Feminist Frequency Removes Fan Art From Tropes Vs. Women Banner

[Andy Chalk]

Feminist Frequency Removes Fan Art From Tropes Vs. Women Banner

Anita Sarkeesian has apologized for using the fan art image of Princess Daphne in the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games banner, saying the Feminist Frequency team mistook it for official art.

It came to light earlier this month [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132778-Anita-Sarkeesian-Stole-my-Artwork-Claims-Blogger] that an image of Princess Daphne of Dragon's Lair fame used in the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games banner was not actually a "real" image of the character, but rather a fan art rendition. The artist, Tamara Gray, wrote an open letter accusing Sarkeesian of stealing her art, using it for commercial purposes and refusing to respond to her inquiries.

It appeared to have all the makings of an ugly situation, but cooler heads have prevailed; the offending image of Princess Daphne has been replaced by a properly official one, and Sarkeesian has posted an apology and an explanation of how it all happened in the first place.

"Her rendering of famed animator Don Bluth's character Princess Daphne is so professional looking that we honestly thought it was official art used in the marketing of one of the dozens of Dragon's Lair remakes and ports that have been released over the past 30 years," Sarkeesian wrote. "Compounding our confusion, Tammy's image is used on many video game sites and forums without proper attribution to the artist and without indication that it is fan art. It was on one of these sites that we originally found the image which was grouped with many other official images of famous female gaming characters."

Sarkeesian maintained her original position that the transformative use of the image qualifies as fair use, "but since we honestly did not intend to use fan art in this case, we have voluntarily gone ahead and replaced the fan art in our old collage as a gesture of goodwill." She also said reports stating that Gray's initial inquiries went ignored are false, and that the team responded to her as promptly as possible. "We did not see her 'open letter' blog post until after we had already sent her our first response," she wrote. "We did not feel it would be appropriate or professional to publicly discuss this incident until a resolution could be reached."

On her blog at Cowkitty.net [http://cowkitty.net/], Gray thanked Sarkeesian for removing the image but expressed regret that they couldn't reach an agreement that would allow her to continue to use it. She did leave the door open for future use, however, as soon as Sarkeesian provides proof that Feminist Frequency is a properly registered "non profit public benefit corporation."

"While I'd love to take your word for it because women + games is a topic that is true to my heart, it wouldn't be fair to the other orgs I've worked with to give you permission without proof," Gray wrote. "I know it's frustrating, but I have to at least try to play fair and not play favorites."

Sarkeesian noted in her blog post that Feminist Frequency is in fact registered in California as a public-benefit non-profit corporation.

Source: Feminist Frequency [http://femfreq.tumblr.com/post/79882515581/recently-it-came-to-our-attention-that-we-had]


Permalink

 

[Barbas]

Well, there's a sensible, pleasing outcome. Jolly good!

 

[1Life0Continues]

Bids on the overabundance of boys coming to express their "views" on Sarkeesian that aren't in any way related to this article and instead intend on proving every complaint about video games as justified are now open.

Bidding stops at the very first one.

OT: Wait, you can license fan art now?

 

[ShakerSilver]

Good.
Now if she could credit all the LP footage she used without permission and actually come out and said that she hasn't played any of the games she's critiquing, then I'd be cool with her.

 

[Uratoh]

Good.
Now if she could credit all the LP footage she used without permission and actually come out and said that she hasn't played any of the games she's critiquing, then I'd be cool with her.

Now now, you and I both know that's never going to happen.

 

[Madmonk12345]

https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/frmDetail.asp?CorpID=03587383&qrystring=FEMINIST+FREQUENCY

I'm posting this early on in hopes that the thread doesn't devolve into endless discussion of whether or not Feminist Frequency is a nonprofit or not, or how she's lying about it etc. etc.

The link goes to official proof from government databases on the status of Feminist Frequency as a nonprofit. Nothing to debate about.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I'm interested in the actual legal validity of the transformative work argument she used. If, hypothetically, the fan artist took Sarkeesian to court over this would Anita have an actual case?

Either way they should of probably just gone ahead and replaced it immediately after receiving complaints, it would have been more professional, compounded the idea it was just an honest mistake, and really wouldn't have costed them much at all.

 

[Karadalis]

Aaand thats a lot of hogwash. Feminist frequency was used by her to make alot of cash.. the 160k kickstarter money itselfe was a huge profit for her, and she to this day refuses to answer where the money went (obviously not into the quality of her videos being produced or any research done)

She got paid to speak infront of audiences, was interviewed on TV and landed herselfe a nice and easy job in the games industry.

To claim that feminist frequency is a "public-benefit non-profit organisation" is only true in lawyertalk. After all she obviously profited the most from everyone involved.

