Another new blogger. Welcome!

Welcome, Maggie!

Hello to the new person!

So I guess I have my own question: Why is that?

Maybe in the gaming context girls or women act differently than in other, typically male dominated context.

Possibly, in those other contexts, people are more mature. I don't remember ever seeing obscene latex action figures with ginormous breasts based on prominent women in military history, but if there is a girl in a video game, someone in Japan is already working on the mold.

Either way, you've made my brain hurt.

Welcome!

"But even though one of my primary academic interests is in an extremely male dominated sub-field (military history)"

Welcome, you've already starded good from just showing your good taste heheheh. XD

Gamers have guilt. If you've played around with the camera angles on Tomb Raider 1, you know what I'm talking about.

Hello Maggie.

Personally, girls shouldn't make such a big deal about "being different". Every gaming event I went to I'm alienated usually cause I'm female. It sucks. I want to close the gap between us not widen it!

Nice to have you on board. :)

a magpie amongst teh pigeons...welcome stranger

@Scuba Steve: I still couldn't get that Lara Croft upskirt shot...maybe cause she was wearing shorts?

why do women keep segregating themselves in the game industry...?

i treat them as equals...maybe i should start treating them like women.

lol girls dont use the intarweb

hi maggie...looking forward to reading your articles.

as for the downside of being a gamer and a girl....the fact that i can't seem to find any other girls to play games with. *sniff* seriously, I'm sick of being the only person in my group who owns a console.

Its because games are usually based on the "manly" concept of violence and destruction of some sort or another. Girls are encouraged to speak out on the behalf of girl gamers so they don't feel weird for enjoying a hobby that is socially viewed as being male. If men started to invade the Barbie pony scene they might look for a similar voice among fellow advocates.

No...no, *I'm* Maggie, the video game playing girl!
*sob*
*personality crisis*

For those women that complain about it being tough as a female in a mostly male dominated hobby, guys have to go so the same type of thing too...it's just worse. You should try being male and then applying for a job as a Hooters server or a Victoria's Secret model.

My grammar is horrible but someone explain this to me:

"Is Feminine an Advantage?"

That sentence is making my head spin. Is feminine a noun or is a word missing or something?

Welcome to Kotaku, Maggie! We don't mind that you have boobs.

@anglon:

It's not that simple. Take any game industry convention, and you will undoubtedly find scantly clad women, who more than likely don't know a PS3 from a NES, handing out flyers and trying to draw a crowd to whichever booth or company paid them to be there.

But can anyone ever remember seeing, or even hearing about, male models doing the same thing?

The industry screams equality, while pushing out mainly testoteron centered games and advertising largely to the male audiance.

When they do pay attention to the female fans, we are treated like a Special Ed class. The simple happy-happy-smile-the-world-is-a-wonderful-place games are just about the only games advertaised towards us as a market.

I love Nintendo, but even they are guilty of it. Next time a Wii commercial comes on, pay attention to who is playing what games. There may be females in the room, but if they ever touch the control it's to play Wii Sports, Wii Play, or Wario Ware. When games like Zelda, or Metroid, or even Mario are on the screen, the girls just sit back and watch the men play.

Girls gamers are being treated very much like a father/daughter relationship after a devorce. We've always been around, but suddenly the industry is forced to pay attention to us and have no idea how to respond.

@EmeraldDragon:

Honestly, I wouldn't mind me treated like a guy. We're in mostly male territory. I don't care if they acknowledge me or not.

@EmeraldDragon: "But can anyone ever remember seeing, or even hearing about, male models doing the same thing?"
Distressingly, yes. The N-Gage used them at the last E3 if memory serves... and oh how I wish it didn't.

And yes, being a female gamer is most definitely an advantage, if of course one can easily shake off mental trauma. Greasy faced cellar-dwellers in game stores looking bored and trying to be superior - "Running an errand are we?" "Um, no, this is for me...", then he blushes, sweats, stutters "Ohhh ummmm... have a discount..... PLEASE MARRY ME!!"
And of course in MMOs, I can't count the amount of times I've been given epic gear for a promise of a webcam strip show. Of course it never happens, but they've usually exploded at that point anyway. It is however distressing that females are always treated as weak in teams, constantly being asked "Do you need help? ^^" by over eager guild mates. This is why PvP servers are such fun >: )

Welcome, new person!

:O An article written by Jane Pinckard! How I miss her on 1up show :(

And her band's awesome D:

@anglon:

Not all females are treated like it's a normal thing to see women in online gaming servers. So while you are treating people the same, it's still _so_ weird for some people.

It's easy to get attention as a woman, but sometimes it's a little tougher to be taken seriously.

Nice article Maggie! I think the reason why people want you to speak for womankind is because you write rather well. Plus, there isn't nearly as many women as there are of men in professional industry positions in relation to video games.

Keep up the awesome!

