Girl Gamers - the final discussion

[fordneagles]

"I'm sick of seeing threads about girl gamers, so I'm going to make ANOTHER one to make it all stop."

You genius.

Anyway, I don't think it matters what gender you are when you play games. If you're good, you're good, and if you're crap, you're crap. I don't care whether you have a train or a tunnel, as long as you play well and aren't a moron on your mic then you're welcome anytime

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Yo...

Is that anyway to start a thread?

OT: I have no problems with girl gamers. It is those that need to be "girl gamers" that bother me. I thought we were all just gamers. If someones gamer tag or clan tag mentions their gender the first thought that comes into my head is "attention whore". I am usually proven right. She is usually the mouthy one in a party of male gamers with the worst score.

Why allude to your having tits in your gamer tag? It tends to be some teenage girl who comes on to the server for attention. The one needing to feel special online because daddy won't buy her a pony and the football players won't look at her in real life. This doesn't tend to be the case as often when you only find out they are female from mic chatter.

My experience is that women are not as good at gaming. It is a practice thing I guess. I can't remember seinge a girl with the best K ratio or top of the score boards. I've never been beaten on Streetfighter/MVC2/Tekken/etc by a girl and all the top Streetfighter players etc. are male.

Having said that, it could be that "133t_Tb49937" who never switches his mic on is secretly a girl. You would not get good odds in the bookies on that though.

So if someone with a mic said "I'm a girl." you would immediately yell ATTENTION WHORE? What about all of the guys who emphasize how manly they are? There is a double standard. If you are a girl on multiplayer and let it be known, you will usually be harassed/hit on/looked down upon.
And anecdotal evidence doesn't mean women can't play games well. I've been taken to school by girls before, but you don't see me hailing women as better gamers then man. Some will be better than you, some will be worse than you; just like with men.

 

[Nimcha]

I don't make a big deal that female gamers exist.

But I will make a happy deal if I meet one with the same tastes. Most of the ones I know only play RPGs.

Oh that is so true! Especially WoW, maybe not the best example of an RPG but still, very popular among the gaming girls. I don't really know why since these games originated from D&D which has a completely different sort of demographic..

The only girl I know who actually enjoys for example FPS games is the one I'm dating... *grin*

 

[Thaluikhain]

If you're considering "girl gamers" to be a separate entity from "gamers" you're already doing it wrong.

I'd second this.

 

[orangecharger]

Wow, you really don't get the internet, do you?

Unless you're a troll, in which case you understand the internet quite well.

Given that the OP is on probation for some rather trollish remarks, I am going to go with option 2 above. Declaring anything a final thread is likely to get a rise out of someone, throw in a contentious topic to boot and here we go again.

On topic, if the gaming populations of men and women were of equal size and had the same history in gaming we'd really know something. Since that's not the case it's all piss and wind.

 

[FlitterFilms]

My girlfriend is a film nut and I really don't understand why she doesn't see the appeal of story heavy games. Fair enough she might not enjoy stomping through cover, shooting the shit out of anything that moves in Gears of War but I can't even get her to try something like Heavy Rain because it's all the same thing to her. I think it's a negative stereotype that girls can't/don't game that's become a kind of self fulfilling prophecy, my girlfriend views gaming as a mans thing and therefore won't give it a chance, even going so far as accusing my playing them a waste of time, something that her John Woo marathon apparently wasn't.

I did however managing to get her into Lego Star Wars and we've collected all the Lego games since. It's a start I suppose.

 

[funguy2121]

Yo.

So I've been somewhat offended by the amount of 'girl gamer' threads appearing over recent days/weeks. It's a minority, but an aggressively stupid discussion. Here's the bottom line:

Gamers have their skills by a combination of reflexes, natural talent, strategy and above all, practice. Neither of these traits are stronger or weaker between the genders.

It's just sexist to so much as imply that girls or guys are better or worse at games. I've met people of both genders who range from ultra-pro to plain shite, and when I can't see faces or hear voices, I can't tell the difference. In fact I dated a girl a while back and she was just as nerdy and up-all-night-gaming as any gaming nerd. It's probably why we got along so well, but that's the same as any other couple who share interests.

But really, the problem lies with the people who inflate the stereotypes - the guys who go nuts for 'girl gamers', and the girls who exploit it for game items, levelling or just plain attention.

tl;dr - girls are equal in games as guys. We don't need to talk about it anymore.

I couldn't agree more, but it's not gonna stop. Nerds gotta have the last word, and the majority seem overwhelmingly opposed to outside ideas, so they're more informed by their own sexual insecurity than by anything approaching reality. What are we up 2, 2 pages? By page 3 I guarantee you'll have at least 3 posts claiming that men are better at reflexes or at certain types of thought patterns and that women are better and nurturing or some bullshit like that.

 

[ten.to.ten]

My girlfriend is a film nut and I really don't understand why she doesn't see the appeal of story heavy games. Fair enough she might not enjoy stomping through cover, shooting the shit out of anything that moves in Gears of War but I can't even get her to try something like Heavy Rain because it's all the same thing to her. I think it's a negative stereotype that girls can't/don't game that's become a kind of self fulfilling prophecy, my girlfriend views gaming as a mans thing and therefore won't give it a chance, even going so far as accusing my playing them a waste of time, something that her John Woo marathon apparently wasn't.

I did however managing to get her into Lego Star Wars and we've collected all the Lego games since. It's a start I suppose.

I can't blame her, most people I know who'd define themselves as "gamers" are huge assholes with lots of problems interacting with other people. If I was new to gaming it would put me off too.

 

[KeyMaster45]

Apparently I employ unearthly forces on a regular basis to prevent myself from bludgeoning every attractive female I meet with my needy genitalia.

