You may be aware of Gamergate – that social booby trap currently disguising itself as a serious debate – or you may not be. The important thing you need to know about it is this; various women who are involved in the gaming industry on various levels have been made to feel threatened, intimidated and unsafe because of their gender. This isn’t just an issue that affects women. This is an issue that concerns anyone who might want to enjoy one of the world’s most popular hobbies without having to worry about the politics of their body.
With all this bad press going around it’s no wonder some people are starting to feel nervous about identifying as a “Gamer”, and even more so when it comes to using the dreaded “Girl Gamer” tag. What I want to suggest is that these terms are part of the problem; they’re not useful and they never have been. The title “Gamer” seems to imply, rather oddly, that there is a special way of appreciating games that makes them different from other forms of media. When you add to this the supposed existence of “Girl Gamers” you start to claim there are also gendered ways of experiencing games, creating this doubled sense of “otherness” that is specific to the games industry.
If it’s true that I am a “Girl Gamer”, and my experiences of games are somehow different to other players whose nipples don’t serve a biological purpose, then am I also a “Girl Movier” a “Girl Musicer” and a “Girl Reader”? No, I’m not – because my gender does nothing to change how I experience and appreciate different forms of entertainment. Not to mention this gendered way of identifying “Gamers” only seems to flow one way. I have never once heard any of the following remarked to my male friends: “Oh, so would you say you’re a Boy Gamer?”, “wow, that’s so cool! I’ve never met a Boy Gamer before”, “you’re pretty good at this game for a boy!”
What’s with “girl” anyway? If I’m anything at all I’m a “Woman Gamer”. I didn’t go through the emotional-rollercoaster-come-biological-horror-movie that is puberty to be called “Girl”. This kind of infantalization that video game fans continue to impose on themselves is a contributing factor to why some women struggle to be taken seriously within the industry.
Thankfully, I have found that most of my female friends have had overwhelmingly positive experiences with games and the wider gaming community. I have never encountered any of the negative kinds of experiences reported by women like Felicia Day and Zoe Quinn – nor do I believe that these stories are representative of the gaming community on the whole. However, I do feel that by doing away with the idea of “Girl Gamers”, and with it the rather absurd idea that there is some secondary splinter-group of incendiary female gaming enthusiasts, would do wonders for ensuring the next generation of fans experience games in a more equal and unprejudiced way.
I personally do not choose to identify as a “Girl Gamer”, partly because it acknowledges a difference between me and other players, and partly because it’s just kind of tacky. The words “Girl Gamer” seem more at home printed on the front of a cheap, sweat-shop made t-shirt than they do within my understanding of who I am and what I have to offer. This is not about being ashamed of your gender or afraid of how people will respond to it, it’s about respecting yourself enough to not let your gender define you. If you really think the most interesting thing about you or anyone else is their ability to press multi-colored buttons on a plastic controller while in possession of a uterus then you really need to think about expanding your horizons. I don’t know, maybe go inter-railing or something.
Anna Turner
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