Oh and before all the "she only asked for 6k dollars" crowd show up:

Didnt stop her from keeping all of the 160k kickstarter money she got now did it? She didnt gave away any of that money she didnt really "need" (since she only asked for 6k remember?) to charity or donated it to the feminist cause. Other kickstarter projects will add more features and content and/or quality and polish the higher the money counter rises.. she didnt do any of those.. and after what now.. 2 years? She hasnt even reached half the number of videos she promised to make... after 2 years and 160k grand.... i wish i could be this lazy and get so much money.

Her wardrobe and makeup have improved alot thought....

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Well, I'm glad to see that she took it down and apologized. Taking the high road is a rare thing these days it seems.

 

[faefrost]

And a very very revealing one. Here is the key takeaway to all of this...

"On her blog at Cowkitty.net, Gray thanked Sarkeesian for removing the image but expressed regret that they couldn't reach an agreement that would allow her to continue to use it. She did leave the door open for future use, however, as soon as Sarkeesian provides proof that Feminist Frequency is a properly registered "non profit public benefit corporation."

"While I'd love to take your word for it because women + games is a topic that is true to my heart, it wouldn't be fair to the other orgs I've worked with to give you permission without proof," Gray wrote. "I know it's frustrating, but I have to at least try to play fair and not play favorites."

All the artist asked was proof of the claimed not for profit status. Which is a very common and reasonable request. And is something that ANY actual Not For Profit hands out instantly and with no question as a matter of day to day operation. Several of my clients are Not For Profits (an orphanage, special needs dental service, etc) All of them provide their tax I'd numbers as such several times a day, for pretty much any legitimate request.

Regardless of your views on Ms. Sarkeesian's ideology or ideas, one should look at her business and fundraising practices with a more pragmatic eye. Be careful, and take the whole thing as a cautionary tale regarding Kickstarter. Things are not always what they say. And there is no true mechanism of verification or fraud prevention. No true recourse. Some Kickstarter projects may be solid, put out by skilled business people with a good plan. Many are great ideas put out by well meaning but inexperienced artists or creators with no actual idea of what they are doing, or what they legitimately need to do to make it all work properly. And there are a good number that really have no plans on delivering on their promises, or are shading the truth as a marketing tool. I'd like to think that Anita is an example of #2, but...

 

[Uhura]

Well, I'm happy they managed to resolve the issue amicably. This is a story where two adults solved an issue without attacks and harassment and it's too bad that a good number of people are not going to see the positives in the situation. This thread will derail into Anita-dissing match just like every other thread that is in any way linked to her.

 

[Madmonk12345]

Aaand thats a lot of hogwash. Feminist frequency was used by her to make alot of cash.. the 160k kickstarter money itselfe was a huge profit for her, and she to this day refuses to answer where the money went (obviously not into the quality of her videos being produced or any research done)

Would you prefer she spent her time actually working on the videos that she's being paid to make or rebutting the claims that she is a fraud, when content has already been produced?

In all honesty, this is starting to sound like Obama's birth certificate in that she could show everyone the documents needed to convince people (and it would be a lot of documentation), but no one would ever be satisfied anyways because anyone could claim that she forged the documents she would provide or that there were some expenses she didn't show because she's a con artist. She would have to show everything she's ever purchased for the internet to scrutinize, but nothing could ever be enough. There's no amount of evidence that would guarantee that she didn't spend more than that on some receipt that she didn't show us, as we've seen from what she has shown with the games.

Good.
Now if she could credit all the LP footage she used without permission and actually come out and said that she hasn't played any of the games she's critiquing, then I'd be cool with her.

[emphasis mine]

Prove (or at least provide some evidence for) the bolded. Not that she hasn't played some of the games that she's cited by some off error in the videos, but that she hasn't played them at all. I could easily conclude that you won't be happy with her until she admits she's a fraud, even if she isn't, from what you've said. The only way that anyone could possibly conclude that she never played a single game that she critiqued is if you assumed that every statement about gaming she's made, her history, mentioning her favorite games, spending a large sum of money buying those games in the photo she took, etc. was an elaborate act designed to fool people into thinking she was a gamer, when that wasn't necessary to critique the games at all.

If she was out to con everyone, she would have ran and fled months ago, so why would such an elaborate sociopathic stage play be more realistic than the idea that she has played some or most of the games that she critiques and she isn't lying? This isn't some statistical unlikelihood here that needs a great amount of evidence; women do in fact play video games, even if they steer clear from certain genres statistically or don't play as much as men(Which I don't believe inherent to their gender, though I don't really wish to argue about it).

 

[Baresark]

That is literally the outcome that makes the most sense. Just remove it. It would literally take anyone with the slightest experience in Photoshop to remove it from the image.

Didnt stop her from keeping all of the 160k kickstarter money she got now did it? She didnt gave away any of that money she didnt really "need" (since she only asked for 6k remember?) to charity or donated it to the feminist cause. Other kickstarter projects will add more features and content and/or quality and polish the higher the money counter rises.. she didnt do any of those.. and after what now.. 2 years? She hasnt even reached half the number of videos she promised to make... after 2 years and 160k grand.... i wish i could be this lazy and get so much money.

