A little while ago I saw something in a game that pissed me off.
“First female player to reach level cap,” it read.
Seriously? There’s no mechanical difference between female and male characters! I know that in real life when people talk about gender equality, others raise the spectre of physical differences (men are generally bigger and stronger.) This is legitimate if things like sports are being discussed.
But what’s the point of saying “first female player to do X?” That just suggests that somehow women are inferior at gaming and need their own category of achievements. As gaming is a mental exercise, let me say that I am unhappy with what that implies.
Comments (8)
Oh, agreed. I can’t believe this whole “girls and games” issue is even still AROUND. Let the best player win, period.
I feel the same way when I see comments like that.
Things like that set the gaming industry back three or four steps every time. For example, the fact that Major League Gaming competitions are segregated by gender really prevents non-gaming women from becoming more interested in video games in general. If the women competed with and against men, it would bring so much more exposure to female gamers which in turn would probably inspire other women to jump in.
people just like to separate things into catagories. my girl friends have all well my close ones have all kind of been into more male oriented things… like gaming violent movies that type of thing. i’m more of the typical girly girl as far as those things go. i think everyone just has their own variability when it comes to girl/boy orientation. although that’s not really what you were talking about… guess i went off on my own thoughts there. sorry.
In my old World of Warcraft guild, our second best healer and best hunter were both females. I once had the audacity to challenge one of them in a “who has beaten more video games” verbal contest. I got my ass kicked. Since then I have never doubted female gamers. Ever.
63 wins vs 3 wins over the span of 4 hrs in tetris attack…63 lost was enough to convince me gender doesn’t matter when it comes to video game…
Well, I don’t know. Some games, yes, are a mental exercise. But say, for example, World of Warcraft… I don’t think I’d classify that as an exercise of anything but utter patience, laziness, and perseverance toward a goal that extremely doesn’t matter.
MMO’s… Ideologically I am not a fan.
Using a game controller takes no more strength or agility than peeling a banana. If as many girls played games as guys, there would be no issue at all. The fact that guys outnumber girls in the gaming world, especially online games, there are going to be more “milestones” like it or not. Life is like that, if not a lot of a type of person does something, they get announced when they do. i.e. Margaret Thatcher was the first woman Prime Minister of England; Barack Obama is the first black President of the US.