Women in gaming; is it really a good idea?

Typically the complaints from the “fairer sex” come from the inability or unfamiliarity with the psychological aspect of competition in general.  I have had conversations with women who game who don’t really understand the idea of “getting in the other person’s head” to cause them to make mistakes.  This is an aspect of gaming and all competitions from the physical (think of the trash talking that happens with football players and etc…) to the more cerebral/mental (even in something as mental as chess, you will see players do things to mess with the opponents mental aspect no matter how subtle).  With computer gaming, this is simply an extension of all this and many (predominantly female but some males as well) simply can not handle this aspect of competition.  Sometimes it is just “one of those days” where someone can not deal with someone deriding them for losing in some way and I get that, everyone has those times where you just don’t want to deal with it and are instead just looking to relax but most have never gone on to make a political movement out of such experiences.

I think that this is where the primary differences lie in all this.  There are those who are better suited to handle the inherently confrontational nature that is competition then there are those who are just not able to handle it at all.  When it comes to things like first person shooters or other then the person, male or female, better be prepared because things can, and will, get rough at times.  It is part of it.  Without that aspect we would not have the concept of “games” or “sports”….

All this being said, there are some women who are very good in the industry and have shown, again and again, that they not only *can* compete, they *excel* at it.  Granted, not in anywhere near the numbers of the male side of society but then that leads to discussions on “inherent differences between the sexes” and then that leads down another set of “rabbit holes” and things degrade quickly.

Everything involves a “bell curve”…. Some women are fantastic with their perspective and their experience in gaming… Just like some men are absolutely horrible in both.  With the more recent cultural shifts, this has gotten very “interesting” and as was evidenced with G4 recently, not all who are “accomplished” in gaming are suited for all the aspects associated with it.

The issue is that they want women to get into gaming because of the inclusion agenda. Not because they want games to be good or well written. If a woman has skill and can offer something good to gaming, great. Sugoi! But, if they are adding women just to add women, then you get where we are right now in gaming. The complaining or victimizing, the changing of content to fit a narrative meaning less “sexy and objectifying” female characters and or content (but it’s ok to keep all the male stuff). It’s all frankly ruining gaming in my opinion. Why is it wrong to want to play Lara Croft in lingerie, but ok to blow people up in Call of Duty? Where does this lop sided logic come from? Well, it comes from agenda’s and activists in gaming now. And it all started with the inclusion mandates.

I have ZERO problems with women in gaming, and I want more. I love it. My old SWTOR guild leader was female and she was as much of a gamer and knowledgeable as any guy. However, I want actual women gamers who love gaming and aren’t thin skinned victims trying to change a long standing industry to fit them. Not leftist agenda driven activists who want to project their issues into games and the community. I don’t want people like Frosk in gaming, I don’t care what her gender is, people like her are just shit starters and one sided activists. People like her are NOT inclusive.

The fact is women are wired differently than men. They flock towards different things because that is how they are wired. Nothing wrong with it, men do to. So, not every single thing in life needs to be “equal” or “inclusive”. You don’t see men flocking to crochet sites, and you don’t see men protesting and wanting to be included in their groups either. So, why is it ok for one, but not the other? It’s always hypocrisy and a singular narrow minded agenda these days, and I am sick of it.

Lady gamer here. Have been since I was a toddler playing on the old AMEGA (educational games mind you). My first proper console was a second hand MegaDrive (Genesis for anyone reading this overseas). Have been gaming since.

I’m not a very competitive person and never have been so I’m fine with life simulation games. In fact, most women play life simulation games which is why there’s a lot of women that play ‘The Sims’ (it WOULD be nice of EA to actually have more content and clothes for male Sims though). Sometimes I do play action games like Assassins Creed for a change of pace. Or the LEGO games for a laugh. There’s a lot of female YouTubers I watch who play games too.

As people have pointed out, it’s them trying to force male gamers out that’s the main problem.

I do not consider it sexist to acknowledge the fact that men and women think differently, and that these differences could result in different games. The main audience for games is men, so games ought to target that audience.

that is not sexist but

the influence of women on development ought to be limited.

this is 100% sexist and what I was referring to. It’s a dangerously slippery slope to not give everyone the same opportunity. If a company or industry where the majority of the audience were females suddenly started to say we won’t hire more men, everyone on this forum would go insane and piss themselves. And while we are on this path, why stop on sex?

Should kebab restaurants limit christian or jewish employees because they are a minority in kebab consuming? Should sushi restaurants limit hiring non asians because the majority of sushi consumers are asian? Should BMW limit hiring non wealthy employees because the majority of people who drive BMW’s are wealthy?

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by SuperSoynic_Speed.