Stephanie Guthrie let me interview her, and Dork Shelf published the results

Hello and welcome to the women of the world and the men who aren’t afraid of them! If you’ve arrived here because of my interview with Stephanie Guthrie for Dork Shelf, then I’d like to thank you very much for visiting. It’s been making the rounds in a rather big way because of your shares, likes and RTs, and I’m grateful for every one of them.

This interview was a real pleasure to do, and in light of the recent demands on Stephanie’s time, a real honour as well. I’m proud to say I’ve known Stephanie for quite a while, dating back before she founded Women in Toronto Politics, and certainly well before she became an overnight feminist sensation by taking on the creator of a violent, misogynist video game. It came as no surprise to see her handle the ensuing fame and fallout with courage and dignity.

I approached her about an interview without having spoken to any potential publishers. She said she’d like to see it appear on a site suited to gamers, so I dropped a line to Will Perkins, who’s the editor of Dork Shelf and an authority on such things. I was only hoping for a couple of referrals, so I was pleasantly surprised when he said he’d like to take it on himself.

The results were published this morning, and the reaction’s been very positive – not only in terms of hits and linkage, but also in a “nobody put their controller down long enough to tweet me a death threat or tell me I don’t have a penis” sense. Will directed me to a pretty pathetic thread on 4chan, but of course it didn’t mention me. I do have a sad, sick feeling that I would have gotten much more negative feedback if I was a woman – although if I were, to be fair, the “no penis” thing would have been spot on.

The credit this piece has gotten online for being insightful or incisive ought to go to Steph. If I asked any important or clever questions, it’s only because I knew she’d have important and clever answers. I did what I could to aim the dialogue at men, gamers and otherwise, and I hope that comes across in the results.

Speaking of which, it’s a wonderful, touching coincidence that this piece was published on what would have been the birthday of Jack Layton, who co-founded the White Ribbon Campaign. If you’re a man who cares about women, and you want to help fight for equal rights in a respectful and manly way, then join the world’s leading organization in all of those things and more.

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