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After many months of being a simple fan of esports, and nothing more than a spectator, I became a female who plays SC2. :D
I went to MLG Columbus, furthering my love for esports. For the first time it REALLY hit me. It was early in the morning that Sunday at MLG. My friends and I arrived early to secure seats for the entire day. If you went to MLG Columbus, you know getting a chair was a freakin’ battle. As the convention center filled it really, really hit me - I was like, the ONLY girl in the room. Okay, maybe not the only literal girl (dr. pepper girls weren't too hard come by lol) but females were few and far between... The ones who absolutely love this game. I wasn't shocked, but I really thought there would be more of us. Amidst the "sausage fest" (ugh, I hate that term) I exchanged glances with a few other female spectators… We all shared the same expression.
Why, why, why?! I know with society/culture this isn’t surprising, but it hurts my heart there aren’t more of us out there! I want to share my love of esports and gaming with those of the same gender. Damnit.
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming. They’re just too rare – Ladies, let’s embrace and spread our love of gaming. I’m trying to make an effort, but I wish it were easier. Maybe in a few more years (as esports <3 hopefully <3 grows) we’ll see a substantial increase in the female gaming scene. It would make my heart happy! :D
  
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All good. Just dont go overboard with the promotion like some... incidents with girls have happened here, with unfortunate consequences
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Well I'm not a girl, but I can tuck in and throw on a dress and pretend to be one
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On July 28 2011 18:29 xarthaz wrote:
All good. Just dont go overboard with the promotion like some... incidents with girls have happened here, with unfortunate consequences
O.o Incidents?! Like what, may I ask?
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trust me. Us guys wish more ladies had the same love for esports as we do. Why dont they?
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Trust me, the guys are all for more girls as well.  I certainly welcome any friends you can get interested in esports!
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On July 28 2011 18:31 Porcelain wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:29 xarthaz wrote:
All good. Just dont go overboard with the promotion like some... incidents with girls have happened here, with unfortunate consequences O.o Incidents?! Like what, may I ask?
He's probably just talking about stuff with Riku(people complain she keeps saying she's a girl then tries to get everyone to stop talking about the fact that she's a girl) and Slayers Jessica/Slayers (I forget her name, the new girl they put on the team even though she's diamond and they even said she's on the team because she's a girl.)
Those are two that come to mind.
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On July 28 2011 18:34 Node wrote:Trust me, the guys are all for more girls as well. I certainly welcome any friends you can get interested in esports!
I've honestly been trying ever since my roommate caught me playing WoW at 3am, roughly two years ago... LOL. It's not easy! I am actively working on it though. 
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On July 28 2011 18:36 Roe wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:31 Porcelain wrote:On July 28 2011 18:29 xarthaz wrote:
All good. Just dont go overboard with the promotion like some... incidents with girls have happened here, with unfortunate consequences O.o Incidents?! Like what, may I ask? He's probably just talking about stuff with Riku(people complain she keeps saying she's a girl then tries to get everyone to stop talking about the fact that she's a girl) and Slayers Jessica/Slayers (I forget her name, the new girl they put on the team even though she's diamond and they even said she's on the team because she's a girl.) Those are two that come to mind.
Ohhh, well, I don't post here much at all... So, I won't be joining that club haha!
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On July 28 2011 18:36 Porcelain wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:34 Node wrote:Trust me, the guys are all for more girls as well. I certainly welcome any friends you can get interested in esports! I've honestly been trying ever since my roommate caught me playing WoW at 3am, roughly two years ago... LOL. It's not easy! I am actively working on it though.
sigh, good ole staying up all night playing WoW. I still have this image of arathi basin at night in my memory, for some reason it felt quiet and nice.
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On July 28 2011 18:33 eu.exodus wrote:
trust me. Us guys wish more ladies had the same love for esports as we do. Why dont they?
Culture thing like mentioned in the OP. Generally frowned upon for girls to play video games since a lot of people find it lazy or what have you. I could be wrong on this, but another factor I think would be that some girls that do play video games might be annoyed by or dislike the attention they know they'll get by attending an event.
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To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions.
