"Girl Gamer Syndrome"

WOPR

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museofdoom said:
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?
Thoughts, it drives me up a wall and the friends I have honestly hate and are turned off by girls that act like that; we can't stand it when they think playing a mainstream game makes them a gamer, when we know full well that REAL gamer girls (like my cousin) are the kinds that try and keep quiet about it and just play games for fun then have a bit of explaining to do when they ask to play the games against the guys then end up 5 starring guitar hero songs on expert while the guys are failing on medium

...sorry it's just something I deal with far too much
 

Drunk Boar

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WOPR said:
Thoughts, it drives me up a wall and the friends I have honestly hate and are turned off by girls that act like that; we can't stand it when they think playing a mainstream game makes them a gamer, when we know full well that REAL gamer girls (like my cousin) are the kinds that try and keep quiet about it and just play games for fun then have a bit of explaining to do when they ask to play the games against the guys then end up 5 starring guitar hero songs on expert while the guys are failing on medium

...sorry it's just something I deal with far too much
Real girl gamers keep quiet about them playing games? You mean girl gamers should keep quiet about them playing games, unlike the guys?
 

Treblaine

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ensouls said:
Treblaine said:
museofdoom said:
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?
Why do you expect girls do this just for guys attention?

Why are women judged by everything they say? Maybe they are just glad in and of itself of being a gamer/nerd whatever and/or perhaps want to challenge the impression that "video games are for boys". We all do it, we ALL make assumptions on peoples gender by their interests.

I don't care if you are a woman. People can be sexist towards their own gender and you are unfairly judging women by reasonable and normal comments.

This is not a "syndrome" any more than "boy gamer" is a syndrome. This is a simple commentary.
I have yet to see someone point out in the same sentence that they're male and like video games.
So what? Did you read my post? How I said there is a reason for that?

Let me be succinct:
-It is also reasonable to have never heard someone say "well I'm a girl and I like girly things"
-Nor would you hear "well I'm a man and I like manly things" (at least not seriously in a non-sardonic way, nor very often).

The thing is that computer games are (unfairly) seen as a male pastime, or at least a pastime overwhelmingly dominated by males. I -personally - have never heard a woman mic-spam trash talk and vile insults on Xbox Live, in fact it seems to be entirely males (calling such excuses for adults (if even adults) as "men" would be down right inaccurate). Gaming really does seem to be overwhelmingly dominated by males and it seem the only place women can stop pretending to be a gender they aren't is in their circle of "friends" on Facebook, not that their "friend of friends" won't make bitchy comments behind their back about it on Escapist forums...

And if they do let slip their gender in a competitive game, I have heard women merely speak on chat, but you can count the second before the pack of hyenas hone in on the voice and grief her so badly I'm sure she'll wish she'd never drawn their attention. I certainly wouldn't like it. Women don't want attention any more than anyone else, they aren't master manipulators

Of all pastimes computer gaming is a pursuit that both males and females can inherently participate in equally, unlike physical sports of exertion a woman has no general disadvantage against males. And more than that, the anonymity allows females to compete and interact without being judged or treated differently for being a woman, this is because of how they are treated by other gamers.

They are ultimately treated like whores.

The OP insinuates that a woman is a slut expecting men to "throw themselves on her" jsut because a woman DARES to mention her interest in games and counter assumptions that she is a male for liking games.

I think the worst part of this sexism is the insinuation that not merely a minority but that the overwhelming majority of women lack the competitive drive to enjoy games, the desire to win, to overcome challenge and achieve. That women could only feign an interest in games to lure men. Pah.
 

Moonlight Butterfly

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Mar 16, 2011
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Wow is this thread still going?

I'm playing Batman Arkham City btw!!! lol and I'm a gurl!!!<3

[small]I'm joking don't kill me [/small]
 

museofdoom

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xXxJessicaxXx said:
Wow is this thread still going?

I'm playing Batman Arkham City btw!!! lol and I'm a gurl!!!<3

[small]I'm joking don't kill me [/small]
I'm shocked it's still going! 0_0 My brother got that game for Christmas!! And, I'm playing Skyrim, and I'm a gurlll <33 LOL.

I feel like I should say something on topic as well:

Treblaine said:
Woah woah woah woah. I NEVER called anyone a slut, nor did I mean to imply it. I never said that a girl should never ever talk about her interest in gaming. I should have made my original post a little more specific, my bad. I find it annoying when a girl thinks she's just ever so special because she plays them. Like, if she says "Oh I'm playing COD" that's one thing, but saying "I'm playing COD AND I'm a gurrrll. LOL" That's obnoxious and attention seeking. If a girl wants to talk about gaming that's GREAT. But she really shouldn't go thinking she's a "special snowflake" just because she happens to be female, and playing video games. Also, if I thought all girls talking about games were sluts, then I would be a slut also.

