Female Gamers: An Unpopular Opinion

[Lambchop]

so true. i very rarely use my mic because i don't know what kind of response ill get so i usually end up saying im actually 10 years old when asked if im a girl.

there have been many a game though where i become blind with rage because there is a girl in game saying the usual lololol you got beaten by a girl etc etc or just trying to make it as obvious as possible that they are a girl. which usually ends with me raging and telling them the fact that they have reproductive organs on the inside of there body does no make them special and that all they are doing is perpetuating the stereotype that all girls that game are attention seeking whores and usually after that they tell me im going to be a virgin for the rest of my life and never see a pair of real tits or something along those lines haha.

 

[Beardon65]

You know this reminds me of a response that a friend of mine had (He isn't well tempered). We were playing (I don't think this really qualifies but I guess since it has to do with equal rights and such) Scategories (I'm not sure if that's spelt right). Our classmate Jennet was hogging the list. He got angery at the fact that we were running out of time and she wouldn't give him the list.

So, this is the funny part, he grabs her by the collar of her shirt pulls her almost out of her desk and says "You know, women have been asking for equal rights! It starts now!" (refering to the "it's not polite to hit girls" rule) And raises his fist to punch her in the face. And I'm scared at this point because she has this ballsy look on her faces almost saying "Go ahead, see what happens". Luckily I was able to prevent him from punching her (parenthesis).

Okay. Although a somewhat twisted point, it's still a point. Why can't men hit girls. Girls can hit men, yet it doesn't work vice versa (I've always wanted to say that)... Think about it to yourself. Yes if so, why? If not, why not? Explain your answer. This assignment is due after cla- What?

 

[gerrymander61]

Men can't do synchronized swimming. WHERE'S YOUR EQUALITY NOW!?!?!?

 

[WorthlessSix]

I kinda have to agree... Often female gamers get special treatment. I played as a male blood elf when I played WoW and I was treated as one of the guys, until I got on vent and everyone found out I was girl. Players who had given me a hard time before actually started to treat me differently. I don't know what caused the gender thing, I never cared, I just like video games.

 

[Axeli]

You know this reminds me of a response that a friend of mine had (He isn't well tempered). We were playing (I don't think this really qualifies but I guess since it has to do with equal rights and such) Scategories (I'm not sure if that's spelt right). Our classmate Jennet was hogging the list. He got angery at the fact that we were running out of time and she wouldn't give him the list.

So, this is the funny part, he grabs her by the collar of her shirt pulls her almost out of her desk and says "You know, women have been asking for equal rights! It starts now!" (refering to the "it's not polite to hit girls" rule) And raises his fist to punch her in the face. And I'm scared at this point because she has this ballsy look on her faces almost saying "Go ahead, see what happens". Luckily I was able to prevent him from punching her (parenthesis).

Okay. Although a somewhat twisted point, it's still a point. Why can't men hit girls. Girls can hit men, yet it doesn't work vice versa (I've always wanted to say that)... Think about it to yourself. Yes if so, why? If not, why not? Explain your answer. This assignment is due after cla- What?

I just know that you never should get into a fight with a girl. There are exactly two possible outcomes: You are the biggest asshole in the world or the most pathetic loser in the world.

I guess you can still get out of the situation by faking a heart attack.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

Been saying this for years, OP. In other words, I agree entirely.

 

[InternalStatic]

OP: Your argument is very flawed, and you're quite wrong, but not because I think you're a homosexual chauvinistic (sp?) moron who has it in for women, but because you're failing to account for one very, VERY important thing:

Most of the gamers with "girly" usernames/gamertags/handles/etc are NOT female. They're males taking advantage of the "syndromes" you've described so well (eg going out of one's way to help them, etc).

My main point is this: Don't blame the women for fooling the basement dwellers; blame the basement dwellers for fooling everyone. Of course, this isn't to say that some women don't do exactly as you say. I'm sure some do, just not nearly as many as you're thinking.

By the way, I'm a straight male who's been gaming for years.

 

[ethaninja]

Good for you, Id agree, no one likes attention whores

No, they really dont, luckily I'm not one of them >.>

Nah but seriously, I'm not. Used to be, when I was about 7 when I would walk up to strangers and quote "I'm Ethan and I'm 7".

 

[mooncalf]

"Youre making your gender a part of who you are."

Heaven forbid anyone doing that.

I detect a fairly immature attitude towards girls here, a broad-spectrum surly objection based presumably on cooties or some other unfocused gripe.

