This week’s sidewalk catwalk is dedicated to a beauty with a purpose: Anita Sarkeesian, feminist, media critic, and blogger. Sarkeesian is the author of the blog “Feminist Frequency” and the video series Tropes vs. Women and Tropes vs. Women in Video Games. On November 5, Sarkeesian graced NU with her presence, giving a lecture in Blackman. She told her moving story of struggle and success to the packed auditorium.
Besides her signature hoop earrings and smile, Sarkeesian wears the best piece around: confidence. When she launched her Kickstarter project to fund the Tropes vs. Women in video games series, Sarkeesian received an outrageous amount of backlash and unthinkable death and rape threats by self-proclaimed “gamers.” Video game enthusiasts wanted to shut down her movement and harassed her to a disgusting extent; hostile YouTube comments, altered photographs portraying her as a victim of violence, and even the creation of an amatuer video game allowing players to simulate the beating of Sarkeesian. This was only the beginning for Sarkeesian, but she never backed down to these haters. She did not feel sorry for herself and continued pushing her movement even further. Although the fear of these threats scarred her internally, she never let it show. Her initial goal of raising $6,000 for the video series turned into over $158,000. Now, she’s a widely known feminist with a huge success story to share to the world.
The bottom line here is that a girl with confidence is a girl with everything. Of course we recognize the value of a fashionista’s award worthy outfit, but at the end of the day, confidence is the best accessory.