Although gaming is for everyone, there are often difficulties that are faced in the games themselves as well as the different perspectives that other people have.
It is well known amongst the gaming community that most of the consumers are predominantly male. Yet there is an increase in the number of females who are now picking up the hobby. With this brings a whole new experience to the games and lobbies that are being played in. Not all of it is good sadly, as more people join in the gaming community and as we see more females and more female streamers emerge there is a bit of controversy amongst everyone on female gamers.
Sophia Gioldasis announces what it is like for her when she plays video games. “ When I play video games I just mainly do it for the fun. I love joining in games with my boyfriend and playing with his friends. We always get extremely competitive and he always states that there are not enough gamer girls that are willing to play intense games. I remember this one time in particular where I was in a game lobby and was the only female and this guy started cursing me out because he got beat by me saying things like, go to the kitchen and cook me food as well as saying I should just stay home. I definitely think it is weird how people sexualize the girls and also how they oversexualize the aesthetic that we are “supposed” to have. Not all girls simply play little kid games and not all of us are all cutesy. Another thing is the fact that they almost always believe they are the superior gamer, and they also think that it is to impress a boy, but I just really enjoy playing the game.”
Georgia McMahon, another female gamer who is active in the community says “when I game with the boys they are often surprised at how I can keep up with them. Most of the time the boys are pretty nice depending on the game and how intense it is. A lot of guys I have played with say that they go easier when there is a woman in the game because they don’t want to make us feel bad, but that defeats the purpose of challenging us. Another thing is the fact that boys in the games are just very toxic and seem to always say things about our gender. Or even try to hit on me while I game. They ask about my body as well as what they think I’m actually like, and try to trick me into making noises on the mics. I have a very feminine voice and when I stream I try to hide my body as much as I can because I always get sexual comments about my body and what is in the frame. However every once in a while I will meet a group of guys who are open and willing to play with me regardless of how good I am. That to me is a great feeling because it challenges me and makes me feel like an equal.”
Gaming has not only opened up a world for both genders to prove themselves, but also a place where we see the sexist part of the community.
ow that more female gamers are coming into view, there has been a decrease in the way that women are viewed in the gaming industry.
Thankfully more and more people are becoming open-minded to the idea that girls are just as good as everyone else who is a gamer.