Girls can be overbearing online if they like, just like boys can be testosterone-fueled. Anyone sensing a parallel here? They're stereotypes, but they're not universal and they shouldn't be taken too seriously.

 

[Silver_Shade]

There isn't equality in the gaming world, just look at game covers, and given the male demographic brings in the most money, it's a no-brainer why, but it would be nice to see some developers actually attempt some diversity (beyond that humorously insulting Super Princess Peach experiment). An immediate example: Mass Effect and Fable; your character can be either male or female, and in both cases the marketers chose male. Furthermore, I doubt there was serious discussion as to what gender to use.

This bugs me a little, too. I was really excited for Dragon Age, and I kept hoping someone in Bioware would go "Hey, maybe we could do a little trailer with a female avatar!"

It doesn't keep me from buying or enjoying games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect, but it would still be nice to get a peek at what their female models look like during the hype.

OT: I love video games. I am also a girl. These two things don't usually have a lot of relevance to each other.

The most annoying part for me is the guys the 'grrlgamers' create. The ones that get all smug and superior and expect me to bow down at their feet for stuff and attention.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

I am a woman and I agree whole heartedly with the OP. My screen name (as seen as my user name on this forum) is chosen because it is gender neutral. One of the few places in this world where your gender really doesn't matter is on the internet, because behind this screen and keyboard it doesn't matter how I look or whatever I have XX instead of XY cromosomes. No one know who I am until I decide to tell them as much and that is a freedom I like.

When I play any game online I do it as a genderless (but presumed male) person who can be good, bad or anywhere inbetween without it having to reflect back on my gender. I don't know about the rest of the "grrrl gamers" (Silly name by the way) but I personally find it very liberating to be seen as just any person instead of being judged by my sex, which is what happens in most of the hobbies I have (40k players and women, anyone?).

On a related topic, I find myself somewhat split on Microsofts decision to allow sexuality references in gamertags. Do we really need to flaunt gender, sexuality, religious and political beliefs when we play games online? I personally don't think so.

 

[Jenova65]

I'm friendly with a number of female gamers on this site, such as Jenova. La-le-lu-li-lo, Aprilmarie and Meganmeave.

None of them draw attention to their gender or differentiate themselves in any way because of it.

They also enjoy shooters as much as the boys.

We love you, Miracle! ;-) -blows friendly kiss to nice forum member while ignoring OP*
EDIT - This would become a non issue a lot faster if men didn't keep making posts saying female gamers are looking for attention, it is a bit counter productive tbh!

 

[Evil Tim]

You quoted the wrong bloke there man, you meant to quote the OP.

Ah, I was originally replying to your post and forgot that deleting back to the first name would still be you. My mistake.

 

[Sebenko]

On a related topic, I find myself somewhat split on Microsofts decision to allow sexuality references in gamertags. Do we really need to flaunt gender, sexuality, religious and political beliefs when we play games online? I personally don't think so.

This fag agrees.

In other news, Girls are icky.

 

[insectoid]

You are entirely correct. Female gamers may not be the majority, but that doesn't mean they should get special treatment. Equality isn't about specifically about bringing attention to the minority, all that does is bring even more attention to the fact that the person/group is a minority, not to mention getting them used to, and even expecting, that 'special' treatment.

Equality is about treating everyone the same, respecting differences the same way you would anything. You don't need to bring special attention to, or flaunt differences, just accept them for what they are, because in the great scheme of things, it doesn't really matter.

 

[UtopiaV1]

Sing it preacher! Totally agree with you though. Was an awful long OP tho ¬_¬

 

[Galad]

...

As long as we (read: women) set ourselves apart as being different, or special, from men, we can't possibly hope for equality (on that topic... why does there have to exist an "International Women's Day"? That actually kinda bothers me)

I think the aforementioned international women's day was accepted back when women rights were much fewer than men rights(if that makes sense). Plus, it reminds us guys we should be gentlemen to gals?

will edit this later to be more OT

 

[Doitpow]

I think the issue needs to be brought to the fore. The fact is that the industry barely recognizes that there are female hardcore gamers. In order to change that they need to make some noise. Using your identity to re-enforce a point does not make you an aggressive man-hater, in fact, concealing your gender derails the argument to a certain extent. So I disagree with the OP really, we should be more vocal about our identity's and concerns visa ve them. Look at this article http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_190/5787-Making-It-Work-Game-Accessibility Incidentally one of the more thought provoking and revealing pieces I've read on the escapist. Would it have worked nearly as well without Andrew's insight from personal experience?