"Girl Gamer Syndrome"

[sunthaiduc]

i pwn boys. i do not need my hand held, class advice or help leveling. i'm the chick who farms the mats for the entire guilds potion needs and i have seen world firsts.i tell dirty jokes in ventrilo.i usually play male characters to avoid the stalker rush but they always find me eventually

 

[monkey_man]

I've long ago come to the realization that girls game too, and therefore decided to grade people on behavior and skill rather on gender. It really upsets me if a girl tries to get away with cheap tricks, just because she's a girl. I also debunk gents for doing so, but still. Play the game with skill and fun, and you can have a great friendly player on/ against your team. Be a noob who yells a lot, and you get a cranky self righteous snobby prick, calling you out on shitty gameplay. Who is then "sexist" and "a virgin basement-dweller". Those terms should die out, like "girl gamer". Just make it gamer. Do not treat people in a different way just because they are not exactly like you in person and genetics. Treat them differently for lack of skill and bug-abuse.

 

[Jasper Jeffs]

As much as I hate dumb bitches attention seeking because they have a vagina, there are some upsides. For instance, it's both easy and hilarious to impersonate a female on an MMO, just throw in a few elongated "xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD" emoticons and proceed to get free gold. I was always good at that on Guild Wars.

 

[magma]

*A few seconds of Googling later*
Well statistically over 40 percent of gamers are still female and the older female demographic still outnumbers the teenage boy demographic. (Check out ESA's and ESRB's sites if you don't believe.)

I haven't really noticed people using playing video games as something that makes them unique, it's a hobby mainstream enough that it can't be claimed as something special by itself.

 

[Fijiman]

I've only met a few girl gamers on XBL and most of them were pretty cool. Although I think the main reason that it can sometimes be rare to actually find a girl gamer actually online (and using a mic) is because some of them don't want to deal with the "OMG, a girl gamer!" guys.

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

aye i know a couple of lasses that fit this description, they're... well lets say they're aren't snowflakes but are still "special" in their own way.

I wouldn't mind but they only play COD and think that makes them a queen... -.- i mean of all the games to play...

 

[Frankster]

Due to not playing mmos and not being particular fond of competitive shooters and fps games in general, haven't really met too many girls with gurl gamer syndrome.

On the other hand, the female gamers i play with get their fair share of harassment, i remember one time 2 online guys who played a few games with us (was an online rts game, and we were playing between people we had met in the game) actually started to fight over my friend like she was a trophy to be won, one guy arguing she is "his" for i cant even remember what reason (they played a few games on the same side and won them maybe?) whilst the other was disputing his claim by saying he was the best player and was helping her more. Im so not even kidding... My friend kept deadly quiet through the whole ordeal but the argument escalated and devolved into a chat room instead of a game.

Then one of the kids (was a 16 yr old i think) tried to defuse the situation by saying "its ok guys, she is probably fat and ugly anyways". I facepalmed irl.

My friend ragequited the game (understandably) and I felt rather embarassed for my gender at that point.

So ye, maybe due to my choices of gaming or just good luck, but haven't encountered the syndrome, but have seen lots of cases where female gamers got stygmatised or treated negatively cos of their gender.

 

[Tommeh Brownleh]

This is why I don't believe in starting a game, even a communication heavy one, without muting everyone. This way I don't have to listen to A. The whiny 10-13 year olds that I get stuck with in Gears of War (of all games) and Assassin's Creed, B. The "girl gamers" that act immature about the fact that they play video games, and C. What I call "the arouser." These women will start a small conversation, and just when everyone finds out she's female, she leaves and waits for the friend requests. I've met people like this, I hate them.

 

[FarleShadow]

"O hai guyz I'm a gamer gurl! Please fawn over me and maybe I'll post a pic for you to fap to!"

I see the logic behind it and the desperate desire for attention.
And that's why I get such pleasure in crushing it. WITH MY MANFISTS!

 

[CarlMin]

No I haven't noticed that. I almost see more guys complaining about gamer girls than I see gamer girls.

 

[hooksashands]

I was with some friends playing MW3 awhile back. We were an all-guy group who got matched up with a clan of all-girls, and everybody had a mic. Competitively--and I know this is where it might get hard to believe--both our teams were about equal. They won the first two Search and Destroy matches but we came back and won our own two (just barely), and from then on it became anyone's game.

Point is, nobody made a sexist remark the whole time. Except for one of my friends who only joked "After we win, I want turkey on rye" before the first bout. We tried other game modes too and had a great time. There really was no pressure, no animosity, hardly any taunts. There was some flirting, but it was the respectable, low-key kind. In other words we behaved like gentlemen and they behaved like ladies, not 'gamer grrls'.