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Announcing you are a girl on the interwebs only asks for troubles though. Also, a lot of people are somewhat hostile to that attitude, and I kind of don't blame them. That being said, I have to agree. There are very few women interested in gaming compared to male counter-parts. Why? Don't ask me. I really don't understand why that is the cause. Maybe it's that some women feel intimidated by being in mostly male company, where they are in minority. For me, it doesn't matter to me if I play with guy, girl or extraterrestial. As long as i enjoy the same thing as them, doesn't matter what they are.
People put too much emphasis on genders n' stuff. It is a fact that girls are sometimes insulted by their male-counter parts, despite of some guys wanting girls to play. Seems to me that even the guys can't make their minds what they really want. At one side, they say that they wish girls would play games (SC2 in this case) more, and at the another instance, when they see one, they instantly go and bash on how bad of a player said girl is or how hot/ugly she is. Thing is, if they really want girls to play, they should not act that way and instead, accept them as part of the community, without pointing fingers 'HEY, IT'S A GURL' kind of style. Not only it gives an unwanted attention to that girl, but it also excludes them from the community.
In the end, like I said, gender doesn't matter. The passion we share love for, however, does. Wish we'd move past the stage that women are seen as either unusual, bad or even worse, judged by their looks, instead of for their passion & love for the game!
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On July 28 2011 18:40 Roe wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:36 Porcelain wrote:On July 28 2011 18:34 Node wrote:Trust me, the guys are all for more girls as well. I certainly welcome any friends you can get interested in esports! I've honestly been trying ever since my roommate caught me playing WoW at 3am, roughly two years ago... LOL. It's not easy! I am actively working on it though. sigh, good ole staying up all night playing WoW. I still have this image of arathi basin at night in my memory, for some reason it felt quiet and nice.
Haha, Yes! Oh, late night WoW brings back memories! I proudly thank my ex boyfriend for getting me into both WoW ( I no longer play really) and SC2. Seriously, I would have never fallen in love with gaming without them. Hence why I have no female friends who play. 
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On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions.
Exactly, this is my main theory (atm) on how to spread the love
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions.
My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^
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Who else do they need to recognize, honestly?
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On July 28 2011 18:43 BabyToss! wrote:
Announcing you are a girl on the interwebs only asks for troubles though. Also, a lot of people are somewhat hostile to that attitude, and I kind of don't blame them. That being said, I have to agree. There are very few women interested in gaming compared to male counter-parts. Why? Don't ask me. I really don't understand why that is the cause. Maybe it's that some women feel intimidated by being in mostly male company, where they are in minority. For me, it doesn't matter to me if I play with guy, girl or extraterrestial. As long as i enjoy the same thing as them, doesn't matter what they are.
People put too much emphasis on genders n' stuff. It is a fact that girls are sometimes insulted by their male-counter parts, despite of some guys wanting girls to play. Seems to me that even the guys can't make their minds what they really want. At one side, they say that they wish girls would play games (SC2 in this case) more, and at the another instance, when they see one, they instantly go and bash on how bad of a player said girl is or how hot/ugly she is. Thing is, if they really want girls to play, they should not act that way and instead, accept them as part of the community, without pointing fingers 'HEY, IT'S A GURL' kind of style. Not only it gives an unwanted attention to that girl, but it also excludes them from the community.
In the end, like I said, gender doesn't matter. The passion we share love for, however, does. Wish we'd move past the stage that women are seen as either unusual, bad or even worse, judged by their looks, instead of for their passion & love for the game!
Meh, I don't care that the interwebs knows I'm a girl. I have no worries. One goal is to see if there are any other girl gamers here, like myself, who typically lurk TL.net instead of post. I think (most) females have a natural desire to want to bond together in this situation. I'm sure they feel the same way I do.
It's a man's world, after all.
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That time when Artosis had to sit on a awkward chair squeezed up against tasteless because the korean observer had to use his computer I laughed and showed me girlfriend, so she knows them as well =)
She also knows Day[9] because I showed her trumpets and many other of his intro stories that amused me.
She refuses to watch or touch the game though.
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On July 28 2011 18:48 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions. My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^
I'll see your artosis/tasteless recognition and raise you an "i love lim yo hwan! that's boxer.. right?" <3
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In normal sports, men and women are separated due to men being born with more muscle mass and thus it wouldn't be fair to play together competitivly. However there are sports where men and women play together, like horseback riding for example, due to the fact that the human natural muscle mass is irrelevant to the sport. This if anything must mean that there are no logical reasons for esports being a male sport. I mean... is there anything that requires less muscles as a sport? :O
The reasons are cultural. Women don't want to start video games because their friends don't and it is considered unusual... but that is just an evil circle. The only way for the male/female ratio to balance out as you wish is for more girls to simply... start. Just ignore what everyone says and start, and hope that the others feel the same. So many times in human history have similar situation occurs, when everyone wants something but noone dares to do it because they don't think anyone else wants to, and don't want to appear unusual.
