Female Gamers: An Unpopular Opinion

[PrimoThePro]

Ok, rant is over. You all now have my permission to label me as a chauvinist, and my further permission to grossly misconstrue my ever statement to suit your warped opinion of my plea.

I am offended! Good sir, this is The Escapist! It is not just any forum site! This is a place where gentlemen and ladies discuss topics of the day, personal gaming habits and what have you. I assure you, any rebuttals of your opinion will be done with utmost grace and respect.
I myself find that those who call themselves GrrlGamers are to be ignored. Like trolls, feeding them will only make things worse.
Your cause is noble, and your words, they are true. Perhaps, dear friend, you should reconsider this being your last post on The Escapist. You would have a home here, an opinion, and a place where you will be recognized. Please, stay. You are welcome here.

 

[Axeli]

Yeaah... Not really the same. I don't really see much of guys in real life flocking around one girl like that just because she happens to the only one present.
At least not the kind of guys who do it online, under the cover of anonymity. It's just awkward and slightly creepy, and kind of hard to explain to someone who hasn't actually witnessed it.

And are woman generally under constant hounding? And men always aroused? Maybe there's something wrong with my libido, but I wouldn't say so. I thought that stereotype was beaten to death already.

It happens, go to a social setting and keep an eye on the attractive women and you will see men flocking to them. Sometimes individually or in groups. And if she is the only girl around, it happens... I've seen it. ( Of course you have to take other things into consideration like, whether or not she's part of the group of friends you are observing and her looks and attitude.) The same thing happens online as well, it's just probably more frequent because of the anonimity. And yes men are in a constant state of arousal.... not full on.... but it's always there. That's why it's so much easier for men to be turned on then women, it's evolutions way of compensating to keep the species going.

Well, maybe in the same sense you are in a constant state of carving for food, but not always starving, which is actually a stronger instinct. I'm not saying you're automatically some horny creep if try to chat up women every now and then, but some restraint is sometimes called for. Like when the only thing you know about the person in question is that she's a she or that she's already flocked by number of guys of various level of creepy, awkward and pathetic, who might or might not have the age average of 15.
It's kinda sad to see all that attention because nothing more than the information that the person is a female, you know...

And yes, I do know attractive enough women tend to have the effect at times, but it's hardly the "omg, a gurl!" reaction you can find without a fail online in certain less than mature places.

 

[toadking07]

It's like reverse racism. It's got to go all way the other way before things can be equal. My example with that being that most colleges have reserved spaces for African American Students, which is "racist" towards people of another race. Anyways, putting the girls up on pillars and showing them off is meant to stabilize their position as equal gamers. Once they have a stronger presence, then they can lay off it. And on the other hand, we're had male dominated screennames, "AssassinMan42" and male geared articles, "Top 25 sexy Female Characters" for a long time now. might be just having the shoe on the other foot, but you're right that it shouldn't be a big deal forever and ever.

 

[Teh Ty]

I know a couple girl gamers, but when I first asked if they were one of those "I'm a girl and I can kick your ass at halo, because I'm a girl", one did, but the other were just kinda casual gamers, so I don;t care for the ones who REALLY stand out and try to intimidate, but I like the ines who are more casual with their gameplay.

 

[kawaiiamethist]

I am a girl and I game, but I don't think that makes me special. My gender is special though; companies are still trying to work out how to deal with us.

There isn't equality in the gaming world, just look at game covers, and given the male demographic brings in the most money, it's a no-brainer why, but it would be nice to see some developers actually attempt some diversity (beyond that humorously insulting Super Princess Peach experiment). An immediate example: Mass Effect and Fable; your character can be either male or female, and in both cases the marketers chose male. Furthermore, I doubt there was serious discussion as to what gender to use.

I'm not one to highlight my gender on forums (my avies do that anyway), and while most of these gamer tarts do it for the attention, others do it for the pride aspect; it isn't always just 'look at me, I have a 360 controller - and tits!', it can also be 'I have a 360 controller and the club is no longer Boys Only, deal with it'.

 

[bobknowsall]

Female empowerment, while necessary to combat chauvinism to a point, must be kept in check as much as chauvinism should.

Yeah, otherwise you get people like Dworkin and Solanas in the mainstream, and that's just not a pretty mental image. I'm all for equal treatment, but as long as it means genuine equality, and not equal amounts of discrimination.

OT: It's not a particularly unpopular opinion, mate. I think a lot of girls feel patronised by the cutesy, fluffy games that get chucked their way, so they'd be all for equal treatment. Just as long as games stopped treating women like objects, naturally. *laughs*

As a male, its genetically written into my code to have a certain interest in the "fairer" sex.

Orly? Link to article supporting your assertion plz.

Oh come on, don't bring up that "gay gene" crap in this thread, go do it somewhere else.

