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Press release:
LOS ANGELES, California; August 1, 2023.
Feminist Frequency Executive Director Anita Sarkeesian announced today that the nonprofit will close, with its programs ceasing operations in the coming months.

Originally created by Sarkeesian in 2009 as a source of feminist media criticism, the project expanded to provide resources for the video games community, including the creation of the Games and Online Harassment Hotline in 2020. The Hotline will continue to be available through the end of September, and the remaining work of Feminist Frequency will conclude by the end of the year.

“I started this project to fill a need that was missing in the media criticism and video games space,” says Sarkeesian.

“Over the past decade and a half, along with an invaluable team of staff members and industry partners, we’ve accomplished so much to be proud of. Feminist Frequency grew into something I never could have anticipated when it began all those years ago.

At this point, I think it’s important to share that exhaustion and burnout—not uncommon in the nonprofit world—have taken their toll. The work we’ve done to effect change in the industry made a difference, and all of us at Feminist Frequency and the Games and Online Harassment Hotline are hopeful to see improvements continue to be made. But the time has come to close this chapter and rest before starting the next phase of my professional life.”

Program Specifics

The Games and Online Harassment Hotline

This free, text-based, confidential emotional support hotline will continue to serve the video game community through September 30, 2023. Its director, Jae Lin, will continue to run ReSpec, the Hotline’s accountability support space, thereafter. Comprehensive resources for players, employers, and workers in the games industry will remain on the Hotline’s website indefinitely, to continue to be useful as companies and individuals grow and respond to tension and change that may occur in the future.

Regarding the closure of the organization, Lin says, “It was so meaningful to grow the Games Hotline out of Feminist Frequency; it made all the difference in the world to be a project that was created and led by directly-impacted people. It’s been a privilege to reach nearly 650 people and support them in their moments of struggle, need, loneliness, hopelessness, anger, hurt, and everything in between. For three years, we got to offer this unique resource to the games community that was infused with compassion, trauma-informed care, social justice and abolitionist values, digital security guidance, and games industry and cultural awareness, and it really mattered.”

Feminist Frequency Community

Over the years, Feminist Frequency and the Games and Online Harassment Hotline have been supported by individual donors and corporate sponsors dedicated to creating a better industry and community for video games and media consumers. Sarkeesian, along with the Feminist Frequency Board and staff, wish to thank everyone who has contributed to the organization’s mission and work over the years. A final Annual Report will be published in early 2024 to review financial data and impact, and a private event will be held to celebrate the accomplishments of this community at next year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Feminist Frequency Radio

Begun in 2017, Feminist Frequency’s media criticism podcast has produced over 230 episodes. Its co-host since 2022, Kat Spada, will continue to provide free episodes, with bonus content available to Patreon supporters. The archive of past episodes, along with Sarkeesian’s previous media criticism video series such as Tropes vs Women and The FREQ Show, will remain free and accessible online.

In the years since its inception, Feminist Frequency has created a library of 118 episodes of media criticism and pop culture commentary, the Games and Online Harassment Hotline has fielded nearly 650 inquiries from game players and industry workers seeking support, and dozens of companies have sought out its resources to create improved workplaces. Sarkeesian and Lin have been consulted to speak about harassment, diversity, and transformative justice at numerous industry conferences, as well as by leading journalistic outlets such as The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Guardian.

Last year, Feminist Frequency received a Peabody Award in the category of Digital and Interactive Storytelling. In addition, Sarkeesian’s work with Feminist Frequency has garnered recognition from Cosmopolitan, The Colbert Report, Good Morning America, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Time magazine, The Verge, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. Along with Feminist Frequency’s previous Director of Operations, Dr. Ebony Adams, she also penned the illustrated book History vs Women (Macmillan). Her educational series on divisive moments when pop culture and politics collide, That Time When, is available on Nebula.

To support other organizations working to improve life in an online world, Feminist Frequency recommends learning more about the Coalition Against Online Violence, Take This, and Right to Be. For more information about Feminist Frequency’s history, visit its website at feministfrequency.com. To be notified when the final Annual Report is published, click here to subscribe to the Feminist Frequency newsletter. For resources about harassment and building a safe games culture, visit the Games and Online Harassment Hotline website at gameshotline.org.

Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround