Feminist Cyber-resistance to Digital Violence: Surviving Gamergate

Women in cyberspace do not escape patriarchal violence and are subject to strict social control exercised through technological means. Cyber-violence especially affects women with an explicitly feminist presence in virtual spaces. Their participation in and advocacy of feminist values are considered a transgression of the patriarchal mandate, which seeks to exclude women from public spaces or, failing that, to marginalise them. That is why they are the targets of grave intimidation, harassment and threats. At the same time, digital networks have spawned a plethora of spaces for women’s collective, political and social action. Thus, online activity has played a key role in the resurgence and revitalisation of feminist communities and debates. This paper analyses the projects launched by Zoë Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian, two of the main targets of the Gamergate movement. We will study: (1) Crash Override and Speak Up & Stay Safe(r), a helpline and a resource platform for cyber-violence victims, respectively; (2) feminist cyber-resistance projects, within the framework of cyber-feminism and the current paradigm shift in the culture of protest and feminist organisation.