Dear Gamers,
Yes, I’m talking to you men of the gaming community, because we seem to need to specify ‘girl’ when talking about a female player and automatically assume that a gamer is a male. This is a letter from the all the gamer girls you play with. We’re more common than you think, and we’re definitely more fed up than you realize.
For a long time, we may not feel comfortable revealing our video game obsession with you, simply because you usually all respond the same way. When we decide to let you in on our hobby and casually tell you that we game, you automatically don’t believe us. You often stammer, drop your jaw, or just exclaim, “No way!” It’s like we’re unicorns or magical creatures that are mystical enough to be cherished. Too often you claim that we don’t look or seem like a girl who plays video games. What is that supposed to mean? Does a ‘gamer girl’ need to meet the criteria on your checklist? We aren’t all stereotypical. We have lives, passions, friends, and priorities. It’s perfectly plausible for us to wear dresses and makeup when we go out, and then come home and slay in our fave Indies.
Then, you feel the need to make us prove ourselves, because you definitely don’t believe us at face-value. The conversation that follows is essentially you brushing off our favorite titles, claiming that they suck or that another one is better. This in itself is utterly ridiculous, because guess what boys, there are a variety of tastes when it comes to video games. What if someone likes Battlefront more than Call of Duty? Did you ever think that maybe it’s because it offers the exact type of FPS maps we’re looking for on top of being Star Wars themed? You disregard our opinions if they don’t match with yours, claiming that we’re noobs and don’t know what we’re talking about. Trust me fellas, if you really wanna go there, we can. You just may not make it out alive.
If we’re friends IRL or guild members in an MMO, we’ll probably link up in game for a few maps or instances. It usually goes one of two ways. If we’re new to the game or just not very good, you’ll tell yourself it’s fine. You weren’t expecting much anyway. We’re the damsels in distress and you are our knight in shining armor, or kevlar, whatever. Regardless, you’ll probably try to be a good guy and offer some tips, or you’ll just tell us to get back in the kitchen where we belong. Are you guys beginning to see the problem here? On the other hand, if we have a high kill rate or DPS and are better than a lot of other players, you bow down to us for being video game goddesses. If you consider us good looking, we become your ‘hot’ gamer friend. If not, we are simply considered one of the guys. Whether we’re tokenized or simply tossed aside, our gender sets us apart. And you wonder why we turn our mics off and pick neutral gamer tags?
If we aren’t friends and we’re just playing together in a random game, why do you think that it’s okay to send us a message after? Our inbox is constantly flooded by randos and creepy strangers who are either just trying to talk or threatening us with death. That’s just sad. Either way, don’t expect a response. Unless you’re absolutely OP, and we chatted it up over multiple games, but like, let’s be real that rarely happens. Leave us alone. Just because our gamer tag reflects that we’re chicks does not mean we want attention. We’re just looking to kick ass on our time.
Look, I’m not saying that all guys act like this. Not every guy I’ve met in a videogame has been awful, and definitely not all the guys I know IRL act out of line either. But face it, female players are becoming more common, and this treatment needs to stop. We’re over getting bombarded with messages, having to prove ourselves and our knowledge time after time, being judged for not fitting into your stereotypes, and being shamed for our game choices. We’re just here to play a game, kill some stuff, and have a good time. Next time you meet a chick that plays video games, check yourself. We’re just like you.
Gamer Girls