Gamergate Cannot be Sorted From the Outside, Says Australian Senator

Some of you may be aware of Gamergate. For those who don’t know, Gamergate was a controversy that began in August 2014. It concerned issues of sexism and progressivism in video game culture. Gamergate began when a former boyfriend of Quinn wrote a lengthy disparaging blog post about her, leading others to falsely accuse her of entering a relationship with a journalist in exchange for positive coverage. Quinn denied the charges, but in the internet world, things escalated quickly.

The movement resulted in women being harassed online, being driven from their homes in fear of threat and violence. Most of the harassment were coordinated through online discussion forums in websites like Reddit, 4chan and 8chan.

Things have changed since then. In the course of two years, the audience for gaming has become more diverse. “The fight has how become about how broad and welcoming the gaming industry can be. Australian Greens senator for Western Australia, Scott Ludlam told Mashable Australia the government has no direct role to play in Gamergate, but doesn’t rule it out entirely. “I don’t think the government has a role in culture wars,” he said. “Anytime a government is engaging in a culture war it always tends to end badly.”

There is a palpable tension in the going community over whether women and minorities will be included as the industry grows, and Ludlam understands this. But resolution won’t come via legislation. In the end the issue has to be dealt with internally.

“Ultimately, something like GamerGate can’t be sorted from the outside,” he concluded. “It’s a cultural hand grenade for this community that only it can sort out. It’s not going to get resolved by someone passing a law.”