Media critic Anita Sarkeesian plans two new video series’ to explore gender in games

By Will Fulton January 27, 2015

media critic anita sarkeesian plans two new video series explore gender games — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Media critic Anita Sarkeesian announced two new video series for 2015, as part of the 2014 annual report for her producing and advocacy organization, Feminist Frequency. The videos will focus on representations of men and masculinity in video games, and on highlighting positive portrayals of female characters in games, respectively. These are in addition to the site’s ongoing series of Tropes vs. Women videos, which kick off the new year with a piece called “Women as Reward”.

The organization also plans to expands its mission to include “advocacy around ending online hate and abuse [and] analyzing and advancing awareness of how gendered harassment operates online.” Sarkeesian is working with individuals in the community to foster a dialogue and consulting with tech and gaming companies to help them address issues of harassment within their own communities.

The report was published as a requirement for Feminist Frequency’s status as a registered 501(c)(3) non profit, which it acquired in May 2014. Last year was a tumultuous one for Sarkeesian, as one of the most prominent targets of the “Gamergate” movement’s harassment campaign.

The abuse seemed to hit a peak in October, when she cancelled a speaking engagement at Utah State University when local authorities refused to adequately respond to threats of an attack. To the chagrin of Sarkeesian’s detractors, the harassment only brought her greater public attention, and Feminist Frequency had a huge year as a result.

Listed accomplishments for 2015 include major coverage in outlets like The New York Times, Businessweek, Rolling Stone, and The Colbert Report. Feminist Frequency’s YouTube videos garnered over 5.7 million views in 2014 and its Twitter account more than doubled its number of followers from 66,000 to over 157,000. Sarkeesian was also awarded the Game Developer’s Choice Ambassador Award in March for her public advocacy about gaming culture.

No doubt due to the increased media attention over Gamergate, Feminist Frequency took in over $230,000 from donations in December alone, which will allow the organization to hire new staff and expand its programming for 2015.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

All Baobab Tree locations in Tales of Kenzera

Zau fights a dragon in Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

While it wasn't marketed as being a particularly punishing game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is by no means easy. You will have plenty of environmental challenges that can instantly sap your life, and the enemies you face -- especially the bosses -- are no slouches. When you first begin, it will only take a couple of bad hits to send Zau to the land of the dead himself. Alongside the Trinkets you can unlock through hidden challenges around the map, there are also Baobab Trees where Zau can stop to reflect on his journey thus far, have a short dialogue with Kalunga, and get a small addition to his health bar. Like everything in the game, these trees aren't prohibitively hidden, but you could easily pass one by and have no idea where it was when trying to backtrack. These are all the Baobab Tree locations so you can max out your health bar.
All Baobab Tree locations
There are six Baobab Trees to find in Tales of Kenzera: Zau and each adds a small segment of health to your total. When you collect them all, you will roughly double your HP bar. Here are each of their locations in the rough order you should naturally find them in. Most can be picked up on your first time through that area.
Ikakaramba

This one is very hard to miss as it is directly on your critical path. If you do, you can fast travel to the nearby campfire to grab it.
The Great Cliffs

Gaming

All Fallout games, ranked

The courier in his nuclear gear and holding his gun in Fallout: New Vegas key art.

Who would've thought the post-apocalypse could be such a fun time? The Fallout franchise has taken the idea of a Mad Max-like future and not only made it into a wildly popular game franchise but also a hit TV series. The core franchise has been around since the late '90s, and yet we've had only a handful of mainline entries in the series since it was revived by Bethesda with Fallout 3. With Starfield in the rearview mirror and the next Elder Scrolls title currently being the dev team's focus, it could be close to another decade before we can set foot in the wasteland ourselves once again. What better time, then, to look back at the franchise and rank all the games from best to worst?

Fallout: New Vegas

Gaming

NYT Strands: answers for Wednesday, April 24

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you'll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There's no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you're stuck and need to know the answers to today's Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.
How to play Strands
You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the "theme words" hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.