Vastly more important EDIT: This thread has started some fights. It's mostly been a place for some rational discussion and relaying personal experiance, but it's also started 1-2 notable fights. Please note that all this original post did was provide some facts and personal experience to make it clear that girls have been here for quite a while, and their opinion should always count. That's literally it, and I've seen little evidence that anyone really disagrees with that. Play nice, kids.
EDIT: I acknowledge we all know women aren't new to this hobby. Or most of us know that. I also acknowledge you're all obscenely talented, beautiful and/or handsome people. Because you are. But I think our ratios of the gaming population are a bit...obscured. This is also in response to recent sexist video posted on these nifty little forums.
Nor are they a rare minority: http://www.themarysue.com/gaming-statistics/
http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp (read number 6)
A special on a woman in Game's journalism playing since age 6: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=6873270&page=1#.UCwZ046jJlI
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/713502/esas-gamer-study-average-player-37-42-percent-of-gamers-female/
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Now, before the outcry of 'casuals don't count', The majority of those women are playing the kind of games this cite typically associates gaming with. 40% of gamers online are female, and to add to that, you need to consider the fact that women have A LOT of incentive to lie about their gender online nowadays, so it may be more.
I'm making this as something of a response thread to this: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.385133-From-The-Kitchen-To-The-Controller-Girl-Gamers-Exposed
Though in general, I've gotten a bit sick of the trend of accusing women of 'recently invading' the gaming community. I grew up surrounded by female gamers, and half the gamers I know offline are women. My favorite TF2 server is hosted by a women who codes custom Source maps as a source of income, and I've been slaughtered by/have slaughtered female steam friends for about a year now. One of my best friends is a girl who knows more Final Fantasy Secrets then I ever will, and I once watched an old Girlfriend get to the second dungeon in Ocarina of Time in two hours.
The reaction the Escapist had to the linked thread has given me a lot of hope; almost everyone was repulsed by the video's implications.
I'm not talking down to anyone, more so making this to share some facts and personal experience. I realize not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up with the nerdy chicks I have had the pleasure of being around. But women who play and make games are not rare and they aren't new, and they shouldn't be accused of trying to seduce men by playing Mario.
By the same logic, Men have started watching My Little Pony to impress women. I think a web comic made that comparison recently somewhere around here...hm.
For discussions sake: Did your gender 'matter' when you revealed yourself to be a gamer? As a kid did you feel peer pressured to liking one thing but not another? I've heard many female gamers say they're met with strange reactions.
I personally think that what we enjoy is largely determined by what's marketed to us, but we can easily defy that.
(Again: see the guys watching My Little Pony. And several female gamers playing certain modern games that were more marketed to men and boys [not all are marketed like that, but some are]). People enjoy what they enjoy, as far as I'm concerned. And I think most people here agree, but has society been receptive of that idea?
Okay, talk amongst ya selves.
EDIT: I acknowledge we all know women aren't new to this hobby. Or most of us know that. I also acknowledge you're all obscenely talented, beautiful and/or handsome people. Because you are. But I think our ratios of the gaming population are a bit...obscured. This is also in response to recent sexist video posted on these nifty little forums.
Nor are they a rare minority: http://www.themarysue.com/gaming-statistics/
http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp (read number 6)
A special on a woman in Game's journalism playing since age 6: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=6873270&page=1#.UCwZ046jJlI
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/713502/esas-gamer-study-average-player-37-42-percent-of-gamers-female/
---------------------
Now, before the outcry of 'casuals don't count', The majority of those women are playing the kind of games this cite typically associates gaming with. 40% of gamers online are female, and to add to that, you need to consider the fact that women have A LOT of incentive to lie about their gender online nowadays, so it may be more.
I'm making this as something of a response thread to this: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.385133-From-The-Kitchen-To-The-Controller-Girl-Gamers-Exposed
Though in general, I've gotten a bit sick of the trend of accusing women of 'recently invading' the gaming community. I grew up surrounded by female gamers, and half the gamers I know offline are women. My favorite TF2 server is hosted by a women who codes custom Source maps as a source of income, and I've been slaughtered by/have slaughtered female steam friends for about a year now. One of my best friends is a girl who knows more Final Fantasy Secrets then I ever will, and I once watched an old Girlfriend get to the second dungeon in Ocarina of Time in two hours.
The reaction the Escapist had to the linked thread has given me a lot of hope; almost everyone was repulsed by the video's implications.
I'm not talking down to anyone, more so making this to share some facts and personal experience. I realize not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up with the nerdy chicks I have had the pleasure of being around. But women who play and make games are not rare and they aren't new, and they shouldn't be accused of trying to seduce men by playing Mario.
By the same logic, Men have started watching My Little Pony to impress women. I think a web comic made that comparison recently somewhere around here...hm.
For discussions sake: Did your gender 'matter' when you revealed yourself to be a gamer? As a kid did you feel peer pressured to liking one thing but not another? I've heard many female gamers say they're met with strange reactions.
I personally think that what we enjoy is largely determined by what's marketed to us, but we can easily defy that.
(Again: see the guys watching My Little Pony. And several female gamers playing certain modern games that were more marketed to men and boys [not all are marketed like that, but some are]). People enjoy what they enjoy, as far as I'm concerned. And I think most people here agree, but has society been receptive of that idea?
Okay, talk amongst ya selves.