 

[Fwee]

Who knows, maybe this is just the time for girls who play games to "come out of the basement". At least I'm provided with some information about a person that I have a common interest, although most of the time I start overthinking their gaming pedigree. Farmville or Mafia Wars doesn't make you a gamer. Almost losing a job because you got sucked into Fable 2 for seven hours does.

 

[Loner Jo Jo]

I have never met an adult female who openly voiced that they were a gamer without provocation. I know ones who will proudly say they are if asked, but not randomly like that. Of course, if they believe it's a way to attract a man, then let them. Honestly, it probably is a good way to attract a man. Most men I know play video games to some extent or another. A relationship (friendship or more) is established partially on shared interests. For a girl to have video games (especially ones that aren't on Facebook) in common with a guy typically sets her apart from other girls. Even from your perspective, OP, the reason you probably know so many girl gamers is because you are one yourself; it's something shared to help forge a bond between you and your friends.

 

[bojac6]

Everybody does that. "I'm such a nerd because I like Final Fantasy" or PC gaming over consoles, or whatever.

It's people feeling embarrassed for doing something they feel is popularly regarded as uncool. I mean how many people had statuses like "Yes, I'm 25 and seeing Harry Potter on opening night." So are a few million other 25 year olds, but that's not the popularly regarded view.

People have a need to be accepted, but they also have a desire to be special. So it becomes a person acting proud of something unique that they do, but want other people to accept them for it.

Don't single out girl gamers. It's everybody. Look at every thread on this site with a title of "Does anybody else like X" or "I don't care what anybody says, I like [Thing a lot of people like, but some people don't like].

 

[Phasmal]

I dont flaunt being a girl, but I dont hide it either. Because hiding it wont help the issue of `girls dont play games`. Mostly I say it when someone calls me `Mr.` or even `son`, when I'm playing with them. The reaction to `Actually, I'm a girl` is usually `Oh, cool`. Unless its negative, then I get abuse.
I've only had guys hit on me a few times, and unfortunately its rarer than being sworn at just for not being a guy.

I dont know any girls who flaunt it, and in fact I know some girls who have gone out of their way to HIDE it. I dont agree with pretending to be a bloke to avoid attention. Convincing one jerk that, yes, girls can play- and well, is worth the rest of the crap that comes with it.

 

[Kriptonite]

...Gears of War or X-blade to see they cater not-so-subtly to male fantasies. (EDIT: upon further inspection, it seems America got a... less cheeky boxart for X-blade)

I'm not sure what X-Blade is, one second... Oh, right. Well, I don't even want to get started on Gears of War...
But yes, I can certainly see what you're saying.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

Has anyone else ever noticed how many girls lately seem to think they're a "special snowflake" just because they play video games? It's really prevalent on Facebook especially. Statuses like "Yes I'm a girl, and yes I play video games <3". Or "lol I'm such a nerd, playin COD text ittt." Seriously, do they expect guys to just jump all over them like the fact that they play video games makes them hot suddenly? I'm not a guy though, so I guess that's why I'm posting this. Thoughts?

*ahem* We (being the female gender) play games because we like them, and we feel pretty darn alone in the field sometimes, so we point out on occasion that we are, in fact, a minority in certain areas of gaming. I'm sure there is the occasional drama queen or person wanting everyone to praise/look at them, but this is a vast minority. In any minority, you're going to get a sense of solidarity when these people clump together, hence "girl gamer" as an identity.

As for why we're so alone and feel the need to cling to that identity sometimes? Mostly because of people like you, who assume we're attention whoring when we do play games. How about them apples?

 

[xxcutesnakeyxx]

I've been kicked from a few games of L4D2 because I said 'Hi', but apart from that most others have been civil if it emerges that I'm female.

I do play on PC though, and don't have to use the horror that is XBOX Live.

As for being a gamer grrl, I link stuff on Facebook because I feel it's interesting, I don't think that makes me any more irritating than guys who do the same thing.

 

[mb16]

Nerds are the innovators of society.

Think about it, nerds start something which is considered "uncool" and are picked on for it, for example gaming. However over time "normal people" see that this "uncool thing" is actually quite fun/useful and then start doing it. This then attracts the "attention whores" who up to this point have been too cool to be seen anywhere near this social trend. However now its becomes the social norm and totally accepted in society they think they can grab the spotlight


in order of society accepting things
nerds -> closet nerds -> "normal people" -> "cool" people -> attention whores (AKA girl gamers)

PS: when i say "girl gamers" i dont mean a girl who play games as part of her normal life, as she is just a "gamer".