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[Abomination]

I do not identify myself as belonging to any group unless it specifically applies to me in every way. But then it's not so much as a 'group' but as an identifier and the only aspect associated with it.

"Gamer" carries too much negative baggage so I would never call myself one. I would call myself a consumer of digital interactive media.

When describing myself I don't want to tar myself with negative connotations that do not accurately reflect me.

 

[purplemonkey555]

I don't see a problem with it. I refer to myself as a gamer all the time, "labels" and "connotations" be dammed. I play video games very often, I'm a gamer. Anybody that sees a problem with me because of that, well, I've got a few terms for them with way more negative connotations.

 

[JazzJack2]

Gamers have never embraced the cultural reality of gaming, which has left them stunted in their self-perception and unable to defend themselves against criticism. Almost all of the interesting work on the reality of gaming is coming from outside gaming, such as by comedians http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5O9x7aL7QE, while gamers are left to ignore reality as much as possible.

Gamers have no problem critiquing *games*, but when it comes to analyzing gaming itself they are effectively silent.

I don't know what this mythical 'cultural reality' is that we are all apparently ignoring and unaware of, perhaps you could spell it out? What I do know though is that if you think analysis of gaming culture by people within said culture is lacking you are clearly aren't looking hard enough or in the right places.

 

[Abomination]

I'm becoming less and less happy with the word primarily due to more people, especially those involved in gaming, now trying to refer to "gamers" as a whole. Saying it's "gamers" fault that such and such group that contains gamers are dicks, ect ect. It's annoying to have people try and guilt trip such a large diverse group just because some people are dicks when every large group contains some dicks.

Thanks, couldn't quite explain the feeling I had about being called a gamer. Or rather I couldn't put the negative connotation into words. If someone's going to accuse a group of behaving in a certain way and there's no way to disprove them I won't call myself a member of that group.

Besides, it's just a name. But the association is what is important.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

To me the word "gamer" is synonymous with "spoiled brat" so I refuse to describe myself as such.

 

[maxben]

2. It is a self-identified label, and we shouldn't be allowed to label ourselves (for whatever reason).

I'm not quite sure I understand what this statement is supposed to mean

Personally I don't like putting labels on myself, and there are others who are uncomfortable with it too. It is an expansion of what they say in Fight Club, you are not your job. You are also not your hobby. If someone asks what you are and you say "gamer", just like saying "electrician", its just ridiculous. I am me, and my hobbies don't define me. I like video games, I am not a "gamer". Gamer assumes some kind of identity by virtue of liking video games.

Now, one can say that what separates a gamer from someone who merely likes games is a stronger understanding of the history and minutia of video games. Hence we have words like cinephile/movie buff for those who are more than people who enjoy movies and immerse themselves in movie culture and trivia. So someone like this may agree with said label for that reason. I personally don't as I just love history and random trivia. I can talk about the development of emo music for hours, but I generally dislike music let alone emo music.

 

[DementedSheep]

I don't feel anything about it really. It just means "someone who has video games as one of their main hobbies" to me. That's it. Calling yourself a gamer isn't putting yourself in box or saying you're only a gamer. I wouldn't put it on a t-shirt or introduce myself as a gamer but I don't really have an issue being called one (cause I am).

I would likely feel different if gamer was used as insult or carried a lot of negative connotations where I live which it doesn't as far as I know. Although I tend to be a weirdly shy about stuff I like (I don't know why. I'm not even comfortable telling people what books or music I like and only really talk about anything I like if someone else has already bought it up. I probably come across as the most boring person in the world) so it is possible I just don't notice cause I hardly ever talk about games to people who aren't close friends or on a gaming forum.

Edit: although the term "gamer girl" dose have negative connotations since it's usually used to mean "fake, attention whore who only pretends to like games or sucks at them".

 

[Nazulu]

It doesn't offend me, and everyone I know doesn't use it in a negative way, but it just 'sounds' like a stupid word (gaimurr). I don't like to use it in my vocabulary.

 

[Lyri]

Ugh, no.

I'm not a gamer, I play a lot of games but am I a gamer? no, that isn't all that I am or do and not something I would use to define myself in anyway.
If I was a professional at it then sure, but as for something I do in my leisure time then no.

 

[Realitycrash]

If we by 'gamer' mean 'Someone who plays videogames' and NOTHING ELSE, with no requirements on how much the play, or what kind of games, or if they are 'hardcore' or not, then sure, I am all for it.
Otherwise I dislike the term. It carries negative connotations of elitism in my mind, especially when it comes to the 'You aren't a true gamer because you don't play X' kind.

 

[Abomination]

It doesn't offend me, and everyone I know doesn't use it in a negative way, but it just 'sounds' like a stupid word (gaimurr). I don't like to use it in my vocabulary.

I am not a homosexual elf, thank you.

 

[Sarge034]

One of my friends, who plays video games on a regular basis, said that he doesn't like using the term gamer to describe himself because of the "negative connotations" that it carries and because he doesn't like "putting labels" on himself.

Not trying to sound like an ass, but your friend sounds a little hipster. I see the title "gamer" simply describing that a person plays games. Much like how "runner" describes people who run, "surfers" surf, ect, ect. The word itself has little meaning other than as a descriptor. How the descriptor is used is another issue entirely. If the connotation is dismissive as in, "Don't worry about him/her/them, he/she/they is/are just (a) gamer(s)." Then yea I take issue with the usage, not the meaning. Cus hey, I do play me some games...

 

[Astoria]

I don't mind being called a gamer. Here where I live it's a negative thing if you're a teenager because people think it means you spend all day on COD abusing people but if you're a bit older like I am people just think it means you play games a lot. I don't like being called a girl gamer because of all the fakes out there so I think it means they assume I just play Candy Crush.

 

[joshuaayt]

I use it. My sister's a bookworm, I'm a gamer- It's just what we do. It's more than just "This is a hobby", it's the blanket under which all our hobbies lie. Nothing wrong with assigning a label to something that important.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I don't really use it. There's no Spanish for "gamer". Or rather, there is ("jugador"), but that's mostly associated with actual sports and not games. So instead most people around here borrow the word "gamer" to identify people who play videogames. But by borrowing a word in a foreign language, it carries all the connotations in that language - mostly negative ones.

 

[TheMann]

I don't mind being called a gamer. In fact I refer to myself as such when asked if I play a lot of video games. It's no different than calling someone a bookworm if they are heavily into literature, calling someone a gearhead if they're into cars, or calling someone a metalhead if they love to freakin' rock.

I don't see anything derogatory about the term "gamer", it denotes a person's hobby or enthusiasm for a type of entertainment. I thnk people who really get their panties in a twist over that term really need to get over it.

 

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[Ihateregistering1]

I don't mind being called a gamer, but when being one suddenly makes me a member of the "gamer community", which I neither asked to join nor want to join, then the term does bug me.