Gamer Stereotypes

One of my Gamespot acquaintances recently posted a blog entry about gamer stereotypes. So when I posted a short comment to it, a bunch of ideas and situations come back to me, which made me feel I should write about it.

There are many misconceptions about gamers in general, and about girl gamers in particular. How many can you think of? I can name a few.

All gamers are fat and lazy. Because apparently we are all couch potatoes who do nothing but order food so we can eat in the comfort of our couches while still playing whatever game we love so much. Because when you play games, you obviously have no time for sports or any other outdoors activities. Which brings us to another.

Gamers have no social life. Not unless you count tournaments as a social event, I guess, because other than that, no gamer has friends other than the people they talk to on a daily basis through Xbox Live or chat with in any MMO they play. They don't even leave their houses, right? Right.

If you play violent games, you are a violent person. That's why whenever I play a fighting game, FPS or anything that involves attacking someone else I instantly feel the urge to hurt people. And after playing GTA I must go out on murderous rampages with a chainsaw too... but not for too long, because after all, gamers never leave their couch, let alone the house!

Games for girls must all be created around cooking, fashion and makeup. Because that's all girls ever really think about, the perfect pudding, the perfect shoes to match the perfect purse, the perfect lipstick to go with the perfect eye shadow. What a small world, that of a girl.

Games for girls should all be aimed at pre-teens and teens. The gaming industry still can't come up with the "games for women" idea, but it wouldn't matter anyway, since they would still be based on cooking, fashion and makeup, probably only with more complex terminology such as pro-retinol wrinkle reducer, full-length A-line pleated skirt and king oyster mushrooms with pistachio purée.

Girls only play casual games. Right, because heaven forbid women get into something more complex than a arcade puzzle! No, no! It's just too complicated for them to attempt to survive as Master Chief, run a guild and organize raids or follow an engaging story in any RPG.

Every girl loves The Sims because of the similarities with real life. Excuse me, but what fun is there in changing virtual diapers from a screaming virtual baby? Or helping moody children with homework? Or cleaning a very messy virtual kitchen? My Sims games are all about being rich, having friends, possessing all kinds of knowledge, creating the best houses, hosting parties and making custom content. I don't need to virtually work for hours, virtually come home tired and virtually have to cook and clean.

Girls play MMOs only to socialize. Right, because we don't really play to develop our character, to participate in big fights, to sport cool equipment, to see new zones and learn about the game world. We just log on, sit in a corner and talk to other players. About cooking, fashion and makeup, of course.

As for the stereotypes I've been a target of, there haven't been many but two of them were a constant for a long time, and that is why I don't like to socialize while playing MMOs. Because when I play a game, I actually play.

This one-time incident happened in Halo 2, the first time ever I decided to play online on my own (usually I'd be on with my husband and a friend playing Juggernaut, Capture the Flag and whatnot). I logged on, joined some random match and politely said hello. Someone asked if I was a real girl. I said yes. The rest was a mix of laughing, insults, teasing and in the end being called a 10 year old boy "because you sound like one".

There were two persisting incidents during the 5-6 years I played EQ, which also carried on to other MMOs as well. It all started with the typical “Are you a real girl?”.

Male character #126547: Hi. Are you a real girl?
Me: Yeah...
Male character #126547: Wanna cyber?
Me : F*** off.
/ignore Male character #126547

What the hell? Do you just run around the zones sending random tells to female characters hoping one would be glad to get a cyber tell? My ignore list grew considerably in a very short time. And if someone inspected me, at some point my profile would have said "Yes, I'm a girl. No I'm not here to cyber anyone."

The other incident was not as shocking, but still offensive.

Male character #359812: Are you a real girl?
Me: Yes.
Male character #359812: Need help?

"Need help?" WTF... is anyone with a vagina not supposed to know their way around a game or something? It was amazing how often random people would come up and ask if I wanted plat, this armor or such weapon. It was creepy too. It's like a stranger on the street coming up to you and offering you some candy.


Here's another great example.. The screenshots to the left show the same person, on two consecutive days asking me the same question in World of Warcraft.

Now, I'm not sure what the reasoning behind this whole thing is, but I didn't want to ask anyway. I just assume this person runs around and asks every female character the exact same thing... So I guess that if I'm a girl playing an MMO, chances are I'm looking for a guy. Can't be a female character anywhere nowadays, I suppose. Either that, or I must have some sort of magnet that attracts these idiots no matter what I'm playing.

Still, it's just ridiculous that some people will spend a monthly fee to log on to a virtual world and bother everyone until they find someone who is willing to spread their virtual legs...


Another sad thing is how girl gamers can be looked at as animals in a zoo. One time, my husband, his friend and I all decided to stop at a huge arcade, the Playdium in Mississauga. I didn't see any games I liked so I pretty much spent all my time on Soul Calibur 2. I did fine until Inferno, which is one fight that completely disorients me with all the moving flames. Some guy approached and started asking me how to do this or that move, and that was cool. But by the time I turn around, there is a group of about ten guys staring with some of the most astonished faces I have ever seen, as if I had just performed a miracle or something. I guess girls also don't play fighting games, let alone be any good at them.

The sad thing is, games have been around for so long now, yet the same old stereotypes persist. But like persistent warriors armed with our faithful keyboards, mice and controllers, we still brave the furious stereotype monster and just keep on gaming.