Community Corner
POLL: Is Sexual Harassment During Online Gaming "Part of the Game"?
Female online gamers are getting targeted when they reveal their gender to competitors.
Trash-talking during a casual game of baseball is one thing. Batta-Batta-Swing!
But sexually abusing somebody during a video game chat is another matter altogether.
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Abusive sexually-tainted taunts aimed at female players during online video games are more common and aggressive than ever before, according to Forbes.com.
In these games, players can chat in real time with their opponents on the other side of the country or world while their avatars fight each other. The chatting technology is intended to enhance the gaming experience, but for some it is turning into real-life harassment. And it's mainly aimed at women, according to The New York Times.
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In an example this year that has sparked a national debate, gamer Miranda Pakozdi endured sexual harassment from her coach that was so intense that she chose to forfeit competition in a recent Cross Assault video game tournament. In a video of the harassment during the competition her coach launches into a 13-minute stream of sexually-themed remarks while she played the game. (caution this is not for all audiences.)
So you tell us. Is it all part of the game, or does it have to stop?
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