Lets talk about Girls that play video games

[Torrasque]

I forget where I saw it (pretty sure it was somewhere on these boards) but I saw someone say "it is sad that guy gamers say they want girl gamers for girlfriends, but will still say to girls playing games with them, 'get back in the kitchen! make me a sandwhich!' and many other sexist things". Which is true. Whenever I am playing a multiplayer game and a girl talks, most of the guys freak out and go "zomg a girl" and will turn into sexist pigs. It is really sad.

But anyways, why is it that there are so many girl gamers that identify themselves as girl gamers?
I don't really consider it a big deal to see a girl playing a game, nor do I think it a big deal for a girl to excel at a game. For me, a gamer is someone that plays games, their gender is irrelevant. But you see this on youtube a lot--yes youtube is a cesspool I know, but you see it other places as well--entire channels where girl gamers draw attention to the fact that they are female and playing video games.

Case and point:
<youtube=mILjXYbQupw>

The top comment is as follows:
<quote=Eumenorrhea>If a guy did a similar video no&#65279; one would give a flying fuck about their gaming setup, whether they built it themselves or what fucking pictures they drew and put on their wall above it. The only reason people watch this and give a shit is because she has breasts and she knows it. And this is why I have no respect for anyone who calls themselves "girl gamers". It's something you label yourself to get ALOT of male attention.
And I have to agree with what this guy. Most of my experience with female gamers involve them shouting from the tallest mountain "HEY. I AM A GIRL THAT PLAYS GAMES. ISN'T THAT THE SEXIEST THING EVER?!", and it is really annoying. When I played WoW, some female members didn't get as much flak for fucking up, as the guys did. Even when I play CoD or Halo and a girl on one team is doing poorly, most of the people will either say "its ok, you're a girl" or just continue flirting with her; thats right continue flirting -_-

So my fellow Escapists, what do you think about all of this?
What do you think of female gamers? Do you care that there are girls out there playing video games? Does it not matter at all?
What do you think of girl gamers, girls that go out of their way to identify themselves as female?

Disclaimer: Obviously not all female gamers are like this. I know many female gamers that don't identify themselves as girl gamers, they just enjoy games

For the love of god, don't bring the Felicia Day vs. Ryan Perez discussion here.

 

[Torrasque]

Oh WHOOOOOO it ain't the Escapist without yet ANOTHER one of these threads.

Just for discussion, I don't care about what gender you are. And yes, gaming is a predominately male centered audience, so the female that comes by is sure to get noticed. But honestly, I don't care. Not one bit.

I really really don't want it to turn into "another one of those threads" =|
I know it will probably turn into one, but I REALLY hope it doesn't...

 

[thebakedpotato]

Games have been viewed as a predominantly male community. And there is a lot of sexism in the community. And ultimately I think part of the loudness is a backlash against the chauvinism. And some of it could be manipulating male players to gain an advantage. Or even to defend themselves against the chauvinism.

Honestly... I don't see anything wrong with a woman wanting to identify themselves as a female gamer. I identify myself as a gay gamer when it is required. And most men identify themselves as straight men when they game. Seems to be fairly standard issue.

 

[thebakedpotato]

Oh WHOOOOOO it ain't the Escapist without yet ANOTHER one of these threads.

Just for discussion, I don't care about what gender you are. And yes, gaming is a predominately male centered audience, so the female that comes by is sure to get noticed. But honestly, I don't care. Not one bit.

I really really don't want it to turn into "another one of those threads" =|
I know it will probably turn into one, but I REALLY hope it doesn't...

How can it not? What precautions have you taken to differentiate your thread from others?

You must forgive my directness. Just I am curious as to what you've done differently as opposed to anyone else.

 

[Phasmal]

Oh do we freaking have to?

I am a girl that plays games. So when people ask me on a game if I am a girl, I say yes. Or if a reference is made that makes it clear I am a girl, I confirm it.
This alone has gotten me accusations of `showing off` (which I totally don't understand).
The only special treatment I have gotten from male gamers is harrassment. And yet I'm constantly hearing about how dudes apparently bend over backwards for female gamers.