Don't know what to say other than that really, just encouraging women that if you wanna game: do so, and don't give a fuck about what you're friends might think of it.
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none of my male friends have any interest in gaming. and i dont think thats bad at all because that allows me to taste best of both worlds- the nerdy and the non-nerdy.
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On July 28 2011 19:01 Sfydjklm wrote:
none of my male friends have any interest in gaming. and i dont think thats bad at all because that allows me to taste best of both worlds- the nerdy and the non-nerdy.
I was just thinking this actually - I DO have the best of both worlds... girls night downtown & late nights with my beloved Asus. <3
A lot of good points are being made about the stigma attached to female gamers! Thanks guys, glad I'm not getting attacked or anything. I was a little nervous about making this blog post.
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On July 28 2011 18:48 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions. My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^
Yeah, my wife knows Day9 and she will even watch him with me for a little bit, but that is about as far as it goes. She just thinks that I am silly for watching people play video games.
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On July 28 2011 18:59 HaXXspetten wrote:
In normal sports, men and women are separated due to men being born with more muscle mass and thus it wouldn't be fair to play together competitivly. However there are sports where men and women play together, like horseback riding for example, due to the fact that the human natural muscle mass is irrelevant to the sport. This if anything must mean that there are no logical reasons for esports being a male sport. I mean... is there anything that requires less muscles as a sport? :O
The reasons are cultural. Women don't want to start video games because their friends don't and it is considered unusual... but that is just an evil circle. The only way for the male/female ratio to balance out as you wish is for more girls to simply... start. Just ignore what everyone says and start, and hope that the others feel the same. So many times in human history have similar situation occurs, when everyone wants something but noone dares to do it because they don't think anyone else wants to, and don't want to appear unusual.
Don't know what to say other than that really, just encouraging women that if you wanna game: do so, and don't give a fuck about what you're friends might think of it.
That, 1000x times. I did that and I don't care what other women said about me. Yes, I never had many women as friends, because they see me as weirdo, but who cares? Doing something I enjoy is 1000x better than to have judging friends who can't accept you for what you like and bash you for what you like. True friends appreciate you for who you are and don't judge you for what you enjoy.
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On July 28 2011 19:04 TheAmazombie wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:48 Plexa wrote:On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions. My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^ Yeah, my wife knows Day9 and she will even watch him with me for a little bit, but that is about as far as it goes. She just thinks that I am silly for watching people play video games.
My friends think I'm CRAZY for watching people play video games too. : / Being introduced to Day9 is actually what led me to watching esports in general.
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I've noticed one thing coming from a WoW background, there are many girl WoW players, a few of them definitely became fans of blizzard games because of WoW, I just think SC2 has such a high learning curve, it's hard getting girl gamers into complex games if WoW was their first video game to begin with.
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On July 28 2011 19:08 Porcelain wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 19:04 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 28 2011 18:48 Plexa wrote:On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions. My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^ Yeah, my wife knows Day9 and she will even watch him with me for a little bit, but that is about as far as it goes. She just thinks that I am silly for watching people play video games. My friends think I'm CRAZY for watching people play video games too. : / Being introduced to Day9 is actually what led me to watching esports in general.
So I used an argument against her once that she admitted I was right, but that does not mean it will change her point of view at all. I said that we used to talk chess and could watch people play chess while talking about the game. She admitted this was true. I then said, so what is the difference?
She told me "Well, I know chess. It is cool and I know what is going on."
I said "So the main difference is that you know that game. If you watch it more with me, you will learn and know the game as I know the game."
Like I said, she admitted that it was true, but it did not sway her in the least. Oh well. =)
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On July 28 2011 19:09 trancey wrote:
I've noticed one thing coming from a WoW background, there are many girl WoW players, a few of them definitely became fans of blizzard games because of WoW, I just think SC2 has such a high learning curve, it's hard getting girl gamers into complex games if WoW was their first video game to begin with.
