Haven't added anything to the current discourse re sexism and feel awkward about it, all I feel is really worth doing is RTing wiser voices than mine

That said, I've been a shitty dude to women in my life, despite the fact I've been basically raised by women
Sexism and pedophilia-adjacent desires are ingrained in 100% of heterosexual men, in my opinion (just think about beauty standards for women)

I've seen firsthand how sexism and partiarchy shape our daily lives (sister being hit on by a policeman when she was filing for harassment, mother working tirelessly as a medical secretary free of charge), and I've personally benefited from it in many situations, as have all men

So in a gaming environment swamped with dudes, those mecanisms are amplified and concentrated in a way we literally can't fathom, and the work to undo all that is monumental
Work that's been done and is being done by extremely tenacious women in our communities

And as Alex said in her thread you should very much read, at an individual level it's about the conscious work of self reflection and correction which shouldn't be hard if you truly care about having an open and inclusive community

If you personally don't care to do the work on yourself, you shouldn't expect anything less than scorn and exclusion, which are necessary as a collective effort to create a welcoming space for women

If you talk to literally any woman in your life, involved in gaming or not, 100% of them are gonna have stories, that is a simple fact any amount of denial and rationalizing won't change, the problem IS there, it IS everywhere, and we can do something about it, each and everyone

Feminism isn't some kind of overreaction or conspiracy, feminism is a branch of social sciences that simply gathers and analyzes facts and broad tendencies, and you can't brush off decades of work by women who dedicated their lives to the betterment of society as a whole

I've already written too much and feel kinda gross about it, so please please go and listen to women around you, please think about your behaviors and desires behind them, ask yourself why and how (just read the Alex! thread for real)

And as a side, obvious note: women in gaming matter, trans lives matter, black and black trans lives matter, and all of those are black and white issues
Fuck nuance, fuck politeness, educate yourself or keep fearing the boogeyman of your choice ("cancel culture" and whatnot)

Follow the women in your communities, don't expect them to educate you (or not for free huh)
If you feel I'm being preachy it's because I am, and I can't think of anything better to do with my minuscule platform
There are thousands of ways for us to get a better understanding