Her wardrobe and makeup have improved alot thought....

I'm not going to sit here and defend her. I don't care one way or the other about her. But I have seen that particular attack used again and again, and it's nonsense. Everyone who speaks out against her is always quick to bring up that she made a lot more money than she asked for, then makes the statement of "why didn't she stop the kickstarter after she reached her goal", or "she made all profit off of that kickstarter". It's a nonsensical argument. No one cuts the Kickstarter once they hit their goal. And as another poster pointed out, you are limited in what you are allowed to use that money for. Ultimately, it's not a game Kickstarter, so there wouldn't be any "stretch goals", which are unique almost exclusively to games.

If you disagree with every word that comes out of her mouth, that is awesome. But you can't make arguments that are so nonsensical when defending your view point.

 

[Karadalis]

She can't give away the money to charity, that's against the rules of Kickstarter. And I imagine that you personally aren't too disappointed that she hasn't come out with all the videos she promised yet, so why complain? It's Kickstarter, the backers know the risks. Just because she has a ton of money doesn't make her magically more efficient at whatever she's doing.

But it makes her a hypocrit and perhaps a tax fraud depending on how that goes down in the US.. gaining 160k tax free? IDK about you but that sounds rather fishy to me (unless kickstarter money is taxed, again im no expert in US tax laws)

Its also against the rules to use the money for something else then the project.. however there was no increase in quality visible, nor has she finished the project in over 2 years now.

So where is the money? If feminist frequency is a non-profit public-beneficial organisation... where has the money gone to, is it still on some account, and if yes what is going to happen with the interest that money generates? Was it all spend? On what was it spend?

See aslong as these questions arent answered coming out and saying youre a non profit organisation is rediculus and probably against the law.. and yet people eat it up like sweet candy and never get tired of putting her on a pedestal.

So as soon as everyone stops putting her on said pedestal i will stop pointing out the glaring issues surrounding her entire persona and modus operanti.

I'm not going to sit here and defend her. I don't care one way or the other about her. But I have seen that particular attack used again and again, and it's nonsense. Everyone who speaks out against her is always quick to bring up that she made a lot more money than she asked for, then makes the statement of "why didn't she stop the kickstarter after she reached her goal", or "she made all profit off of that kickstarter". It's a nonsensical argument. No one cuts the Kickstarter once they hit their goal. And as another poster pointed out, you are limited in what you are allowed to use that money for. Ultimately, it's not a game Kickstarter, so there wouldn't be any "stretch goals", which are unique almost exclusively to games.

If you disagree with every word that comes out of her mouth, that is awesome. But you can't make arguments that are so nonsensical when defending your view point.

"I dont like your argument so i declare it mute"

Thing is you cant proof me wrong. Because that would require miss Sarkesian to provide proof about what the money was used for, wich i promise you she will never cough up.

And guess what.. after 2 years.. after a half finished series that is in no way or form of higher quality then her other youtube vids.. there is not a single shred of evidence that points toward the money being used for the series.

Infact it looks like she has given up on the project alltogether and focuses more on her own career then anything else, since she cant be arsed to make a 30 minute Vlog every 2 months or so.

So what happened to the money and what was it used for is still a valid question. And aslong as that question isnt answered you can not call feminist frequency a non profit organisation with a straight face and be expected to be taken serious.

And another thing.. how does kickstarter exactly control how kickstarter funds are used? Once the money is transfered its out of their hands. She made a couple of videos so kickstarter has no claim anymore, kickstarter has no legal method of demanding proof for what the money was used for, one of the many reason why i dont support kickstarter projects anymore. You really think kickstarter will check if she used the money for the project or if she bought a spanking new ferrari with it?

And something tells me that Sarkesian is not all to keen on telling people what she actually used or not used the money for.

 

[Scorpid]

A honest mistake!? Unlikely she maliciously stole it! A mistake doesn't fit the negative narrative of this woman I've built into my own head! IT'S A FEMINIST CONSPIRACY!! CONSPIRRRRACY!

 

[Madmonk12345]

snippety.

I posted a link above. There is no controversy to debate about. She is in fact non-profit, according to California's online filing for corporation statements of information.

https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/frmDetail.asp?CorpID=03587383&qrystring=FEMINIST+FREQUENCY

 

[Lur-King]

So where is the money? If feminist frequency is a non-profit public-beneficial organisation... where has the money gone to, is it still on some account, and if yes what is going to happen with the interest that money generates? Was it all spend? On what was it spend?

See aslong as these questions arent answered coming out and saying youre a non profit organisation is rediculus and probably against the law.. and yet people eat it up like sweet candy and never get tired of putting her on a pedestal.

