Girls and gaming
- Thread starter Pennyy9
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I have a few female friends on Xbox live, 3 to be exact. Of course that's out of about 75 so it's a really small number. I used to have a similar problem, or my friend did with me, you see his gamertag used to include the word "alex" which is a unisex name however I don't know any males with that name and I do know several females so I associate that name with girls, I used to refer to him as her all the time, and him being young and having a higher voice didn't help.
My three female friends tend to keep to themselves, one never uses a mic and I know her only because she's one of my friends girlfriends. Another one will only talk in parties and if she isn't in a party she takes the time to mute every male who isn't on her friends list. The last one tries to stay away from assholes by playing only family games like Uno and the like however she's also British and bi-sexual(quite openly so), so you still get the usual assholes managing to find there way into Uno or some such game and make a whole bunch of sexist and racist comments, but that story I believe I've told before.
Being a girl on the internet sucks, I have to say were still the most sexist group(well not the most, but pretty high up the list for a group that doesn't require women to cover everything but their eyes) out there, just one more thing to put on the mile long list of things we need to work on.
My three female friends tend to keep to themselves, one never uses a mic and I know her only because she's one of my friends girlfriends. Another one will only talk in parties and if she isn't in a party she takes the time to mute every male who isn't on her friends list. The last one tries to stay away from assholes by playing only family games like Uno and the like however she's also British and bi-sexual(quite openly so), so you still get the usual assholes managing to find there way into Uno or some such game and make a whole bunch of sexist and racist comments, but that story I believe I've told before.
Being a girl on the internet sucks, I have to say were still the most sexist group(well not the most, but pretty high up the list for a group that doesn't require women to cover everything but their eyes) out there, just one more thing to put on the mile long list of things we need to work on.
As a girl gamer, there are some women who really get up my nose, when it comes to gaming behaviour. You know the sort. The type of girl who thinks that her gender gets her a free pass to worship land, and acts like a bratty attention whore through a game.
At the same time, I can't be too harsh on those girls, because I know what causes that behaviour. It's much better to be in people's faces, then it is to be quietly rejected. There are some really shitty attitudes out there in the internet land towards women. Telling people your real name or using a mic shouldn't herald catcalls of TITS OR GTFO but it does. Time and time again it does.
And it's dehumanising, and creepy, and discouraging.
There is nothing inherently male about pressing buttons to make a graphical representation do something.
I think it would be nice if people as a whole didn't act like dicksmacks whilst playing games, regardless of their gender.
At the same time, I can't be too harsh on those girls, because I know what causes that behaviour. It's much better to be in people's faces, then it is to be quietly rejected. There are some really shitty attitudes out there in the internet land towards women. Telling people your real name or using a mic shouldn't herald catcalls of TITS OR GTFO but it does. Time and time again it does.
And it's dehumanising, and creepy, and discouraging.
There is nothing inherently male about pressing buttons to make a graphical representation do something.
I think it would be nice if people as a whole didn't act like dicksmacks whilst playing games, regardless of their gender.
Sexism is certainly an issue online nowadays, whether it be (Like you mentioned) Discriminating women because of them being.. well.. women, or the constant stream of people who treat women like Objects, and harrass them constantly. Case in point, I have a friend (Female, of course.) Well she just got a PS3, so I was basically showing her around Home. We were bombarded by about 18 guys over the course of 10 minutes who all preceeded to follow this Template: "R U relly A Girl!?" and "R U Hawt?" It's stupid, really. Why is it so amazing for somebody to find a girl playing a videogame? And more importantly, what makes people jump to their feet in anxeity when they see one?
I'm not female myself, but I can sympathize with what you're saying. the internet is full of useless pricks with nothing better to do than discourage certain people (not just females) from playing online.ix_tab said:
Whenever you run across them just do what I do, and give them a small discouraging kick to the balls. Usually shut's em right up. Or greifing, greifing is always more fun once they've done something to earn it.
It's been my experience that more female gamers play MMOs, or World O Warcraft to be specific. And more often than not I would find myself in all gal raiding parties. Less segregation there for some reason.
It's a shame that more women don't play games, especially when nobody wants to be zoey in L4D...her A.I. is always the liability.
Yay sexism. Cause that's how to spread peace in the world. Besides, that's not true anyway. Interesting, I'll let you have that because it's subjective. i don't at all agree but I'll give you your opinion. Maturity comes with experience and development, not gender. I know many girls who are about as mature as particulalry hyperactive toddlers and I know just as many guys that are the same. Don't bother bombarding me with statistics about intelligence because I don't believe in them: statistics can be falsed and finding bullshit on the internet is like finding grass in a field. I know intelligent girls, and I know intelligent guys, and I wouldn't say they outweighed each other at all.MaxTheReaper said:
oh no girls play games this is a massive shock to me oh they must also be rubbish at games because that makes sense. I dont give two shits if I am playing with a girl or not its not important its not as if girls have an inability to see an enemy then make them dead all of the pople who complain about plauying with girls are dipshits and deserve a kick in their tiny balls.
well that was more swearing then usual the point is I dont care if I play games with girls or guys its not a big deal.
well that was more swearing then usual the point is I dont care if I play games with girls or guys its not a big deal.