Another beef with girls drawing attention to their gender: It's counterproductive in combating sexism. Like, they're acting like everyone should be surprised that they play games. If they would just stop encouraging the belief that girls don't play video games, we wouldn't even be having this discussion!
 

scorptatious

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May 14, 2009
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I know when I hear a girl talking on an online game I get somewhat interested because normally I only hear guys talking.

I have yet to encounter the "special snowflake" gamer girls though. Although I'll probably know when I see one.
 

greatcheezer2021

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we dont say "guy gamers" because the "gamer" title is directed mostly towards guys already. gender roles at the least. personally i dont care if a girl plays games, its being the competent player that gets my respect. most girls i know will prefer to watch what my friends and i are playing rather actively engage in gameplay, tho they will be aware whats going on and provide insight on whatever it is we're playing. for me, it breaks down to a girl who uses her head rather than her gender/sexuality to play a game.

then again, i havent hung with too many girl gamers. ones with a diverse gaming history/collection as my friends, or who are familiar with the understanding of raw game mechanics. i guess for guys who play online, this would be a great way to interact with a chick, tho like everyone else, they're there in the first place to play. not talk to some asshole who happens to play on the same server.
 

Hipster Chick

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LittleJP said:
Hipster Chick said:
As a girl, I'm told on a regular basis that I'm "not a real gamer" and never will be one because I'm in possession of a vagina. Hence, I tend to do quite a bit of posturing in an effort to gain respect that I know I'm never actually going to get because of the rampant vein of misogyny running through the geek subculture.
The solution to that is to start playing games with learning curves build like complete overhangs (Dwarf Fortress, ARMA II, X3) whip it out as your geek card and challenge them to either compete with your achievements.

It's almost a guarantee, as quite a few gamers that I've known would get squiggly eyed over the ASII of Dwarf Fortress and the general difficulty of other listed games.
Soooo...you're suggesting that I have to prove myself to the boys?
 

bojackx

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Treblaine said:
museofdoom said:
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?
Why do you expect girls do this just for guys attention?

Why are women judged by everything they say? Maybe they are just glad in and of itself of being a gamer/nerd whatever and/or perhaps want to challenge the impression that "video games are for boys". We all do it, we ALL make assumptions on peoples gender by their interests.

I don't care if you are a woman. People can be sexist towards their own gender and you are unfairly judging women by reasonable and normal comments.

This is not a "syndrome" any more than "boy gamer" is a syndrome. This is a simple commentary.
Males don't do that. I've never seen a guy on facebook be all "Played MW3 for 70 hours, I'm such a nuuuuuuurd!" because it's no big deal. It'd be the same kind of annoyance if a guy was to like something stereotypically girly and said "Just watched the *girly TV show* marathon, i'm such a guuuuuurl!" People shouldn't think they're so special for doing something that everyone does so casually without mouthing it to the rest of the world.
 

Caliostro

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Jan 23, 2008
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This entire topic confuses me. I don't get why it all matters at all. It's completely redundant information.

I mean, of what use is this information for anyone? Unless you're planning on fucking someone, and have a specific gender preference, of what use is knowing their gender to you? "I'M A GURL GAMER!". Well congratulations... ? I have brown eyes and I play games too! Useless trivia.

It's the "MLP fanbase" issue. The only time I even give a shit about it is when they won't shut up and leave me alone about it.
 

Treblaine

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bojackx said:
Treblaine said:
museofdoom said:
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?
Why do you expect girls do this just for guys attention?

Why are women judged by everything they say? Maybe they are just glad in and of itself of being a gamer/nerd whatever and/or perhaps want to challenge the impression that "video games are for boys". We all do it, we ALL make assumptions on peoples gender by their interests.

I don't care if you are a woman. People can be sexist towards their own gender and you are unfairly judging women by reasonable and normal comments.

This is not a "syndrome" any more than "boy gamer" is a syndrome. This is a simple commentary.
Males don't do that. I've never seen a guy on facebook be all "Played MW3 for 70 hours, I'm such a nuuuuuuurd!" because it's no big deal. It'd be the same kind of annoyance if a guy was to like something stereotypically girly and said "Just watched the *girly TV show* marathon, i'm such a guuuuuurl!" People shouldn't think they're so special for doing something that everyone does so casually without mouthing it to the rest of the world.
PRECISELY my point (if you had read it properly).

