Gamergate and Anti-Feminism in the Digital Age

ISBN-13: 9783031140594 / Angielski / Miękka / 2023

Jessica ODonnell

Opis

This book provides an in-depth, feminist and sociological analysis of Gamergate, a major social movement and anti-feminist harassment campaign. Gamergate provides a clear example of both how a modern anti-feminist ‘backlash’ is enacted, and how feminists in the digital age respond. Chapters connect Gamergate to the broader Men’s Rights Activism (MRA) political movement, examining men’s anxieties surrounding what they see as an erosion of male privilege, their conflation of privilege with rights, as well as their use of social media to harass and attack women as a response to their perceived oppression. Likewise, the author analyses the online strategies used by feminists to respond to this backlash, how social media is harnessed to build a feminist movement, the effectiveness of these online strategies, and the parallels that these actions have with those from previous waves of feminism. Finally, the author reflects on what has changed with regards to MRA, online harassment, and digital feminism after the height of Gamergate.This book will be of interest to scholars in Gender Studies, Sociology, and Media Studies.

Spis treści

​1 Introduction

2 Men’s Rights Activism and the Manosphere

3 Gamers and Gamergate

4 The Militaristic Discourse of Anti-feminism

5 Feminist Retaliation in the Digital Age

6 Changes Following Gamergate

7 Conclusion

O autorze

Jessica O’Donnell is an independent scholar with a PhD in Sociology from Northumbria University, UK and an MA in Gender Studies (Research Methods) from the University of Leeds, UK. She has published in Media, Culture and Society and worked as a research assistant for multiple feminist research groups.

Blurb

​"For anyone interested in what the contemporary backlash against feminism looks like – this book is for you. Gamergate and Anti-Feminism in the Digital Age tells the important story of anti-feminist rhetoric and hostility towards women in the gaming community that has been brewing for years."  
—Kaitlynn Mendes, Associate Professor of Sociology and Canada Research Chair in Inequality and Gender, University of Western Ontario

This book provides an in-depth, feminist and sociological analysis of Gamergate, a major social movement and anti-feminist harassment campaign. Gamergate provides a clear example of both how a modern anti-feminist ‘backlash’ is enacted, and how feminists in the digital age respond. Chapters connect Gamergate to the broader Men’s Rights Activism (MRA) political movement, examining men’s anxieties surrounding what they see as an erosion of male privilege, their conflation of privilege with rights, as well as their use of social media to harass and attack women as a response to their perceived oppression. Likewise, the author analyses the online strategies used by feminists to respond to this backlash, how social media is harnessed to build a feminist movement, the effectiveness of these online strategies, and the parallels that these actions have with those from previous waves of feminism. Finally, the author reflects on what has changed with regards to MRA, online harassment, and digital feminism after the height of Gamergate.

This book will be of interest to scholars in Gender Studies, Sociology, and Media Studies.

Jessica O’Donnell is an independent scholar with a PhD in Sociology from Northumbria University, UK and an MA in Gender Studies (Research Methods) from the University of Leeds, UK. She has published in Media, Culture and Society and worked as a research assistant for multiple feminist research groups.