Sexism and insecurity explain some of the attacks on @femfreq. I suspect the rest stems from the fact that for many enthusiasts, the only familiar methods of talking about videogames are forums and reviews that speak to not to thinking conversation partners but to potential consumers.

The tradition of academic cultural criticism is unknown to them entirely, and not knowing what to make of it, they engage it the one way they know how. It's a case of people speaking different languages but confusing the two since, superficially, they sound alike. So just as they circle wagons and ready themselves for war when a review score doesn't speak to their experience or expectation, they confuse constructive critical dialog with a simple assessment of merit.

Which is why they fear that Sarkeesian intends to invalidate their interests whereas anyone with a liberal arts education understands that, to the contrary, she stands to enhance their value by taking them seriously. Bridging that language barrier is important, and more so when your audience is as broad as this one.

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