Are Women Respected In Gaming?
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
I recently read an article in GameSpot, retweeted by HSM, about a female BioWare writer who was attacked verbally by many in the gaming community for suggesting a change in the basic controls for video games. All she said — way back in 2006, no less — was that the ability to skip through fighting as well as dialog should be factored in for those of us who get tired of the constant fighting and want to get into the story without so many distractions. This is an option in many RPG games already, for dialogue and cut scenes; why not fighting as well?
Though you might say that fighting and leveling up is the reason you play the game, if you are into RPG playing like I am, there are times when you might want to skip a non-essential fight and just get on with it. You would lose the points toward leveling up of course, for that would only be fair, but that would be your choice. They already have escape capabilities in many games like Star Ocean for example. All she was suggesting was there be a simpler method to do the same thing.
Looking at the article it became very apparent that attackers were all male. The kinds of comments they used against her, which I would never repeat let alone say to anyone, made that very clear to me. As a woman I found this attack to be not only undeserved, but offensive to me as a female gamer. Even though it was directed towards her as a part of a developer’s writing team, I think it is a part of an underlying feeling that some of the male gamers have toward women who play games as well, especially if we beat them at it.
I have experienced this first hand while playing Red Dead Redemption with a group of female and male friends. We would posse up and go into a town looking for some fun, when another group of gamers would show up and begin to swear at us and attack us. Now I know that attacking others is a part of the game; that didn’t bother me at all. I don’t care if I die a hundred times in that game, as I’m in it for the fun I get out of playing it with friends and sometimes getting a good hit on one of these attackers. When I did this a few times they began verbally attacking me personally as a woman. They used a lot of the words that were used against the woman at BioWare, and I think this shows a lack of respect for our gender in the gaming world.
My friend Estim20 said this, “You step into a multi-player game to shoot and fight, that is fine. You don’t step into one to hear males nearly sneeze insults at you for having two X chromosomes.”
It has been a long climb for women to get respect and become more than second-class citizens in this world we all inhabit. It wasn’t all that long ago that women weren’t even allowed to vote in this country, and we had to fight to get that. From the beginning of time, women have struggled to gain the respect of males in all areas of life. Multi-player console online video gaming is actually a fairly new idea in the industry; in the time since it started women have become increasingly involved in the industry though playing and also within the developing teams for the games themselves. There are now women who are CEOs of gaming development companies, even here in Home. Just like many other types of industry, we are making our mark on things. It is estimated that women now make up as much as forty-three percent of the online gaming population.
I asked a few people for their thoughts on this subject, people who have different perspectives on it. One of these was Grimm, who works as a PR rep for a company called Quantic Gaming who sponsors several professional FPS teams in games like Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty and has been an online gamer of some repute for a long time both on console games and in Home. There has been a recent influx of females in professional gaming and I wanted to see if it was any different there than in normal online play. Here is what he had to say.
Burbie52: Do you think women get respect from the males they encounter in the pro gaming arena?
Grimm: In the past it was difficult for women to gain respect and be taken seriously as gamers, but that trend has been changing in this new generation of players. In many ways because of their gender women have an advantage over men in getting sponsorship now, both because of the uniqueness of it and because of their physical looks as a marketing tool.
Burbie52: Have you seen women abused in the pro gaming circuits at all?
Grimm: Well there has always been a certain amount of trash talk associated with online gaming; it is to be expected, but it is meant to be a fun part of the experience. When it crosses the line into personal attacks, women become easy targets because of their gender. This can also be true based on race, sexual orientation and other factors. You never know who you are playing with. We here at Quantic Games, like most companies in professional gaming, have a zero tolerance policy toward any kind of trolling or hate talk; there are always consequences.
Burbie52: But you have seen this happen at times?
Grimm: Yes but more in the non professional arena than in pro gaming. Being online gives you an anonymity that some who have a bad time in real life can use to lash out at others with immunity. I will always step in when this happens if I am there and try to defend or deflect the attacks against anyone, female or otherwise. True gamers are people who look at the individuals way of playing and acting, not caring who or what they are.
Burbie52: So pro gaming doesn’t have as many issues with this type of behavior as normal online play then?
