mean we are? Poor baby. I must have really hurt him with my uncivilized behavior.
@kirbywarp: Thank you very much! As for which people push ideologies, one major offender is those who follow Anita Sarkeesian (not her herself) as if she were the end-all-be-all of gaming feminism. While the gist behind her message is respectable (although I find her to be rather ham-fisted at times), there is a rather vocal portion of her followers who make outrageous claims as to what is considered misogynistic, racist, or otherwise socially offensive in gaming, and are amongst the first to attempt to pressure indie developers to meet their ideologies.
@Kav P (and the others stating that sommers is anti-feminist) : Sommers may be against “third-wave” feminism, but she is very much for equality, and refers to herself as an equity feminist. She may be against a certain thread of feminism, but she does adhere to the overarching message of feminism.
The speed of most of you posting is rather overwhelming, hahaha. I’d love to talk about this more at a slower pace however, please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you’d like to talk some more about this.
Splain feminism to feminists some more, fascinating manfeels man.
I’m pretty confident that I will not be emailing Tyler so that he can continue to instruct me about how CHS is actually totes feminist and my information is wrong.
And that’s an official flounce!
Let’s see if he sticks it.
@Weirwood: I’ve not flounced, but I am taking a break as you all are rather overwhelming 🙂 I’ve even given you an outlet to discuss with me more if you wish. Most of you don’t seem to be mean people, just rather on edge in some cases.
@Aitch:
No disagreement there, huuge lack of web awareness. 😛
It just struck me with Tyler and with “Lisa” earlier that they came into this fight knowing almost nothing about what was going on. Then, when they were made aware of what they didn’t know, they seemed genuinely frustrated by it. I guess it just highlights how, even online, something that could huge news for us could barely register on someone else’s radar.
EVERY TIME!!!!!
And why, pray tell, are you so confident that anyone wants to be mansplained by you? Just curious.
@Tyler:
… You’re welcome?
Alright, so not Anita then. Who are some examples of the vocal supporters who make “outrageous claims?” What are those “outrageous claims?” Examples man, we need them! Otherwise how would you even know what the disagreement is about?
OK, I’ll bite.What are the current goals and aims of the Gamergate movement, and where can I go to see those views expressed?
Because every time I look at a message thread on Gamergate, half of the supporters are complaining about Zoe Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian, or feminism-in-general, and the other half are saying that it’s not about them, it’s about some other problem, but then they never go into details about what that problem might be or how they plan to go about solving it.
(For fun, you might want to read back through the comments on this very article, see which posters support Gamergate, and then do a percentage breakdown of the topics they discuss.)
And what is this “overarching message of feminism” that Sommers adheres, too?
I’m not trying to “mansplain”. I am rather interested in the “opposing side’s” information, and what you guys and gals know that I might not. I’m honestly trying to read through other pages on the site, currently on the one linked to me above regarding “Lisa”.
I am trying to defend my viewpoint, as any sane human will. I’m sorry if this comes off as ignorant, but I’m genuinely interested in getting the full picture from both sides of the coin.
“Equity feminist” is an age-old distinction without a difference, like trying to draw a line between “micro” and “macro” evolution. Also see Egalitarians. The “certain thread of feminism” she’s vocally against don’t exist; they’re straw feminists.
Go actually read the links I gave you. Here’s the excerpt from the first (though there’s a link to follow in the original):
And here is another that gets to Sommers tangentially through Richard Dawkins’s recent offer of support. It deals more directly with this claim of feminist boogeywomen ruining the movement.
I’m filling in my GG bingo card, and I’m not sure – does this qualify as ‘a woman says it’s okay, so it’s not sexist’ or ‘mansplaining’?
“Women are bitches who lie about rape” is totes a feminist message.
@puddleglum:
Definitely the first, because Sommers was brought up original to lend credence to the idea that #gamergate is totally not anti-feminist.
Tyler’s dispassionate meaningless blather shows why 4chan sock puppets are having any easier time pretending to be upset female or minority gamers, as opposed to immediately going down in flames when pretending to be radical feminist women of color.
– Deny and/or distance yourself from the 4chan #GamerGate plotting. (Note: They often won’t or can’t distance themselves from 4chan in general and will speak in it’s defense when meanies mock it.)
– Identify yourself as a “gamer” and claim #GamerGate is a movement driven by your gamer comrades. (Note: It’s both hilarious and sad if any adults actually believes this qualifies as a movement.)
– Make vague references to the ideological threats posed by imaginary SJW enemies. Make vague references to journalism and corruption. When questioned for details, remain boringly vague at all times.
I’m not arguing that Tyler is a sock puppet, he could actually be a sincere doofus. It doesn’t matter, they can’t make any functional argument that a billion dollar commercial industry is going to be unduly influenced, much less significantly changed, by ideological critics of any stripe.
Press Tyler for specifics and, surprise!, out comes Anita Sarkeesian. I like how he realizes that it’s ridiculous to name just one women, so he adds “and her followers”. If Tyler hasn’t really flounced, he’s going to need to come up with actual examples that don’t involve Sarkeesian or Quinn. Ha ha, just kidding, he can’t and won’t.