New Series: "Lady Bits"
“Lady Bits” is a tongue and cheek title for a new series by Liana Kerzner. The series tackles videogame culture as it exists today.
“Lady Bits” will explore the current state of videogame culture with some humour and an open mind. It’s not all fun and games however as the impetus for starting the series is partly an effort to restore the reputation of gamers and their culture by exploring what being a gamer is really about.
The series will feature stories from videogamers, developers, and other insiders including Kerzner herself. She will also delve deep into serious questions about videogames and those who play them, in order to demystify aspects of the culture.
It should not be understated how important this series is to some videogamers as media representation of gamers has been overwhelmingly negative, particularly in the last few years. “Lady Bits” will attempt to shine a light especially on the positive aspects of the community of gamers as this aspect is sadly not all that well known.
Kerzner’s expansive knowledge of media from having worked in Canadian television, games development, and at gaming publications on its own lends to the prospect of a very informative series. It goes without saying that Kerzner is herself a gamer in the full meaning of the term, but in researching the new series she chose to undertake an enormous effort in speaking with countless individuals in the gaming community. While her work on this series may not be rightly considered clinical or even academic, an honest look at gamers is sorely needed today.
The project is crowd funded by fans, and possibly some detractors as well. This undertaking is likely of particular personal importance to her and many other gamers in the wake of GamerGate and other scandals. Additionally for Kerzner, being a self identified feminist carries baggage within much of the gaming public following the rise of Anita Sarkeesian. While Kerzner herself is a critic of Sarkeesian’s rise to power and its alleged damage to the industry, it is reasonable to assume that funding for the series and the overall size of Kerzner’s audience has been hampered in Sarkeesian's wake. Kersner is now faced with the unenviable task of cleaning up feminism’s image with gamers as a result, whether she wants to or not.