Sex Sells.

[Ladie Au Pair]

Sex sells everything, and yes, that includes video games. If it didn?t Tera Patrick wouldn?t be involved in the DLC for Saint?s Row 2. If it didn?t the girl on girl sex scene in Mass Effect wouldn?t have been a big deal. It was though, because sex sells? big time.

This happens to put girl gamers in an awkward place. We want your attention and are trying hard to get it, legitimately. We write articles, reviews, walkthroughs? We kick your ass on XBox Live and even help develop the games you play.We explain that we are legit as any other gamer and we?re all the same, just with different equipment. But you don?t hear us, and that?s where things go down hill.

Like I said, sex sells. Sex sells a lot. To make matters worse, there are people who understand that they can use it to get attention. There are girls, who play games, who use it to get attention. As a friend of mine recently said, ?Success in a capitalist society is determined by number of hits on the site, and midriffs generate traffic.? You can see where this is headed.

There are a lot of "girl gamers" who show off there bodies to get attention because they don't know how else to do it. Unfortunately, they tend to give the rest of us girl gamers a bad name. And some how... these skin showing girl gamers are the ones who you find in the media. I mean google image searching "girl gamer" isn't safe for work...

Thoughts, opinions? Is using your body okay for attention? Is it cool for these girls to give the rest of us bad names?

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

I just search girl gamer on google, it was awesome, thank you.

 

[Mask of 1000 Faces]

I think what you say is, generally, correct.

Personally, when I look for a game, I don't care about the flashy butt on the cover, in fact, its taught me to avoid it. Not a single game that features an overly attractive woman has brought me what I want in a game: entertainment.

If I want a beautiful girl, I'll turn around and hug my girlfriend. If I want to see a DD and enough butt to fill my entire monitor, there's the internet for that.

And heck, if you're really feeling insulted, you can always raise your cup to the fact that some of the best professional gamers in the world are women.

And, to snip snip from your article;

"I know that sex sells, but I’m not ready to to sell out and join that crowd. Although I hope my picture above grabbed your attention, I really hope that this article is what kept it. I hope that I have raised your consciousness and you’ll look beyond pictures to explore what really matters; content."

I've always known, been annoyed, and talked about this issue. Thankfully, you're putting it in proper english with style.

Your opinion is recieving better reception than most.

And my girlfriend "effing loves" your hair.

Cheers.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Well, it's always the noisiest minority of a given group that gets the attention, and the girl gamers who strip certainly are the noisiest.

 

[Churchman]

I guess when it comes down to it, Media is still a men's world.

 

[Ladie Au Pair]

I just search girl gamer on google, it was awesome, thank you.

lol. Yeah, I actually conducted an experiment with this whole thing. I have a blog and I thought I would check to see if putting a scantily clad picture of myself at the top of the post would generate more hits. It did. A lot more actually. If anyone is interested in the article you can see it here.

http://thoughtsfromagamer.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/sex-sells/

EDIT: The linked to article is safe for work. promise.
EDITING THE EDIT: This link may be safe for your work, depending on where you work.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I dunno. I didn't see girl gamers as any different to guy gamers until I read this.

 

[Avatar Roku]

I just search girl gamer on google, it was awesome, thank you.

lol. Yeah, I actually conducted an experiment with this whole thing. I have a blog and I thought I would check to see if putting a scantily clad picture of myself at the top of the post would generate more hits. It did. A lot more actually. If anyone is interested in the article you can see it here.

http://thoughtsfromagamer.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/sex-sells/

EDIT: The linked to article is safe for work. promise.

Actually, depending on where you work, that could be considered NSFW.

 

[Ladie Au Pair]

I dunno. I didn't see girl gamers as any different to guy gamers until I read this.

Then keep that thought in your head. That's actually the view a lot us fight for, so you're just ahead of the curve on that one.

 

[SimuLord]

For starters, I think Saint's Row 2 is kind of a bad example considering the entire design philosophy of that game (to appeal to twitchy lovers of mindless fun---it wasn't Yahtzee's Game of the Year for nothing).

The best girl gamers, the ones guys would give their right nut for the opportunity to date, much less marry, are the ones who downplay their femininity most of the time, saving that "oh, by the way, I'm a girl" for the moment when it will absolutely floor the guy they've been secretly sizing up from afar so they know the dude is cool before the reveal.