If you're hot, then you've got a job at G4 waiting for you...

Seriously, outside of Morgan Webb and Blair Butler, who actually know what they're talking about and are very good at presenting it, I can't think of a single female host on G4 who didn't get the job based almost entirely on their looks.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if this was common across the industry. Sad, but not that unexpected.

I'm hoping the next girl I meet will be a gamer - and not play just The Sims or Bejewled. I just want someone who doesn't look down on my hobby, and can challenge me to a game of Soul Calibur, Mario Kart, or hop on and play some Gears of War, Crackdown, or Battlefield with me. Is that asking too much?

When games like Zelda, or Metroid, or even Mario are on the screen, the girls just sit back and watch the men play.

Actually, the default video that plays when you go to the official Super Paper Mario site shows both a boy and a girl playing. Curiously, however, the shots in which the girl holds the controller are only shown in conjunction with Princess Peach on screen as the playable character. If Mario or Bowser are the ones in action, then the cutaway shot to the children always shows the controller in the boy's hands. It's sort of disgusting. Why should Nintendo be reinforcing such tripe?

@TheRockingDead:

No, not really. They are out there. It depends on what age group you fall into. The women my age grew up either owning a NES or they had a brother that did. Everyone owned a NES back then. Maybe I just have a group of friend (guys and girls) that all like to play video games. That's more likely the case.

@TheresaP:
It's easy to get attention as a woman, but sometimes it's a little tougher to be taken seriously.

I totally agree with that. I've worked in the video game industry for 8 months and that has been my exact experience. It's really such an uphill battle...

I have to add I'm also offended by the general assumption that, as a girl, I only play games that involve ponies and mini-games and such. I grew up on a steady diet of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, metal music and comics; I like to shoot and kill things in Lost Planet as much as I like to play Cooking Mama.

I guess women game writers are expected to write for women gamers because as many females as there are that play games, there are so few involved in making them and writing about them... So with that, welcome Maggie. And good luck.

i agree i think it would bring on alot of stares from horny nerds if you were a hot chick in EB games or something

@Wraithfighter: I love me some Kristan Holt though. Doesn't matter at all about her hobbies.

@adamcole:

No you're right, my last girlfriend played the sort of stuff I like, and even expanded my interests with games like Karaoke Revolution, which i had never tried before. I would definitely dig a girl who played some of the same classics I grew up with too.

A lot of my friends who happen to be female have played NES when they were kids, but there was still the stigma that "that was for boys," and so most of them have grown up thinking like that.

"If you've played around with the camera angles on Tomb Raider 1, you know what I'm talking about."

And how. Lara was so yummy!

Honestly, I think that nowadays, it doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. As long as you love games, and are having a good time, there aren't too many dudes who're gonna have a problem with that. Remember Hackers? Crash soooo beat Acid Burn. Did he feel bad? Nope. He let her have it like she was a man, baby. With that said, any hot lookin' chicks wanna play a game I like to call, 'Sex'?

I'm female and have been playing since the NES days. Honestly, I wouldn't want to be treated differently. Just play me as a fellow gamer and the likes.

Like others said, I play games that I feel like playing or interesting to me.

I thought that Nintendo made those genderless games that girls are supposed to love. Sony and Microsoft aren´t doing such a great job getting girls into gaming... and well, as TheRockingDead wrote, most girls I know think that that videogames are for boys or a complete waste of time. So that´s a social taboo.

Welcome Maggie!

I don't kiss anyone's ass nor do I go out of my way to ridicule others, female or not.

The funny thing about my arrogant and selfish personality is that many women I interact with are caught off guard by it. They seem accustomed to guys being constantly nervous around them and doing favors to please them.

One memorable situation was this project I contributed to awhile back. There was a basket full of doughnuts on site and by mid-afternoon it was eaten down to one lonely, alluring, strawberry-frosted ambrosia.

A young lady across from me (one of only two in our group) was obviously going for that last doughnut, but I took it anyway. I didn't care. I was hungry and I wanted it.

The following banter ensued:

[HER]: "That wasn't a nice thing to do."
[ME]: "My stomach isn't concerned with what's nice and what's not."
[HER]: "Can we at least share it?"
[ME]: "No."
[HER]: "Why not?"
[ME]: "I'm hungry."
[HER]: "You're not hungry; you're just an asshole."
[ME]: "I resent that. I'm not 'just an asshole'; I'm a hungry asshole."
[HER]: "Alright, whatever, but you know this kind of behavior won't help your chances with me."
[ME]: "I'm actually doing you a favor by eating this doughnut myself. You're fat enough already."
[HER]: "What? I'm not fat! Fuck you."
[ME]: "Fine. I hurt your feelings. I'm sorry. Let me rephrase what I said: You have a secret admirer, and his name is Gravity."
[HER]: "You're too much."

