ellrochell Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 hello all im relatively new to this community still but been playing long enough to know this is a fun game. These boards can be fun to full of so many opinions. Many of which make me scratch my head when it comes to females and gaming. So i thought as a woman id address some of the myths that seem to go around about females in game. And use my own personal perspective to give some facts on how it feels to be a female that games. I am no authority on this an any fellow females can feel free to come in and correct me if i am wrong. But seriously some of the crazy things i've read lead me to wanting to bring up a topic on this. 1. Women game- we are into gaming some of us have been since we were kids, atari was the first console my family owned and i have been playing since the days of pack-man and donkey kong when they were barely decipherable due to the low graphics. I am a huge legend of zelda fan and played games from first person shooters to muds and now mmos. Many think because dudes play chicks in games that that cute little assassin you see is chuck from nj who lives in his mother basement but you would be surprised how many of us like making cute yet deadly characters. Or how many big burly dudes may just be hiding a female who doesn't want to be hit on. 2. Female gamers are not easily offended- this one really stands out so many posts on our behalf so many people who assume that we need speak up for topics such as sexism and sexuality. I speak for myself of course but ive lived far to long and seen far to many things to be offended by some half naked dancing girls. And i have worn armor and clothing in games that would be strategically stupid to utilize but it is kinda funny to watch my half naked mob beat down an enemy. 3. Female gamers not all of us but many are not life time watching drama queens who cry at the drop of a hat. Some of us are very vicious and like to play that way. One of my best made characters was a drow warrior in another game who murdered just because she could. I obviously don't do such things in real life but its fantasy and being blood thirsty in fantasy is fun and gets to showcase a side to myself id never indulge in real life. 4. Some of us maybe tough girls but we do like style- whether its for decorating our personal spaces or getting good armor many of us do like to look nice when we are running around these vast worlds. When you give us clothing that looks good it adds to the persona even if its deadly spikes with crimson, deep lace black or skin tight leather suits. I know that some of the best games i played had a way for me to utilize fashion and still be deadly and effective. 5. Not all of us are nurturers and play healer types. Okay i like healing in games specially to save my own butt, but as a mommy in real life i tend to try to play roles in game where im not holding hands or patching up boo boos all the time. I do that enough as it is lol. There are many others but i hope this gets a good conversation going because i see so many things about sexism or female wants and it seems there are many misconceptions about female gamers (specially that we do not exist) but we do and our ranks are growing every day. I hope if i ever have a little girl (currently have a little boy) that she grows up in a world where a girl gaming is not a big deal it honestly shouldn't be. you go girlfriend, girl power! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dupela Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 honestly i only have one issue with girls who game - where can i find one? and is she free for dinner? ok that could be two things but whos counting ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daiyukie Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Only game I've played where female gamers are extremely rare is EVE Online. I jokingly say there are only 5 of them, but I know there are more than that. Possibly as many as 50 women play EVE. Honestly, more female gamers play Halo and Call of Duty. The running joke in EVE is "EVE, where the men are men, the women are men, and the kids are all DED Agents." People don't play EVE in general, not just women. Guys like it because space sims for a lot of nerds are just awesome, and girls don't get the "Ooo, giant pew-pew machine.." kind of salivation. Same with giant robots. But back to the first phrase, EVE isn't as popular as Halo or Call of Duty because for one, it's not cool among the teens, it's not something you can use like "I play Call of Duty" and impress the guy you have a crush on and it's not a brain-dead MMO with Flavor of the Month crap and other such nonsense. As brilliantly-designed and maintained as EVE is, it'll never be as popular as WoW or Halo or GearsofDutyofHaloShooty 45 1/2. But basically, the fact that women are rare in EVE has nothing to do with the game itself, but more with the female mentality and society. I'm sure the women who've been posting have a different opinion, but as much as the women who want to be seen as "grrl gamers who like gory violent games as much as you boys! Plus we can do it better!" will testift to the contrary, they are still very different and wired very differently. Giant robots and giant starship battles is an inherently male thing and a person who likes one, generally likes the other and I've yet to meet a woman who does despite having met half a dozen women in fighting games and shooter games and getting along fine with them. If that's hard to read, sorry, my thoughts are just kind of falling out in a jumble while I try to stay awake here at work at quarter to 3 in the morning =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimyrielle Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I can speak only for myself, but the general mentality required to play a game like EvE is too hardcore for me. I am slightly competitive even (in the sense that I enter a match of PvP in order to win it), but I don't want to dedicate half of my life to be halfway on par with my peers in a computer game. Nor I am a lot into epeen "My spaceship is bigger than your spaceship" contests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistralAnemoi Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I'm not sure about the whole girls not being into big robots and big spacebattles. I haven't played EVE but I did play Battlestar Galactica for a while, and enjoyed the big spacebattles in there, until it got to the point where I couldn't find anyone human to kill on the server I was on, and got very bored of it. Luckily that was when SWTOR came along. I don't think I would like a big robot anymore though, my ship droid has put me off for life..