Grimm: Gaming is the great equalizer; how you act is more important than who you are. What it is to be a female gamer has been completely redefined in the past generation of gaming, and anyone who doesn’t see that is a noob. There is more control in pro gaming because no one wants to harm their chances at sponsorship or lose one they already have because of bad conduct. Even though some males act this way in online play toward female players, the silent truth is that they really want them there.
I also had the chance to talk to RayBladeX who is a professional fighting game player. He said that because fighting games are different in that they are mostly played face to face in person, this kind of conduct doesn’t really occur. Females only make up about five percent of the pro fighting game community, and they are treated well because of this and the fact it is a face to face environment.
So, just like Home, it is the anonymity that empowers these types of attacks on females and males alike. I will never understand the need for any of this kind of behavior in gaming. Aren’t we all here to have fun? Isn’t that the basic idea of what we are doing here in Home and in any online gaming arena? When people stoop to this kind of behavior the only thing they prove is that they are flawed and human like the very people that they attack, probably more so than most. We have to remember when playing an online game that it is a game, and really doesn’t mean all that much when it comes down to it. Home is a bit of an exception here, for it is much more than a game to many of its users, especially those who are disabled or home bound for any reason.
I hope that as we grow as a community of gamers within Home and without that we learn tolerance and civility toward each other in all situations. Like it has been reiterated here many times before: be kind to one another.
March 3rd, 2012 by Burbie52 | 12 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
I’ve had the exact same thing happen in RDR many times. Its come down to not using my mic anymore, i also use a male character. Same thing goes for Black ops. The minute they hear my voice everyone gangs up on me. Its stupid.
Hi Burbie. I read that article on Game Spot a week ago and both personally and professionally, all of the sick comments those guys made were completely uncalled for. As an artist, it can be stressful enough when you are trying to craft a vision for a game and it seems like some people feel they are entitled to make changes to your hard work just because they have a controller and an opinion. The women in that article was just flat out harassed and maimed for trying to come up with something a little different. They were not being forced to agree with her vision and instead of voicing their opinions intelligently, they chose to take her vision personally and immaturely attacked her simply because she was a woman.
A few years ago, a friend of mine (a girl) and I used to get together with our PSPs and DS’s and get in a few rounds on some of our favorite fighting games. We even hung out at China Town and would shop for imports, get a bubble tea and then game on the bus ride home. She was really good and in those games, we beat the hell out of each other. I remember the countless rounds of Bleach and Jump Ultimate Stars that we played. The only time I would get upset is if I messed up my combo or performed a move incorrectly. She was actually one of the best, most even fighting game matches I have ever played. Also, she was a master at Gradius and other top down and side scrolling shooters. However, I would never get mad at her for beating me in a game. In fact, I admired her skill and respected her for it.
Like anything else in life, this is a mixed bag. I know plenty of gamers that graciously accept women into their gaming groups. Also, I have met complete idiots that think just because someone is female that they can’t game.
Here’s a good example:
Seven years ago, my sister was at a party and everyone was playing a game involving Halo and alcohol. All of the guys wanted my sister to play because they thought they would get her drunk and probably try to have their way with her. Little did they know that I bought my sister an Xbox years back and I used to school her in games like Halo, Unreal Championship and Doom 3. As a result, she got really good at first person shooters. By the end of the night, she came home and left a house filled with a bunch of hung over, couldn’t hold their liquor, defeated and shamed jackasses.
The moral of this story is that people are complex and sex has nothing to do with a person’s brain nor talent. It’s true that sexism exists in this industry but it’s all in the mindset of the individual, not the sex as a whole. I’m actually thrilled that more women are gaming these days. It makes finding common ground in a complex world that much easier. At the end of the day, gaming is suppose to be fun. To all of the sexist idiots out there, keep your opinions to yourselves and keep your negative, gray cloud ideals out of our enjoyment.
Ha! Your sister is awesome! Good job at being a brother, Rinja!
This is very common in most “Boy’s Club” type communities (sadly).
With videogames, there isn’t much a woman can do as opposed to men, but it’s certain genres (like fighting, sports or FPS) that have been usually be geared toward men, so it’s usually men who are into these.
On a competitive side, nobody likes to lose, so it hurts a man more when they’ve lost to someone (whether a woman, child, or to a “cheap” tactic).
