Girl Gamers

@ButterflyBuddy

I guess the taboo is based around what everything is always based around, women sadly being seen as inferior and incapable but we all know, they can do anything they put their minds to 🥰

I think a lot of the taboo comes from two aspects.

1. Games historically were a boys toy. Things like gameboy were called that because they aimed at that demographic.

2. When a game appeals to girls it doesn't often say it outright. But when a game appeals to boys it is very explicit.

3. Online games as a girl leads to online harassment

I think those 3 factors are the main ones.

The historical one is self descriptive. Games became a thing in a world where in many countries it would be seen as a waste of time for girls to play with anything other than dolls and cooking supplies. And that same historical background has still stuck through a bit.

The game appeal one is mainly directed at how many games that have a heavy girl or women demographic do not explicitly market towards girls. Think of things like candy crush that are much more popular with girls. There's little to no focus on making it more appealing to girls in marketing. But games that are popular with boys are much more explicit like games with soldiers or sexual themes.

Lastly there is a real issue with online gaming and anonymous platforms in general and girls getting harassed. Less girls will be outspoken about being gamers because even saying a word could get us yelled at. Leading to less representation.

The gaming space is notorious for its toxicity. Large portions of the community tend to marginalize women (and others) by gatekeeping "their" hobby. Gaming culture unfortunately contains a lot of doodoo heads who aren't afraid to harass or abuse communities they don't like so they can keep gaming to themselves.

Additionally, women are regularly pushed out of the community for speaking out against harassment and abuse (Anita Sarkeesian's story comes to mind immediately).

Unfortunately the same sort of mentality exists in game studios too. It can be very difficult for women to work in gaming, or even get their ideas made.

I think it's better than when I was younger, but that mentality is still really prevalent in the gaming community. It's gross, and I hate it.

@ButterflyBuddy Girls playing games is definitely not a bad thing! My sister plays online games too🥰, and I actually think it's pretty interesting😁. What’s even more interesting is how many girls are raised with that 'doll-house' mentality😔, so when they break out of it and enjoy gaming or other 'non-traditional' activities, it shows how diverse interests can be! Gaming isn’t just for boys, and it’s cool seeing more girls getting into it🥰.

@ButterflyBuddy

I mean, women have faced harassment in almost every other field so im not surprised at the backlash women in gaming get. I think many men have a complex that they dont like if women intrude on something thats "theirs". Not all men ofc but some men do feel that way. They think of gaming as exclusively reserved for men and some kind of brotherhood. and when women come along they feel like they are intruding when thats not the case at all.