Killing Like a Girl: The Invisible Girl Gamer - Research

M

McCrazieGoalz

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Okay.

So, this thread's objective is multipronged. It is an academic investigation, it is a competition entry and it seeks to satisfy my curiosity.

I am a Masters student studying Social Impact Assessment (MA SIA) at a local university. I am also a father, a husband and an avid gamer - you might have seen my other thread http://mygaming.co.za/forum/showthr...-Ethernet-Cable-amp-Laptop-(without-a-router). So, yes, I do enjoy my gaming and I do need your help.

Aside from wanting to win a new PS3 console with this thread, I would also like to do a bit of exploratory research on my hobby and the subject of my dissertation. The topic for my research for my degree is "The Social Impact of Electronic Gaming".

In my literature review, I came across an interesting reading, which gave perhaps one of the most compelling reasons why the topic of my research is so important. It speaks of girls/females as constituting a significant portion of gamers in today's world, 43% infact. Here is the link: http://65.54.113.26/Publication/190...rl-gendered-gaming-and-girl-gamers-visibility.

With this thread therefore, I would just like to find out what your impressions are of the male/female gamer ratio in the gaming community, particularly in South Africa.

Here are a few questions that I hope to get answered through this thread:
- Do you feel there are some serious female gamers out there? Why?
- Have you ever played a female gamer? How did you know?
- Are you a female gamer? If so, do you care to tell us what games you play?
- Are you a serious female gamer, i.e. how often do you play?
- Did you know you were playing a female gamer? How did you know?
- Does your mom, sister, girlfriend, spouse or aunt game?
- Do you suspect some psuedonyms to belong to girl gamers but stop wondering because chances are you would never find out and just decide that it is not a female one because girls do not do gaming anyway?
- If you are a male gamer, would you ask a female gamer out on a date?
- If you are a female gamer, have you ever been asked out on a date via the in game chat/text facility by a fellow gamer?
- Girls, when you were online (in the game) were you ever confused for a male gamer?

I am just curious.

This doesn't directly relate to my research topic, but I have always been curious. Especially after having read Bryce and Rutter's (2002) publication.

Let me know.

You could be surprised by the answers.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR RESPONSES WILL NOT BE USED FOR ANY KIND OF RESEARCH. THIS THREAD IS PURELY FOR MY PERSONAL CONSUMPTION (and to enter the competition of course).
 
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I have a sneaking suspicion that data of 43 % includes games such as farmville, Angry Birds and the like.Just from exposure to online games and lan parties I find it very hard to believe that 43% are girls.
 
mmm, I am a girl and i like playing games(pun intended)
i generally play over weekends and occasionally during the week(this depends on my general mood after work and whether i dont feel like actually studing for my LLB degree).
 
Joy-Energiser said:
I have a sneaking suspicion that data of 43 % includes games such as farmville, Angry Birds and the like.Just from exposure to online games and lan parties I find it very hard to believe that 43% are girls.
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Maybe the girls also feel that LAN's are a guy thing and thus don't participate in them. Maybe LAN's are so typically dominated by males that a female doesn't even think of going to one.

I have been to some live competitions at malls and have seen some serious female gamers kicking @$$.

And online. How do you know you are not playing a girl?
 
- Do you feel there are some serious female gamers out there? Why? There are a fair few girl clans out there
- Have you ever played a female gamer? How did you know? If you are on teamspeak you can hear if they are male or female
- Are you are female gamer? If so, do you care to tell us what games you play?I am a female gamer, but I fall under the more casual games I guess - Dungeon Defenders, Me1,2,3, Trine2, Payday:The Heist, Dungeon Siege, used to be a wow player - raid leader and officer in guilds. I play a variety of games.
- Are you a serious female gamer, i.e. how often do you play? I play about 3 hours at night during the week and over weekends up to 8 per day
- If you are a female gamer, have you ever been asked out on a date via the in game chat/text facility by a fellow gamer?Met one of my exes via IRC if that counts?
- Girls, when you were online (in the game) were you ever confused for a male gamer?My nickname confuses most people so yea - lots of laughs once they figure out I am female.

Ive been to a few lans, tend to not go simply I dont always play what they play. Also most lan's now are about how much you can leech not the gaming.
 
Hey not all ppl see the purple sig or the title :P And even then I still get msgs about how my nick confuses them. . . I have honestly given up on that - not much more I can do to make them believe I am female.
 
wyvern said:
hey not all ppl see the purple sig or the title :p and even then i still get msgs about how my nick confuses them. . . I have honestly given up on that - not much more i can do to make them believe i am female.
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WE WANT pics or its a lie :p:):D
 
Joy-Energiser said:
I have a sneaking suspicion that data of 43 % includes games such as farmville, Angry Birds and the like.Just from exposure to online games and lan parties I find it very hard to believe that 43% are girls.
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I'm certain that the stats include social games like Farmville, Angry Birds etc, as well as mobile games, Wii, etc. The definition of gaming has become much broader lately, and that 43% would be much lower if they were just talking about "core" or "hard-core" gamers only.

