What It Means and Takes to Be a Female Gamer

Being a female gamer in a generally male dominated hobby is definitely an art form. To be a female gamer requires some serious skill and an ability to overlook ignorance. I have been a female gamer for quite some time now, and I know all too well what is required to be a female gamer. As soon as the male players find out you are a female, the exchange of remarks begins. Men start with everything from the inappropriate remarks, to just plain attacking you for being a woman. Men still can't handle a woman being a gamer as well. They think as soon as a female enters the game, it automatically gives them the right to act like a pig.

To be a female gamer, you must be prepared for an onslaught of remarks; from the vulgar to the just straight up offensive. In being a female in a male dominated culture, they automatically assume you’re a boy going through puberty. Being ready for the harassment is one of the best skills a female can possess in her arsenal. One must be prepared to be kicked from several games, or have players leave the game. To survive as a female gamer, you must be confident in yourself, your skills, have thick skin, and be fearless.

Most men assume just because I am a female, I will just back down and assume my position on the totem pole. However, I make a point to have these men understand that despite my sex, I can hang with the boys. Insult me, act vulgar, do whatever you may want, it just fuels me to do better. I don't hesitate to come right back at the guys as hard, if not harder, then they come out at me. Through these tactics a female can become a successful and respected gamer amongst most male gamers. In addition, you can't be afraid to speak your mind, you need to be willing to stand up for yourself. Taking things too personally will not get you anywhere in the gaming society.

Granted not all male gamers are such pigs. However, the general majority of them are. On my journey I have met a few respectable male gamers. Much like female gamers are hard to find, males who will respect you are just as hard, if not harder to find. It goes back to the whole “find the needle in the haystack” saying.

Are Todays Young Women Sending The Wrong Messages

I'm 21 years old, graduated early in 2006, and when I was a freshman, the girls my age were already dressing relatively provocative. As I progressed throughout my high school career, I noticed how instead of the girls’ skirts getting shorter as they got older, their skirts got shorter as they got younger. These girls are no older than 15 or 16 years old, yet they dress more proactively then myself or some of the more girly girls that I know. To me, this makes no sense. How can it be that a girl who is 5 or 6 years younger than myself and my friends be dressing in such a manner?

Young women want to grow up so quickly, and want to be more appealing to the older males, however, most of the young girls don't understand the danger in dressing the way they do. In addition to the short skirts, these girls where shirts that practically expose their whole entire chest on and pile of so much make you wonder if they need a spatula to take all that off. In dressing this way and caking on the makeup, they are making themselves appear much older than their age and creating an unsafe situation. However, about 85% of the time these girls are nowhere near being of legal age. Now, both parties are extremely vulnerable for repercussions. When an older male sees young women dressed in such a manner, and with so much makeup on, he will assume she is of legal age and pursue her. In the girl’s desire to be older, and have more attention, she will lie to the guy and allow him to believe she is in fact older then her fragile age. The male, if he so chooses to engage in intimate activity with these young women, can face charges of statutory rape if she tells someone or someone accidentally finds out. Now his life is ruined, he faces jail time, loses his job, automatically gets seen as a sex offender, and will lose everything he has worked for in his life. Whether the intimate activities were consensual or not, the judicial system won't care either way. Due to the age difference, he is automatically at fault. As for this young woman she is putting her life, her youth, and her innocence, in serious jeopardy. Say she finds an attractive male, and he begins to flirt with her, then the flirting progresses to more. When these girls choose to dress and act in such a manner, they put themselves as well as their potential partner at risk.

No matter how ready they might think they are, most girls at this age are not ready to be engaging in such activity. Due to this girl’s extreme desire to be older, she just may be forced to be older then she had wanted, and way before she was ready to be. This young girl is alone with the male partner, as things progress she realizes she isn’t ready, but with most men, once you start that engine it’s not as easy as removing a key to stop it. This guy is revved up and rearing to go, while the girl is finally understanding the consequences of her actions, but she has no way to fix it. If that guy wants her he will most likely get what he wants, leaving the girl alone in the room to deal with the ordeal that has just ensued. These girls want to grow up so fast and yet they don't understand how quickly this behavior may force them to grow up. Now, instead of thinking about boys, shopping, make-up, the mall, and all the other things young girls are interested in, these young women are haunted daily by the horrors they went through that night. Granted, I am not saying these young women deserve to be taken advantage of, or anything along those lines, but they do need to take responsibility for their part in the situation and understand the dire consequences to their actions.

