"Girl Gamer Syndrome"

[LiquidGrape]

Which is pretty sad and weird and tbh makes it hard for normal female gamers to get accepted. (For example that guy grilling me about Fallout 1 and 2 because I clearly must be lying)

I don't think the blame for that can be attributed to 'girl gamers', but rather a quite prevalent attitude amongst guy gamers which demands that women 'qualify' themselves before they can be viewed as peers.

As Morgan Freeman(I believe it was him?) said in an interview about black history month: it will never end until we stop talking about it and treating it like its an issue. Black people don't need a special month and women don't need to be a legitimized sect of gamers, everyone just needs to shut up about it.

Actually, I disagree with Freeman's assessment regarding black history month. I believe it serves a very real and tangible purpose still, and purporting that it simply reinforces racial conflict (like Freeman does) is, in my humble view, a bit silly. Racism persists because people are allowed to cling to their prejudices unchallenged. Not because one month each year is spent in remembrance of what that prejudice has previously wrought.
But yes, it is true that women do not need to be 'legitimised gamers'. That's why people should get off their backs and leave them to their individual ways of expressing their interest.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Especially not since I'm a damn dyke.

Aren't a dam and a dyke roughly the same thing?

Not a clue, I meant lesbian.

Yeah, I got it, I was just being obnoxious

 

[Emz]

I do get a little tired of girls who make the rest of us look bad by acting like they're a big deal. I cringe when they go "I may be a girl but I can still kick your ass at " or something along those lines. It's just plain embarrassing.

I've also had guys try and bully me due to playing video games. Usually when you're doing "numerically better" on a multi player game and they find out you're a girl somehow. Interestingly, usually those people are younger than how many years I've played games (about 18/19 years). I find people more my age and older are usually a lot friendlier and more down to earth. Of course plenty of people are exceptions to that rule.

 

[JabberBabyWocky]

Something that is worrying me about this thread is the fact that most people seem to think that if you advertise the fact that you like games that makes you a gamer gurrl.

What if you genuinely like games?

dont be silly! us girls arent allowed to like video games! were only allowed to like things that look pretty or belong in the kitchen. lol

i used to get a lot of flack on xbox for bein a woman playin cod,but that soon died down when they realised i can actually play the damn game and many more besides cod. i do still get friend requests off the odd few when they realise i am actually female,which very quickly get declined.

the best messages i get now off men are the ones that accuse me of hackin my gamerscore,just becoz its over 100k...guys are priceless lol

 

[SonicWaffle]

But yes, it is true that women do not need to be 'legitimised gamers'. That's why people should get off their backs and leave them to their individual ways of expressing their interest.

Isn't the OP's point that some girls' "individual ways of expressing their interest" reinforce a stereotype that has a negative effect on how she's treated?

Look at it like the Skyrim child-killing mod; very few gamers actually want that, but if you tell ordinary non-gamer people that it exists, the connection they'll make is "gamers want to kill kids for entertainment". If the common perception of women who play videogames is "idiot girls attention-whoring to get guys", then women perpetuating that stereotype are potentially ruining the OP's gaming experience.

Reading back over it, I've rambled a bit there and I'm not quite sure I'm getting my meaning across, but what the hell!

 

[Vault101]

I have somthing of a problem in that I dont have anyone to talk to about games in real life...and if given the opertunity Ill go off on a tangent and wont shut up...Its not an attention thing..Im just overly enthusiastic, do wonder if I would come across that way...but screw 'em, I like what I like

You just havent found the right person who is as obssessed with games as you are, although i guess thats why your on here

never met any "full on" gamers because I never had the chance (small town then all girls school) that and I dont get out much thease days

but yes...being here has been quite an education

 

[SonicWaffle]

I do get a little tired of girls who make the rest of us look bad by acting like they're a big deal.

Vicious circle, surely? If male gamers treat them like a big deal, they're going to act like a big deal, meaning male gamers treat them like a big deal, meaning oh no I've gone crosseyed.

I don't think that'll ever stop. Not so much because the stereotype of gamers as nerdy virgins is true (at least as far as I can tell, but that's just based on people I know) but because if some guy is really, really into his games it might very well be a very big deal to find a woman who enjoys gaming too.

"Oh my God, a girl who won't give me shit for staying up until 4AM playing Skyrim! MUST MARRY HER!"

 

[s0p0g]

they're hipsters.
do the same as i do (and i am a guy) and ignore them.
really, this really gets me... not in my best mood when those oh-so shpeshul gaming grrlz (who also are total nerds, because they're girls, and gamers, and nerds, and isn't that awesome?) shove it in your face that they play videogames - yes you do, i can see that, thanks, can you just stfu now and we go on?
ignore button & mute function ftw!

gamer girls are cool though ^^

 

[imnot]

Do they....go outside? D:

Whats an outside? is it an old game for the n64?

OT: I havent seen many of what you where talking about.
thank god.

