Why I think "Gamer Girls" shouldn't hide.

[Mossberg Shotty]

Most people I've met online that claimed to be female ended up being men. Similarly, I happen to personally know a number of men who pretend to be women online for the perks (IE being able to get free items in online games), and one of them even utilizes a paid voice changer to do so.

So forgive me for being skeptical. 'On the internet, men are men, women are men, and children are FBI agents'.

I wish it weren't so, but that seems to be the case most of the time. Of all the women I've met online, at least half of them have turned out to be dudes. Once, I encountered a guy who was just really good at doing voices.

Had me fooled for longer than I'm proud of.

 

[Sectan]

I must have been in a strange guild during my WoW days. About 8 of our 25 raid members were women and they got patted on the back and chewed out just as much as everyone else did.

 

[Gothproxy]

I work part-time at a local GameStop and we are fortunate to have girls who work there as well as plenty of women who play games as customers. But there is something about "Gamer Girl" that I hate; it's that women get a title for something that really isn't that special anymore. To be a "Gamer Girl" is to be a girl who likes video games. Well, guess what? You don't need a special tag for that anymore.

There was a couple that came into my store a few weeks ago. I asked them both if I could help them find anything. The guy asked about a couple of titles and I pointed them out to him. As he was looking at them the girl turns to me and asks, can you show me where the games are for girls? I said "Sure" and swept my arms to gesture at the long rows of games we were standing next too. She looked as if she didn't understand so I offered "Girls can play any game they want. Shooters, RPGS, you name it. There aren't any 'Boy games' or 'Girl games'." with a smile. She thought about it for a sec then I started asking her what she liked and went from there.

This whole silly thing about "Gamer Girl" or anything should be over by now. We are all humans and we like video games. Unfortunately, there are those in the industry who can't see that. Those people are generally the same people who try to force "always online DRM", or multiplayer modes no one asked for, or who HATE the idea of women being main characters in games or even on the cover for that matter.

And for the record, I know several women who could beat the living snot outta every person who visits the Escapist in CoD and Dead or Alive.

 

[Something Amyss]

"Hah, you just got beat by a girl!" Cool, I lost to a girl.

To be fair, the only reason this even comes up is because guys so frequently make a big deal about how women can't game, suck at it, and should get back into the kitchen. This wouldn't be brought up if it weren't considered emasculating and it wouldn't be considered emasculating if people didn't live by the stereotype in the first place.

I mean, the fact that you act like you don't understand why these things are said is puzzling.

 

[KOMega]

I don't think there are that many that go and hide their gender.
I'm not saying there aren't any that do put effort into hiding their gender for one reason or another, but...

However I'd never go any length to point out my gender either.

... generally there is no reason to know, and the only time I ever notice is when I hear a female voice in voice chat.

I think the best way to introduce girls to gaming is not for them to announce that they are girl gamers, but rather that we all should make the environment less toxic toward girl gamers. We've definitely made some progress already there I'd like to believe.

It's an issue I think we kinda have to let fall into place rather than push. Just gotta make some landing space.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Yes and no

There are valid reasons for breaking down demographics and than includes male and female. If you are trying to target a game to a specific demographic because they are under represented and it will make you money that's not wrong. That being said I'm going to argue against that position. As I said before when the guy who made Two souls and Heavy Rain came out and said basically "men are dumb they just will sit in front of TV for hours shooting something" that pissed me off because I play a game for its story, no story? very little chance your game will hold me. The same when his next comment was "oh women on the other hand have to be engaged emotionally, they cant play shooters", again compleatly sexist and wrong. I know more female COD players than I do guys and the study I posted before shows that for Modern warfare at least on PC, its not 1 or 2% women, its 30% which is significant.

I wasn't really arguing marketing and demographics and all that fun jazz. My comments are directed more at actually playing the game. It shouldn't matter if the person you're playing with is male or female. Attitude and ability are the only things I'm concerned with when I play games with other people.

Breaking down demographics is fine and all, but that isn't really my concern when I'm playing the game. I don't think that a girl playing a game is anything special or something that should be celebrated. They're playing the game, same as the rest of us and just happen to be female. As far as actually playing the game is concerned, it doesn't really matter whether you're male or female. It doesn't need to be noted, addressed, mentioned or pointed out or anything of the sort.

