This one's for the girls.

[chinangel]

I direct this question at my fellow female gamers out there. While at work I was playing my PSP, now I struggle already with social situations but I like to think I try. Anyways, one of my co-workers commented that girls really don't play games much (she was also female if it matters) which made me really embarrassed and actually ashamed of my title as a girl gamer. I also spoke briefly with a few of the boys there about other games, mostly shooters.

Now...my question to you is, why is it okay for guys to be into games, but when we get into them, or publicly show our love/interest/what have you of video games, other girls avoid us like we are carrying some kind of contagious disease? Is there any good reason why we should be ashamed or hide the fact we play games?

 

[Xiphos98]

I think, it goes back to the fact that it wasn't known for a girl to enjoy these sort of things. In the past a women wasn't meant to do some things but stick to the cleaning?

I don't know if that makes any sense but to a male they don't understand why we would enjoy it, but there only meant to enjoy it, but us females.

At the end of the day its always going to seem weird to other people when they see a female gamer, am not sure why but yeh, and as you can hardly see. i really don't know how to explain it...lol..But yeh i wish they would see us girl gamers just the same as the male gamers, some times we're better

 

[GavmatexD]

I direct this question at my fellow female gamers out there. While at work I was playing my PSP, now I struggle already with social situations but I like to think I try. Anyways, one of my co-workers commented that girls really don't play games much (she was also female if it matters) which made me really embarrassed and actually ashamed of my title as a girl gamer. I also spoke briefly with a few of the boys there about other games, mostly shooters.

Now...my question to you is, why is it okay for guys to be into games, but when we get into them, or publicly show our love/interest/what have you of video games, other girls avoid us like we are carrying some kind of contagious disease? Is there any good reason why we should be ashamed or hide the fact we play games?

sorry for posting since im not a girl but me ad my girlfriend just recently found out that she loves video games and we've been playing co-op survival horrors and shooters so stand up for your right and let the world know gaming is for everyone

 

[mythlover20]

I think, it goes back to the fact that it wasn't known for a girl to enjoy these sort of things. In the past a women wasn't meant to do some things but stick to the cleaning?

I don't know if that makes any sense but to a male they don't understand why we would enjoy it, but there only meant to enjoy it, but us females.

At the end of the day its always going to seem weird to other people when they see a female gamer, am not sure why but yeh, and as you can hardly see. i really don't know how to explain it...lol..But yeh i wish they would see us girl gamers just the same as the male gamers, some times we're better

xiphos98 is right. it was the same when female djs came on to the scene. also female doctors, taxi drivers and politicians. also everything else. our society is a phallic-oriented one, no doubt about it. 12th century perceptions on gender roles are still prevelant, despite what we think. it's why working mothers cop such shit, and are made to feel so guilty by the world at large, even if she's, say, a widow with 2 kids in school. it's also why women still aren't on equal wages.

a lot of people will disagree with this but to them i say: riddle me this. what perceptions are we trying to change, and where did they come from, and if times have changed, why do we still have to fight for equality in our work place, or our relationships? Hmm?

we're women. as a whole we are still (at least in a tiny, subconscious part of of the collective consciousness) seen as weaker and need to stay chained to the stove. and as much as i hate to say it, as a whole, society isn't going to change it's opinion any time soon. individuals will, without a doubt, and to them i say, THANK YOU. but the whole of society. no.

 

[Aurgelmir]

Now...my question to you is, why is it okay for guys to be into games, but when we get into them, or publicly show our love/interest/what have you of video games, other girls avoid us like we are carrying some kind of contagious disease? Is there any good reason why we should be ashamed or hide the fact we play games?

Now I am one of them guys, but I feel your question is open enough for us to have a say too

I think it boils down to stereotypes; Girls Don't Play Video Games.

Which I find to be a pretty annoying stereotype, mainly because I wish more girls loved video games

I also think a lot of other girls are "intimidated" by Gamer Girls because you are different from them, and might not care about things they care about to the same degree. And hell a lot of none Gamer Boys act the same way towards us, so I feel with you.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Your own reaction is part of the problem. Why should you have felt ashamed? You were doing something you enjoyed, and let some random comment make you feel bad about it. If you don't think gaming is worthwhile enough to feel ok about doing it, why should anyone else think it's acceptable?

 

[tahrey]

with my "gender neutral internet head" on...

That word "shouldn't" ... I think I hate it more than all the others in situations like these. That insidious little suggestion that you'll become less in their eyes, and by extension the world, if you don't stop doing that thing you're doing.

I mean, murdering people ... yeah, you really shouldn't do that, regardless of who you are. Lifestyle choices or hobbies being things you should or shouldn't do based on your particular genetic makeup? Auuuugh.
Like, you've got dark skin. I think you shouldn't ride at the front of the bus.

That sense of shame is what they're going for. Rise above it. Turn it into pity for their narrow mindedness.
(and heck, if I don't know more girls that play mobile consoles/phone-games than boys, THAT will be the surprise)

 

[Amberella]

I direct this question at my fellow female gamers out there. While at work I was playing my PSP, now I struggle already with social situations but I like to think I try. Anyways, one of my co-workers commented that girls really don't play games much (she was also female if it matters) which made me really embarrassed and actually ashamed of my title as a girl gamer. I also spoke briefly with a few of the boys there about other games, mostly shooters.

