Women and Gaming Industry

The agenda in Turkey is quite intense and continues to progress at a rapid pace. Every news story about women now sinks deeper than before. The lack of solutions and the failure to take the necessary actions are more than enough to make the atmosphere in our small worlds even more suffocating.

I would like to sadly take a lesson from this agenda, choosing it as an issue*, and apply it to my sector.

The sector I work in is software, specifically in the field of gaming. I work in this field willingly and with passion. It’s not out of obligation, necessity, or need. I’m here solely because I love it, and I continue for that reason.

What catches my attention the most in games is the disrespectful attitude towards women. Even in small mobile games, I’ve heard statements like, “Let’s use her, let her wear revealing clothes, her presence here is needed,” and I couldn’t help but feel more than just discomfort; I had no other thought but to leave those environments. The situation is so widespread and so accepted that I notice very little discussion about these games, which people spend hours playing, and there are few companies, publishers, and advertising agencies that seem willing to pay attention to this. These days, I can’t help but ask myself, why didn’t I share this sooner? Why didn’t I speak up about this earlier?

Yes, let’s have fun, yes, let’s play games, yes, let’s create beautifully designed games. But let’s not do this by presenting women as sexual voids, weaknesses to be exploited, or vulnerabilities to be abused. I believe it is essential, important, and easily achievable to continue with this in mind, both in the design and the narrative of these games.