So true. WoW is easy compared to SC2, due to the learning curve. It's taken me quite awhile to really learn how to play. And I'm constantly learning. I thought with all the SC I had watched I'd catch on much easier. I do think it helped!
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On July 28 2011 19:12 TheAmazombie wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 19:08 Porcelain wrote:On July 28 2011 19:04 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 28 2011 18:48 Plexa wrote:On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions. My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^ Yeah, my wife knows Day9 and she will even watch him with me for a little bit, but that is about as far as it goes. She just thinks that I am silly for watching people play video games. My friends think I'm CRAZY for watching people play video games too. : / Being introduced to Day9 is actually what led me to watching esports in general. So I used an argument against her once that she admitted I was right, but that does not mean it will change her point of view at all. I said that we used to talk chess and could watch people play chess while talking about the game. She admitted this was true. I then said, so what is the difference? She told me "Well, I know chess. It is cool and I know what is going on." I said "So the main difference is that you know that game. If you watch it more with me, you will learn and know the game as I know the game." Like I said, she admitted that it was true, but it did not sway her in the least. Oh well. =)
Hmmm, I've heard this before! You made a good point to her. I just responded to another comment about this topic... and it's that tough learning curve. Although, when I first started watching and had no clue what was what, SC just had an excitement to it that was simply addictive. It left me wanting to learn more. It took some time though, and patience.
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Women care more about appearance than men. It looks "weird" for a girl to play video games, so they don't do it... or do it secretly. xD
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Btw, I've seen a ton of girls on Xbox live. A lot of them play games like Call of duty, halo or gears of war.
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On July 28 2011 19:21 Yew wrote:
Btw, I've seen a ton of girls on Xbox live. A lot of them play games like Call of duty, halo or gears of war.
Agreed, I have seen a lot more girls on xbox live. Console games are more female friendly I guess? Tend to be easier?
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On July 28 2011 19:24 Porcelain wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 19:21 Yew wrote:
Btw, I've seen a ton of girls on Xbox live. A lot of them play games like Call of duty, halo or gears of war. Agreed, I have seen a lot more girls on xbox live. Console games are more female friendly I guess? Tend to be easier?
And shinier and sound more awesome to the average non-nerd guy that find its cool that women are playing games, too (better flirting material.).
They always remind me of those girls in TV ads that play video games
"Screen says: Press button X"
*girl presses Y 100x and says she's insanely good at the game".
Real "gamergirls" just play the game and have fun and don't talk about it too much.
I mean it's okay to introduce yourself but that should be about it. Almost everytime whengirls mention more than 5 times that they are a girl they are probably just seeking for attention.
My gf for example would probably never tell you that she is a girl if you wouldn't ask, yet, she is the most hardcore gamergirl I've ever seen IRL.
She even tries to get into masters!:D
So porcelain,
you're welcome, I hope you're not the "bad type of gamergirl"
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On July 28 2011 18:48 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions. My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^
"Oh, that's Starcraft, right?"
No way to get more than that out of mine. :/
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My 65 year old mother is a main healer in a raid guild and quite good. Ever since my brother and I played games she had interest in it as well. But she won't talk about it with non gamers, like her sister or other friends. There's some weird shame involved there.
I've played quite a lot of mmo's and we always had a lot of female members in our guilds, as good and competitive as the males, but somehow really shy about publicly admitting they are gamers. As if they feel like they are doing something wrong in the eyes of society.
There are statistics that more females play casual games than males.
But go to a dating site and search for hobbies "gaming" and you will find 0. Still a taboo. Probably also a reason SC2 girls don't go to things like MLG etc
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I think the trick is in finding the social/cultural similarities that appeal more to the average girl's curiosity. Let's face it, most women aren't going to get what you're talking about if you say it's like intense spectacular chess, or keyboard athletics or the refinement of competitive videogaming or whathaveyou, because chess and athletics are not commonly undertaken by women or girls, so the analogy is meaningless on a visceral level. (obviously, if the girl in question IS a chessplayer or FPS gamer or whathaveyou, it's fine, but we're talking about spreading out to the people who aren't naturally inclined to find it interesting without you needing to introduce them)
I'd love to hear from girls what they love about SC2, or gaming in general, and how that relates to other pursuits that they find enjoyable. What do you compare SC2 to? wherein lies the enjoyment? If we understand this then we may have a better time of convincing women to give it a go and enjoy it from their frame of reference, before trying to force the things we enjoy about it (generally macho competition, visual spectacularity and various concepts surrounding those) down their throats...