People just need to respect (and accept the idea) that someone different (gender, age, sexual orientation, religion etc) might come along and beat them at their own game.
I don’t know. Is this about women and preconceived notions or is it also about incompetent players like me. I don’t play online by the way.
When it comes to sports game I’m not very good in large part because I don’t practice and also I don’t think I’ll ever do well at pushing all those buttons partly due to age (maybe) and health.
Thank goodness some games have a manager or coach mode (PS3 The Show took it out in the exhibition mode. BOO! HISS!)and NBA 2K12. Games with this option allow allow one to basically just watch if they choose. Build your team and like a “real life” manager let the players play.
I don’t care for shooters so I have little to say about them.
However when it comes to games that have fighting scenes and a storyline, I don’t understand why there can’t be a “let the computer play” option. The player chooses weapons, etc. and hopes for the best. Kinda’ like manager/coach mode in sports. Let the player have the option.
Whether this would work online I don’t have a clue.
In sports games there’s always the option of setting the control in center and let your team do it’s thing.
As for all the male or even female hotshots who scoff at the watch or manage/coach modes in sports or fighting games, let me tell you I might be too old to play sports but I’ll bet I was a hellva’ lot better than some of you coach potatoes in real life sports. Not that I played organized sports, I liked playing with my friends. But I was indeed pretty darn good at baseball. So stuff it as to scoffing. Go ahead it in basketball though.
Bye.
Very good article!
This discussion of the difference between crap talk in good fun and open hate speech on-line is one that needs to be more widely addressed in our gaming communities. Personally i feel its time that we find a way to discourage the hate and lead by example. Time to make fun of the haters in a comedic way, maybe on you-tube??, as to show them how they are perceived and in-fact acting.
On a side note, a recent article that ran on “The Penny Arcade Report” discusses sexual harassment that went on live during a Capcom backed streaming reality show called “Cross Assault”. This is a good read. If Those were my players… they wouldn’t be my players any more.
This is why teams like Ubisoft’s all-girl pro team, the Frag Dolls, are such a big deal and it helps break down a lot of those preconceived notions. It’s a step in the right direction -- all across the board -- to break down the stereotype of who a “gamer” should be, regardless of their age, gender, or skin color.
Random fact on this article: Jared Rea was BuggieTechnica , an ex-HCM for Home. Anyone remember him?
Some people in this world shouldn’t be allowed to commentate, be put in front of a camera, or even operate one.
Keep in mind this is one bad apple out of the thousands or players, organizers and fans of this community.
I’ve got to side with Grimm on his comments. Any number of groups could have written this article. Just replace “woman” with “black,” “hispanic,” “jew,” etc. and you can find examples of ignorance lobbed by socially retarded individuals.
Leading by example goes a long way toward fixing this, but it also takes a willingness on the part of everyone involved to stand up for someone who’s treated unfairly. It’s one thing to make a single comment that crosses the line in the heat of the moment, so that’s not the problem. Reasonable people will realize that they’ve gone too far and apologize.
The real problems are people like Aris on the Capcom show, who think that their crude commentary makes them cool. Those are the people who need to be shut down and moved outside of the polite gaming community until they learn to behave. Anyone who sits by silently while someone like that operates is part of the problem, because you’re giving support through your silence.
We don’t tolerate that kind of behavior in professional sports or any other aspect of life, because it’s cruel and needless. Gaming should not be an exception to that rule.
Great article Burbie! Yes the world of gaming should be blind to race, gender, etc. I know I am not a hard-core gamer, but I do love to play and I have definitely experienced my share of prejudice or discrimination when it comes to being a girl gamer. Some of my best games are my basketball ones which are dominated by male players. It is funny when I play them online and they lose because many of them talk so much trash or send me hate messages after I beat them. On the other hand, some of them try to sweet talk me too LOL. But yes I agree, that any kind of discrimination in the world of gaming is unacceptable. We all should be able to enjoy gaming EQUALLY!
A gamer is a gamer. But chicks do rawk! My eye’s aren’t broken yet! If I just got pown by clearly a woman that loves gaming as much as I do, well that always made me feel good whether or not I lost didn’t matter. I got to play with a bad a$$ chick. Call me whatever, she’s a killer. I wanna be on her team!
LOL Godz!