So as soon as everyone stops putting her on said pedestal i will stop pointing out the glaring issues surrounding her entire persona and modus operanti.

Fun fact, a friendly neighborhood poster already posted a link up near the top of the thread showing FF is registered as non-profit. As another fact, if you did not contribute money towards her Kickstarter, why are you as butt-hurt as you are about where the money is. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're not a social justice advocate that defends the rights, liberty, and well-being of regular, random people, so why are you hung over on this issue?

Could it be you're just looking for a reason to be butt-hurt?

See aslong as these questions arent answered coming out and saying youre a non profit organisation is rediculus and probably against the law.. and yet people eat it up like sweet candy and never get tired of putting her on a pedestal.

So as soon as everyone stops putting her on said pedestal i will stop pointing out the glaring issues surrounding her entire persona and modus operanti.

You're putting her back in the spotlight by bringing up her negative aspects all the time. It's like saying, "Don't think about clowns." You're going to. "Don't Pay Attention to Anita!" is going to draw attention to Anita.

People are fun sometimes.

 

[Karadalis]

snippety.

I posted a link above. There is no controversy to debate about. She is in fact non-profit, according to California's online filing for corporation statements of information.

https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/frmDetail.asp?CorpID=03587383&qrystring=FEMINIST+FREQUENCY

Lawyertalk.

Just because it says so on the paper doesnt mean her bank accounts arent filled with money she made thanks to feminist frequency.

Also doesnt take into acount the kickstarter money that vanished without a trace. But since theres no one to sue theres no one to check now is there?

Wouldnt be the first "non profit" organisation that people actually profit over.

And if the case was this simple why didnt Sarkesians managment simply pointed to the same link you provided when asked for proof?

Fun fact, a friendly neighborhood poster already posted a link up near the top of the thread showing FF is registered as non-profit. As another fact, if you did not contribute money towards her Kickstarter, why are you as butt-hurt as you are about where the money is. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're not a social justice advocate that defends the rights, liberty, and well-being of regular, random people, so why are you hung over on this issue?

Could it be you're just looking for a reason to be butt-hurt?

You're putting her back in the spotlight by bringing up her negative aspects all the time. It's like saying, "Don't think about clowns." You're going to. "Don't Pay Attention to Anita!" is going to draw attention to Anita.

People are fun sometimes.

*facepalm*

Your "fun fact" means jack shit just like i pointed out above. Do you seriously claim that miss Sarkesian did not directly profit from feminist frequency?

An animal shelter is a non profit organisation, heck some hospitals are non profit organisations. Feminist frequency exists to promote anita sarkesian, succesfully as i might add. Personaly i find it simply disgusting that an organisation that exists solely to promote a single persons monetary gain is seriously considered a "non profit" organisation.

And nice strawman there let me try too.. ahem:

Youre complaining about the complainer even thought you have no personal investment in any of this.

Could it be... that youre just in it to be butthurt about something?

 

[ShakerSilver]

Prove (or at least provide some evidence for) the bolded. Not that she hasn't played some of the games that she's cited by some off error in the videos, but that she hasn't played them at all. I could easily conclude that you won't be happy with her until she admits she's a fraud, even if she isn't, from what you've said. The only way that anyone could possibly conclude that she never played a single game that she critiqued is if you assumed that every statement about gaming she's made, her history, mentioning her favorite games, spending a large sum of money buying those games in the photo she took, etc. was an elaborate act designed to fool people into thinking she was a gamer, when that wasn't necessary to critique the games at all.

Skip to 42 seconds for the really important part of the video.​

It's really clear to me that she doesn't like video games all that much, or at least doesn't have the "passion" for them that she claimed she had in her kickstarter videos. This is on top of some glaring flaws in her video game citations - claiming that Dinosaur Planet was going to solely feature a female protagonist when a playable male protagonist was part of the game even before Star Fox was added into the mix; using Metal Gear Solid as an example of how men escape capture on their own accord, when in reality you have to call for help to escape from your cell while Meryl escapes a cell on her own without outside help.

I'm very certain that there's some degree of deceit. And does it matter? Well yes, it kind of does. Do we take children seriously when they refuse to eat things they've never tried before because they say it tastes bad? Would you take the criticism of a movie from someone who hasn't seen it before? I'm guessing the answers to both would be no.

 

[CriticalMiss]

And I'm almost certain KickStarter money is taxed - developers complain about it all the time.

Plus Kickstarter takes 5% of the money for themselves and Amazon take another 3-5%. That's up to $16,000 from the $160k she raised gone already, obviously a lot is left over but the tax man can be cruel.

https://www.kickstarter.com/help/fees?country=US

And it's nice to see that she wasn't being an evil witch out to conquer the videogame industry by stealing a picture and that it was just down to shitty/lazy research. Now we can go back to forgetting about her.