However, I think there are a good few female gamers around, plenty on this forum in fact. I don't think they always like to let on that they are female though because a lot of the male gamers are/act like 12 year olds.

Then you get guys like shadowfox, who like to pretend that they are girls :D

I wouldn't ask a girl gamer on a date because it would upset my wife
 
Interesting. Interesting.

That Bryce and Rutter research could be true even to South Africa.

IMO, a lot of females just don't speak openly or interact with other members of the gaming community as intensely as they would like to out of fear of some kind of retribution because gaming is supposed to be for 'boys'.

One of my friends' wife decided she is also going to start gaming. I haven't asked how far that has gone but he was saying he jams a few games with her. That was 2 years ago. Don't know now.
 
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Ironically its not the gamers that put me off to admitting I am a gamer. Its more the friends that doesnt understand the fact that I actually like to game and not just pretend to keep a bf happy.

However, I think there are a good few female gamers around, plenty on this forum in fact. I don't think they always like to let on that they are female though because a lot of the male gamers are/act like 12 year olds.

This is somewhat true altho not in the last few years. I suspect the male gamers are getting used to the fact that there are female gamers out there. If they act like a 12 yr old its easy - ./ignore :P

I have never seen gaming as just for "boys" - but then again I was a tomboy growing up and had mostly guys as friends so Ive never really thought about it like that. Its a hobby, I have a few of them, gaming just takes the biggest chunk of my time :)
 
Wyvern said:
This is somewhat true altho not in the last few years. I suspect the male gamers are getting used to the fact that there are female gamers out there. If they act like a 12 yr old its easy - ./ignore :P
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Very cool if things are changing, but I think the perception is still there, and a lot of female gamers would rather just go incognito and be able to game without worrying about it. Just what I'm assuming of course since I can't really speak from a girl gamer's perspective myself.

Other than that, I believe that guys and girls have a different taste in games, and you probably won't meet many girls on a COD server for instance.
 
matt said:
Other than that, I believe that guys and girls have a different taste in games, and you probably won't meet many girls on a COD server for instance.
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You probably have not met me then.

Times are changing. The whole "girls don't play games"stereotype comes from the fact that girls, from a young age, are given barbies and babies and make-up and toy vacuum cleaners to play with. Boys are given guns and cool stuff which makes it easier for them to fall into the gaming realm - it's not as unfamiliar.

Times are changing. I know at least five girls who play Call of Duty as I have lanned with them before. Not only this, but the new generation is told that we can do what we want and do not have to be held back by sexist stereotypes any more.

Boys definitely need to be more welcoming to us. A lot of guy gamers perceive girl gamers as Sims / Farmville gamers leading them to treat us with a lot less respect than a fellow COD guy gamer receives. I've been victim to this so many times, to the point that I've left gaming communities and looked either for girl gaming communities, or more open-minded communities.

For girls who do not enter communities as girl gamers, it's usually because gaming is considered a guy-thing, and they don't feel comfortable entering a stereotyped community.
 
powderbucket said:
You probably have not met me then.

Times are changing. The whole "girls don't play games"stereotype comes from the fact that girls, from a young age, are given barbies and babies and make-up and toy vacuum cleaners to play with. Boys are given guns and cool stuff which makes it easier for them to fall into the gaming realm - it's not as unfamiliar.

Times are changing. I know at least five girls who play Call of Duty as I have lanned with them before. Not only this, but the new generation is told that we can do what we want and do not have to be held back by sexist stereotypes any more.

Boys definitely need to be more welcoming to us. A lot of guy gamers perceive girl gamers as Sims / Farmville gamers leading them to treat us with a lot less respect than a fellow COD guy gamer receives. I've been victim to this so many times, to the point that I've left gaming communities and looked either for girl gaming communities, or more open-minded communities.

For girls who do not enter communities as girl gamers, it's usually because gaming is considered a guy-thing, and they don't feel comfortable entering a stereotyped community.
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Do you feel then that there is a need to create and promote female communities, that is, gaming communities targeted specifically at females.

I feel that this is not necessary because this will lead to the further polarization and justification of gender stereotypes.

I ask this because you say you at one time sought for "girl gaming communities".
 
McCrazieGoalz said:
Do you feel then that there is a need to create and promote female communities, that is, gaming communities targeted specifically at females.

