Video Game Group Blasts U.N. Report About Online Harassment as “Flawed” and “Misguided”
Although this article is not directly related to gendered issues, it has highlighted an important issue in video games and online entertainment regarding gender. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is at odds with the UN due to the recent report about online sexual harassment, “Cyber Violence Against Women And Girls”. The ESA accuses the UN of creating an “uniformed, misguided, and unfortunate report” that “utilizes hyperbolic, outlandish, and outdated notions of video games and gamers.” In particular, an opinion article from 2000 was cited in the report that portrayed video-games as a brainwashing mechanism that “turned children, mostly boys into ‘killing zombies’.” The ESA refutes these claims by pointing to professional research and court rulings that argue against such theories of psychological manipulation.
The problem here is that a major government is dismissing a massive portion of their population as brutish and sub-human. Not caring enough to properly research and learn about a very real and serious issue sends an incredibly disrespectful message to gamers, and devalues credible academic work. By publishing a misinformed official report, the UN has stifled real progress in the cyber security, damaged their own and the video game industries reputation, and rejected a population with a size much greater than I think has been appreciated.
Wade McIntyre