 

[Saltyk]

Hell, I've played female characters and been asked if I was a female. I've never had anyone assume my sex, though. And I have no shortage of female characters that I have played in MMOs. Probably about a third of my characters have been female, actually. Odd when I think about it.

Since I play almost exclusively as a woman when I have the choice, I get a split response. When I use the same name as my Escapist username, people assume male. When I use something a little more ambiguous, people assume female. Which is weird to me, because 99% of the female characters I see online are played by males (assuming I find out the gender of the user, that is), but that could just be my experience.

Hard to say. I never asked those who generally played female characters about their experiences. It's not like I had limited experience with female characters. I've had several at fairly high levels. Could just be the nature of the beast, or maybe I said or acted in a "male way" so that people didn't generally ask.

Pretty sure I teased a few people, though. Cracked jokes, and used flirty emotes here and there. Because why not?

I think you realize this, but I meant that it was sad that the fact that the groups that I have been in treated female members with respect was "special". Considering what I have read so far, it doesn't seem like a common trait.

Agreed. Ability and attitude are what's important. Make me laugh, tell me where the enemies are, and contribute. That's all that matters. Not your politics, race, religion, or anything else. Think I saw a Youtube video stating this at some point. Might have been one of those vids rebutting Anita Sarkeesian.

Yes, I realized. I was just offering my opinion on the 'girls in games' bit as a whole.

I never really bothered with any of the nonsense surrounding Sarkeesian. I give two chances for something to be interested, to me. Sarkeesian failed to be interesting both times, so I typically ignore her videos and move on.

[sub][sub]Truth be told, I wish I'd ignored her from the start, now. YouTube keeps going OH, WATCHED ONE OF HER VIDEOS? HERE'S ALL HER VIDEOS FOR YOU TO WATCH! No, YouTube. I don't want to watch her videos. Please stop recommending them to me. They're taking up space that could be used for something I actually like.[/sub][/sub]

Just clarifying is all. I've had some interesting... misunderstandings here.

I'm not too concerned about it. I'm curious to see where she's going, but not waiting with baited breath. Guarantee I won't even know about her next video until someone posts about it here.

My opinion can be summed up as she is neither right nor wrong. But I can't say for sure until I see more of her thoughts. However, the vitriol and hate being sent against her does no one any favors. And if you do disagree with her, you make her look right in the eyes of others when you hate and bully her.

[sub][sub]I feel ya. Youtube has got some odd recommendations for me, too.[/sub][/sub]

 

[Exius Xavarus]

"Hah, you just got beat by a girl!" Cool, I lost to a girl.

To be fair, the only reason this even comes up is because guys so frequently make a big deal about how women can't game, suck at it, and should get back into the kitchen. This wouldn't be brought up if it weren't considered emasculating and it wouldn't be considered emasculating if people didn't live by the stereotype in the first place.

I mean, the fact that you act like you don't understand why these things are said is puzzling.

I know why these things are said. What I don't understand is why being a girl is still a special note. Their gender doesn't make any difference. They're just another player in the game. Knowing what gender they are isn't going to suddenly change how good they are(n't), so I don't see any reason that it needs to be pointed out.

 

[thenoblitt]

well you see, there is a difference between a girl who plays games and a girl gamer. First of all a girl gamer will throw this in your face over and over. "hey guys im a girl gamer dont hit on me silly boys" or something stupid like that. They will also only play the most popular games at the time, and a lot of the time they will ask for donations, or another thing they like to do is dress skimpy so their youtube, will get more views.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsTR8f4a24w&feature=c4-overview&list=UUBQnkb7JjTfpaIARq53ZLGQ

In this video there is a guy who tries to have discussion with a girl, and whenever he brings up a point she basically just says feminism.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Just clarifying is all. I've had some interesting... misunderstandings here.

I'm not too concerned about it. I'm curious to see where she's going, but not waiting with baited breath. Guarantee I won't even know about her next video until someone posts about it here.

My opinion can be summed up as she is neither right nor wrong. But I can't say for sure until I see more of her thoughts. However, the vitriol and hate being sent against her does no one any favors. And if you do disagree with her, you make her look right in the eyes of others when you hate and bully her.

[sub][sub]I feel ya. Youtube has got some odd recommendations for me, too.[/sub][/sub]

No worries, I get what you were saying and I do agree.

As for the whole Sarkeesian shtick, I think she's boring. She's too...professional. Too much like a teacher in a classroom. That could just be her style, I dunno. What I do know is it's just not for me.