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It also doesn't help that a ton of guys act like morons and harass them online, or act like white knights.
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On July 28 2011 19:36 Thereisnosaurus wrote:
I think the trick is in finding the social/cultural similarities that appeal more to the average girl's curiosity. Let's face it, most women aren't going to get what you're talking about if you say it's like intense spectacular chess, or keyboard athletics or the refinement of competitive videogaming or whathaveyou, because chess and athletics are not commonly undertaken by women or girls, so the analogy is meaningless on a visceral level. (obviously, if the girl in question IS a chessplayer or FPS gamer or whathaveyou, it's fine, but we're talking about spreading out to the people who aren't naturally inclined to find it interesting without you needing to introduce them)
I'd love to hear from girls what they love about SC2, or gaming in general, and how that relates to other pursuits that they find enjoyable. What do you compare SC2 to? wherein lies the enjoyment? If we understand this then we may have a better time of convincing women to give it a go and enjoy it from their frame of reference, before trying to force the things we enjoy about it (generally macho competition, visual spectacularity and various concepts surrounding those) down their throats...
I'm attracted to SC2 because of the skill required to play the game, the pace, and the general excitement involved. It's challenging, but still fun. Before WoW, I only played FPS/RPGs on my 360. I didn't even have a PC that could handle a game like WoW or SC2. PC gaming seemed more involved. I fell in love lol. I hardly touch my xbox these days.
I think girls need a certain competitive personality to really find an interest in gaming though... But starting out with a console RPG was the perfect intro for me.
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On July 28 2011 19:37 Yew wrote:
It also doesn't help that a ton of guys act like morons and harass them online, or act like white knights.
Act like? A lot of them are morons :p.
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On July 28 2011 19:47 Zeaket wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 19:37 Yew wrote:
It also doesn't help that a ton of guys act like morons and harass them online, or act like white knights. Act like? A lot of them are morons :p.
I seem to encounter the morons on xbox live, mostly. Gotta love the "white knights."
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On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
After many months of being a simple fan of esports, and nothing more than a spectator, I became a female who plays SC2. :D
I went to MLG Columbus, furthering my love for esports. For the first time it REALLY hit me. It was early in the morning that Sunday at MLG. My friends and I arrived early to secure seats for the entire day. If you went to MLG Columbus, you know getting a chair was a freakin’ battle. As the convention center filled it really, really hit me - I was like, the ONLY girl in the room. Okay, maybe not the only literal girl (dr. pepper girls weren't too hard come by lol) but females were few and far between... The ones who absolutely love this game. I wasn't shocked, but I really thought there would be more of us. Amidst the "sausage fest" (ugh, I hate that term) I exchanged glances with a few other female spectators… We all shared the same expression.
Why, why, why?! I know with society/culture this isn’t surprising, but it hurts my heart there aren’t more of us out there! I want to share my love of esports and gaming with those of the same gender. Damnit.
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming. They’re just too rare – Ladies, let’s embrace and spread our love of gaming. I’m trying to make an effort, but I wish it were easier. Maybe in a few more years (as esports <3 hopefully <3 grows) we’ll see a substantial increase in the female gaming scene. It would make my heart happy! :D
Girls play a lot of video games. Just different type of games. ie Farmwhoring and World of Whorecraft, Cooking Mama, etc.
Also, why do you embellish your story with such an over-exaggerated mundane fact of you being a female?
Attention whore faggotry thread = ACHIEVED
User was warned for this post
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I am all for girls gaming and playing. In fact, it would be absolutely awesome!!
However, what really grinds my gears is girls being stupid "OMG IM A GIRL AND IM STREAMING WATCH IT"
They think they can get attention because they are a girl.
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On July 28 2011 19:53 oblisk wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
After many months of being a simple fan of esports, and nothing more than a spectator, I became a female who plays SC2. :D
I went to MLG Columbus, furthering my love for esports. For the first time it REALLY hit me. It was early in the morning that Sunday at MLG. My friends and I arrived early to secure seats for the entire day. If you went to MLG Columbus, you know getting a chair was a freakin’ battle. As the convention center filled it really, really hit me - I was like, the ONLY girl in the room. Okay, maybe not the only literal girl (dr. pepper girls weren't too hard come by lol) but females were few and far between... The ones who absolutely love this game. I wasn't shocked, but I really thought there would be more of us. Amidst the "sausage fest" (ugh, I hate that term) I exchanged glances with a few other female spectators… We all shared the same expression.