Why do you CARE so much if a few girls enjoy attention that males give them freely? Nobody's being cheated there.

You don't need to identify as a male gamer because people will automatically assume that's what you are when you say `gamer`, which is why I say I am a `girl gamer`. What is the big deal.

 

[Lilani]

Disclaimer: Obviously not all female gamers are like this. I know many female gamers that don't identify themselves as girl gamers, they just enjoy games

For the love of god, don't bring the Felicia Day vs. Ryan Perez discussion here.

Aaaaaaaaaaand, there's your problem. It's the whole "vocal minority" thing at its best. The reason you hear about girl gamers obnoxiously labeling themselves as "girl gamers" is because they're the only ones who publicize the fact. The "regular" girl gamers, who are just females who happen to play games, don't publicize the fact so as far as you know they don't even exist. But they do, and as far as I've been able to tell they outnumber the obnoxious ones. It just seems like there's a lot more obnoxious ones because they're the only ones you hear about.

As for why they do it...well, as a female myself I can tell you that whether or not they like to admit it, a LOT of guys online glorify girls when they appear. I'm an admin on a TF2 server, and while the regulars are used to my presence just about every other night I'm on we'll have some new guy hear me on the mic and he'll say, "Oh my God, a girl is playing?! No way!" They won't always make the lame jokes, but they'll acknowledge my presence in some way. So yes, statistically we are more or less a novelty and many guys themselves point it out. So it's sort of a no-brainer that some girls would take that attention and weaponize it so they can constantly remind themselves and be reminded of how "unusual" and "rare" they are. In other words, it's all about attention. With some girls if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile. So if you tell them they're unique once or twice, they'll expect to be told it every time they appear.

 

[krazykidd]

I just wanna see some girls in tournaments that is all . THAT is what will impress me. I know there are girl gamers out there . So what ? Anyone can play video games , just comon ladies show up at tournaments will you please? And not as spectators .Participate , and beat these guys , and show the world you are here.

 

[Vault101]

uhhh no..can we not?

anyway

I havnt seen somone who fits that steryotype, and while I understandit exists I think it has the extra problem of a girl being acused of being a "GIRL GAMUR" when that kind of acusation isn't exactly fair *cough*felicaday*cough*

personally I don't really like calling myself a gamer. full stop

 

[Torrasque]

Oh WHOOOOOO it ain't the Escapist without yet ANOTHER one of these threads.

Just for discussion, I don't care about what gender you are. And yes, gaming is a predominately male centered audience, so the female that comes by is sure to get noticed. But honestly, I don't care. Not one bit.

I really really don't want it to turn into "another one of those threads" =|
I know it will probably turn into one, but I REALLY hope it doesn't...

How can it not? What precautions have you taken to differentiate your thread from others?

You must forgive my directness. Just I am curious as to what you've done differently as opposed to anyone else.

The usual "hey guys, no flame war plz" ? =/
In hindsight, I should have let this sit for a day before posting it, but recently it seems like I've been saturated by a whole lot of the girl gamer types that I hate.

 

[Torrasque]

I just wanna see some girls in tournaments that is all . THAT is what will impress me. I know there are girl gamers out there . So what ? Anyone can play video games , just comon ladies show up at tournaments will you please? And not as spectators .Participate , and beat these guys , and show the world you are here.

Let me introduce you to <url=http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/sc2-international/players/4571_Scarlett>Acer.Scarlett, a professional SC2 player who did alright at IPL4. She even managed to beat <url=http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/sc2-international/players/1589_DeMusliM>EG.DeMusliM, who is no slouch. He's not the greatest player in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm pretty sure that she's the first female pro gamer to make it to a major tournament. She even won herself a minor tournament just to get invited to IPL4.

I've seen her play, and she is pretty good.

 

[thebakedpotato]

Oh WHOOOOOO it ain't the Escapist without yet ANOTHER one of these threads.

Just for discussion, I don't care about what gender you are. And yes, gaming is a predominately male centered audience, so the female that comes by is sure to get noticed. But honestly, I don't care. Not one bit.

I really really don't want it to turn into "another one of those threads" =|
I know it will probably turn into one, but I REALLY hope it doesn't...

