There are parts that, admittedly, seem completely the result of over-exaggeration and/or pure fabrication... I don't want to marginalize the message, because it's a valid one, but yeah... Too much scare tactic. Personally, I find it very, very difficult to believe that a 13 year old girl not only gets openly told by a shopkeeper "old enough to bleed, old enough to breed", but then that a whole cadre of cronies would start chanting it like a mantra. Not unless the store just openly says "Pedophile Comics and Games" on the window. There's simply too many people, of all genders, who are very sensitive/hostile to the very thought of sexually abusing minors. Plus, it just reeks of caricature, not character, if that makes sense.
The other thing is the example of "It's 2007, 2008, 2009" etc. etc. If this happened even two years in a row, why would you ever, ever go back to that convention? I understand that this question is very close to "Well, you shouldn't do this, unless you expect that" or something, but it's not. This is a question of "What person in their right mind continues to go back into a situation that repeatedly proves to be traumatic, knowing what will happen?" because... I can't think of a one. Not without going into the patterns of psychological behavior that surrounds chronic victims, at least. This person doesn't read as that type, though, since they truly seem to hold the viewpoint that they're worth more than the abuse they suffer. The type of people who continue to go back to abusive relationships do not think that way.
But, even if the article is poorly written and exaggerated or even fabricated, in part or in entirety, there is a lot of truth to it, too. Gaming has traditionally been a boys' club, in the tabletop world, and it hasn't progressed to be inclusive gracefully by any stretch of the word. I have worked in one of the largest and most established comic/games/hobby retail chains in the US, and I've tabletop gamed all over this country with a number of folks and at a number of stores, conventions, and etc. I have never actually witnessed any example of the extreme actions presented in this editorial. I'm not saying that they don't happen. Not by a long shot. I have, however, seen female gamers being dismissed and otherwise made to feel inferior. Mostly just through snarky, holier than thou attitudes and comments. I've seen girls be ignored. I've seen girls being given undue amounts of attention (which is equally problematic), and all, but I've never seen an ass slap and then forced isolation when standing up about it. I think that we male gamers (or us male, white, hetero gamers) need to grow the fuck up, most of the time with these attitudes. Though, admittedly, I will say I have never once seen any bias against race or sexuality at a gaming table. Of any sort. I'm certain that it happens. There's the bigots in every culture, but I think that this sort of prejudice might be more rare than sexism.
What are your thoughts? Is my experience an altogether uniquely better one, or does it seem fairly standard?