Now...my question to you is, why is it okay for guys to be into games, but when we get into them, or publicly show our love/interest/what have you of video games, other girls avoid us like we are carrying some kind of contagious disease? Is there any good reason why we should be ashamed or hide the fact we play games?

This actually happened to me at work yesterday when I brought in my DS to play Pokemon White. I work in an office which is all females except for a few of the doctors. And one of the girls commented on how video games is more of a guy thing. I of course denied this statement because I absolutely love video games and I'm not afraid to say so. And to be honest, I was wondering the same exact thing. A few of the girls avoid me, especially when I start talking about video games! And it really irritates me! Of course though the girls that do avoid me are those overly girly ones that go tanning and get their nails done regularly. I was always more of a tomboy, and I'm proud of it.

I don't think we girl gamers should be ashamed to say we love video games! I say who cares what other girls think!! We love our video games and that's all that matters!

Everyone is interested in different things. We're all different and it's always going to be that way. And you shouldn't feel embarrassed about being a girl gamer. Take up that title with pride!

 

[GeorgW]

I know several female gamers, and I've never looked down on them or treated them oddly. I think it's a cultural thing, maybe it's more accepted in Sweden.
Look, just ignore them. If you like to game, then game. Who cares what everybody else thinks?

Besides, they're all just jealus cuz the guys like you more!

 

[Valksy]

Speaking as a female gamer who has played games for 30 years or so, I can safely say that I don't bother giving a fuck what people think of me. I suppose that so long as I promise faithfully to pursue my hobbies with my eyes, my hands and my brain, then no one else actually needs to have a say in it.

If you enjoy gaming, game. If people look down on you for gaming, they are not worth your time or trouble to fret about.

 

[Emilin_Rose]

you have to remember these are the steryotypical "Extra-Sparkly SuperRetards". The ones who wear high heals and lipstick wherever they go. You can't reason with them. That is what the magical Iseecolorspeople Box and overlords Brittany Spears and Snooki tell them to be like, and they think anyone who isn't is "wrong" and "nerdy".

Remember high school? Most guys wanted to talk to a girl about their games and yet the ones put on a pedastal and crowned "popular" were like above?

High school never ends, unless you move to Forest Grove, where time never passes.

 

[2xDouble]

Extra Credits has some insight on this very topic, with special guest writer Leigh Alexander.

 

[chinangel]

Speaking as a female gamer who has played games for 30 years or so, I can safely say that I don't bother giving a fuck what people think of me. I suppose that so long as I promise faithfully to pursue my hobbies with my eyes, my hands and my brain, then no one else actually needs to have a say in it.

If you enjoy gaming, game. If people look down on you for gaming, they are not worth your time or trouble to fret about.

ha ha, you sound a lot like my mom. thanks hun ^^

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

I'm also in the construction industry, and a mason/carpenter. People tend to not think much when they find out I also play video games.

 

[Valksy]

Speaking as a female gamer who has played games for 30 years or so, I can safely say that I don't bother giving a fuck what people think of me. I suppose that so long as I promise faithfully to pursue my hobbies with my eyes, my hands and my brain, then no one else actually needs to have a say in it.

If you enjoy gaming, game. If people look down on you for gaming, they are not worth your time or trouble to fret about.

ha ha, you sound a lot like my mom. thanks hun ^^

Erm..... thanks?

(Ahhh I'm not THAT much older than you...)

My folks (and I thank them for this) were never in to gender stereotypes and while I was little they would try various toys, they learned what interested me the most and let me play how I wanted. I was allowed to play with toys that might have been considered boys toys and it was never required of me that I be "girlie". I swear that when I see parents buying little girls toy hoovers and toy ironing boards I want to cry for those kids.

Net result was that I grew up with electronics. It was my choice from when I was a nipper.

I think for a lot of girls/women, they were raised in a stereotypical way and feel nervous/agitated or just don't understand when you fly in the face of gender norms. In time, as young females become more and more interested in computers/games, this will just become an anachronism and gaming will genuinely become gender neutral.

As a gamer, I love any game that lets me be knee-deep in the bodies of my enemies. I will never cry because my pony died because it is not pretty enough....

 

[bushwhacker2k]

Human nature. Men and women are meant to be separate and have their roles.

That's evolution for ya.

That's a pretty old school viewpoint.

I suppose I don't disagree entirely, but I think constraining entire genders to lifestyles regardless of what people individually desire is pretty shallow.

I, for one, wish I knew way more girls that played games. I don't see why they're so resistant... other than idiots who give gaming a bad name : /

 

[Pecoros7]

As the proud owner of a y chromosome, my opinion may not be hat you're looking for, but I think this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZVZRsy8N8] is a big part of it. Many women see video games as a "boy's-club" and may see your interest in them as inherently unfeminine. They would probably have the same reaction if you revealed that you enjoy restoring classic cars or going to topless bars. They have accepted a societal gender norm that you have rejected, so it alters their perception of you and makes you, in a small way, an "other" to them. Men react similarly when I tell them that I enjoy baking. Fortunately, perceptions that gaming is a boy's hobby and baking and cooking are "woman's work" are changing, but we'll still see them for a long time. For now, be open about your hobby and try not to let women think you're ashamed of it. The only way gaming will eventually find acceptance among women is for women to see otherwise normal women enjoying it.