I just have to admit it- I am the steriotypical female gamer. But who cares?

[joystickjunki3]

Does this mean that I have failed those who say that girls can be good at video games?

I know it was rhetorical, but if you failed those who say that girls can be good at video games, then I guess that means I failed those who say that I, given my interests and hobbies, should be shooting up schools. You failed no one. Games are for fun, and you do not need to be good at them. God knows I'm not good at most of the ones I play.

And you're not a hypocrite. You're being way too hard on yourself.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

Stereotypes exist for a reason. Mostly because, like all lies and good jokes, there is a kernel of truth or accuracy somewhere to be found within it.

In my WoW days, as a dude, I was well impressed that the only person in my T6 raiding guild (back when I played) that could consistently out heal me both in numbers and in efficiency was a lady. Not impressed because she was a lady mind you, but because I was teh uber leet spammer, and she was honestly better, even though she was nice enough to say that I at least had the skills to back up my big mouth haha.

I do know several other girls who fit the stereotype but then again, I know a few that are above and beyond it. Everyone kinda fits into SOME stereotype, which is why they exist, but there are always exceptions to the rule.

 

[bitzi61]

Female gamers just make the game that much more interesting. I LOVE it when guys find out that the person who killed them repeatedly is a girl (specifically on XBL!!)

They go nuts!
Me, I just sit back and say "Good game.. good game.. but next round I'm kicking your ass! LOL!"

 

[Erana]

Wow, all my inner monologue seems to sound very angsty and insecure...
Its really not. Its like when I say I have a big ass, people misenterpret that as me thinking I'm fat.
I'm beautiful, but I don't fit the TV's demands of my body.
I'm *gasp* healthy! Or my nerd complexion. Sure, I don't get a tan, but in 50 years, I'm gonna still have soft, healthy skin.
Yay for not being a 70-year-old bag of leather!

Whee, mental tangents, too!

 

[Firia]

I'm a girl, and apperently NOT the stereotype. I kick butt in Counter Strike Source, relish a challenge, and have never touched the Sims (saw that tossed about on the front page a fair bit). I do enjoy playing the "healer" class a bit, too. But I always like tossing in some posability for pain. My Medic from 'Anarchy Online' (MMO from EQ1 era) was more like a combat medic.

I'm frequaintly annoyed when I turn on my Mic, and get, "omg, is that a girl?" "No, it's got to be a 5 year old boy." I get this alot. Alot alot. It's my one quibble with my status as a gamer girl. I don't like trying to justify who I am playing the games I do, so I just play them with no reguard to what people think I should be playing.

Rule #1; Story is paramount. If the story is awesome, you will see me there. Prince of Persia, Killzone 2 (which I have not played, but I just wanted to toss in as a contrast to PoP), or a mario game.
Rule #2; No story, no point.
Rule #3; Gotta have fun. I'll be there as long as I'm having fun, and the story is grand.

And that is how I am the most boundries breaking gamer girl on the block.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I'm *gasp* healthy! Or my nerd complexion. Sure, I don't get a tan, but in 50 years, I'm gonna still have soft, healthy skin.
Yay for not being a 70-year-old bag of leather!

True that.
My wife has lily-white skin but it's smooth as a baby's bottom. My ex on the other hand, who is of the same age (30's) and tanned herself all the time, is looking a touch leathery.
I'm not just saying that because she's my ex either; we still get on well.

 

[Kubanator]

It's the internet. A place where there is no gender, no race, no inequalities. Everyone is the same. The only thing that matters on the internet is how you act. If you act like a girl, you are a girl. If you act like a king, you are a king. There is no such thing as a female gamer. There are gamers who act like females, but inevitably, it's irrelevant what gender you are, as over the internet, all you are is how you act.

 

[Glerken]

I don't know Erana, are you that weird girl that smells a little? And you know what, I like playing as the healer. I'll say it. I name my character "Imaguy32" or something along those lines simply because I can't stand guys that use females as their characters and then pretend to be a girl. Healers are great, no you don't do the damage, but they NEED you. And you know that if they piss you off, you can let their ass die, and then come up with a witty remark about their rudeness. Good times...

 

[SsilverR]

If you don't know me, I fit the bill for the steriotypical female gamer.
I like girly outfits for my character, I always play the healer, I love the brightly colored, child-friendly sidescrollers. I like DDR. I (moderately, and excluding "Pix Plz") like to get attention for being female on the internet. I oogle over how pretty Link is (albeit platonically) and the most incriminating: I am mediocre at games. I can play Halo on Heroic well enough, but I fail epically at multiplayer, and I am cannon fodder with Legendary, to give a sense of scale.

Does this mean that I have failed those who say that girls can be good at video games? Am I being a hypocrite when defending the equality of women in video games? What does this prove? And now that we have established that some people do fit the steriotype, who really cares about it? People talk negatively about it, but I don't see any significant problem.
/rhetorical question montage

I guess the point is, is the steriotype itself really that bad, or is it the fact that it is the box people try to put on people* that is the problem?

