Gaming Girls

Girl or Boy gamer???

Through the medium of online gaming, gender can be easily disguised opposed to LAN events.I propose that females can play games amongst other male players and go undetected. Being a female does not necessarily mean you are bad at gaming. I would even go as far as suggesting some female players are better than male players. Through the anonymity of the internet and gaming websites, females have the capability to play games without being discriminated against by male players.

Through online gaming you don’t have to disclose personal information to other gamers therefore they do not need to know your gender and if you play well enough they will most probably assume you are a male. You are unable to see who you are playing against unless you have a web cam or a microphone therefore you can disguise yourself within cyberspace. With the option of female and male characters you can chose who you wish to play as. Playing as a female character does not mean that you are a female gamer. I am certain many males play as female characters because some are hypersexualized and sexy. This can also explain why these characters are chosen as personal characters/avatars. Elena Bertozzi discusses how using a female character can often lead to sexual innuendo to particular physical aspects of the female body. This although does not mean a female cannot play an online game it just means choosing a female character comes with its challenges.

I suggest the problem with cross gender gaming is not in online gaming sites, it is through LAN's. Here you can see who you are up against thus creating the challenge. No male wants to be defeated by a female player as they will be mocked by their friends. They will also lose a part of their masculinity as they have been conquered by a girl. Although if the female wins she also gets discriminated and is seen as less feminine and is no longer 'sexy'. Bertozzi discusses how females choose to be sexually attractive to males therefore they do not like to challenge them to games in case they win. I propose this is only valid when you can see who you are playing against. When you play online it doesn't matter how many guys a girl defeats as it is not like you are ever going to meet them.