Disclaimer
This article is to discuss the role of
female gamers and women in the gaming industry in general. It's aim
is to be an introduction for those that may not be so familiar with
the topic. I'm writing this article for a number of reasons. The
first reason being I've had a few people ask me my take on the
subject, to which at the time I didn't have a response because I
don't see people according to gender, labels, and stereotypes. But
since I've got a voice, I may as well use it to discuss various
topics related to the subject at hand, in fact it may even be my
responsibility to do so. The second reason for writing this article
is that I've been inspired to do so by conversing with a couple of
influential people, and by recent events that I've witnessed lately
regarding women in gaming, some good, some bad. We will get to that,
but first let me introduce myself. My name is Melissa. My online
persona is “Mel the Office Gamer Girl”. I didn't choose to call
myself “gamer girl” for the fact that I'm a gamer girl, but
because it was a joke between myself and friends, a sort of
tongue-in-cheek reference, not to be taken seriously. I play video
games, I make video game-related art. I write video game reviews,
articles, and host various local events as well as participate in
game-related charities. That's pretty much all there is to know about
me as far as the gaming aspect is concerned. Let's get this started
then...
Introduction
When you hear the words “gamer girl”
what do you think of? If you're someone of sound mind, it shouldn't
mean anything other than a girl who plays video games. It's that
simple. Unfortunately, in the industry, in online discussion, among
marketing departments, among supposed feminists, among both male and
female gamers it has become known as a label, often carrying many
meanings and implications. I will try to divide this article up by
trying my best to explain the different “types” of gamer girls,
how they're seen by other groups, the biases held against them, and
their own strengths and weaknesses. I will end this article with an
explanation of how I think we can go about eliminating some of the
differences and how we should go about promoting unity among gamers
in general, regardless of gender.
Girl Gamers
The first category I'd like to take a
look at is the one that places all the females together. According to
recent marketing research from various sources, the same amount of
both men and women play games today. 50/50. No joke. They're equal as
far as marketing, purchasing, and playing goes. It wasn't always like
that though, not in the console scene anyways. There were more guys
than girls playing video games on consoles 10, 20 years ago even. I
recently saw a video online where some girl was going on about how it
was like that even back in the days of video arcades. That's not
true. Just as many women as men frequented arcades in the golden age
of gaming. It wasn't until consoles came along that there was more of
a gender gap in gaming. I'm not exactly sure how or why this was in
the initial stages of the home console market, but some people
attribute it to the games being mostly marketed towards boys in
general. But who is to say that women didn't also find those
advertisements appealing? Was anyone asking them? And what of those
women that claim that advertisements should have been geared more
towards women? I believe that is a matter of opinion influenced by
your perceived role in society, which YOU chose to adhere to. I'm
getting a little bit ahead of myself, but let's take a look at this
group that I've sort of hinted at...
The Pseudo-Feminist Gamer Movement
There are girls who take pride in being
girl gamers, and that's fine, but what isn't fine is attacking men in
the process, or attacking society as a whole and playing the role of
victim. This may sound too straight forward for many females to
handle, but that's probably because they might find themselves
identifying with this particular group. They are a bunch that choose
to seek attention in the media or elsewhere demanding change in the
industry, in games, character designs, etc, because they are deemed
as inappropriate or sexually objectifying (oh femi-buzzwords!) women.
