The Other Us: Women and the Gaming Community - addicted ...

For as long as the human race has existed, our vast and wonderful dissimilarities have always divided us, and even thousands of years of enlightenment have failed to completely erase that instinctive impulse to mentally differentiate ourselves from others.? The gaming community has long been a target of blatant and unwarranted stereotyping by the bulk of society.? Of course, as gamers we all know that we are not a collective of socially inept basement dwellers.? We are a lively, diverse, and proud group of people united not by age, occupation, or social aptitude, but by our shared passion.? We are all unique.? We are all different.
But do our differences divide us against each other?
There is a long-standing, widely accepted preconception that the gaming world is, for the most part, male dominated.? I suppose this could be at least partly attributed to the socially accepted gender roles instilled into us from childhood, but what really drives this idea of correlation between video games and 18-24 year old males into the minds of both gamers and the general public?? The video game industry itself is probably the most significant contributor; their marketing campaigns are almost always designed to target this very specific audience.? Though it is not intended to be offensive or discriminatory, such marketing techniques tend to leave the uninformed mind with the suggestion that young men do indeed dominate the gaming world.? Similar exhibitions of gender bias can also be observed in the field of video game journalism, with relevant examples being Spike TV?s frequent use of female sex appeal in its coverage of gaming events and Game Informer magazine?s all male editing staff.
While the professional industry does have a significant impact on the mentality of the gaming community, it is the members themselves (male and female alike) who perpetuate the segregation of female gamers.? Online harassment, for example, is an issue many women feel that they have commonly faced while playing games.? Alexis, 19, says, ?I feel like it should stop.? I am not an Xbox owner, however, I do hear from my galpals that whenever they?re playing, it?s typically this little brat or?sleazeball?on the other end asking, ?Are you a girl? Are you hot?? What does physical appearance have to do with being a good gamer??? Her friend, Shea, 19, shared a similar sentiment:? ?Certain games like Halo and Call of Duty are fun to play with friends, but I have been harassed by online players in the past because of my gender.?
Though I can?t deny that my inbox has seen quite a few rather distasteful and, in many cases, obscene messages from fellow Xbox Live players, gender is not necessarily to blame.? Online anonymity and the lack of real-world consequences to one?s actions have resulted in a pandemic of harassment and chronic misbehavior in the online gaming world.? This phenomenon has been studied by psychologists and officially been named the ?Online Disinhibition Effect,? more colloquially known as John Gabriel?s ?Greater Internet F**kwad Theory.?
If a person is inclined to practice antisocial and inappropriate behavior on the Internet, gender is unlikely to make them more or less likely to do so.? It may, however, put a bigger bulls-eye on a player?s back if she happens to be a woman, as these people apparently tend to target players who are different, especially those belonging to groups which have been historically oppressed.? Besides women, other common victims of online harassment include homosexuals, racial minorities, and members of the Jewish faith.? Many words associated with these groups have been so abused by players that they have been banned on Xbox Live.? The Online Disinhibition Effect and its association with online gaming have led to controversy regarding how serious a problem harassment really is and how it should be handled.? Are these people truly sexist, racist, anti-Semitic homophobes?? Or are they just socially misguided individuals who have been spoiled by (and, in turn, spoiled) the concept of online anonymity?? As with many issues plaguing the gaming community and inherent in society itself, there is no clear or fair answer.
Women, like other gamers, have different reactions to online harassment.? Some simply do not partake in online gameplay.? Some will fight fire with fire and insult the perpetrators right back.? But probably the most common and effective method for any gamers who encounter this nuisance is to accept that it is part of online gaming, deal with it maturely and appropriately when it happens, and not take anything personally.? This should not be a problem for any woman with a thick enough skin to identify themselves with a title that is normally thought to be reserved for men.? As the Assistant Community Manager at Bungie, the developers of the popular Marathon and Halo series, put it, ?Female gamers are brave to stake out territory in a landscape where they are in the severe minority. Ironically enough, the best tailgunner who has ever ?manned? the gun platform of my Warthog is a female gamer. She is also the best sniper on my team. She would break your heart, if she wasn?t busy sending a bullet through it.?

Have some lead with that sandwich.
That quote seems to contradict one of the two major stereotypes that I?ve discovered targeted at female gamers:? That they suck.
?I have been told by my guy friends that cause I am a girl I must suck at playing games,? recalls Kari, 19.
I?ll be the first to admit that I?m not the best person to have on the team in a game of Slayer.? But let?s all be honest with ourselves.? We?ve all seen guys who just can?t play Call of Duty worth a damn, despite the fact that they have the ?correct? set of genitalia to do so. All of us are practically unbeatable at some games and completely inept at others, regardless of gender.? We all have our talents.? We all have our shortcomings.? Practice, dedication, and personal gaming preferences are certainly relevant factors used to determine a player?s likely skill, but there is no rational explanation for why some men seem to feel that their female counterparts will fail to live up to their standards of ability in online multiplayer games.? So why are the ladies, as a whole, prejudged to be bad at games?? Emily, 17, offers her opinion:? ?We are? treated unfairly. ?Also, the guys feel like [gaming] is their territory and I think that they are a little territorial over their video games and don?t like us interfering.?? It is worth noting that women have historically faced harsh resistance and intolerance from men when trying to push into fields that were traditionally their territory, such as the workplace and the military.? Change is simply not easily accepted.
The other common stereotype branded upon female gamers is that their presence in the gaming world signifies that they are somehow inadequate as women.? Accusations of being overweight or otherwise physically unappealing are common online insults hurled at female players.? These accusations are usually laughable due to the utter irrationality of insulting the appearance of someone without ever seeing her.? In fact, there is a website (appropriately called fatuglyorslutty.com) where women are encouraged to share these experiences.? The idea that female gamers are ?sluts? stems from the misconception that women enter the gaming world looking to attract men or flaunt their sexuality.? Many adolescent and even adult males perceive the depiction of attractive women associated with video games as being sexually appealing.? But when they accuse female gamers of being ?sluts? or assume they are seeking out opportunities for intimacy, they are obviously viewing reality through a media-induced fog of unrealistic eroticism. ?Men will blame the women for trying to entice them, but who really assigns the concept of sexuality to women in gaming?
Some women will use their gender to garner attention or take advantage of the guys who find their interest in gaming attractive.? And, for the most part, they will be looked down upon for it. ??I have no problem with female gamers in general,? says forum-goer Antony, ?although it gets annoying when they look for attention just due to the fact they are a girl.? ?That kind of behavior makes all female gamers look bad, and the majority will not endorse or condone it.? To conclude that all the women in the gaming world are ?sluts? or ?looking for a man? because a few have so little integrity and self-respect that they would use their femininity to gain an advantage is simply unfair and quite frustrating.
In the same way that all groups of people are distinguished by their differences, the gaming world?s diversity invariably leads to disagreement and uninformed judgments.? The gaming world is a subdivision of society as a whole, and is therefore susceptible to all of the trials, conflicts, and prejudices inherent in it.? However, I believe that the overwhelming majority has reached the stage where differences matter less than similarities.? The only times when our differences become problematic and start to divide us is when we allow them to do so.? Gamers, as a community, have found a near-perfect balance between embracing their differences and clinging to traditional societal expectations.? There are the exceptions: ?when people hiding behind a false mask of online invulnerability make offensive comments, when women are prejudged for their ability, and when they are stereotyped to be looking for attention.? It is time we all made the balance perfect and each learned to accept and respect the ?other us.?
We are not guy gamers.? We are not girl gamers.? We are gamers.
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Source: http://addicted-gamers.com/2012/02/04/the-other-us-women-and-the-gaming-community/
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