In situations where the girls are dressed so age inappropriately, people always look to blame the parents, and yes I too am guilty of such an accusation. While there are times when the parents are to blame, most times they aren't at fault. These girls have made an art of tricking their parents, they have taken the whole “wear one outfit around their parents and change their clothes once out of parental supervision” and turned it into an art form. These young women have become phenomenal actresses in their own right. Most of these girls lead their parents to believe they are still their babies and would never dream of behaving or dressing in such a manner. With the way our society is these days, most parents work full time jobs, sometimes even two jobs, and don't have the time to pay attention to the little details or see the signs of their daughter’s dangerous behavior. I understand a busy schedule all too well, but I also understand that your children are your life, and any parent would be devastated if anything were to happen to their daughters.

Growth of the Video Game Culture

Video games and gamers have become a complex culture of their own within our society. They are no longer just "nerds," sitting in front of a television all day. Gamers are more diverse amongst their society. Yes, the nerds still head the top of the gamer pyramid. However, with technological advancements, game variety and game quality, many people have joined the ranks of the gamers. You have your a typical jocks, to your nerds, your rockers, and even quite a few women have joined the ranks. With introductions such as Xbox Live, it's no wonder what was once reserved for the nerds has now grown to a vast, complex culture, which connects people from all walks of life and countries all over the world. It is no longer a hush hush thing to be a gamer. Now people wear that title with pride.

The gaming industry has paved an amazing path for itself. They have games for every type of person; no matter what age, what you're into, or where you're from. While the Wii system lacks on any truly astonishing graphics, they are perfect for an escape; from your everyday workout with the Wii Fit. They are also a fantastic party, or family system to have. Systems such as the XBOX 360 and the PS3 are geared more towards the serious gamer and the college age gamers. With their spectacular graphics, their ability to connect and talk to people all over the world, and their multi-functioning consoles they offer more than just a video game system; they offer the complete entertainment package. When Xbox Live was introduced to the gamer society, it opened up a world of limitless possibilities; including the ability to connect, communicate, and play with fellow gamers from all around the globe. In addition to Live, the 360 offers the capabilities to watch Netflix, play games with your own customizable avatar, win rewards for your avatar, download full games to your hard drive, download/upload music, photos, and TV shows as well as movies directly from your PC. The PS3 not only offers stunning graphics, but it too has an online capability and offers most of the same capabilities as the 360 minus Netflix. In addition to this, the PS3 offers the ability to browse the internet and watch blu-rays. With all these new advancements in the systems it's no wonder the culture of gamers has grown so vastly.

Looking back even a few years ago, generally people only thought of gamers as nerds who sat in their house in front of a TV for hours and never really socialized, however, that outlook has changed. Being a part of the gamer culture in today’s modern society signifies your place in society's totem pole. Now, being a gamer suddenly makes you cool and more appealing. It used to be extremely rare to find a female gamer, while yes they are still harder to find, there are several gamer chicks out there.

These female gamers possess phenomenal skills and can defeat most guys in tournaments. Several of these amazing women belong to clans that are known by most, if not all, gamers. Some of these elite clans include the Frag Dolls and the Gamerchix. Men have their own elite clans as well, however due to the fact that it's a male dominated culture, male clans don't stand out. Being a part of a serious clan is almost like being in the military. You have your clan leader and the clan members are the fellow soldiers. Serious clans are run like a very well oiled machine, everyone works together towards one objective. With this growth in gamers, and tournaments offer them a way to turn their passion into cash. Major League Gaming is a complex, still relatively underground, society of serious, skilled, and passionate gamers who love to game. Tournaments offer gamers an amazing opportunity to turn their passion into a money making niche. I've seen people win as much as $100,000 from one tournament alone. Through clans and tournaments, gaming is no longer a useless hobby. it can now be turned into a job, while allowing them to learn teamwork as well.