Males don't do that BECAUSE of the wide assumption is that "computer games are for boys" so females tendency to clarify their gender when stating their interest in computer games. And, I HAVE heard males do things like take a feminist stance on a topic and then feel the need to clarify that they are male.

Stop going on about "feeling special," it's a straw man argument to make that assumption that this is all some bloody power trip to feel unique. There isn't a hint of foundation to it and it is meaningless anyway. Maybe people just wan't to share their interests?

Please, try harder.

I've never seen a guy on facebook be all "Played MW3 for 70 hours, I'm such a nuuuuuuurd!"
PS: boys DO brag about playing COD, the numbers who go on about their prestige level in COD or "achievement" gamer-score in general, Kill/death ratio and so on. If you have never heard a guy brag about their gaming accomplishments I suspect there are a whole load of other extremely common things that you also have failed to notice.
 

Treblaine

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museofdoom said:
Treblaine said:
Woah woah woah woah. I NEVER called anyone a slut, nor did I mean to imply it. I never said that a girl should never ever talk about her interest in gaming. I should have made my original post a little more specific, my bad. I find it annoying when a girl thinks she's just ever so special because she plays them. Like, if she says "Oh I'm playing COD" that's one thing, but saying "I'm playing COD AND I'm a gurrrll. LOL" That's obnoxious and attention seeking. If a girl wants to talk about gaming that's GREAT. But she really shouldn't go thinking she's a "special snowflake" just because she happens to be female, and playing video games. Also, if I thought all girls talking about games were sluts, then I would be a slut also.

Another beef with girls drawing attention to their gender: It's counterproductive in combating sexism. Like, they're acting like everyone should be surprised that they play games. If they would just stop encouraging the belief that girls don't play video games, we wouldn't even be having this discussion!
You said:

Seriously, do they expect guys to just jump all over them like the fact that they play video games makes them hot suddenly?
Go ahead an try to deny it again. I think I caught you red handed.

I'll call This the way I see it: a backhanded, unfounded slut-shaming of any women daring to share her interest in computer games.

Whether you meant to or not. You did.

You don't give the benefit of the doubt. They are not being any more obnoxious or attention seeking than ANYONE ELSE on Facebook. this is FACEBOOK we are talking about here! Facebook! The website where its entire purpose and function is to advertise every aspect of your life. That is inherently obnoxious to a certain extent but you example is in no way excessive.

And it's just how selfishly you frame this. "Obnoxious" and "annoying" are entirely subjective labels, how the affect YOU personally, no objective and universal criticism. You just don't like what you see and that alone is a valid criticism that we can somehow all get behind. Really.

And what is your problem with anyone being "special"??!? You need to be a little more tolerant of the way people speak, it doesn't matter how someone spells "gurrrrll" or that they dare to mention it. It's IRRELEVANT! Show some maturity, tolerance and empathy. People want to be special. People don't want to be another disposable drone, conforming and buttoned down.

It IS special that a female has an OPEN interest in gaming because it IS a male dominated pastime. Not exclusively, and there is in fact remarkably close to a 50-50 split in actual genders of gamers but the thing is females are silent, they are not represented nor have a significant voice.

Where is the female Yahtzee? The female Jim Sterling? The female N'Gai Croale?

they're acting like everyone should be surprised that they play games.
This nonsense I cannot stand.

"acting like everyone should be surprised"

So convoluted. Such an unfounded, unprovable and irrelevant claim. They are NOT "acting" that way, how could they. And you know what? PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED when women show an interest in video games precisely for what a low profile they keep in online communities. As they are attacked on two fronts:

-lecherous jerks who hound them for affection then suddenly turn aggressive and resentful if attention is not reciprocated
-judgemental females who second-guess their most reasonable of statements

Just give them a break. Let people come as they are and just give them a chance.

Never EVER shame them in any way for mentioning their gender in relation to their pastime. That can only be interpreted negatively and dismissively. Even if they are blatantly feigning interest in gaming just to prostitute themselves, bite your tongue before you lash out with hurtful words. Your words drive women away.

This example is not counter-productive to sexism. Your negative labelling of women self-identifying as both females and gamers IS sexist!
 

Moonlight Butterfly

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Mar 16, 2011
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Treblaine said:
Where is the female Yahtzee? The female Jim Sterling? The female N'Gai Croale?
Hey I would love to get into reviewing and writing about games. Unfortunately I have no idea how I would go about doing that. I've been playing games for 25 years but I live in the middle of nowhere and have no chance of getting into the gaming industry.