Often times they fail to look at the whole situation, they often
disregard conversing about gaming in general (for example gameplay
mechanics, story, music, etc) and choose to pick out bits to create
meaningless arguments about. They do so under the guise of
self-righteous, self-entitled, often ill informed victims of their
own devices. At the forefront of this terrible movement is a girl
named Anita Sarkeesian. She has a degree in communication studies,
which supposedly was to get into media and television, but when she
talks about feminism it's extremely conservative and man-bashing. She
sounds like a kid who got through school by the books without
thinking for themselves and is just regurgitating popular opinion to
gain a larger following. Hers, by the way, is something like a
confused cult. She started her “career” as the face of the
feminist gaming revolution by starting a Kickstarter project for a
web series based on her arguments about the objectification of women
in gaming. She raised over $150,000 and months later, no videos were
to be seen what-so-ever. She then used the angry backlash of gamers
as fuel to gain mainstream attention to further push her bullshit
agenda. We don't need people like this in gaming. It's easy to see
that she knows what she's doing to manipulate the media to get what
she wants and really has no respect nor any real compassion for
either male nor female gamers. On the subject of feminism in general,
I'd like to say that, while there are different types, groups, etc,
the main root of feminism is for equal rights, for both genders. It's
not to demonize one over the other, or for women to use as an excuse
to be lazily passive about social progress, while failing to empower
people, both genders included. While she may have a degree in
communications, I myself am only a couple credits away from a double
major in sociology and psychology, and I know the difference. As an
educated individual, why doesn't she? Why doesn't this group? Why are
they so offended by designs of women in games? Sure, some characters
may be over-sexualized, but these games are made by men (and women)
who find the allure of the female body something to be enjoyed (by
both genders no less!) and it sells. If any women find this
offensive, then they don't have to play said games. No one is forcing
them to. And it's their responsibility as decent human beings to
logically think before assuming, and acting on emotions. I think they
just like to hear themselves talk and maybe they get a high from
their ego-feeding, false self-identity forming, petty hatred.
Whatever the reason, they also have a problem with the next group I'd
like to discuss...
Booth Babes, Models and Cosplayers
There's nothing wrong with being a fan
of video games and dressing up as your favorite characters. There's
also nothing wrong with modeling as a profession. It's just a job. If
that job calls for the models to also dress as characters, they do
it, it's a paycheck. The group in the previous paragraph says that
models are objectified (I'm guessing that they're also the same
conservative folk that think that pornography is objectification. Sex
is a part of life, deal with it). These women are not objectifying
themselves. If they're professional they understand their job, they
understand that they took upon themselves to do said job. They take
responsibility for their own actions. It's not their responsibility
to cater to your own insecurities. Some other gamers, both men and
women, say that they do it for the attention, or that they might not
be fans of games. Why does that matter to you as a gamer? How does
that affect you personally? It doesn't. Go back to playing your
games. Some of these women are fans, some of them aren't. Either way,
it's fine. They are a part of the community too and should be
respected as people, regardless of their supposed level of fandom.
And hey, some of these girls look damn good doing what they do! You
all just keep doing what you're doing. Speaking of people who like
attention and may or may not be fans, let's not forget about...
Geek Chic and “Fake” Gamer Girls
This one applies to both male and
female gamers, but it seems that females seem to do it more than men
(though they do it to). I'm not sure when it became the 'cool thing'
to like games, but there seems to have been an influx of what people
are calling “fake gamers” in the gaming community. People who
pretend to be nerds, gamers, geeks, whatever, because it's
fashionable. I won't say that it's wrong, because it's not my place
to say so. And neither is it the place of other gamers or nerds in
general. Again, who cares and how is it affecting you, really? I
don't care either way, but just wanted to point it out because it's
apparently a thing that exists. Also it goes to show the hypocrisy
that exists in the realms of gaming fandom. Let's get into the nicer
part of girls in the gaming industry...
Female Pro-Gamers
This is really where female gamers
shine. When it comes to professional or competitive gaming, yes,
there are more men, but there are girls who game competitively as
well. Sometimes these women will get harassed by guys, but guys also
get harassed by guys too. The difference between female competitive
gamers as opposed to the gamer girls stated above is that they don't
let gender-based insults get to them. They are there to play,
hardcore, competitive, action. It's a passion, it's a job, and they
do it well. They don't let insignificant things such as words and
insults get in the way of their victory. They don't care. They
practice their skill, the focus on what actually matters, the games.
They rely more on their own skill than their social standing. For
them, actions speak louder than words. They are making real progress
for gender equality in gaming. In fact, even video game giant Ubisoft
has a team of all girl pro-gamers they've recruited called Frag
Dolls. In addition to playing games professionally, these ladies also
host community events, and have quite the following on various social
networks. In these social networks, they talk to people like people,
never bringing up the gender issue, because for them, it's not an
issue. Speaking of progression, another group making great strides
is...
