Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

I think I'm probably more in the closet about liking Taylor Swift 's music than I am about liking girls. But anyway. I am in love with Swift's latest single, Shake If Off , with its powerful "Fuck critics" message and dorky, self-deprecating music video. In fact, as it is, it's the perfect anthem for women who have been at the receiving end of Gamergate attacks. This said, satirist Peter Coffin has upped the ante with this Shake It Off parody, rewritten to specifically tackle the Gamergate controversy - and what exactly Gamergaters are smoke-screening with their claims of "It's about ethics in games journalism."

There's little denying that the GamerGate controversy has done much to sour the public's perception of gamers - and, more widely, geek culture. Entitled. Abusive. Exclusionary. Looking at recent shenanigans it would be easy to view people who classify themselves as geeks as mean-spirited and self-absorbed. Of course, this is far from the truth. Focusing on gaming for a second - which is currently the most maligned of the geek factions - there are enthusiast-run projects like Extra Life and Child's Play  (not to mention industry/developer-supported projects like the Humble Bundle ). In all of these cases, geeks have raised money for assorted charities; many with a child-focus. Which brings us to The Enthusiasts Project from  Reluctant Femme blogger and crafter Cassie Goodwin ( @anwyn on Twitter ). You can read all about the objectives of the Project in detail here , but in a nutshell, it intends to celebrate all fandoms and passionate individuals... while giving ...