It’s time for it to be said. I’ve had enough. No more top ten lists, beauty contests, YouTube videos or mission statements loudly stomping feet and proclaiming the superiority and uniqueness of female gamers. God women, don’t you see how bad you’re making us all look?
I’m not complaining about the sexualization of Wiimotes (clearly, as I am an advocate of oral activity with controllers myself), posing naked in a sea of consoles, or even playful photo shoots. What’s freaking me out is an attitude of supremacy that female gamers are often affecting these days. It’s no better than the college boneheads that powerround Halo en masse and crush beercans on their heads, screaming “I POWNED YOU” up until the moment they pass out and/or vomit.
The merge of sex appeal and gaming is an obvious one, and no doubt there are lots of enjoyable results, from crass to classy. I’ve never had a problem with the sexualizing of women in the video game world. The far more distressing issue is the amount of energy and time spent on female gaming topics that do not matter.
This year brought the advent of much discussed items such as the Nerdcore calendar, which I was most interested in the reaction to. To my surprise, I heard more feedback than I expected from men about how the pictures were sexy, yet would have been moreso had the girls been real gamers enjoying games versus posed models. Now, I’m sure there will be more people that will buy the calendar than those who will speculate on it’s game specific authenticity or not. I have no problem with it personally. My only issue is the constant focus on female gamers being women first and gamers second. A recent vid post from Aktrez got me thinking on how much this entire situation bugs me.
The thing is, ladies, we’re here to play games and enjoy them. Yes, we get a totally different response to being gamers than guys do. Does that mean we adapt the “If you can’t beat them, join them” mindset? I don’t think either of those directions are the right way to go. It doesn’t matter anywhere near as much that you’re a girl as it does that you are a gamer. So drop it. It doesn’t make a difference if your boyfriend turned you on to World of Warcraft last year or you’ve been addicted since Kid Icarus – once you become a gamer, you’ll always be one. Leave the post feminist discussion to people who like to hear themselves talk. Better yet, play a game and forget everything around you. That’s what made all of us fall in love with them in the first place, regardless of gender.