Have you seen some of the threads on here where guys with awesome girl-gamer girlfriends or wives (myself included---right now, as I write this, my wife is playing World of Warcraft) talk about how lucky and blessed we consider ourselves? You'll notice that the bulk of these dudes aren't talking about girl gamers who use video games as just another fashion accessory---I think I speak for most of us when I say that it's not just the fact that she games that impresses us but the fact that she's HARDCORE.

Sure, it won't get you the instant-gratification "hey, look at me" attention you might be after but let's face it, that kind of attention-seeking is something normal people outgrow around the time they get done using it in the form of "Mommy, I made potty, give me cookie!" Acting like a toddler isn't sexy no matter how much you look like Kasumi or Ayane.

That's not to say you can't do a little cosplay in the bedroom if you're into that sort of thing...some dudes may want you to dress like Aeris so they can say "want to see my Sephiroth katana? It's gonna be Disc 1 between your legs, baby!" But that stuff's best kept private between consenting adults.

 

[Nova Tendril]

I've never heard of girl gamers using their body the way you described.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

And though it is true that women are sexualised more than men in games (and every other medium), I can think of a few examples of male characters who are eroticised too...

Chris Redfield's rippling muscles and chizelled jaw come to mind... not to mention Leon and his floppy hair...

The Prince of Persia is a handsome, athletic smooth talker...

Your character in Fable can be completely fimne tuned into a sex magnet...

I don't think anyone would disagree that sex sells but it's kind of a given nowadays, is it not?

 

[Mask of 1000 Faces]

I've never heard of girl gamers using their body the way you described.

Official company conventions are a good place to see this. Get a couple of (I mostly see asians, since they're all in china and japan) models, put them in skimpy outfits, and give them "Gamer" signs.

Wham blam thank you ma'am.

You've got your "Gamer Girls".

 

[Ladie Au Pair]

I just search girl gamer on google, it was awesome, thank you.

lol. Yeah, I actually conducted an experiment with this whole thing. I have a blog and I thought I would check to see if putting a scantily clad picture of myself at the top of the post would generate more hits. It did. A lot more actually. If anyone is interested in the article you can see it here.

http://thoughtsfromagamer.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/sex-sells/

EDIT: The linked to article is safe for work. promise.

Actually, depending on where you work, that could be considered NSFW.

I edited my edit... it might be safe for work, depending on where you work.

 

[Citrus]

I'm not quite sure how the Sex Sells concept is related to girl gamers who want attention.

 

[Nova Tendril]

I've never heard of girl gamers using their body the way you described.

Official company conventions are a good place to see this. Get a couple of (I mostly see asians, since they're all in china and japan) models, put them in skimpy outfits, and give them "Gamer" signs.

Wham blam thank you ma'am.

You've got your "Gamer Girls".

That's exploitation as seen in all forms of the media. Exploitation always occurs no matter what your race or sex is.

 

[Mask of 1000 Faces]

I've never heard of girl gamers using their body the way you described.

Official company conventions are a good place to see this. Get a couple of (I mostly see asians, since they're all in china and japan) models, put them in skimpy outfits, and give them "Gamer" signs.

Wham blam thank you ma'am.

You've got your "Gamer Girls".

That's exploitation as seen in all forms of the media. Exploitation always occurs no matter what your race or sex is.

Sucks, doesn't it?

 

[Nova Tendril]

I've never heard of girl gamers using their body the way you described.

Official company conventions are a good place to see this. Get a couple of (I mostly see asians, since they're all in china and japan) models, put them in skimpy outfits, and give them "Gamer" signs.

Wham blam thank you ma'am.

You've got your "Gamer Girls".

That's exploitation as seen in all forms of the media. Exploitation always occurs no matter what your race or sex is.

Sucks, doesn't it?

I hardly care.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I dunno. I didn't see girl gamers as any different to guy gamers until I read this.

Then keep that thought in your head. That's actually the view a lot us fight for, so you're just ahead of the curve on that one.

I don't know why you have to fight for it... if a guy sees you as someway inferior for being a girl gamer then why bother wasting your time with him? Obvioulsy he's not worth your time or effort, so why would a girl want his attention?

Women are often just as guilty as guys when it comes to thier sexuality being exploited. I give you cosmo as an example!

 

[Ladie Au Pair]

I'm not quite sure how the Sex Sells concept is related to girl gamers who want attention.

I just meant that there are girls who claim to pay video games who want attention, and know that they can use sex/sexy images to get it.