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Adam Savage on #Gamergate and Harassment of Women Online

Last week I got the amazing opportunity to check out Adam Savage’s secret cave of radness, which is filled to the brim with movie props, costumes, and space helmets. I was tagging along while Indre Viskontas interviewed Adam for Inquiring Minds (full disclosure: Adam and Indre are friends of mine and the producer of Inquiring Minds, Adam Isaak, is my partner. So. Bias!).

The full interview is great, but my favorite part was when Adam weighed in on the issue of #Gamergate and harassment of women online. I know this is an issue he feels passionately about, and I also know that there are a lot of people in his audience who he can help educate and motivate. I hope he gets more opportunities to speak out about it – it’s unfortunate but true that a man will have more of an impact saying the same thing women have been saying for years. Adam knows this and takes great pains to make sure he is helping without speaking over women. He’s one of the best, most thoughtful male feminists I know, and I’m glad that other people are now seeing that side of him as well.

Anyway, enjoy the clip from the interview above, or watch the full interview below!

Full interview:

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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8 Comments

  1. Rebecca Watson,

    I really like Adam Savage. I’m really glad he spoke out on the “gamer gate” issue. I think he made an especially good point when he mentioned how so many people in our culture want to push others back and seem to think that they’ll get rich by either winning the lottery or suing someone.

    1. Pls forgive me, but how is Mr. Smith’s opinion on #gamergate relevant to the conversation. His show was very interesting and fun, but he may need to get some of the PR sun shinning on this movement. Which is fine, he is interesting.

  2. I remember several years ago when the Mythbusters cast were guests at TAM (TAM 6? or 7?). Kari Byron was on stage w/ Penn Jillette (there must be video of it somewhere) and he said something to her like “So they put you on the show to sex it up & drive up ratings?” or something like that. It shocked me at the that he would be so disrespectful & dismissive. & that was when? 2009?

    1. I believe that Adam Savage is now on the board of JREF, which gives me hope for the future of that organization.

  3. I know this has nothing to do with gamergate (I must admit that I wish gamergate would just go away), but the most thought provoking thought of the entire interview comes right at the end, “The power to say yes is the only real power, but almost no one has that power. Almost everyone has the power to say no, and the problem is…because it’s the only power they have, they use it as often as they can.” Brilliant.

    I loved the entire interview. This is a guy, whether he’s right or wrong, is passionate, and maintains a sense of humility despite his success.

  4. I think what we’re dealing with foremost is a narrative in “geek culture”, where “geek” men are a class of underdog persecuted people; they weren’t popular in highschool, they didn’t date anyone, and they feel this is because they’re a member of a class, like they’re starless sneeches. Subsequently, they’ve eaten up the prevailing meme/trope across media of the ordinary guy doing something great and “getting the girl” as a result. They feel entitled because they feel they’ve been cheated by society; and therefore, when feminists advocate that they’re a member of a privileged class and need to wield that power gracefully, that challenges that narrative; and therefore, they’ve created an additional narrative, that a bunch of hysterical women (who they see as being a more powerful class than “geeks”) are trying to bring them down again.

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