 

[Pearwood]

Really? A lot of my friends are girls, one has a 360, one has a PS3 and one has a DS... they all enjoy them. It's not the 80s anymore.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Whats an outside? is it an old game for the n64?

Pretty sure N64 couldn't have run it, outside is pretty big. From what I understand it's experienced through samething called "real life", which to me sounds like a LARP of the Sims. Everyone seems to end up playing a role they're not entirely satisfied with and doing the same mundane, repeptive tasks over and over to very little gain.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

Well there you go, an age has died. Women use it to grab attention to themselves.
Still, I wonder how many play Oblivion and how many play Sim 3 and Guitar Hero.

 

[SOCIALCONSTRUCT]

Gamer grrls in a nutshell:

 

[])rStrangelove]

Gamer grrls in a nutshell:

.... and 50% of RL girls are any different? 'Getting attention' is just how a lot of girls behave, dunno why. Maybe its a cry for help.

 

[Dogstile]

"Yes I'm a girl, and yes I play video games <3". Or "lol I'm such a nerd, playin COD text ittt."

Its a silly thing that girls do when they think they're being different from the crowd. It actually annoys me so much that anyone who does it instantly gets blocked. Its like "Excuse me madam? You think you're a nerd? Here's a C++ program I want written, chop to it".

 

[mental_looney]

Well there are those types of girls at everything in life who think they are special, just as some have invaded games it gives the rest of us a bad name. Like all annoying girls best to ignore them as attention only encourages them.

 

[GigaHz]

Snip

Funny, I perceive girl gamers almost exactly opposite of how you perceive them.

They may have been special snowflakes several years ago, but this is coming to pass. The newest generation of gamers is more hooked-in than any previous generation before it, for better or worse. With this, comes a large number of female gamers who play games simply because it's another fun thing to do. It's not to grab attention or empower fellow female gamers, it's just because they see their friends do it and want to get in on the fun. They would never identify themselves as 'Girl Gamers' because they see no difference between themselves and the gamer friends they play with.

Give it a few years, and the term 'Girl Gamer' will be seen in the same light as 'Women Voters'. Archaic and degrading.

In terms of partner preference, I'd much rather date someone with a passive or no interest in video games than someone with an active interest. For me, it is far more enjoyable to try and convince them to give games a shot when they normally wouldn't. It's more refreshing and endearing to see someone attempt something they aren't comfortable with while trying to help them out along the way. It's not that I would be repulsed to the idea of dating a girl who is comfortable gaming. In fact, when I did a few years ago, I'd criticize her abilities and choices while gaming all the time. It was a fun form of teasing. It's just, things got a bit weird when she started playing MMOs. It got to the point where she was playing more hours a day than I was working. I tried to get her to stop playing, but she would continually go back.

Now I understand how frustrated women feel when their partners spend an excessive amount of time playing video games. This is a bit of an unfair example, and I'm sure many female gamers are not this obsessive. However, I think sharing unfamiliar experiences is what makes dating so interesting in the first place. While gaming would be a great thing to share, there are so many more things in life I'd rather be doing. If gaming became the focus in a relationship, I'd get bored pretty fast.

 

[El Danny]

Ughhh...

There's always one at every party... I'll be conversing with some guys I just meet, we'll get talking about games get into trading tips expressibly etc, then over comes a girl...

"OMG YOU GUYS PLAY GAMES! ME TOO! WHAT'S YOU'RE K D SPREAD!"

Then proceeds to talk about how they feel like 'the only one' and that nobody she's ever met shares her 'passion' for games.

"What games do you play then?"

"COD OBVIOUSLY! WHAT ELSE IS THERE WORTH PLAYING!"

If you happen to be one of theses girls, understand this.

You are not 'unique', 'special', 'the only one' or whatever word/phase you use. You do not look smart or intelligent, just massive tool. You are not a some secret minority there are 1000000s of people just like you out there. Just please understand this, there is a special circle of hell reserved for just you and girls who think they're classic nerds for liking Harry Potter.

 

[museofdoom]

Jeez this generated a lot of responses over night! Much more than I thought it would. It's been interesting seeing everyone's viewpoint on this. And as for the people saying that I'm doing the same thing as the girls I'm complaining about, that was definitely not my intention. I simply stated my gender to express my views may differ from male gamers, and I also didn't want people to think I was some sexist guy. Thanks to those of you that realized that I'm not trying to attention whore.

 

[CrawlingPastaHellion]

Hmm, girls play video games? Since when?

Why in the world would I ever find it hot? Females that watch movies don't thrill me, so are the ones listening to music and reading books.

What does make me attracted to them is their intelligence, sense of humor and an uncommon, but not necessarily doll-like appearance. What I mean by uncommon, is well, uncommon. Women that you don't see everyday: women like Ellen Page, Mila Kunis, Anna Paquin, Anna Faris and Olivia Wilde are good examples.