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Comic for: January 9th, 2019
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Gamer Girls: "Army of Assholes"
Posted: Wednesday January 9th, 2019 by Woody

I've waited a few days for this story to shake out before responding in comic form. I think this is about as shook as it's going to get. But who knows? Every time you think the gaming world's treatment of women can't get worse... it does. Here's a terribly abbreviated version of the story:

A team in Contenders, the Overwatch feeder league, drafted "Ellie" who they believed to be a female gamer. Ellie was harassed and threatened with Doxxing. Ellie was accused of not being a female player but rather a male pro player on a smurf account, using a female participant to provide voiceovers. Ellie backed out of the team. Several male gamers were indicated as possibilities. Other male gamers claimed to be Ellie. Female gamers claimed to be the voice of Ellie. Game journalists didn't do their due diligence. Blizzard didn't do anything to mitigate the situation. Outrage was ubiquitous. Ellie was confirmed to be a male gamer. Supposed male gamer responsible for 'Ellie' claimed it was a failed social experiment. Outrage remained ubiquitous. And the value of female gamers was diminished, unfairly, yet again by an army of assholes.

If you want a more detailed explanation of the situation, this will likely do:
'Ellie' Scandal @ Forbes

I wrestled with the text of this comic. And, it still feels inadequate both as commentary and as an apology. In my head the entire concept revolves around my belief that "girl gamers" should be as big a part of the esports/gaming community as the males. But, there's so much toxicity in the system that they can't get a fair shot. I don't understand how insecure a guy has to be that he feels he and his dick-measuring buddies need to attack/threaten any and all females entering their space. Here's my advice to you 'Army of Assholes'... calm down, sack up, focus on talent, forget about gender, play the damn game, and enjoy the competition.

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