IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… THE ARTICLES THAT HAVE CAUGHT OUR EYE
As ever, we’ve pulled together the biggest stories of the past month here for you…
If you read just one thing this month, make it this: Cosmopolitan’s interview with the awesome Jay-Ann Lopez (Black Girl Gamers) and Stephanie Ijoma (NNESAGA) about their Gamer Girls Night In. “Gaming is having a ‘girl boss’ moment right now,” agrees Jay-Ann. “Curlture taught me a lot about influencing and how to market a business. I was also invited to a lot of events as an influencer and so with GGNI, I thought hard about what makes an event exciting and memorable, reflecting on ones I’ve attended. Beauty, fashion, and gaming have typically been so juxtaposed, but I love all three [so it just made sense to create something that marries them together].”
‘Women make awesome games.’ This camp helps them make more: The Washington Post shines the spotlight on the brilliant Girls Make Games organisation.
October 18th is World Menopause Day. Organised by the International Menopause Society, it was created to raise awareness of the menopause around the world, and to support options to improve the health and wellbeing of mid-life women. Find out more here.
Polygon suggests that Elden Ring’s Malenia character ‘embodies FromSoftware’s problems with women’: “Malenia is made up of this same stuff and isn’t unanimously hated, either; there is passion for a giant, red-haired women in armor. It’s obvious that there is a contingent of the audience antagonized by her presence as both a boss (even if optional) and a figure in the game’s story.”
Congratulations to Women And Hollywood, which is celebrating it’s 15th anniversary. Founder Melissa Silverstein discusses how, when she launched the organisation in 2007, “a woman had never won an Oscar for best director; a woman of color had never directed a $100 million movie; women leads in big budget movies were negligible; no one was supposed to talk about the sexual abuse rife across the industry; and Hollywood’s #MeToo reckoning was a decade away”.
… Sadly, a report by Screen Rant has revealed that abuse and misconduct in Hollywood is still rif…
Meanwhile, still with the movies, there has been much controversy surrounding Netflix’s portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in its movie Blonde. And it’s time to leave Monroe, and other public women alone, says Refinery29: “Monroe may have been among the first, but she’s far from the last famous woman whose trauma has been obsessed over by Hollywood. From Princess Diana to Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears, we can’t seem to get enough of belaboring the lives of tragic white women, even when they’re no longer here to give their consent…”
Last month, the Women in Games marketing and comms sub-group invited women and allies across the community to take part in a survey designed to help provide advice and guidance to individuals and studios of all sizes. There’s still time to take part – click here to take part.
Couldn’t Agree More #1 Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook tells the BBC that there’s “no good excuse” for a lack of women in tech
Couldn’t Agree More #2 International Business Times reveals why it’s a good career move to join a women’s business networking group. The Women in Games community is a great example of how women and allies can support one another and work towards the greater good for all.