Why, why, why?! I know with society/culture this isn’t surprising, but it hurts my heart there aren’t more of us out there! I want to share my love of esports and gaming with those of the same gender. Damnit.
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming. They’re just too rare – Ladies, let’s embrace and spread our love of gaming. I’m trying to make an effort, but I wish it were easier. Maybe in a few more years (as esports <3 hopefully <3 grows) we’ll see a substantial increase in the female gaming scene. It would make my heart happy! :D
Girls play a lot of video games. Just different type of games. ie Farmwhoring and World of Whorecraft, Cooking Mama, etc. Also, why do you embellish your story with such an over-exaggerated mundane fact of you being a female? Attention whore faggotry thread = ACHIEVED
This is exactly what I was talking about where guys act like morons lmao
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On July 28 2011 19:53 oblisk wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
After many months of being a simple fan of esports, and nothing more than a spectator, I became a female who plays SC2. :D
I went to MLG Columbus, furthering my love for esports. For the first time it REALLY hit me. It was early in the morning that Sunday at MLG. My friends and I arrived early to secure seats for the entire day. If you went to MLG Columbus, you know getting a chair was a freakin’ battle. As the convention center filled it really, really hit me - I was like, the ONLY girl in the room. Okay, maybe not the only literal girl (dr. pepper girls weren't too hard come by lol) but females were few and far between... The ones who absolutely love this game. I wasn't shocked, but I really thought there would be more of us. Amidst the "sausage fest" (ugh, I hate that term) I exchanged glances with a few other female spectators… We all shared the same expression.
Why, why, why?! I know with society/culture this isn’t surprising, but it hurts my heart there aren’t more of us out there! I want to share my love of esports and gaming with those of the same gender. Damnit.
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming. They’re just too rare – Ladies, let’s embrace and spread our love of gaming. I’m trying to make an effort, but I wish it were easier. Maybe in a few more years (as esports <3 hopefully <3 grows) we’ll see a substantial increase in the female gaming scene. It would make my heart happy! :D
Girls play a lot of video games. Just different type of games. ie Farmwhoring and World of Whorecraft, Cooking Mama, etc. Also, why do you embellish your story with such an over-exaggerated mundane fact of you being a female? Attention whore faggotry thread = ACHIEVED
First mean comment = Achieved!
Obviously, you didn't read through the comments. Ah, can't please everyone! Not only am I not a whore, but I'm new to this community and I was being genuine.
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On July 28 2011 19:53 oblisk wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
After many months of being a simple fan of esports, and nothing more than a spectator, I became a female who plays SC2. :D
I went to MLG Columbus, furthering my love for esports. For the first time it REALLY hit me. It was early in the morning that Sunday at MLG. My friends and I arrived early to secure seats for the entire day. If you went to MLG Columbus, you know getting a chair was a freakin’ battle. As the convention center filled it really, really hit me - I was like, the ONLY girl in the room. Okay, maybe not the only literal girl (dr. pepper girls weren't too hard come by lol) but females were few and far between... The ones who absolutely love this game. I wasn't shocked, but I really thought there would be more of us. Amidst the "sausage fest" (ugh, I hate that term) I exchanged glances with a few other female spectators… We all shared the same expression.
Why, why, why?! I know with society/culture this isn’t surprising, but it hurts my heart there aren’t more of us out there! I want to share my love of esports and gaming with those of the same gender. Damnit.
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming. They’re just too rare – Ladies, let’s embrace and spread our love of gaming. I’m trying to make an effort, but I wish it were easier. Maybe in a few more years (as esports <3 hopefully <3 grows) we’ll see a substantial increase in the female gaming scene. It would make my heart happy! :D
Girls play a lot of video games. Just different type of games. ie Farmwhoring and World of Whorecraft, Cooking Mama, etc. Also, why do you embellish your story with such an over-exaggerated mundane fact of you being a female? Attention whore faggotry thread = ACHIEVED
Wow, this is a bit overkill. What game is "Cooking Mama"? =)
Also, if you were just looking for attention there are a TON of better ways to do so than posting on a niche website that you are a girl.
