So if you know a failed girl scout or two, direct them here to enter. Kim Phu

WomenGamers Announces National Computer Camp Scholarship [GayGamer]

Apparently I'm a cryptic and rabid misogynist and my thinly-veiled attempt at getting female writers to work for Kotaku was all about how there are no female bloggers out there and why I hate women. (Note to self, make sure my wife doesn't read this, she'd kick my ass.)

But despite the fact that I have a penis and write about gaming, something good came out of that post. In my caveman like attempts at prodding talented, strong-voiced women into writing more vocally about gaming I have stirred the ire of several feminist gaming writers who recently banded together to launch the IRIS Network a group, which will strive to bring women's perspectives into the mainstream.

I'm very happy to see that, along with the dozens of women who have emailed me to either apply for the job opening or thank me for inspiring them to start their own blogs, this network is getting off the ground.

A diversity of opinion and perspective can only help the industry. And once more, sorry for the penis. Brian Crecente

The Iris Network: Women Gamers' Forum Launch [Guilded Lilies]

Major Nelson's brain apparently turned to slush when he walked onto the Girls Gone Wild volleyball court. It's hard to tell from this video because the blackhole like density of the two women he's interviewing could make a rock look smart.

"No, I mean yeah, I mean no" Brian Crecente

A definite addition to the "daily reads" list, Guilded Lilies looks at women's perceived aversion to first person shooters. The author points out that FPS games and their violent structures may serve as a "No Girls Allowed" sign for some woman gamers. However, it's also suggested in the article that there may be more women playing FPS games than people expect. The piece suggests that some stumbling blocks in game design may keep women away from the genre. Are first person shooters alienating for women? Are there identification issues when playing them and not playing as a female character? What types of things would make the first person shooter genre more attractive to female gamers? Does it need to be?

Annie Get Your Gun [Guilded Lilies]

Over at Wired Chris Kohler looks at the "furious divide" between women and what kind of games they want to play. Kohler partitions women gamers into two camps. The first is the casual game, Tetris and Bejeweled crowd, while the second is the hardcore gaming, get in there with the guys faction. It's not as divided as the two camps framing for the piece would suggest, however. Lisa Sikora, from Microsoft's Casual Games division, however draws a pretty hard line in the piece: "Violence, the use of force as a primary game mechanic, is an excellent way to keep women from playing your game. Negative emotions aren't attractive to women. They don't like heavy, adrenaline-rich, head-to-head sports." Kohler offers the counterpoint from the captain of the Frag Dolls, a competitive clan of female gamers, Morgan Romine: "There are exceptions to every generalization. I've seen the whole spectrum, every color of the rainbow. There are girls who love big guns and bloody creatures."

We can all get along, right?

Women Gamers Duke It Out [Wired]