Oh so you use your own? I just carry around a golf bag filled with various sizes of bronzed animal genitals. /troll

OT: The only differences I could say I've seen is that some of the women in my guild can throw way more epic rage fits when something pisses them off than any of the guys. Though I wouldn't consider that a gender based difference, just an anger management issue.

 

[Artina89]

I game for fun, I was never really aware of any person who says "girls shouldn't game" I actually don't think anyone really cares that much, a lot of my friends game and they are both men and women. Anybody can game if they want to.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Every female I know who plays pokemon tries to catch them all.
Every male I know who plays pokemon catches maybe 60, and tries to make the most powerful team they can to beat up their friends with.

There's a difference between being good at a game, and the way a game is played.
Sometimes there's a correlation, sometimes there isn't.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Yo...

My experience is that women are not as good at gaming. It is a practice thing I guess. I can't remember seinge a girl with the best K ratio or top of the score boards. I've never been beaten on Streetfighter/MVC2/Tekken/etc by a girl and all the top Streetfighter players etc. are male.

This is my experience too. I've been to Guilty Gear/ Blazblue tournaments and the male to female ratio of people actually playing moneymatches is Ten to one. Considering the TC only uses his own personal experience as evidence for the bold part of his post, I can't really believe him easily.

 

[bjj hero]

Its not exactly fair that girls have to hide their gender from the rest of the gaming community. How would you feel if you had to pretend to be a woman in order to play CoD without being teased, insulted, hit upon, and called (as you say) an attention whore?

Also, I have several female gamer friends who would gladly kick your ass ten times over in Halo...

You don't have to hide your gender, I'm not going to harrass women who are on chat, I have better things to do. I also regularly tell teenage boys to grow up when they pester women on Live etc. When you talk you "give away" your gender. However I do wonder what about someones motivation when they allude to their gender in their tag. The same way I think "probably a prick" when someone is named something like 1337n00bpwnr or something overly macho.

So you know girls who are good at gaming? Thats great, I just gave my experience which is as valid as yours. I have played with women who are good in the team and put up decent scores but never blow the other players out of the water. There is more to life than being amazing at COD/Halo/CS, I'd prefer they were fun to play with and not a dick whether winning or losing.

So if someone with a mic said "I'm a girl." you would immediately yell ATTENTION WHORE? What about all of the guys who emphasize how manly they are? There is a double standard. If you are a girl on multiplayer and let it be known, you will usually be harassed/hit on/looked down upon.
And anecdotal evidence doesn't mean women can't play games well. I've been taken to school by girls before, but you don't see me hailing women as better gamers then man. Some will be better than you, some will be worse than you; just like with men.

If that is the opener, and no one has asked, then I would think it is a strange way to start a conversation. I wouldn't shout "AW" but I would wonder why she said that. I don't tend to mention I'm a man while gaming, I don't think it adds anything to the experience. As far as guys who have to talk up how masculine they are while gaming, they tend to be dicks who are over compensating for inadequacies in there own lives. I don't feel the need to take part in cock measuring contests when gaming.

Yes, there is variation in skill levels but Im sure if you look at the best players in most competative games then they will be male.

 

[Ladette]

"Blah Blah Blah."
/Makes same comments as in the last 40 threads on this subject.


I'm sick of talking about gamers who happen to be female. We need more threads on asexual gamers, like my friend Ken.

Spoiler

edit: In before ban for posting nudity.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Yes, there is variation in skill levels but Im sure if you look at the best players in most competative games then they will be male.

Again, what does that prove? There are more male gamers than female. Combine that with social factors like the stigma around gaming, the perception that it is a "guy" thing, and the type of game involved and that can easily be explained.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Yes, there is variation in skill levels but Im sure if you look at the best players in most competative games then they will be male.

Again, what does that prove? There are more male gamers than female. Combine that with social factors like the stigma around gaming, the perception that it is a "guy" thing, and the type of game involved and that can easily be explained.

So social stigma is keeps women from winning any Marvel vs Capcom or Starcraft tournaments? It's pretty funny when you say it like that.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Yes, there is variation in skill levels but Im sure if you look at the best players in most competative games then they will be male.

Again, what does that prove? There are more male gamers than female. Combine that with social factors like the stigma around gaming, the perception that it is a "guy" thing, and the type of game involved and that can easily be explained.

So social stigma is keeps women from winning any Marvel vs Capcom or Starcraft tournaments? It's pretty funny when you say it like that.

Why is that possible factor so hard to grasp? Seriously, why do you think men are inherently better at games?

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Why is that possible factor so hard to grasp? Seriously, why do you think men are inherently better at games?

So if my friends started looking down on me for playing Ikaruga I would suddenly be worse at the game?

EDIT: Like I'm guessing if you're the type of person that gets demoralized and loses or quits practicing if some people start ostracizing you or whatever then you probably weren't really pro material.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Why is that possible factor so hard to grasp? Seriously, why do you think men are inherently better at games?

So if my friends started looking down on me for playing Ikaruga I would suddenly be worse at the game?

You wouldn't show up for a competition somewhere. And if you were really worried about flak then you wouldn't play the game. Why are we going around in circles? My point was pretty clear.

 

[Evidencebased]

Yes, there is variation in skill levels but Im sure if you look at the best players in most competative games then they will be male.

Again, what does that prove? There are more male gamers than female. Combine that with social factors like the stigma around gaming, the perception that it is a "guy" thing, and the type of game involved and that can easily be explained.

Also, another factor is that men generally have more free time than women and more free time in uninterrupted chunks, which helps in getting good at gaming. Women still do more housework than men, more childcare than men, and are more often expected to drop whatever they're doing and help out someone else. There's a reason that a lot of women play "casual" games you can pick up and put down easily, rather than spending all evening in a "man cave" playing something more involved.