 

[sweetylnumb]

Oh and if I had a cent for every time my mother allegedly slept with some snot-nosed misfit on the internet, I could buy out Bill Gates by now.

Could you also hire an enforcement team that actually enforces policies on harassment and the like?

That would be nice.

Hell, I've played female characters and been asked if I was a female. I've never had anyone assume my sex, though. And I have no shortage of female characters that I have played in MMOs. Probably about a third of my characters have been female, actually. Odd when I think about it.

Since I play almost exclusively as a woman when I have the choice, I get a split response. When I use the same name as my Escapist username, people assume male. When I use something a little more ambiguous, people assume female. Which is weird to me, because 99% of the female characters I see online are played by males (assuming I find out the gender of the user, that is), but that could just be my experience.

Lets just call them "fake gamers" and i'll be happier..


Soon...

The biggest problem is that this only masks the issue at hand, since even "fake gamer" and "fake geek" are rarely leveled at men in the same circumstances. I mean, dropping the "girl" part is nice, but as long as women are held to a different standard where they have to prove themselves and men don't, there's an underlying problem.

I mean, I agree with the post you're responding to in most senses: yes, it's annoying when someone claims to be a fan of something but hasn't seen anything regarding it, but in the nerd domain it tends to be incredibly lopsided.

Your missing my point. I want them to be called "fake gamers" because i dont like the term "fake gamer girl" being aimed specifically at females. Both genders can be fake its that simple.

 

[sweetylnumb]

I'm certainly not hiding, I just don't see why it is a big deal to be a girl who plays games. I would sooner identify myself as a 'gamer' than a 'girl gamer'. Oh and 'fake gamer girls' definitely do exist, one of my friends bought a Triforce T-shirt and doesn't know that the main character is called Link and not Zelda. She has also not played any Zelda games but still says that Ocarina of Time is one of the best N64 titles if not one of the best RPGs in history.

Thats bullshit. I brought a batman shirt because it was cheap and looked nice, does that make me a "fake" comic book fan? if you pretend to like video games but you dont THEN you are fake, but it shouldnt be a label attached to females specifically, everyone lies to impress people sometimes.

If you bought a Batman shirt, then said you are a Batman fan despite having never read any Batman comics, watched any Batman TV shows/movies or played any Batman games and thought Batman was the one who does a lot of Butler-like things then you would be a fake Batman fan. Maybe you read other comics, so I will concede that you aren't a fake comic book fan. And I agree that it is something that both sexes can do, my example happened to be female. I don't know any fake male gamers so I have no personal evidence of their existence besides blurry amateur photography and footprints in the Pacific Northwest. But one day...one day...

some say you can lure them out with some Mountain Dew, Doritos, and of course the Halos/CoDs.

closest I ever got to finding this mythical beast was with a bear trap laded with polo shirts with a permanent popped collar, some ironic 80's shirts, and the aforementioned items.

the only reason he didn't fall into my ingenious trap was because some other dude-bro called him gay and asked does he even lift?


But I will say this on a serious note: most male gamers will white knight any fake gamer girl because they think they can eventually get through the friend-zone....

or the follower-zone?

what is the youtube equivalent?

fan-zone? Sub-Zone? ....no, that last one might have another meaning.


But I will test this out, statistically guys will go after gamer girls regardless if they are fake or not, so the inverse must be true!


dear god, I think I found the perfect way to get relationships!


PATENTED, ORIGINAL IDEA, DO NOT STEAL!

Any women that shoves her tits in front of a webcam while playing a game and goes give me money i got boobs XD is not a
"fake gamer girl." Shes a slut that just happens to play video games

 

[wulf3n]

Any women that shoves her tits in front of a webcam while playing a game and goes give me money i got boobs XD is not a
"fake gamer girl." Shes a slut that just happens to play video games

So she's a gamer girl who gets money for being attractive.

 

[Anthony Corrigan]

Your missing my point. I want them to be called "fake gamers" because i dont like the term "fake gamer girl" being aimed specifically at females. Both genders can be fake its that simple.

this whole "fake gamers" is amusing, used to be that those who gamed were on the outside, now supposedly we have gone from a situation where gamers were ostracized that they are so "desired" that even people who don't do it supposedly "fake it", is this a real thing or is this just what the gamers HOPE because that makes them the new cool kids? and even if true who cares? Does someone wearing an N7 shirt with no idea what N7 is really destroy my mass effect experience? Nope it doesn't do squat to my experience so who cares?