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I'm sorry, I just lost to a 7pool and I was raging. Please forgive my inept attitude, it was not of me.
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I hope Your genes won't be wasted.
Gamer girls hwaiting~
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Okay, we know you are a girl gamer now. Good for you, but please, from now on, don't start every thread with this statement, because it calls for a shitstorm. It's for your own sake, trust me. Regards.
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Probably the same reasons why guys don't read Twilight.
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Hey fellow girl gamer! I'm going to MLG Anaheim too, I'm so excited! The only thing souring this event a little is that I really wanted to go with one of my good friends. She was considering it, but finally told me that she didn't have that much interest in Starcraft 2 to go all 3 days plus stay at a motel for the weekend. So sad
As for me, I kinda enjoy the male-dominated scene. I have a lot more fun with guy friends than with girl friends usually, because we relate more I suppose. Even then, I usually prefer grinding games by myself than chatting or playing with 'partners', female or male. I get super annoyed when some guys from battle.net talk to me, because I know they're only speaking to me cos I'm a girl. Even with praise. I remember one person saying to me how amazed he was that I went from Bronze to Platinum saying that I was proof that girls don't suck at games. I got really peeved at that. As if there was any difference between the skill level of male and female gamers, it's just the time and motivation you put into it which is influenced by gender roles concerning women and gaming, but that's another story.
I feel like a lot of girls get into gaming because of their boyfriends. I find that a little disheartening. Why can't a girl discover a love for a game all on her own? And sometimes it's not even true love, it's a false kind of love. An example being my friend who went out and bought the game because of her boyfriend. This was before I decided to get Starcraft. I remember how she was saying how she loved the game and stayed inside all day playing Starcraft like a 'nerd'. I was delighted; I had found my kindred spirit. When I actually bought the game, and played with her, to my dismay she was not what she had seemed. She usually left after one game because the game would give her a headache, and preferred team games instead of 1v1s. I also gave my guest passes to my other friend. She wasn't very good of course, but she was delighted with the cute Zerglings and Overlords that I sent over to her base. Then, I encouraged her to buy the game as well, but in the end she decided against it..... RL girl friends suck as SC2 partners.
But yeah, I do hope that other girls can wake up and see what a great game they're missing!
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Corinthos
Canada1842 Posts
welcome to the tl & community
i hope you will meet your counterparts and enjoy the game!
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Within online communities like TL and Iccup.com and various chat channels on servers like Iccup and Bnet servers, its easy to lose sight of a most glaring reality. Gaming as it relates to electronic games is still very much a niche thing. Compare the amount of people world-wide who knows what FIFA world-cup is about to how many know what OSL/MSL/Proleague is and you can see the point expressed in the results of such comparison. Im fairly certain this would never change.
Any activity that is a niche thing usually have stigmas attached to it. Thats why its niche. Stigmatized activities usually don't attract many females.
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My girlfriend watches sc2 matches with me sometimes. She despises "that bug race" the most and her favorite unit is "the little robot worker" (probe), because he makes the cutest sounds. But when I play she tells me to build "those jeeps" (hellions) to kill them! :D
Me and my brother we have the best of times watching sc2 with her! Also she cried both times we watched the dayly #100
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On July 28 2011 20:18 Order wrote:
Also she cried both times we watched the dayly #100
Who didn't?!
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On July 28 2011 20:19 TheAmazombie wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 20:18 Order wrote:
Also she cried both times we watched the dayly #100 Who didn't?!
I know I did shed a tear once or twice :|
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On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming.
Hm, I guess that sucks. But normally it's not that hard to find girls/women in games. Whatever MMOG I play, I always stumble upon them. RPG is a genre many females enjoy and there are enough who play FPS etc. When I was still in school, we had female attendance at a small LAN party(<10), the girl sitting next to me played CoD2 and the likes and others had consoles(XBOX, PS2). Apart from that, there are also browsergames...
But I'm not from the US, so maybe it's different there. Who knows. Maybe you were just unlucky or have the wrong friends
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United Kingdom10823 Posts
On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming.
Welcome to TL, I'm sure you can find friends here!
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well be lucky, at least if you are decent looking you will be the main star for all the nerds out there.
