Girls and Games

Margot Gonzales, staff writer

 

Halo, Doom, Grand Turismo, Quake, WarDevil.  If any girl can tell me what those are, I shouldn't be impressed, but I would be.

The gender gap in the world of gamers is huge.  Though it was much worse years ago, there are still doubts when it comes to females playing video games.  I’ve seen few girls who are proud to pick up a game control in front of a guy, and it is probably about time to change that.

I've had boys laugh at me for even making an attempt at Halo and not playing a game such as like Dance Dance Revolution. More and more girls are putting up their makeup and bringing out their old Segas and Nintendos.

I walked into Lan Force last summer and I remember counting on one hand the number of girls there actually playing games.  I thought that maybe some who were there watching might have wanted to play, but were too scared to seem "nerdy."

I never understood the negative aspect of being a girl, and a gamer.  Perhaps if playing video games made you ugly or fat, that would have to be the reason girls don’t play, or shouldn’t play.

The only time we find it ok for girls to play video games is when it involves other girls.  For instance, Dance Dance Revolution is an ok game for girls because you dance, and there isn’t gunplay.   Believe me when I say, I’m aware that boys play the game too, but it is one of the few that fully accepts female players. 

I understand that, but not completely, and only because that still causes room for separation.  Maybe it all begins at birth, and perhaps it is all pre-planned. 

If parents are blessed with a baby girl, then she is to like dolls and tea sets. If you have a baby boy, then he is to play baseball and video games.

Would it be so incredibly terrible to switch roles?  If this is right, then I must have been raised completely wrong. 

I’ve spent the past few days thinking it over, and maybe I want to make it an issue that girls aren’t acknowledged in the gamer world.  Are any other girls affected by the lack of recognition?

I’m sure there are plenty of other girls who play video games, and do it in secret. They don’t mind that no one acknowledges their skill.  At the end of this I’m going to wonder who I want to read this more, boys or girls? 

Last night, I played Halo online, and during online Halo you can meet some pretty interesting people who already have one common interest.  The sad conclusion to the night was that every person I met thought I was a guy.

They didn’t even bother to ask.  I guess when stuff like that happens, it causes me to write articles like this.  By no means does writing this article make me seem anymore interesting. But I just thought others should know that we should change that gender gap.

Perhaps in years to come the gamer world will be balanced, and not only will the prissy dance games be for the girls, but the mutant blood shed battled games will be for girls too.