The idea for this assignment, taught in a junior-level composition/gender studies course at Ohio University, came to us while Gamergate was at its nadir. The loosely organized social media campaign attacked game developer Zoe Quinn and her Twine based game, Depression Quest, for its fundraising via the platform Patreon and because they felt–although this was proven to be false–that Quinn had received undo praise for the game because of her romantic involvement with a games journalist. At the heart of this attack was a construction of “gamer” as an essentialized identity; one that is male, socially conservative, and anti-feminist. The…
Author: Sarah Einstein
Sarah Einstein
Sarah Einstein is a PhD Candidate at Ohio University in Creative Nonfiction. Her book, Mot: A Memoir was selected for the AWP Prize in CNF for 2014 and is forthcoming from the Univ. of Georgia Press. Her work has appeared in The Sun, Ninth Letter, and other journals & been awarded a Pushcart Prize.