Friday 26^th June 2020

It seems that across many of the communities I frequent there’s been a multitude of revelations about sexual misconduct. Whether it be men in positions of power, or esports teams, it’s been quite horrific reading about the ordeals some of these women have gone through.

The worst of it, is a lot of it isn’t surprising. And the most annoying thing is that whilst the guilty parties try and save face, those who’d never dream of doing anything remotely like any of these accounts are sat around asking themselves if they could have been a better ally? Could they have stepped in more? Were they unobservant? What could they do better?

I found myself deciding little things such as refusing to accept drinks from anyone except publishers at conventions. Not because I worry about myself, but because I think a culture where a woman feels they can decline a drink from a professional isn’t seen as a faux pas.

What does worry me though is that just as old heroes are being torn down, so new ones are being erected. In one gaming community, someone is being lauded for their lack of misogyny. Yet you go into their stream, and it’s wall to wall homophobia. I worry we are just minimising one problem and creating another.

I think it’s important to speak less and listen to victims more at this time, so I’ve not said a lot about it. Plus, I think it’s easy to virtue signal, especially when the allegations are so bad.

So for now, I’m just going to listen.