Yeah, this really isn't the place for a debate about genetic predisposition towards homosexuality. The OP is probably straight, and he forgot to cover his bases in regards to good ol' political correctness. I wasn't offended by what he said, and I'm not exactly straight. Calm down, Double A.

 

[Chicago Ted]

Aren't double standards magnificent?

[/sarcasm]

 

[Evil Tim]

then youre not lobbying for equality. Youre making your gender a part of who you are. Youre infliciting it on people.

So you're saying the path to equality is for women to pretend they don't exist, lest they inflict their horrible being-a-woman on others. This is similar to the argument that gays shouldn't display affection in public, lest everyone be offended by their icky gayness.

When youre in a game, no one should give a shit about your gender, right? Isnt that the meaning of equality? It doesnt matter if youre a girl.

In a truly equal scenario nobody would give a shit about your gender, so you'd be free to announce if you were male or female.

 

[Eggsnham]

As a male, its genetically written into my code to have a certain interest in the "fairer" sex.

Orly? Link to article supporting your assertion plz.

It is genetically written into *most* guys to like girls. He wasn't wrong to state that. If you're gay, then your DNA is slightly diferent and his statement doesn't apply to you. No harm done. OP: I can't say I agree with you on saying that we hold girls at a higher standard (at least not on The Escapist) on the internet. Or maybe I just don't pay attention to things like that.

 

[Iconsting]

Most girls kick my ass in games anyway.

 

[AV01]

Female Gamer =/= Attention whore.

Don't group us all together.

 

[HowToCatchAFirefly]

Where the hell are these women you're refering to?

Girls under the age of 15 Do Not Count.

Pointless topic.

Oh, we exist. We're just very, very sneaky.
*shhhhhhhhh*

 

[Mr Wednesday]

Where the hell are these women you're refering to?

Girls under the age of 15 Do Not Count.

Pointless topic.

Oh, we exist. We're just very, very sneaky.
*shhhhhhhhh*

Oh, I don't doubt the existence of the odd female gamer, just the plague of Grrl gamers coming out the woodwork and acting like mongs.

 

[Skinny Razor]

"Equality" is a lie. Hideous genetic experiments aside, men don't carry babies to term (and often are denied parental leave), and women are happy to inflict inhuman amounts of pain upon themselves in the name of fashionable shoes.

On a more basic level, we all have different skill levels in many different areas, but those are valued in a fundamental unfair way: in other words, is someone willing to fork over their hard-earned to you for said skills? Definitely an area where equality is a non-starter, unless you're a dirty pinko commie baby raper.

And as to those with the real epidemic type of Attention Deficit Disorder ("You people are not paying enough attention to me!") let me ask: By the way something, why do you care? Flick 'em the V's and walk on.

Yes I realize the nearly hypocritical irony of that last statement. And yeah, that's a lot of subclauses.

 

[Plurralbles]

I agree with your first paragraph.

But it sure is sexy.

 

[HowToCatchAFirefly]

Where the hell are these women you're refering to?

Girls under the age of 15 Do Not Count.

Pointless topic.

Oh, we exist. We're just very, very sneaky.
*shhhhhhhhh*

Oh, I don't doubt the existence of the odd female gamer, just the plague of Grrl gamers coming out the woodwork and acting like mongs.

yeah, they're irritating. when I game I always play a female avatar, but never run around saying "HEY I'M A HELPLESS GIRL SOMEONE GIVE ME ATTENTION/LOOT/SELF-RESPECT", but I have, sadly, seen others do that. just give the rest a chance. there's always the offhand thought that there might be alot more female gamers out there who never really introduce themselves as such, and because of that, everyone would assume they're guys. So really, it's impossible to know.

 

[Citrus]

I agree with the OP completely. I don't think that opinion is too unpopular.

I automatically lose respect for anybody with a username that references that they're a girl, to be honest. And hey, maybe it's wrong; why should I be fine with guys having their gender in their name, but not girls? Yes, it is a double standard, but experience has taught me that most girls who do that are just going for attention, hoping to get preferential treatment from the internet's many guys who leap at any opportunity to speak with a girl. I think it's sort of pathetic, both for the girls who do it and, of course, the guys who reward them for it.

It could be a bit of bitterness on my part, though, because I haven't had the best experiences with female gamers. In my time gaming, I've met very few women who didn't flaunt their gender like a badge of honor, and I've grown to expect girls who join the game to flirt and make conspicuous ploys for attention ("I hate my headset because the wire always tickles my boobs," I heard a while ago).

I agree that articles oriented around girl gamers are a step in the wrong direction as well. But hey, more and more people are gaming these days, and I've noticed that the older women who game tend to handle themselves respectfully, so maybe it's just a teenager thing. I guess you can't expect teens not to want to flirt with each other (however pathetic online-flirting may be), just as you can't expect teenage girls not to want attention.