On International Women’s Day: Anita Sarkeesian and Keeping the Dreams Alive

[moyalynne]

Today is International Women's Day 2013:

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

On a day like today, it’s good to take a look back for perspective on how far we've come in the pursuit of equality. And yet, too often we are still battling to be able to do the things we want to do in life -- and fighting even for things as elemental as equal pay, equal rights, and safety from violence.

For anyone who has a daughter or knows a daughter anywhere, these struggles are immediate and shocking. But the biggest risk may be to the youngest dreams. Right now my 8-year-old daughter wants to be an entomologist. While she knows nothing of potential limitations and I’d like to keep it that way, she spends a lot of time with online games and is, of course, aware of the world around her.

Yesterday, Anita Sarkeesian released the first in her highly anticipated series on the representations of women in video games. If you are not familiar with the background of this series, the most important thing to remember is that she was not silenced by "the cybermob."

In honor of dreams of daughters, sons, women, and men everywhere, I encourage you to take the time to watch, and perhaps discuss with your own kids. And keep the dreams alive.

Anita Sarkeesian: Damsel in Distress: Part 1 - Tropes vs Women in Video Games