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LOS ANGELES — Feminist Frequency founder Anita Sarkeesian wrote a critical review of a recent gay porn video, citing the film’s lack of female representation as a sour spot for the entire industry.
“If you watch Bulging Store Owner Dominates Meager Twink Who Stole From Him, please be prepared to have a conversation with your friends afterwards about gender politics,” said Sarkeesian in a series of tweets. “The film, which features just two men and barely any dialogue except grunts and some repeated phrases after the two minute mark, easily fails the Bechdel Test. I wanted to like this film very much — the director’s sense of blocking was terrific — but there’s really nothing more important in film than representation. What are little girls supposed to think about their place in society when they watch a movie that features exactly zero women? I understand the argument that it would betray the desires of the main characters to have a woman included in the action, but why not one in the background, nodding in approval as she watches two lovers, and recites from Roxane Gay’s books?”
Sarkeesian’s Twitter thread drew both praise and criticism from those who read it.
“I have a lot of sympathy for Anita Sarkeesian after what happened with GamerGate, and honestly, I kind of have a kneejerk reaction to defend her no matter what ever since that happened. Which is why it sucks that she’s so annoying and wrong all the time,” said Twitter user @cum2papa89. “I think a lot of her criticism of video games is on point, but I resent that the next time I jerk off, thoughts of her bad tweets are going to weasel their way into my brain and ruin the whole thing for me. That’s on her.”
“Once again, Anita is crushing the game with her analysis. This really made me see Bulging Store Owner in a new light and I regret ever praising it so much to my friends and family,” said another Twitter user, @JosephVaughnsTwitter29. “She’s completely right about the gender politics at play in the film, and I think her point about the Meager Twink character is spot on. Meager Twink, who steals from Bulging Store Owner, is committing a terrible crime and the film doesn’t make it clear enough to the audience that he is the villain. He actually gets the most screen time of the cast and the film ends with him accomplishing his precise goals (for Bulging Store Owner to cum on his face). I think PornHub should rerelease the film with a warning at the top, explaining that theft is immoral.”
At press time, hundreds of Sarkeesian’s most critical detractors were reluctantly forced to defend her once her tweet thread made its way into rightwing circles of the internet.