RANT: I'm a female gamer

Video games: a virtual escape from reality that at one time, held the interests of only males, whatever their age. Today, in the 21st century, times are beginning to change; a new audience is starting to take interest in games that were once "a man’s game". Yes, I'm talking about females, and no, we don't all play games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Kill Zone, etc. just in an attempt to get guys to want to date us, and no, not all of us are ugly, and no, we don't enjoy getting asked if we're hot or not.


Is that why men play video games? Because of similar misconceptions? Whether or not the rest of the online gaming world will accept or not was probably the reason why I felt nervous to let people know I was a female. In fact, the very first game I played with a friend, I was called a faggot because of my psn: applez19. It didn’t even cross the other player's mind that I was a female, until my friend spoke up and said “umm, applez is a girl...” The player went completely silent. I laughed it off, but from then on, I knew what to expect when getting into a lobby. Most of the encounters I’ve had with other online gamers have been laughable, but sometimes it does get to be too much. For example, ladies, there is absolutely NO need to get upset with your boyfriend when he has a female gaming friend who lives in a completely different country, thousands of miles away. You just look stupid; WE ARE NOT TRYING TO STEAL YOUR MAN!

What I'd personally like to know is when the rule was established that females couldn't play these types of games. When did it become a man’s game? And why is it so hard to believe that all of the “little boys that sound like they haven't hit puberty yet" might not be boys, but might be girls? If Toru Iwatani could wrap his head around the fact that females enjoyed Pac Man, a game he invented in the 80's that had no specific gender attached to it, then why do people today, in 2012, have such a hard time accepting it?

The truth is, we girls are here to game just like every other male who spends his weekends and nights playing video games, trying to get the highest score, and attempting to improve his KD ratio improved amongst online friends. Times are changing and females are enjoying games like MW3, Skyrim, Kill Zone, and many other similar games.
Let’s get over the stereotype that females either don’t play games, only play games that were specifically made for the female audience, and, most importantly, WE ARE NOT ALL ATTENTION SEEKERS. I can’t speak for every female gamer out there, but personally, I play because it’s something I enjoy doing for me, not for anyone else.

Jodi B.