Normalizing "Gamer Girls"

My fingers begin cramping, and my grip tightens with each press of the buttons on my controller. My heart is racing as the game comes to a close with only ten players left until I become victorious. I feel every vibration as I am immersed in the game, all its glory, annoying overpowered weapons, as I move around the map as my character, momentarily forgetting it is not me and just an extension of myself performed by AI. 

Experience

Many of you have probably experienced this feeling too while playing video games. I do not understand why social distinctions such as gender become relevant if we all share the same simultaneous anger and joy for video games. I am what the gaming community would refer to as a “Gamer Girl,” which half would probably cringe about while the other half probably would place on this pedestal that other women should strive to be. You may assume that this would be a positive label for women, but, in my experience, the opposite has been true. This label encourages division within gaming by forcing all women in this role to fit a certain stereotype. Instead of everyone being a player in the game, women are oftentimes put in a distinct category that reinforces the distinction of sex. 

Case in point

With it being 2022, I did not realize that picking up a controller would elicit such attention. My experience with gaming was great until I had to make changes to carve a space out for myself where I felt accepted. The process entailed changing my settings to preserve not my identity per se but my gender. I feel like utilizing a mic or allowing people to add me is placing me in a position to be judged (although these are aspects of gaming). There have been numerous people that I have played with that have not treated me differently (Meaning they did not care who I was or how I identified because we were playing a game.). But, the vast majority of women who game are bombarded with questions and or treated differently by men with who they play. Importantly, not every woman will share this view, and not all men do this. However, I speak for the many women who have felt ostracized for trying to be part of a community regarded as being predominantly male. This may not be your intention when you attach this label to someone while joking with your friends, or maybe it is. However, if it’s not, know that you can play a role in changing the course of women’s gaming by understanding this word’s potential negative ramifications. 

Moving Forward

I do not think we should eliminate this word from our vocabulary. Some successful women have built a platform off of this idea of being a “Gamer Girl.” They have overcome negativity and have embraced this space by making it their own. I’m more so encouraging us as a society to understand how these sorts of labels can perpetuate stereotypes and negative attitudes towards women in the gaming community. The term may not always be used in this context, but when it is, it’s important to understand that it can be hurtful and make women feel as though they should not be partaking in these activities. Having awareness of the issue at hand can be beneficial to numerous groups of people. Knowing how to approach these loaded words can be the stepping stone for bringing about a lasting change within the gaming community. A community where women feel accepted and women gamers are normalized. After all, if we succeed together, those distinctions shouldn’t matter. 

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