I think it's too competitive for people to be giving out tips ;)
 

Treblaine

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Jul 25, 2008
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WOPR said:
Thoughts, it drives me up a wall and the friends I have honestly hate and are turned off by girls that act like that; we can't stand it when they think playing a mainstream game makes them a gamer, when we know full well that REAL gamer girls (like my cousin) are the kinds that try and keep quiet about it and just play games for fun then have a bit of explaining to do when they ask to play the games against the guys then end up 5 starring guitar hero songs on expert while the guys are failing on medium

...sorry it's just something I deal with far too much
How is a mainstream game not a game?

Isn't that the most hipster dismissal you could possibly make?

we know full well that REAL gamer girls (like my cousin) are the kinds that try and keep quiet about it and just play games for fun
That is either cutting satire or a callously sexist putdown of female gamers, that they must adopt a "don't ask don't tell" policy in their own pastime.

But considering the context I doubt it actually is satire but in fact geniune extremism.
 

Treblaine

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xXxJessicaxXx said:
Treblaine said:
Where is the female Yahtzee? The female Jim Sterling? The female N'Gai Croale?
Hey I would love to get into reviewing and writing about games. Unfortunately I have no idea how I would go about doing that. I've been playing games for 25 years but I live in the middle of nowhere and have no chance of getting into the gaming industry.

I think it's too competitive for people to be giving out tips ;)
You've got the internet. You must have some free time. That's all you need.

You don't even need a camera, you can just whoop out MS paint and if the industry is ready for you and you've got something profound to say then you'll be heard.

You've just got to have a unique angle. Raging Amish for example approaches from a very unique angle as penning an unofficial episodic video guide to COD online he in the process has cutting commentary and critique with a distinct style with perfect pop-culture references in similar vein to Doug Walker.
 

Moonlight Butterfly

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Treblaine said:
xXxJessicaxXx said:
Treblaine said:
Where is the female Yahtzee? The female Jim Sterling? The female N'Gai Croale?
Hey I would love to get into reviewing and writing about games. Unfortunately I have no idea how I would go about doing that. I've been playing games for 25 years but I live in the middle of nowhere and have no chance of getting into the gaming industry.

I think it's too competitive for people to be giving out tips ;)
You've got the internet. You must have some free time. That's all you need.

You don't even need a camera, you can just whoop out MS paint and if the industry is ready for you and you've got something profound to say then you'll be heard.

You've just got to have a unique angle. Raging Amish for example approaches from a very unique angle as penning an unofficial episodic video guide to COD online he in the process has cutting commentary and critique with a distinct style with perfect pop-culture references in similar vein to Doug Walker.
I think I suffer greatly from the horrible feeling of talking to myself if I start a blog. I think a podcast might be the way to go but I need someone who is as into games and (possibly comics) as I am to talk to.

My skill in writing is decent, but I think people want a lot of experience these days.
 

KerryBamBerry

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Dec 29, 2011
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I have to say...i agree with this. Ever since the popularity of mw, the amount of girls on my facebook posting how cool that they think they are has skyrocketed and i do find it very annoying.
 

Jinxzy

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There has always been a fine line between the two, there are female gamers and "gamer gurls."

The female gamer plays to have fun and just play.

"Gamer Gurls" are the ones that rub it in peoples faces that they play games, or a game and try to grab all the attention they can have.
"Gamer Gurls" also like to have only male friends, kick outer girls out of games, and be the only one in the lobby/party/guild. They tend to get mad or pout when other girls come into there territory and try to steal any attention from them. They will sometimes fall silent in any game if another female is around. Some mature out of this phase and become mature female gamers while some just stay in this phase forever.

I tend to dislike the communities that are always about I'm a Chick and i play video games! It tends to promote the "gamer gurl" life style.

When you can keep a community unsex and no one cares about the gender it tends to be more rewarding. There's more focus on playing the game then a/s/l.
 

Moonlight Butterfly

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Jinxzy said:
"Gamer Gurls" also like to have only male friends, They will sometimes fall silent in any game if another female is around.
Hmm I do that but it's because I am scared of other girls because they can be more mean and judgemental than guys.
 

Jinxzy

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xXxJessicaxXx said:
Jinxzy said:
"Gamer Gurls" also like to have only male friends, They will sometimes fall silent in any game if another female is around.
Hmm I do that but it's because I am scared of other girls because they can be more mean and judgemental than guys.
That's true too, I think it goes hand in hand with the territory thing. Even thought some people are just mean, rude, and/or judgmental all the time.