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Zone Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 People don't play EVE in general, not just women. Guys like it because space sims for a lot of nerds are just awesome, and girls don't get the "Ooo, giant pew-pew machine.." kind of salivation. Same with giant robots. But back to the first phrase, EVE isn't as popular as Halo or Call of Duty because for one, it's not cool among the teens, it's not something you can use like "I play Call of Duty" and impress the guy you have a crush on and it's not a brain-dead MMO with Flavor of the Month crap and other such nonsense. As brilliantly-designed and maintained as EVE is, it'll never be as popular as WoW or Halo or GearsofDutyofHaloShooty 45 1/2. But basically, the fact that women are rare in EVE has nothing to do with the game itself, but more with the female mentality and society. I'm sure the women who've been posting have a different opinion, but as much as the women who want to be seen as "grrl gamers who like gory violent games as much as you boys! Plus we can do it better!" will testift to the contrary, they are still very different and wired very differently. Giant robots and giant starship battles is an inherently male thing and a person who likes one, generally likes the other and I've yet to meet a woman who does despite having met half a dozen women in fighting games and shooter games and getting along fine with them. If that's hard to read, sorry, my thoughts are just kind of falling out in a jumble while I try to stay awake here at work at quarter to 3 in the morning =] EVE has a relatively small, yet dedicated fan base. The space battles in it put every other game to shame for sheer scope, when you can have over 1000 ships engaged at any given time down in nullsec space. The PvE pays very well when you can make nearly half a billion ISK from only a few missions, and the PvP is the most cutthroat on the Internet. In fact, if you can take PvP in EVE with a smile and a wink, you can PvP in ANY other game out there. And if you want to hear the jokes that EVE vets make about WoW, I'll PM you with them, since someone would probably take offense if I put them in a regular post. It IS arguably the most hardcore of the MMOs in existence today. But strangely enough, it also caters to the casual gamer, since skills added to the queue can be trained even when offline. That said, some of the most hardcore pew pewers in EVE just happen to be female, and they do a damn good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugamaniac Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 If they are competent raiders/guildes what difference does it make what sex they are? Besides, after listing to my guild's mumble chats during raids I can assure you that women can be just as (if not more so) "morally challenged" as every other dude in the group. Normally I would need to go to a comedy club and pay a premium for that kind of entertainment. :p:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynomen Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 If they are competent raiders/guildes what difference does it make what sex they are? Besides, after listing to my guild's mumble chats during raids I can assure you that women can be just as (if not more so) "morally challenged" as every other dude in the group. Normally I would need to go to a comedy club and pay a premium for that kind of entertainment. :p:p lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonbeast Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 as for the comments eve i cant talk from personal expiernce but it doesnt like the type of game that will hold the intrest of alot of people i only now one person who plays it. So from what i heard about the game i dont think its the game itself that has anything to do with a ow girl fan base but more that a low fan base of bothe genders. As for like giant robots and all of that stufff yes Im a guy and i like just as much the next guy but i wont get into saying "my spaceship is faster bigger than yours hahaha" cause really i could care less if whos bigger or faster as long as is mine does what it needs to do what does it matter its not like he has to fly it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitomo_x Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 While most of what you said is true, you're falling into the standard, and ironically male, trap that all women share the same basic personality type. I am not you. Actually, I guess I only had one thing I wanted to say, hehe. I will admit that not all female are the same, if you will admit that not all man are the same ... difficult isnt it? and if all male are the same, why are girls so picky then? ;_) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComeAndSee Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) I have respect for girl gamers. Most I've played with over years are better than male players and I don't treat them any different. It's really just bad marketting for game developers to only cater to the male population now a days because its lost profits. Edited April 16, 2012 by ComeAndSee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SliceAntilles Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Ah, you've stumbled on the difference between "Gamer Girls" and "Girls Who Play Games". Please refer to the linked image for more info. http://i.imgur.com/vul54.jpg Hm, I always saw it the other way around, since being a "Gamer" is the point. Still, funny. Oh and to whoever it was who accused me of being condescending, sorry, I'm mildly autistic, and honestly have no idea how people are going to interpret the things I say. I mean only to be informative. One thing I have noticed, and I admit it sometimes makes me a wee bit jealous, that guys who play girls seem to get more attention than I do It seems ironic to me that males playing female characters are perceived as more "feminine" than the real thing. I never call attention to my gender, if people refer to me with the male pronouns I do not correct them, but come on, everyone wants a little attention... don't they? Haha... I dunno. I just know people tend to assume I'm a male because I don't have an overtly "feminine" personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel_of_Cain Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Hm, I always saw it the other way around, since being a "Gamer" is the point. Still, funny. Oh and to whoever it was who accused me of being condescending, sorry, I'm mildly autistic, and honestly have no idea how people are going to interpret the things I say. I mean only to be informative. One thing I have noticed, and I admit it sometimes makes me a wee bit jealous, that guys who play girls seem to get more attention than I do It seems ironic to me that males playing female characters are perceived as more "feminine" than the real thing. I never call attention to my gender, if people refer to me with the male pronouns I do not correct them, but come on, everyone wants a little attention... don't they? Haha... I dunno. I just know people tend to assume I'm a male because I don't have an overtly "feminine" personality. That's because i brought sexy back..