games

Wundergeek: What made you decide to speak out? You could have just changed your opinions and stayed quiet, but you decided to speak out in some of your new videos. What was the thought process there?

Jim Sterling: There’s a number of reasons. As a “not straight” person, I’ve always cared deeply about LGBT issues, even when my vulgar turns of phrase and use of ignorant language may have made it appear otherwise. From some of my older videos and articles on the topic of gay issues and homophobia, there was a natural step toward examining sexism too.

Another reason would be the aforementioned looking into the mirror, and being of a frame of mind to finally see how much there is to talk about. This has gone hand in hand with many other games writers highlighting the problems, so many more now than there were a few years ago. It’s reached a point of exposure to where no reasonable person could deny sexism is a problem in game culture.

The third reason is personal. I’ve been a fairly prominent speaker in gamer culture for a fair few years now, and in turn have contributed to the form it’s taken. My earlier work was harmful in ways I never thought about, and in the years since examining that work more closely, it’s something I feel obliged to help make better. I want to be a more inclusive and positive voice for everybody in gamer culture, and that’s one of the biggest driving factors in my work, especially Jimquisition, tackling such topics with greater regularity. I don’t want to be Angel, fighting demons in LA to atone for my wicked ways, but I certainly don’t want to be a poisonous force in our culture.

Wundergeek: Have you experienced any backlash from the gamer community over your recent videos expressing concern about industry sexism? If so, do you think it has been comparable to the backlash Anita Sarkeesian has gotten for her videos tackling industry sexism? And if not, what are your feelings about that?

Jim Sterling: Some, sure. It’s a very odd thing to be called a “misogynist” and a “vagina warrior” in one day, but these things happen. I kind of get it from both sides these days. Through absolutely my own fault, I have many of people in feminist cicles who still feel alienated by me, while those in the camp of the bigots or the gamers who “don’t care about this shit” view me as an annoyance who was “gotten to” by the brainwashing feminists. These are the things I should expect, and more or less deserve.

It is, however, nothing compared to what happens when a woman dares tackle the same issues I do. Nobody threatens to rape me. Nobody says I “must be stopped.” The worst I get is an accusation or two and the obligatory reminder that I’m a fat fuck — not the most thrilling of engagements, but far better than consistent hate campaigns and utterly vile personal attacks and threats. Whenever I do a video on sexism, at least one comment will always be congratulating me on how better than Anita Sarkeesian I was. There’s an obsession with her, and I don’t understand it. Compared to my characteristically combative videos, Anita’s work is downright restrained. Yet I’m told I’m the reasonable one and she’s the radical. It makes no logical sense!

For me, confusion is the most dominant feeling over this stuff. I honestly do not get why Anita has been so especially marked.

Wundergeek: Some people are going to see this and assume that you are changing your tune out of personal interest; namely that you are turning your back on your sexist writing because of career and financial motivation, not out of genuine desire to change on your part. What would you say to those people? Which is the real Jim Sterling?

Jim Sterling: What could I say to that? There is no way to invite one into my brain with a flashlight to have a good old poke around, so there’s really no proof of sincerity. These accusations come up regularly enough, though funnily it’s not usually from feminists, but from angry male gamers who link to old blog posts about me to try and shut me up. That is yet to work.

I’ve been tackling more and more feminist issues, gradually attempting to evolve my work for maybe a year or two now, and I don’t believe it’s been a sudden 180, but a gradual change, which I welcome everybody to go and check out for themselves if they care enough to. However, it’s not something I wish to go out of my way to prove. I’m an unbelievably fortunate person to have the job I have, and the position I have, and I want to use that position to be a good element in the gaming community. It’s an element all are free to embrace or ignore.

I resolved never to say “I’m not sexist.” To echo a phrase I used earlier, it’s not my call to make. It’s up to the individual to decide, and if anybody decides I am, then I can only acknowledge that as a fair assessment and continue to work. It’s not as if I didn’t willfully contribute enough evidence.

Who is the real Jim Sterling? He’s an idiot who tries to be less of an idiot every day.