I must say, this thread tickles the shit out of me. About the only valid argument is the one that no one has even bothered to bring up: namely, that females physically mature at a earlier age than males. Physical maturation usually begets at least some emotional and mental maturation, so yes, you can say that, generally, girls are usually more mature in their teens than boys of comparable age, particularly during the awkward teenage years.
But I strongly think you are focusing on the wrong target here: it's not about the maturity or intelligence of girl gamers (and certainly has nothing to do with their skill), it's about the immaturity of the male gamers. Really, everyone should be treated as being gender-neutral, because guess what? Even if that really is a girl on the other end of the line, the odds of you actually meeting her are very, very slim (no, not impossible, but almost). Almost universally, it's the boys who are making a big deal out of the gender of their opponent, or trying to use it to excuse their failures
If the boys would just let that go, the expected exchange is that females should not try to use their sex as a tool to gain an unfair advantage from the gullible dopes, or, if they do, they should recognize and admit that what they are doing is essentially prostituting themselves.
But, to pour a little jet fuel on this fire, I have to say that I find the age of many of the individuals posting opinions on this thread to be... particularly amusing.
But I strongly think you are focusing on the wrong target here: it's not about the maturity or intelligence of girl gamers (and certainly has nothing to do with their skill), it's about the immaturity of the male gamers. Really, everyone should be treated as being gender-neutral, because guess what? Even if that really is a girl on the other end of the line, the odds of you actually meeting her are very, very slim (no, not impossible, but almost). Almost universally, it's the boys who are making a big deal out of the gender of their opponent, or trying to use it to excuse their failures
If the boys would just let that go, the expected exchange is that females should not try to use their sex as a tool to gain an unfair advantage from the gullible dopes, or, if they do, they should recognize and admit that what they are doing is essentially prostituting themselves.
But, to pour a little jet fuel on this fire, I have to say that I find the age of many of the individuals posting opinions on this thread to be... particularly amusing.
All girls who own a PS3 gotta love pshome! It almost seems as if people forget that YOU create your avatar; nothing forces you to make it look like yourself. Once I was with some friends and we were being followed by about 6 guys saying "hi" "wher u frm?" "ur really hot" and such. I said "I AM A FORTY YEAR OLD TRUCK DRIVER" and in something like 5 seconds we were left alone. I don't mind being talked to on home, I actually like it - otherwise I wouldn't use it at all - but the "ooh ur HOTTT"-kind-of-talk confuses me. a LOT... Once I saw santa morph into a really slutty-like avatar - that should enlighten some people 
I despise the sexism women experience in online games, the ammount of abuse they recieve is unreal, its so stupid as well considering most of these people are probably little thirteen year old weirdos.
Im all for girls gaming, in fact I welcome it. It makes a change from all the macho bull you get from most players
Im all for girls gaming, in fact I welcome it. It makes a change from all the macho bull you get from most players
I tend to not like playing games with girls. I just thought I'd throw a bombshell out there without explanation at first.
The reason, generally has nothing to do with the gamer in question, at least not directly, and if one examines only the gender factor I'd say that both genders are capable of helping craft an entertaining experience. Instead, the problem I have with girls and games comes from everyone else in the game. Once a female reveals herself among the ranks of the socially damned, the entire focus of conversation and often the game itself shifts. Suddenly, people are following around the girl trying to "help", often at the expense of lending a hand to the rest of the team. Often, males will attempt any of a variety of pickup lines (and trying to pickup someone across the internet is a shaky proposition even in an environment designed for that very purpose). Another group of gamers will instead try to target the girl because they assume it will be an easy kill, and will quickly point to the lack of skill of the entire female gender when they get a kill.
Just because someone happens to have breasts, the entire play dynamic changes, and it's rarely for the better. I'd like to assume it's just isolated incidents, but some variation of the above happens every time a female joins a game that I've played. Introducing a female to the average pack of gamers is like throwing a quality rib-eye to a pack of starving dogs. Maybe, at some point, I will be proven wrong, but until then, when a girl joins the game, all I know is my odds of ever getting covering fire or a heal just dropped dramatically.
The reason, generally has nothing to do with the gamer in question, at least not directly, and if one examines only the gender factor I'd say that both genders are capable of helping craft an entertaining experience. Instead, the problem I have with girls and games comes from everyone else in the game. Once a female reveals herself among the ranks of the socially damned, the entire focus of conversation and often the game itself shifts. Suddenly, people are following around the girl trying to "help", often at the expense of lending a hand to the rest of the team. Often, males will attempt any of a variety of pickup lines (and trying to pickup someone across the internet is a shaky proposition even in an environment designed for that very purpose). Another group of gamers will instead try to target the girl because they assume it will be an easy kill, and will quickly point to the lack of skill of the entire female gender when they get a kill.
Just because someone happens to have breasts, the entire play dynamic changes, and it's rarely for the better. I'd like to assume it's just isolated incidents, but some variation of the above happens every time a female joins a game that I've played. Introducing a female to the average pack of gamers is like throwing a quality rib-eye to a pack of starving dogs. Maybe, at some point, I will be proven wrong, but until then, when a girl joins the game, all I know is my odds of ever getting covering fire or a heal just dropped dramatically.