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Zone Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 That's because i brought sexy back..... But with me, sexy never left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel_of_Cain Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 But with me, sexy never left. Touche my friend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EwokMilkshakes Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 The only time I treat a female gamer different is when they are attention whores and think they should get special treatment just because they're female. Otherwise I don't know why anyone would care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AethiusSake Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) In my decades of gaming, I've met a lot of gamers, and really good ones are much rarer than pretty good ones. And given that a lot of women hide their gender online so they aren't pre-judged by people who assume that they'll never measure up, you can't actually say you've never met an exceptional woman gamer unless you ask every single person you ever game with what their gender is. Which would be either creepy, or improbable. I'm going with the latter. But even if you haven't met a really good woman gamer, that says more about your social life than about our playing abilities. It's not like we don't exist. Whatever "good" means - is it DPS? Kills per raid? Bank balance? How much fun you have when you're with them? How long they've been gaming? Whether they do what you want them to or not? That time they managed to keep you alive even though you kept standing in the @$%^ fire like a Noob? Is someone who's really good at playing the way they want to play a lesser gamer because you think they should be playing your way? Your statement is essentially unquantifiable. MOTHING****ING THIS!! Im a guy, one of my good friends is a girl gamer, has been all her life, she's pretty damn good, average 2.7kdr and 60% win rate on CoD, (almost as good as me >: ) ) but needless to say, thats better than a lot of freakin people on CoD, and 90% of the game are males, so what does that say? Im fallen onto the whole Female gamers equality bandwagon because she ******es all the time about how people perceive girl gamers and misconstrue that generally they will never be "good" at games. Like the person im quoting, this is on a gender based opinion, which is stupid. Iv seen plenty of good female gamers, and to me I just see them as gamers, just like any other gamers, genderless (hmm.. sound alien species or humanless form hahah...poor choice of words, but you know what i mean hahaha) . Anyhow, I probably didnt explain myself very well, but the post im quoting does the job Edited April 20, 2012 by LexiCazam Inappropriate content Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardim Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I have respect for girl gamers. Most I've played with over years are better than male players and I don't treat them any different. It's really just bad marketting for game developers to only cater to the male population now a days because its lost profits. Same case with me. To me, gender doesn't matter. We're all fellow gamers after all and I treat everyone the way they deserve to be treated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdeusz Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) You say something about the girls who are just attention whoring and any female that reads that implodes in anger. Like my comments in the pages before where the poster took everything I said against herself making it as her personal fight to say I am wrong. Quite frankly everyone else that has anything to say is saying what I am one way or another. I want to kick something when I see these pictures of the girl holding an xBox controller with the headset. *SCREAMS* The mentality of the girl gamer varies greatly of course and not everyone is the same but when reading a comment that isn't directed at you and taking great offense to it is very much something the female gamer would do. I don't believe a true gamer doesn't care what sex you are but the true gamer doesn't even think about not caring about what sex you are and plays the damn game not knowing your gender. Edited April 16, 2012 by abcdeusz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel_of_Cain Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Female gamers: Tradechat, Dodger, & Pocket FTW..........Giggity:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SithEater Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 1. Women game.2. LIES! Facts about women gamers: 99% are men, 1% are liars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vian Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) 2. LIES! Facts about women gamers: 99% are men, 1% are liars. 74.5% of statistics are made up on the spot! ETA: But only about 23.5% of people know this. Edited April 17, 2012 by vian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel_of_Cain Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 74.5% of statistics are made up on the spot! ETA: But only about 23.5% of people know this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonbeast Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I tried to read this and not laugh out loud. I have seen male players do this exact same thing for as long as I have been playing MMO's, or living in the real world. We all on some level take issue to a statement that seems to go against us in some fashion. It is natural to do so. It is understanding what is said and putting it into a certain context that tends to get mixed up sometimes. Behind our toons are real people. Real people have feelings no matter how Epeen or Equeen they pretend to be. This thread is a great example of misunderstandings and different interpretations. It is actually an interesting thread due to all the different veiws and opinions. Throw in some trolls and you have a great thread. lol lol so true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdeusz Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) I tried to read this and not laugh out loud. I have seen male players do this exact same thing for as long as I have been playing MMO's, or living in the real world. We all on some level take issue to a statement that seems to go against us in some fashion. It is natural to do so. It is understanding what is said and putting it into a certain context that tends to get mixed up sometimes. Behind our toons are real people. Real people have feelings no matter how Epeen or Equeen they pretend to be. This thread is a great example of misunderstandings and different interpretations. It is actually an interesting thread due to all the different veiws and opinions. Throw in some trolls and you have a great thread. lol My favorite part was where said person compared the stereotypes on female gamers to the oppression of Africans.. Edited April 17, 2012 by abcdeusz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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