Are Computer Games being taken over by women?

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terence_fdes

terence_fdes

wizened Dinosaur
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Recently folks on TE got the shock of their lives as they (some pleasantly, while other's a 'horror') discovered a hardcore gamer from the opposite species.

This was the last bastion that the guyz wanted to protect.... but for how long. I am sure there would be many folks out here who will still be unwilling to see the writing on the wall. I recall years ago at my workplace, when gaming was permitted after 6:30pm - suddenly we discovered there was a bunch of giggle-gaggle girls who joined the teams in COD, online multiplayer games etc and their screaming, blood-thirsty cursing, swearing was the loudest [leaving many of us guys stone dead].

In this article Helen Lewis (who is an avid gamer herself) highlights how this shift has happenned and is taking place

American research puts the average age of a gamer at 30, and it’s likely to be similar in Britain. More surprisingly, if current trends continue, 2013 will be the year when more women than men play games (it’s now 49 per cent women versus 51 men).
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And there are all sorts of women dismantling that stereotype.
In the past year I’ve spoken to a sixtysomething grandmother who plays World of Warcraft with her grown-up son, a new mother who kept the boredom of breastfeeding at bay with multiplayer Call of Duty sessions online, and the parents of young girls who love playing Cooking Mama.
Even female celebrities are now willing to ‘come out’ as gamers:
Mila Kunis spent the better part of a recent chat-show appearance discussing her obsession with World of Warcraft and the Supernatural actress Felicia Day loves the medium so much she made a web television series about it.
So how did so many women get into gaming? There’s a simple answer, and it’s probably in your handbag – or hand, if you’re as addicted as I am – right now.
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But the influx of female players has not been without a backlash. Women who talk about loving games should expect the question: but are you a real gamer?
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However deep your knowledge or enthusiasm, there’s always some bloke desperate to restore what he sees as the natural order by knowing more than you. This can sometimes take a nasty turn.
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and the pitfalls - know that it is'nt easy to survive

Last year the writer and keen gamer Anita Sarkeesian was trying to fund a video series called Tropes vs Women.
She planned to deconstruct some of the persistent sexist plotlines and character types in games: the damsel in distress, the huge-breasted ninja warrior.
As I wrote then, it was as if her suggestion set off an ‘angry misogynist Bat Signal’. She was hit with hundreds of obscene comments on her YouTube videos:
‘You’re a bolshevik feminist Jewess’, ‘Why do you put on make-up, if everything is sexism? You are a hypocrite f— slut’, ‘I’ll donate $50 if you make me a sandwich.’
As the crowd of haters expanded, Sarkeesian had her address posted on the internet. Hackers targeted her Wikipedia page and social media accounts, and someone made a game where you could click on her face and bruises would appear.
Why was the reaction against her so furious?
‘The hatred directed at Anita is entirely because men (in particular) feel that “gaming” is their exclusive territory,’ the games writer Cara Ellison told me.
‘Sexist men do not want an intellectually interested, feminist woman criticising or looking at any part of something they consider “their” industry.’ .....

It’s still a young medium, and there are still so many worlds to conquer.
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Cheers
Terry
 
Where did the 49% vs 51% stat came from? :rofl:
I don't know any of my girlfriends playing any game except the mobile ones.
 
selinakyle88 said:
Where did the 49% vs 51% stat came from? :rofl:
I don't know any of my girlfriends playing any game except the mobile ones.
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Well these stats are from US & Europe. In India - this has'nt been documented as yet. You can definately take the lead 'milady' :)
 
"our" as you may guess is males.
I did not say it belongs to any particular gender. what i mean is that males dominate in games.
I really wont believe in these kind of surveys as they are not realistic and there are many factors to consider.
 
sasikanth8 said:
"our" as you may guess is males.
I did not say it belongs to any particular gender. what i mean is that males dominate in games.
I really wont believe in these kind of surveys as they are not realistic and there are many factors to consider.
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Good to see a male representing the entirety of male video game players here. You also have a great understanding of surveys and when to believe and not believe in them.

/s
 
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The 49 vs 51 % stat must be skewed because of games like Angry Birds, farmville, sudoku and what not. But yes, I do see a lot of female players in Bioware games for some reason and they are indeed on the rise. Tis' good :D
 
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