Female Video Game Developers
There was recently an incident on
Twitter where many men and women who work for various gaming
companies brought up the topic of women being harassed in the video
games industry. Female employees, that is, being insulted by male
employees, getting paid less, etc. The thing is, is that this isn't
just the games industry that this is happening in, and also, it's not
happening to ALL the women. There were a couple of female developers
that wrote articles that resonated with my own beliefs, that if you
stop playing the victim, and start doing your job (above and beyond
what's expected of you) then you will receive that promotion, that
raise, that respect that you so rightfully earned. It does happen in
the games industry, women do get ahead. Not because they're women
mind you, but because they are stubborn, fearless, and willing to put
up with shit to get shit done. I don't know why everyone insists on
focusing on the negative when there are positive things happening.
The industry is growing and more and more women ARE getting involved,
and it's wonderful. We should be praising those that are doing well,
encouraging their growth and continuation of progress. Rather than
letting insecurities get the best of you and hating them for their
success, we should be looking to them as sources of inspiration and
cheering them on as the rest of us catch up. Lastly we shouldn't
forget about...
Gamer Girl Journalists and Creatives
Writing is a nice hobby to have. Of
course both men and women write about video games. Whether it's
industry news, the latest game scores and winners, or video game
reviews. We're here, and as a games journalist myself, I haven't
really encountered much sexism or sexist comments when it comes to
writing articles, making videos, or selling my art. That's just my
personal experience though. Unless the article is extremely biased
(see fem gamers above), an article written by a woman is rarely
attacked based on gender alone. Decent writing, is decent writing. If
it's informative and/or entertaining, you're doing it right, again,
no matter your gender. Not much else to say about this group, really.
Most of us just do it for fun or as a volunteer service to our
community anyways. Of course, a paycheck is fine too.
On Gender
So that's the rundown of female gamers
in general. As stated earlier, some girls say that women are
objectified in gaming, but so too aren't the men? Just as most all
women don't sport huge tits, itty bitty waists, and miniscule
costumes, men aren't all gun-wielding muscle headed fighters who's
only purpose in life is to destroy things. Video Games and the
characters represented in them are unrealistic because it is fantasy.
Most adults, and even most kids, know the difference between reality
and fantasy. There are some that may not, but that's simply because
they are ill-informed and/or inexperienced. And what of other genders
and sexual orientations? There is a fairly large community of gay
gamers and they have a voice of their own too. It's great. They seems
to be more open minded about the gender issues faced by both genders,
opting to be more compassionate and less hateful of their fellow
gamers. There's a handful of transgendered gamers as well. Though
they aren't as numerous as the other groups, they are there, and they
have a voice. There's even a female pro gamer that was formerly a
male that has had quite the success. Stories like that make me
hopeful for the future of ALL gender equality in gaming and related
activities. Lastly there's hermaphroditic gamers. Well, actually I
was only able to find one and it was a thread on IGN who's only reply
was an insult from another gamer. We should acknowledge them as well
if we are to continue the progress for equality. I hope that soon
they too find their voice within the community.
Conclusion
While there are social and gender
related biases in the gaming community, these are not problems
specific to the gaming community. They are found everywhere. It's not
a matter of fandom, or video games, or who's who, it's a problem that
runs much deeper than just the act of playing and sharing the
experience that is video games. There are problems embedded deep
within society, things much larger than us as individuals. While it's
easy to say that we should just be nicer to each other and let that
be that, it's not that easy. I think if we are to make further
progress, not just in gaming, but as a world community, it should be
through education, self-realization, and exercises in cultivating
compassion for our fellow human beings. We need to get to the very
root of why labels exist, people need to understand the mind and why
their insecurities exist, why hatred exists. In having that knowledge
alone, we would make great progress. We could come to the
realizations of sameness rather than dwelling on differences. We
could simplify our lives and just be more content. We could enrich
each others lives and move forward as a whole. I hope that his
article has brought to light some information that you may find
useful. Thank you for reading.
Note: As far as girls in gaming? What
do I know? Who made me an authority on the subject?
Oh right...
No comments:
Post a Comment