Are gamer 'girls' just as welcome as guys?

[mashuga31]

Now when I say this i don't mean

Are they attractive or turn you on (Although feel free to express that thought .) I mean are they treated fairly in the gaming universe?

I'm completely unsure on the matter (Which imo is the best way to start a debate). I'm not necessarily saying that gamers girls just aren't good enough gamers (but if you are feel free to put that) as gamer guys, I just think that there may be a possibility of a little prejudice. I mean, for starters what do you feel when you get owned by a chick? Do you get angry, proud, what?

Is there prejudice among the populace in gaming communities online or otherwise against gamer girls?

[Breepop]

No. Girls have to prove themselves before they are welcomed.

And you know what? I love proving myself, so this double standard can stay. :D

[Ferrrrrre]

I guess that guys are still laughed at when they lose/get pwned by girls...
and girls are presumed to be "weaker" and more suckish when it comes to games but experience have taught that these aren't always true =P

So I guess gaming is just like any other ordinary thing .. in the matter guys vs. girls

[ligerman30]

When you get right down to the facts, girls are not as interested in video games as guys. Although the few that do legitimately play are accepted among the community. Most females are a term we gamers call casual gamers. Not saying that's the case with all gamer girls, but most of the time girls aren't really into it as much as men are. Most video games are on a thriller or action basis of their storyline. Most girls ive seen care more about dramas or "romantic comedy" storylines and after a while action gets a little monotonous. That is what i have observed.

[UnfairBear]

It's possible that women generally aren't as good at gaming than men due the differences in the way our brains work. We all have grey and white matter in our brains, but women tend to have more white, while men have more grey.

[This] may help to explain why men tend to excel in tasks requiring more local processing (like mathematics), while women tend to excel at integrating and assimilating information from distributed gray-matter regions in the brain, such as required for language facility.

(From here)

So yeah, that would explain women generally not being as good at gaming than men, although it's hard to tell since there's far fewer women who play, compared to men. Ofc there's some women who are awesome at gaming, so I dunno, that probably changes the theory somewhat.

As for being accepted, I've never really not felt welcomed in any gaming communities, but maybe I havn't been to the right (or wrong) places. I'd say if a woman isn't accepted it's probably just because in that community they're a minority and we know how people can sometimes deal with minorities quite badly.

[RandiKthxxx]

I've been scared off of COD4 numerous times, but it wasn't because I had to prove myself (21-0 is good enough IMO), but it's just because those nerds (and I use the term lovingly, I'm a nerd myself) would freak out whenever they heard a girl's voice.

[RabbitWho]

Well I don't really care if I'm treated equally by the guys or not because they're usually pwned in 30 seconds.

[Adrian (123easyway)]

There is prejudice, however like most prejudice, it's wrong and funny when people fail.

[lydia]

Usually we are accepted by the guys, its the other girls that don't play video games that we get more prejudice from.

[Deleted]

hmm, I don't mind playing video games with girls. Some of my female friends play games quite often

[click3tyclick]

Girls do not play video games, they cook, they clean the house and they watch soap operas. Only the boys play video games, and that's after they come back from their football training.

Actually, there are several girls in my guild. They're all awesome players. A few of them are what you'd call 'hardcore'. I have no problem at all in playing with them.

[Joey]

I personally have no problem playing against girls. Most of the time I kick AZZ but those girls that are really into the games, well, sometimes they pwn. Its hot if a girl can beat you in video games. (lol)

[helenwk]

I've never really felt unwelcome in any game community. Maybe underestimated, but to be honest I don't really mind. Makes for a better reaction when you win. ;D

[UnfairBear]

Apr 9, 2010 8:27:25 GMT -5 lydia said:

Usually we are accepted by the guys, its the other girls that don't play video games that we get more prejudice from.

Yes, yes, yes! Girls are bitches =(

Apr 9, 2010 9:56:21 GMT -5 @click3tyclick said:

Actually, there are several girls in my guild. They're all awesome players. A few of them are what you'd call 'hardcore'. I have no problem at all in playing with them.

Something like 46% of people who play wow are girls so some of them are bound to be good... actually that reminds me of a casual guild I was in once. I was the only girl and they made a "fluffer" rank especially for me D:

[click3tyclick]

However, most of those 46% are pretty casual players. There are more core male players than core female players. And that is a fact. However, in terms of skill, I find them to be the same.

[UnfairBear]

Yeah good point.

[click3tyclick]

Also, most of the girls I play with are healers. And the few that aren't healers are some sort of caster.

Because ladies don't bash dinosaurs with a sledgehammer.

[Joey]

Gaming isnt like sports, where men are more dominate becuase their bodies are different. Gaming is all aquired skill, and men and women are capable of learning that. Boys are more interested in gameing because the industry is full of violence and fighting, which interests boys more.

[rialvestro]

Most people just don't believe girl gamers exsist and are useually fairly shocked the first time they meet a girl gamer.

I had a discussion with someone a while ago on a City of Villains team because the team was mostly female characters and someone asked "Who here is really a girl?" To which some guy replied "real girls don't play video games."

And I'll admit there was a time when I didn't believe girl gamers exsisted, at least not on a comic book based game. The first girl gamer I met told me something along the lines of "Real girls would never put a skirt on a flying super hero." and if you're a guy you really never think about that till a girl points it out to you but she does have a point. She also pointed out that "Why wouldn't a girl be interested in a universe with guys in tights?" Which I had also never thought about.

Typically though I do still feel that girl gamers are a minority as most games are targeted to boys. I use the term "minority" loosely though. I think out of all female characters about 1 out of 5 are really female players while the rest are guys.

One of the girl gamers I met had actully bought City of Heroes for her husban who ended up not liking the game and she had no interest in it at first and eventually took over the account.

[Nakor]

The "Real girls don't play video games" thing is more of just a meme now, I don't think too many people take it seriously, though they certainly used to.