We had a few good laughs as the conversation went on and I get along well with her to this day. I was relaxed and comfortable with myself around her, just like I am with everyone else. When you're casual and don't make a big deal out of the fact that some of your colleagues are female, it helps everyone feel at ease, enabling the whole group to focus on the work and cooperate effectively.

It baffles me why so many men spontaneously transform into quivering mounds of uncertainty in the presence of estrogen. It really isn't a big deal.

Lesbians

(JOKING... calm down)

Taking a look at these sites just makes me think about the Womens Institute...

Hey, Maggie! It's great to see you blogging again! Congrats on the Kotaku gig! I am confident you'll be an asset to their site.

Hopefully we'll still be seeing your writing on The Game Chair from time to time? :-)

Cheers!

Yay, Maggie! And Ivan!

I haven't had too many problems, but I think I'm always treated as novel. Recently, I was one of the designer/artists in a game developer's club at my school, the only girl. We didn't get anything done, but we learned a lot. I think at first they weren't taking me seriously, but as I demonstrated my knowledge and personality that changed. Unfortunately, I had to pretty much quit in order to focus on my grades, and the club fell apart. Go figure.

There's another gaming club at my school, and they have a Smash Bros team. One of the best players is a Marth player and a girl, and she soundly, quietly, kicks everyone's butt off the stage. I find this satisfying; I'm an okay player, but it's nice to see someone who's really representin'.

And Gears is bleeping awesome. I've never been into "girly" games, but if I ever become a developer, I'd like to make an adventure game with the awesomest freaking horse-back riding mechanics EVER.

Nice to "read" you, Maggie.

I have always been sadden that one of my biggest passions (videogames) seemed to clash with my other passion (women) and I have fought really hard to change the minds of my male friends about how they treat women who play games.

I hate that bias. And not only the "Wow, youre a girl and play videogameS?" bias, I also hated the bias of "Youre a real girl and are playing World of Warcraft? Here have 100 G and some epics stuff I dont use anymore" bias, wish is just as bad, as if women aren't able toplay as good (often better) then male players.

Im happy that Nintendo is aiming their games at everyone, I dont have a single girlfriend thats indifferent to the DS or the Wii (even my mother plays Wii Sports!) wich was about time, really, I was getting sick of videogames that were aimed at the "young male audience" by completly disregarding (and even offending) women as players.

I just hope the industry matures enought so that some day, women are no longer a minority, and can enjoy videogames as any other form of art, like books or movies.

v ^_^

Funny thing is today I picked up "Graffiti Women" since I liked Nicholas Ganz's first book "Graffiti World" and in the preface it was talking about how simultaneously, male-dominated fields are difficult for women.

Men at first often simply "write off" women as unfit for the field. They must in addition to having skill, they must break out of the female stereotypes that prevent her from getting respect. Once that hurdle has been passed, then things become too easy. People will automatically celebrate you simply because you're a girl in a masculine field, causing her to lack authenticity. In addition people will try to "help". But then the inevitable detractors will claim she is socially climbing to the top, rather than with skill, or accuse you of milking your gender for fame.

Applies to any male dominated field, whether bombing trainyards or making games, I suppose.

why's it a 'male dominant' industry when its women who do the shopping?

and obviously, when they do do the shopping, too small a percentage of them pick up games...

so obviously, the game market evolved into selling to male customers...

sigh..

It could be where you're located too. I don't recall squat as far as gamers go in the KC area, so few hangouts that aren't a game store of some sort. (Read: None.) And even fewer of the female variety. Most corporate run, mall-bound stores aren't really gather-friendly.

In fact, I only really remember one that worked at one of the Gamestops here for awhile that really seemed like she might play the games, as opposed to being dragged in there by her boyfriend.

For the most part, my neighborhood was all males in my youth, so there wasn't any female competition to ever get used to. So for me, women who actually are into games are some sort of enigma that only exist in some far away land. Only to be read about in Internet land.

its because gaming and gamers are immature and generally quite young and tasteless. i'd say give it a few years, but its starting to look to me like the general rule is people grow out of it by their 30's. so basically stop associating with 'gamers' and move in adult social circles. PLAY games obviously, just dont talk about them or try to network it.

@Ivan M.: Wow I have to use that one.

Welcome Maggie, it is great to read a female's perspective.

It's only as tough as you make it. I've found the majority of people I deal with don't care what gender I am as long as I can write properly (on my site and in emails).

When it comes to actually playing games online though I find it's better not to "proudly proclaim" that I'm female. This is mostly due to teenagers who tend to get a bit rambunctious when they find out you're female.

I haven't seen any real perks about being the gender I am, but perhaps that's because I'm not looking for a free meal ticket.

In a perfect world it shouldn't matter what's underneath your clothes, sadly we don't live there.

Maybe the fact that video games were always passed off as a male thing caused the industry to appeal to males for the most part, eh?