The latest video from Feminist Frequency hit YouTube yesterday, and the world did not end. The video focuses around the Scythian of 2011 indie hit Sword and Sworcery.
While Anita Sarkeesian has been threatened in the past for her criticism of gender topics in video games, this video seems to be garnering a lot of support and next to no flack. The videos in Sarkeesian’s “Tropes Against Women in Video Games” series were the subject of bile-filled, volatile, bare-knuckled internet brawls.. but this new “Positive Females in Video Games” series is not likely to accrue as much hate.
In past videos, Sarkeesian’s criticism painted the world of gaming in a negative light by pointing out common tropes in games where female characters are often objects of sex and brutality. Many gamers, male and female alike, felt personally attacked when those videos criticized elements of their hobby. Many gamers lashed out in defense, painting Sarkeesian as a folk villain in the 2014 pop culture landscape.
The lens of Feminist Frequency’s academic criticism is now turned towards a critical analysis of games that break free from mold and throw sexist tropes out the window; these are games worthy of praise, the video argues.
The comments section is turned off, but many gamers on various forums seem significantly less hostile towards Anita Sarkeesian and this new video.