 

[Saltyk]

Just clarifying is all. I've had some interesting... misunderstandings here.

I'm not too concerned about it. I'm curious to see where she's going, but not waiting with baited breath. Guarantee I won't even know about her next video until someone posts about it here.

My opinion can be summed up as she is neither right nor wrong. But I can't say for sure until I see more of her thoughts. However, the vitriol and hate being sent against her does no one any favors. And if you do disagree with her, you make her look right in the eyes of others when you hate and bully her.

[sub][sub]I feel ya. Youtube has got some odd recommendations for me, too.[/sub][/sub]

No worries, I get what you were saying and I do agree.

As for the whole Sarkeesian shtick, I think she's boring. She's too...professional. Too much like a teacher in a classroom. That could just be her style, I dunno. What I do know is it's just not for me.

In her defense, that's half the point. That they can be used as a teaching tool in classrooms. As a result, if she were making constant jokes like Jontron or the Completionist, the work couldn't really be used as such a thing. So, being professional is a necessity. Mind you, I can only see limited use for such a thing, but that's neither here nor there.

I see the complaint, but maybe this helps explain that. Plus, from what I've seen, she's trying to be serious and making constant jokes would sort of undermine her legitimacy, I suppose. Certainly not the most charismatic speaker, in any case.

 

[Anthony Corrigan]

In my experience you'll see at least 20 to 100 guys in a wholesome community for every girl. And that odd girl, well is most likely an odd girl. Girls are disengaged for whatever reasons. I expect girls are more pressured to to not specialize in life. Or just too distracted to be able to. It's a shame but only time will tell if this will ever change.

what is your experience? because as I posted before 1 in 5 half life players is a female, 3 in 10 COD players and 1 in 2 almost WOW players is female.

 

[Stg]

Personally, if a girl hides the fact she is a girl (intentionally not using a mic), then she shouldn't be playing online games. This is the Internet - a place where every eight-year old with a microphone and a keyboard can call anyone whatever they wish with usually no repercussions. The Internet is a place where the insecure will point out faults with everyone else just to make themselves feel better. The Internet is a place where the weakest awkward kid in school can act like a body-building tough guy with confidence. The Internet is a place where morons congregate on a regular basis to spew unfounded hate, racist remarks, sexist comments, and all-around idiotic statements, all-the-while thinking they are the biggest and smartest bad ass in history for trying to put everyone down.

This all goes into how I believe if you are going to play a multiplayer game over the Internet, you need to have the spine and the intellectual capacity to just ignore these asinine comments and go about your game. There are instances where this cannot be ignored like joining a pug on L4D2 and being tossed into a group of three guys who act like a female voice is like finding the holy grail. That type of situation is best dealt with by aborting and trying for a better group because if your teammates (in any game) cannot work past the fact your voice resembles a female, then you are destined to lose and generally have a bad time trying to brush off their advances or stupid remarks.

Still, if you are going through the trouble of ditching a mic or you're too afraid to tell people you're a girl just because some prepubescent morons overreact to your voice, then you shouldn't be playing games in my opinion. If you are ashamed of who you are to the point you will go out of your way to avoid letting anyone know you might be a guy or girl, then you shouldn't be playing in the first place. Guys, be proud that you are a gamer (I'm talking to the actual gamers and not the casual kiddies) and don't be afraid to announce it to anyone. Girls, same thing goes for you. If someone has a problem with your gender, then that's THEIR problem and not yours. If they are getting annoying, most games have a mute and/or ignore feature for just that purpose.

 

[sweetylnumb]

Your missing my point. I want them to be called "fake gamers" because i dont like the term "fake gamer girl" being aimed specifically at females. Both genders can be fake its that simple.

this whole "fake gamers" is amusing, used to be that those who gamed were on the outside, now supposedly we have gone from a situation where gamers were ostracized that they are so "desired" that even people who don't do it supposedly "fake it", is this a real thing or is this just what the gamers HOPE because that makes them the new cool kids? and even if true who cares? Does someone wearing an N7 shirt with no idea what N7 is really destroy my mass effect experience? Nope it doesn't do squat to my experience so who cares?

I personally don't. Just like how "hardcore" gamers are elitist dickbrains who need to take life less seriously