For as long as video games have been around, they've mostly been associated with males. Guys have dominated the video game scene for the last 30 years. However, this doesn't mean that there aren't some girls out their who can kick your ass at Halo 2.
Girl gamers have begun to unite, and clans like PMS (Pandora's Mighty Soldiers) and the Frag Dolls have shown the world that girls can rock just as hard as any guys when it comes to gaming. Overall, this is a good thing. There's no reason for girls not to play video games. I'm sure it would lead to easier relationships with their game addicted boyfriends for one thing. And it would give all the same benefits that guys get from gaming; stress reduction, socializing, and just plain fun. These girls are role models to younger female button mashers who want to be recognized by their males counterparts, but are they sending the right message?
Having a team of four girls beat the tar out of some of the best male players in a tournament will certainly get people's attention, and will most definitely make the point that girls are a part of the gaming community, but doesn't it still separate those girls from the rest of the players? If women truly want to fit in in the gaming world, wouldn't it make more sense for them to play with the boys?
This is where it gets difficult. Many of these girls-only groups aren't there to put men down in a feminist manner, but they're there to offer support to other female gamers who feel out of place, and that is definitely something we need. I just think that to make a big splash, the guys and girls should team up more instead of separating themselves. But, maybe it's best for now if the girls work on making a name for themselves and making a statement. Then, once society is more accepting of girl gamers, maybe we'll see more mixed-gender teams.
So ladies, if a guy tells you that you can't do something because your a girl, proceed to whoop his ass and be proud. Just don't be afraid to get your ass whooped right back.
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7 comments:
The formation of ghettoes is a common practice for communities that feel they are oppressed in some way or another. It allows them to pool their resources, for one, puts them in a place with people who understand them, and creates a layer between them and the (presumably hostile) rest of the world. One can't deny that female gamers face harassment from the rest of the gaming world - especially since they're a minority, and especially since the males they're acting with are, um, often immature and socially retarded. It's nice to wish for an egalitarian playing field, just as its nice to wish for harmonious black-white relations in the United States. But it's not likely to happen, and it's probably not appropriate for us to ask the minority community to suffer the brunt of male gamers' idiocy until things smooth out.
I don't think that feminine gaming communities isolate female gamers. I think it allows them to raise awareness. A lady gamer is in a severe minority in an environment like Xbox Live. Our female counterparts need a place where they can create a safe and enjoyable gaming experience.
Gamers are always clustering together into units of like-minded allies. Respective gaming communities place emphases on everything from conduct to age to religious preferences. With the lady gamer clans, the distinction is just a little more obvious.
Lady gamers should join the community on their own terms. Surrounding themselves with feminine allies is the best way to go about this.
I've never felt the need to join up with other female gamers; in fact, I outright avoid it. Joining up with the catchy-name girl clans makes you stand out and it only draws more ridiculous attention to yourself and paves the way for all the trivial harassment girl gamers often complain of. I don't feel out of place or isolated playing with guys, and there's not much of a special camaraderie I feel if another girl joins the party. Every now and then I'm mistaken by voice for a boy, and I get over it. It's never been a point of mine to highlight what gender I am, and I tend to get irritated by the girls who think it makes them somehow more special than the male players.
I wish the person above this hadn't been anonymous, because I'd like to thank them for understanding what I was trying to say. =)
i actually really like your article. I think you should make one more point. Can girls please stop putting girl, or any varation(grl, gurl, chick, chik, chix) in their name? Please? At least gurl....
Well dustbunny, while I see where you're coming from, I dont know if I agree with you. I do think it's kind of weird to put the word girl in your name when trying to fit in with guys, but guys use words like guy, dude, and man in their names all the time. I guess it depends on your motivation and not the actual name.
I don't like when males put dude or guy in their name either (especially sk8terdude type of names. I don't think girls should have to "fit in" either. By saying they have to fit in it makes them an outsider. We should just stop completly with with the whole Girls/Boys argument. We arn't five years old and have a club house with "no gurls alowed" (spelling mistakes intentional) on the door.
I highly doubt that girls problems come from sexism. They come from the idiots that are on xbox live who trash talk everyone. Granted, the talk is different, but the person who bad mouths a lady, isn't the nice guy who says good game to the rest of the players at the end of all-male matches.
As a side note, I think all-girl clans are stupid, because not "recuiting" a player in your clan because it is a "he" is just as sexist as the idiot who makes trash talks the girl-gamers.
The only way we can end this is to kill all the stupid people on xbox live. We can only dream.....
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