Brianna Wu

“Gamergate taught me that I was stronger than I knew that I was.”

“For a hate group originally focused on video games, anger over a comedy movie for starring women might seem ridiculous. But at its core, Gamergate is about a toxic male sense of ownership over geek culture.”

“I look at my own party, and I see that we've taken this technocratic, academic, elitist liberal class philosophy as far as it can go, and we got our butts kicked - and I don't know what else to do other than get involved myself.”

“It doesn't matter how many women we get into game production. If the only people evaluating the work we do continue to be men, women's voices will never be heard.”

“Even in the '80s and '90s, many white Southerners were still bitter about court decisions that required racial integration of the schools. It wasn't that they were outwardly opposed to white and black people attending school together, it was that the rulings threatened their proud identity as independent Southerners.”

“For any prosecutor, a decision to show leniency in sentencing must be weighed against multiple factors. Do they show remorse for their actions? Are they a threat to the public and law enforcement? Do they intend to contribute to society?”

“Software increasingly defines the world around us.”

“Gamergate isn't the problem - it's a symptom of an industry that is deeply sexist and unable to understand it.”

“My capacity to feel fear has worn out, as if it's a muscle that can do no more.”

“It's not like I'm advocating that we ban 'Call of Duty' or anything silly like that, I'm asking is for companies to look at their hiring practices, to hire more women... and make sure they portray women in their games in a socially responsible way.”

“Walking is great, I guess.”

“Entrepreneurship is in my nature.”

“Prosecuting Gamergate is not about justice for me or the women of Giant Spacekat. It's about introducing consequences into the equation for men that treat harassing women like a game.”

“The video game industry traditionally has been a very male-dominated field. You know, with the advent of the iPhone, the number of women gamers exploded.”

“My big lesson from Gamergate is asking the men in charge to do the right thing does not work. So we need women, we need people of color in positions of power not just in the game industry but at social media and tech companies and in Congress.”

“The first game I remember being ridiculously passionate about was Super Mario Bros. 2. It was the first game where you could play as Princess Peach. It wasn't just a game where the boys had their adventure. Peach was in the game and she was so powerful there.”

“Without competition, Silicon Valley will stop taking risks and will stop innovating.”

“I am the head of development at Giant Spacekat, a Boston-based studio that's an industry leader in making games for women. We are passionate about creating narrative games for the avalanche of new consumers who don't fit the old gamer stereotype.”

“It is not a secret that I am a feminist and I have more liberal views and a lot of these GamerGaters have more right-wing views.”

“There's a common misconception about running for office. People think it's dreadful, morally compromising work. But I've found the opposite is true. It made a better person and a better feminist. It forced me to take a hard look at my shortcomings.”