Anita Sarkeesian's advocacy organization Feminist Frequency is shutting down
Creator and media critic Anita Sarkeesian revealed to Polygon that her organization Feminist Frequency is coming to an end.
Sarkeesian is best known for her YouTube series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, which critiqued various video games through a feminist lens. The tropes in question ranged from simple ones like the Damsel in Distress to how in-game cameras lingered on women's bodies.
Over the years, Sarkeesian and her work gained a strong following. Developers such as Naughty Dog and Arkane consulted Sarkeesian in developing the female leads for their games, and the overall rise of female protagonists in games within the last decade can be partially attributed to her efforts.
Beyond her videos, Sarkeesian has spoken at various public events about representation and criticism within the industry. At GDC 2023 earlier in the year, she spoke about the recent diversity initiatives at various game developers, and the inherent issue they all share.
Various initiatives that spun out of Feminist Frequency, such as the accountability group ReSpec, will live on. But the overall group will disband by year's end, and its Games and Online Harassment Hotline will continue through September.
Speaking bluntly, Sarkeesian told Polygon she's "extremely burnt out," hence Feminist Frequency's closure. "I can’t offload that anymore." She admitted that there were points before now that she thought about closing the organization, particularly when she faced ongoing harassment in response to her work.
"I was so over talking about abuse," she stated. She acknowledged that she eventually got tired of "re-traumatizing myself for the sake of this audience anymore. And that’s when I started realizing that I’m just really fucking over this.”
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