*In retrospect, that sounds like a subtle Solid Snake refrence...

a male gamer can ask the same thing, so don't put yourself down, it's a 2 way street ... also .. a friend once told me .. we're not tools of stereotype ..or anythign else ... gaming was the only thing i was ever good at BUT .. at least i always ... ... err .. g . gamed?? (that a word??) whatever .. **continues on** gamed for what i believed in .... ... ... metal geeeeeeeeeeeaaar

 

[Wesker_Chick]

My question would be what is or is not stereotypical anymore?

I play everything from Resident Evil and Half-Life to Wii Bowling and Nintendogs. Granted I've stayed more in the "non-stereotypical" area of the gaming industry, but I do have a major crush on Albert Wesker of RE and like dressing up my characters in Soul Caliber III.

Seriously the stereotypes for girls gaming is starting to fall apart a bit. Just go on Steam sometime and look at some of the Groups that have been created exclusively for girls, by girls, for everything from Half-Life 2 Deathmatch to Counter-Strike.

Girls are earning the right to be called hardcore...although I have been accused of being a guy on occasion while playing HL2 Deathmatch...I figured with a name like "Mistress of Pain" it was fairly obvious...heh...

 

[Valiance]

Holy shit, I played the Sims and DDR. I must be a female gamer.

"But who cares" is the correct portion of your topic. Apparently this is worthy for 3 pages of responses, but most of them (including mine) boil down to this:

You are a gamer, a player, nothing more. Gender does not matter, your taste does not matter, you can play that, I can play this, and we don't need to hate each other for it.

A lot of people look too far into this sort of thing, but I think that's where it should end.

 

[ItsAPaul]

Since when does playing DDR = you're a girl? Maybe if you're playing on a mode other than Expert, but I know way more male DDR players than female ones.

 

[Bored Tomatoe]

But the fact that you are a gamer automatically makes you 4.7x cooler than the non gamers.
Also: I am like a retarded chimp at DDR and all rhythm games. I just hate rhythm games. Alot. And why can't guys like the Sims? It lets me be god...

 

[Flying-Emu]

Meh I absolutely hate the whole 'healer girl' bit. I have yet to see a male healer in any of the big game series. Anyone want to give me some examples?

Rhys, from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Well, Fire Emblem in general, actually.

 

[olicon]

Heh..you know, I fit all of OP's description too, despite being a guy. (I have had too many guys approached me online thinking I'm not a member of their gender. Even when there's voice chat!)

ps. Uther the Light Bringer may be a Retadin, but he sure healed a lot in WC3. Malfurion did a fair share of healing too. TF2's medic is a male healer (who also likes to kill). I guess there really aren't set roles for jRPGs. But Chaos from Xenosaga was truly an amazing healer. Citan from Xenogears somewhat fits the bill (although I'd rather used him to kick ass). In fact, I don't even think there are that many games where the "dedicated healer" is a female, apart from Brood War. In most games, characters that heals are usually just the one you happened to hate, and thus are stuck in the back line to heal.

I think what the old stereotypical gaming girl is today's definition of casual gamers. Nothing more, and nothing less.

 

[Aesthetical Quietus]

Meh I absolutely hate the whole 'healer girl' bit. I have yet to see a male healer in any of the big game series. Anyone want to give me some examples?

You haven't really failed anyone. There are people that prove that girls can be good at games, you're just not one of them it seems. People who do not fit stereotypes are always the ones who care about it. Negatively portraying someone as something that they are not will always hit a nerve.

Maplestory is the only thing I can come up with, and even then that's a weak match.

I've never understood why there is a sterotype with girl gamers, and why girl gamers catch so much flak. To me Girl gamers are rare, but normally nice. [This of course on the PC, where you can chat & play, or chat-while-you-wait-to-respawn as it normally turns out]. It doesn't matter about their skill level, some girl gamers are good, some bad, and some are uberly-good and they pwn my ass, and I respect each properly.

 

[ADDLibrarian]

I don't think you sound like the "stereotype female gamer" at all. Anyway, if liking all those things makes me a "stereotype" then damn it, I'll join you too, my stereotypical sister!
Us girls gots to stick togethers.

I'll admit, some of my "girly" traits:
* I enjoy unlocking outfits for my characters...my god, it kept me playing DOA2 Hardcore for longer than I care to admit, and I had to find and enter a cheat or X-Men Next Dimensions because I didn't like their starting outfits...
* I enjoy DDR (although I haven't played in awhile and gotten fat and flabby)
* I enjoy the Sims, Cooking Mama, Katamari Damacy, Pokemon, Space Channel 5, and Kingdom Hearts. I've even played the Winkz game...some silly pink game about a fairy school (it was a hand me down from my casual gamer mom ^_^)
* I'm not perfect at most games either...I've had to regress to the rabbid foamy mouth of a button masher when my female friend plays me at a fighter.
* My most embarrassing moment: I've looked at a bit of TF2 slash in the form of a webcomic...and liked it
* Sometimes I like the attention too, but who doesn't like attention from a member of the opposite sex? Unless it's creepy or bad attention, lol.

*Stands triumphantly dressed as a pink unicorn,lolz*
Power to the girl players!