I feel that this is not necessary because this will lead to the further polarization and justification of gender stereotypes.

I ask this because you say you at one time sought for "girl gaming communities".
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Not really, no, because I got a bit over the girl gaming communities for the very reason that they were slightly dividing. Not only this, but you had your angsty feminist gamers as well as girl gamers who thought the sun shone out of their keyholes because they were serious girl gamers.

Then I joined MyGaming and have been rather happy here (and I have been on A LOT of forums) because everyone, mostly everyone, is chilled and accepting.

So, no, there shouldn't be a promotion of girl gaming communities. Rather, there should be a promotion of respect and welcome for girl gamers into general gaming communities.
 
powderbucket said:
You probably have not met me then.

Times are changing. The whole "girls don't play games"stereotype comes from the fact that girls, from a young age, are given barbies and babies and make-up and toy vacuum cleaners to play with. Boys are given guns and cool stuff which makes it easier for them to fall into the gaming realm - it's not as unfamiliar.

Times are changing. I know at least five girls who play Call of Duty as I have lanned with them before. Not only this, but the new generation is told that we can do what we want and do not have to be held back by sexist stereotypes any more.

Boys definitely need to be more welcoming to us. A lot of guy gamers perceive girl gamers as Sims / Farmville gamers leading them to treat us with a lot less respect than a fellow COD guy gamer receives. I've been victim to this so many times, to the point that I've left gaming communities and looked either for girl gaming communities, or more open-minded communities.

For girls who do not enter communities as girl gamers, it's usually because gaming is considered a guy-thing, and they don't feel comfortable entering a stereotyped community.
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LOL, I probably haven't met you on a COD server because I play Battlefield, and that on XBox too. What I meant is that from previous discussions on the forum, it would seem that more girls prefer MMO's, etc to FPS's, and while you might meet some on eg COD servers, it probably won't be many. I'm certain there are a fair number of girls that do play those type of games, but I think they tend to appeal more to guys in general.

Aside from all that, I have always felt that it's very unfair on girls to exclude them from gaming, or to give them a hard time for being a girl or assume that they can't play just as well as the guys.

It's the same as the stereotype that gamers are all nerdy kids, or nerdy adults living in their parents basement.

The stereotypes are starting to fall away as gaming becomes more mainstream, and although a lot of people might resent the term gamer being applied to "non-core" gamers, I for one am glad.

Oh ya, one other thing that can't be easy for the girl gamers, is that if people don't mind them being girls, they probably get hit on a lot while trying to play. Does that happen much?
 
powderbucket said:
Not really, no, because I got a bit over the girl gaming communities for the very reason that they were slightly dividing. Not only this, but you had your angsty feminist gamers as well as girl gamers who thought the sun shone out of their keyholes because they were serious girl gamers.

Then I joined MyGaming and have been rather happy here (and I have been on A LOT of forums) because everyone, mostly everyone, is chilled and accepting.

So, no, there shouldn't be a promotion of girl gaming communities. Rather, there should be a promotion of respect and welcome for girl gamers into general gaming communities.
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Point taken.

I think you are right because I have seen that in the game community that I am often active in, the understanding is that we are all male.

However, there is one pseudonym that I suspect is female - lol. Hence my inclusion of such a question in the first post of this thread.

I would like to know who I am playing - but gaming communities are confidential communities therefore I respect anyone who decides not to let me know what gender they are. We join these communities for various reasons and for many disclosure jeopardizes these reasons.

For instance, if your are playing a Formular 1 game, perhaps one of your opponents is Michael Schumacher. If he tells you who he is, who knows perhaps the next thing is that you will be selling tabloid stories about how you beat him on the virtual track.
 
matt said:
It's the same as the stereotype that gamers are all nerdy kids, or nerdy adults living in their parents basement.

The stereotypes are starting to fall away as gaming becomes more mainstream, and although a lot of people might resent the term gamer being applied to "non-core" gamers, I for one am glad.

Oh ya, one other thing that can't be easy for the girl gamers, is that if people don't mind them being girls, they probably get hit on a lot while trying to play. Does that happen much?
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First of all: exactly! Girls, like guys, fall victim to this nerd stereotype as well.... Which is probably the more annoying issue than anything.

As for getting chatted-up, it does happen, but probably not as much as some think. The first time I ever walked into my varsity's gaming society I had a guy run up to me who asked me for my number, saying that he wants it before the others attack O.o

But being chat-up is a common occurrence anyway for any girl, gamer or not, to endure. We just have to walk into a club. So it isn't so much that the guy is a gamer - it's more the fact that boys will be boys, and most ladies understand this and tolerate it in their own way. If we get annoyed, we just ignore, or have our ways to developing strict friendships :p
 
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