Polygamer - A Podcast of Equality & Diversity in Gaming & Video Games
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Guests
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

John Oliver on online harassment

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Ken Gagne
John Oliver

Weekly news show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver takes a satirical approach to news, similar to The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. But that doesn’t mean the issues it addresses aren’t serious. On the June 21, 2015, episode, Oliver tackled the issue of online harassment, opening with a clip from the documentary GTFO and featuring interviews with Anita Sarkeesian and Brianna Wu:

I’m sometimes asked why I focus on sexism in gaming and not in other fields, like politics or the film industry. It’s not because gaming is the only arena in which sexism is rampant — it’s not — but it’s where it’s most flagrant. As Oliver said, "This does not just affect women in gaming; it can potentially affect any woman who makes the mistake of having a thought in her mind and then vocalizing it online." Harassment is not free speech when it scares other people into sacrificing their own right to speak their minds. We need to all feel safe enough to stand up for ourselves without fearing threats to our lives, bodies, and loved ones.

Fortunately, as Oliver reported, some major players in the online space are starting to take responsibility for their role in allowing such harassment to occur. In the past months, revenge porn has been prohibited by Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. Whether these new policies will be effective or enforceable remains to be seen, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Posted in Elsewhere | Tags: GTFO, harassment, HBO, John Oliver, Last Week Tonight |
« Polygamer #24: Happy Father’s Day, Edward F. Gagne
Polygamer #25: Lilian Chen (Milktea) on Smash Bros. & sexism »

Subscribe

Get our free email newsletter for updates on equality, diversity, podcasts, and more!
Send voicemail

Leave us a message, and we'll answer it on a future episode!

My Tweets

My Tweets

Recent Posts

  • Polygamer #108: Dr. Rachel Kowert of Psychgeist
  • Polygamer #107: Kelsey Lewin of Video Game History Foundation & Pink Gorilla Games
  • Polygamer #106: Courtney Garcia of Screen Therapy
  • Polygamer #105: T.L. Taylor on Twitch streaming
  • Polygamer #104: Creatrix Tiara

Other podcasts

  • +7 Intelligence
  • Diversi
  • Engage!
  • Fresh Out of Tokens
  • Gay Gods of Gaming
  • Gayme Bar
  • Gayme On
  • Girl on Guy
  • Less Than or Equal
  • Minus World
  • Not Just a Game
  • Nuchallenger
  • Spawn On Me
  • Take This

CyberChimps WordPress Themes

Creative Commons License Polygamer by Gamebits is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://www.polygamer.net/. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://www.polygamer.net/about/.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.