That's "She"

AveryZoe

May 26, 2010

I have been writing articles on gaming for a few months now and I have noticed a little quirk that consistently shows up in the comments. Everyone assumes I'm a dude. The odd thing is, even with the ostensibly feminine "Amy" and "AveryZoe" in the byline, the majority of commenters can't quite seem to figure out that I don't "have a pair"--well, not literally speaking, anyway. In fact, there have even been several articles where my female condition has been clearly noted, and yet when I read the comments, "he" inevitably pops out at me. Why is this? Well, it's because girls don't know anything about video games and therefore could not possibly write an article about them.

GamerGirlSide (26K) That seems to be what the average reader thinks, anyway. I know a lot of people don't bother checking a byline, but what makes you so sure that it's a senor and not a senorita writing that article? Gamergirls are really not that rare, and most of us are capable of putting words together to form a sentence--paragraph's even! I read gaming articles and forums, etc. and I find it is quite common to see "What!?! I thought you were a guy!" This is due mostly to two factors: first, of course, is the prevalent assumption that girls don't know anything about video games. The second factor is a little less immediately clear: bored teenaged boys. Let me explain. There is apparently a large number of bored teenaged (mind, body, or both--doesn't matter which) males who find it quite hilarious to pretend to be girls.

These horny teen boys with absolutely nothing better to do (really! they got nothing!) spend all sorts of fun times pretending to be hot, sexy girls who really want nothing else but to play online games with lonely gamer guys. All sorts of mildly off-color to horrendously offensive comments often follow any mention of girls who game. What this has done in the long run is make anyone claiming to be a Gamergirl automatically suspect. At the same time, it makes the real Girlgamers much less likely to reveal their girlpower, lest they be immediately sucked into the swirling cesspool of offensive (and worse--not funny) comments that often follows such an admission.

So now what? Are we forever lost in an eternally gender-exclusive community of online gamers? Must we girl gamers hide our female awesomeness and hold our tongues (keyboards) each time comments hopelessly deteriorate into tee-hee boys room discussions? In a word or two--heck, no! We girlgamers are tough--we have to be if we've dealt with it this long and still stick around. And, you know what? There is a significant amount of gamer guys who are not immature and/or stupid. So it's time to step up, girls. Own your Gamergirl badge, and help make the online gaming community a more interesting one. Gamerguys, you need to man up as well. Don't automatically assume it's another dude you're talking to and please don't assume that anyone claiming to be a girl wants to hear about your "joystick" (we really don't). Different viewpoints bring change, and change often makes things better for the community as a whole.

I am a girl--but I am not now, nor will I ever be, your girl. I am a gamer--and a good one too--so don't be bringing none of your clever (not really) little Barbie Online comments into my house. I am a Mom, but I'm not your Mom, pal, so enough with the "fetch me a beer" and "bake me a pie" comments (so not funny). I am not ashamed to be a girl--better than the alternative, amirite? (Sorry, guys.) So the next time you want to leave a comment about my article, my intelligence, or my Mama--just remember one thing for me: that's "she" and not "he."

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