If I am ever looking for a way to capture certain cultural or social issues, I often find that Reddit is the place to go, particularly if that social issue is regarding women. I am bound to find countless Reddit threads making unashamedly sexist and misogynistic comments. This was no exception regarding the subtle misogyny used to gate-keep and criticise women’s interests, and I have come to the conclusion that women cannot like anything without facing some sort of criticism.

One of the worst areas for this is the gaming community. It is no secret that female gamers are far more susceptible to vile comments, something which seems to have become an inevitable by-product of the career. However, even casual gamers have to deal with misogyny. Women who enjoy games like ‘Call Of Duty’ face intense questioning from men in these communities, who perhaps feel threatened at the idea of a woman being good at something they view as an exclusively-male ability. With these ‘masculine’ games, women are forced to prove that their interest is genuine and they are intense fans of the games in order to feel like valid members of the community, in contrast to the men who are allowed to have a casual interest in the same games. The main issue with this is that it can make women feel intimidated or unwelcome in these communities, meaning they will be less likely to pursue their interests and thus widening the already present gender divide in the gaming community. Online gaming communities, particularly within esports, need to do more to regulate comments, something which will hopefully prevent the hostile environment female gamers often face.

On the contrary, games such as Sims 4 and Animal Crossing, both traditionally viewed as ‘feminine,’ are generally belittled by the gaming community. Women who say that they enjoy these games are often diminished and denied the opportunity to consider themselves ‘gamers’ as these games are not deemed serious enough. In reality, the gender divide for these games is not as extreme as people think, with ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ having an almost even split between male and female players. This suggests that the perception of the game as less valid is rooted in misogyny. In reality, games do not have a gender and the gaming community desperately needs to make strides in being more welcoming for women.

The way that certain games are diminished because of their association with a female consumer base is a problem similarly faced within the music industry. I will be the first to admit that my original dislike of artists like Taylor Swift stemmed from internalised misogyny, something many women experience as we are taught to hate women who manage to succeed, particularly those who we are told have little talent. Swift’s music often focuses on relationships and is mainstream, something which has led people, including other songwriters, to criticise her for a lack of talent. This is not a criticism I believe to be generally encountered by her contemporaries, such as Rex Orange County, whose music is also largely influenced by his experiences with relationships. The only discernible differences besides the genre of music is their gender, suggesting that people are more inclined to criticise artists with a predominantly female fanbase and proving that once again, women’s opinions are never taken seriously.

The music industry is also incredibly contradictory: female opinions regarding music are often belittled and invalidated, implying that there is no way that women could have legitimately good taste in what they choose to listen to, and yet all the while female audiences are pandered to, as one of the most reliable consumers. This was also present with literary franchises. For example, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars – which I believe was sold largely as a ‘girl’s book – was heavily criticised, whilst the movie alone grossed over $300 million worldwide, proving that it pays to rely on the female consumer. Bo Burnham criticised this paradox in his comedy special with the song ‘Repeat Stuff’ which mocks the generalisations made by musicians, such as One Direction, who appeal to their teenage girl audience in order to fulfil the economic dreams of their management team. The management both undermine the value of women’s opinions and perpetuate misogynistic ideas regarding the validity of women, all while profiting off these insecurities and relying on an audience that they simultaneously criticise for being like sheep.

Obviously in the fight for equality, the treatment of women’s values is not regarded as a top priority, rather presumed to be secondary to more structural issues, such as female representation in top-paying jobs. It might seem that women’s interests are less important in the fight for equality than these systemic issues, and yet continuing to gate-keep women from certain hobbies, diminishes women as people, suggesting that they lack valid opinions. Interests and hobbies form such a significant part of our identities that to deny the opportunity for self-expression to women is inherently misogynistic. It is an issue which subtly impacts the daily lives of many women and likely makes them question the value of their own opinions and hobbies. Hobbies like gaming are far more explicitly misogynistic, something which makes the community far less appealing to those interested in it, while the music industry tends to be far more subtly misogynistic, undermining women all while relying on them as consumers – a paradox which reinforces the position of women as inferior to men. On social media in recent years I have seen a growing community of women who feel more free to express their opinions and interests, regardless of the backlash that they might face – a confidence which will hopefully continue to grow until one day women are accepted as equally valuable to men in offering their opinions.

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