All Quotes by Anita Sarkeesian
“The power of pop culture stories should not be underestimated, and there is an enormous potential for inspirational stories that can have a positive, transformative effect on our lives.”
“Anita Sarkeesian: For me, the big picture has always been culture change, and pop culture was just a vehicle and a medium through which cultural change can happen or it can be influenced by; so it’s not actually about video games. But it’s about video games, right?”
“Anita Sarkeesian: I think it’s important to recognize that harassment is, as someone had mentioned, it’s not just what is legal and illegal, right? Harassment is threats of violence, but it’s also the day to day grind of “you’re a liar,” “you suck,” making all these hate videos to attack us on a regular basis, and the mobs that come from those hate videos, etcetra.”
“If you want to get to know a character, learn about their interests, goals or desires, their butt is probably not going to give you that information.”
“Since mobile, indie and retro inspired games are built on a legacy of inequality in the medium the new wave of 80s and 90s nostalgia has brought with it a resurrection of the worst of the old-school damsel in distress stereotypes. Indeed, many of these new titles essentially function as to the trope as a way of paying homage to classic games of years gone by.”
“It's both possible, and even necessary, to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects.”
“Why are [...] female characters in combat roles wearing high-heels? With all the fighting, running and climbing these women have to do, dressing them in high-heels is clearly a decision rooted in sexualized aesthetic pleasure rather than believability.”
“Princess Peach is in many ways the quintessential stock-character version of the damsel in distress.”
“For this video I tried to get a glimpse of Batman's rear end, but it's as if his cape is a piece of high-tech Wayne-Industries equipment designed to cover up his butt at all costs.”
“The mystical pregnancy is one of the tropes that I loathe the most because while other tropes represent women in stereotypical ways, this one hits us on a biological level.”
“It gets worse and worse, it reinforces this idea of women as sexual objects, right; there's this idea of women as playthings for their amusement... [that] we are not meant to be treated with respect.”
“[On the GamerGate Controversy]: Ethics in journalism is not what's happening, in any way.”
“Well maybe the princess shouldn't be a damsel and she could save herself.”
“When the media we create excludes girls and women, fails to depict them as leaders and innovators or treats them as little more than side-kicks, love interests and sex objects, is it any wonder that women are systematically excluded and under-represented in so many careers and leadership positions?”
“There’s no such thing as sexism against men. That's because sexism is prejudice + power. Men are the dominant gender with power in society.”
“Not a coincidence it’s always men and boys committing mass shootings. The pattern is connected to ideas of toxic masculinity in our culture.”