How can it not? What precautions have you taken to differentiate your thread from others?

You must forgive my directness. Just I am curious as to what you've done differently as opposed to anyone else.

The usual "hey guys, no flame war plz" ? =/
In hindsight, I should have let this sit for a day before posting it, but recently it seems like I've been saturated by a whole lot of the girl gamer types that I hate.

Things happen. Does make me inquire as to your own genitalia set.

 

[krazykidd]

I just wanna see some girls in tournaments that is all . THAT is what will impress me. I know there are girl gamers out there . So what ? Anyone can play video games , just comon ladies show up at tournaments will you please? And not as spectators .Participate , and beat these guys , and show the world you are here.

Let me introduce you to <url=http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/sc2-international/players/4571_Scarlett>Acer.Scarlett, a professional SC2 player who did alright at IPL4. She even managed to beat <url=http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/sc2-international/players/1589_DeMusliM>EG.DeMusliM, who is no slouch. He's not the greatest player in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm pretty sure that she's the first female pro gamer to make it to a major tournament. She even won herself a minor tournament just to get invited to IPL4.

I've seen her play, and she is pretty good.

Thank you for that . This is what i want to see more of . Just like in every other sport with profession female atheletes i wanna se more professional female gamers. Add the fac that this is one of the few things ( sports? Is gaming a sport?) men and women can compete in together .

 

[applesandoranges]

edit

 

[Torrasque]

I just wanna see some girls in tournaments that is all . THAT is what will impress me. I know there are girl gamers out there . So what ? Anyone can play video games , just comon ladies show up at tournaments will you please? And not as spectators .Participate , and beat these guys , and show the world you are here.

Let me introduce you to <url=http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/sc2-international/players/4571_Scarlett>Acer.Scarlett, a professional SC2 player who did alright at IPL4. She even managed to beat <url=http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/sc2-international/players/1589_DeMusliM>EG.DeMusliM, who is no slouch. He's not the greatest player in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm pretty sure that she's the first female pro gamer to make it to a major tournament. She even won herself a minor tournament just to get invited to IPL4.

I've seen her play, and she is pretty good.

Thank you for that . This is what i want to see more of . Just like in every other sport with profession female atheletes i wanna se more professional female gamers. Add the fac that this is one of the few things ( sports? Is gaming a sport?) men and women can compete in together .

There was also a girl finalist at the most recent MLG, playing Soul Calibur V. I don't pay attention to the fighting game scene, I only saw two of the games played because there was some downtime in between SC2 games, and I was interested in seeing a girl finalist in a fighting game.

And yes, it is regarded as Esports, a scene that is growing very rapidly with Starcraft 2 and LoL (ugh) leading the charge.

 

[Torrasque]

I identify myself as a girl gamer for the simple fact that being called guy/dude annoys me. A lot.

It's never been a problem before because I've never bothered to use a mike. I rarely play multiplayer games anyway and I have no friends that play games. I normally just don't say what my gender is, until someone feels the need to start referring to me as dude, in which case I correct them.

On this particular website I refer to my gender quite a bit more than normal because there are a disturbingly large number of threads where your gender actually affects the topic in some way.

Like this one.

It is hard to tell from my topic, but I really wish that gender wasn't such a dominant factor in how people interact with each other in all things. I'd like gender to mean absolutely nothing in regards to gaming, I don't care what gender someone is when I play with them or against them. I just hate when the majority of girls I interact with on games, are attention whores.

 

[Vault101]

I personally don't think this is the case. Type B girls may be seeking attention, but this behavior is a sign of immaturity, not maliciousness; it is purely benign, and should be addressed the way all forms of immaturity ought be addressed: by educating the person, or by ignoring the person.
.

[img/]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iGWlwW73mlI/Tq9a9Xx1qII/AAAAAAAAAT8/FNZsXfYaOgI/s1600/hitchcock%2Bapplause.gif[/img]

honestly I don't know what else to say, while I do get why people hate "type B" I think it also fuels a generaly "distrust" of females gaming

EDIT: and I'll admit..I do get a little buzz if I get som attention because of my gender...since generally I'm not the kind of person who ever got attention