Like me and my GF have visited a porn event and the attending girls there and my gf all felt like second tier to all the pornstars girls.
So having a lot of attention towards you won't hurt. But, I mean I wouldn't mind say more gamer girls.
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I think girls need a certain competitive personality to really find an interest in gaming though... But starting out with a console RPG was the perfect intro for me.
This is decidedly untrue. In fact, you might be surprised to know that the largest single demographic of videogame players is middleaged women. Freaked me out, but it's true (if slightly ambiguous since demographics have different sized aged brackets, for example 10-15 and 28-36)
Obviously, they aren't playing FPS/RTS/RPG traditional titles. From what I've been able to glean, most are playing a mix of social games (farmville style stuff), puzzle games (popcap), simulations (spore, the sims) and MMORPGs (WoW, Gaia, Aion). A lot of younger women/girls are also very heavy portable users (DS in particular). As you say, they usually don't admit openly to be heavy game players, and they don't identify with the 'gamer girl' group you seem to come from, the ones who are at home with traditional combat oriented games being the core of their library. So it's not necessary to have a competitive mindset to be a female gamer, though I think those women who DO have that sort of mindset will gravitate towards the more male heavy games where competition is more highly valued.
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Why do girls only like boring games like bejeweled and SC2?
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On July 28 2011 18:31 Porcelain wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:29 xarthaz wrote:
All good. Just dont go overboard with the promotion like some... incidents with girls have happened here, with unfortunate consequences O.o Incidents?! Like what, may I ask?
Female-only sc2 tournaments that were seen as sexist by males and turned into a battle of the genders
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On July 28 2011 20:47 Chef wrote:
Why do girls only like boring games like bejeweled and SC2?
And zynga games, god they play so much fucking zynga games.
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United Kingdom10823 Posts
On July 28 2011 20:52 tempestulti wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:31 Porcelain wrote:On July 28 2011 18:29 xarthaz wrote:
All good. Just dont go overboard with the promotion like some... incidents with girls have happened here, with unfortunate consequences O.o Incidents?! Like what, may I ask? Female-only sc2 tournaments that were seen as sexist by males and turned into a battle of the genders
Plus the massive debacle with Slayers_Eve. Never realised how pathetic parts of the SC2 community can be
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I think we all miss female gamers
I kinda know how you feel since all of my freinds stopped being interested in Esports and playing.
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United Kingdom10823 Posts
On July 28 2011 20:47 Chef wrote:
Why do girls only like boring games like bejeweled and SC2?
Oi, Bejewled is amazing
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On July 28 2011 18:48 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions. My gf recognises Artosis+Tasteless - that's about it ^^
my girl knows what starcraft 2 is... and that I have head phones and 2 screens for it... thats about it
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males just don't understand how weird it is for women to get into gaming.
when I try to imagine it, I imagine it like that movie with the little boy who wants to practice ballet, think for a second how would you feel if you were interested in ballet and non of your friends will share that interest, think about practicing ballet and being the only male on the class, think about going to a ballet show [or whatever the hell it called] and being the only male there.
that is about how I imagine women feel when they go into SC2 or any esport...
hope I got that feeling right and that now more people understand how it is.
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It's only weird if you make it weird. Guys can be equally nervous trying to explain that they like playing video games and watching Koreans play StarCraft, but if you don't frame it like the worst thing in the world ( 'oh, I know it's lame but I really like this' or 'you're gonna think I'm a nerd but I do this' ) most people are intrigued and don't think it's lame at all.
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This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL.
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On July 28 2011 18:41 Zeaket wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:33 eu.exodus wrote:
trust me. Us guys wish more ladies had the same love for esports as we do. Why dont they? Culture thing like mentioned in the OP. Generally frowned upon for girls to play video games since a lot of people find it lazy or what have you. I could be wrong on this, but another factor I think would be that some girls that do play video games might be annoyed by or dislike the attention they know they'll get by attending an event.
I don't think culture has much to do with it.. apparently 40% of PC gamers are girls, theres no reason 40% of sc2 gamers shouldn't be girls if culture was the reason. I think its just that girls and boys just like different things. Fields like engineering, physics etc tend to male dominated, because on average more men just enjoy them, and I see starcraft being similar to that (in my opinion atleast). Most girls prefer story driven games like RPGs or social games like WoW. Its the sad truth you have to accept, your interests are different that of the majority of your gender, but you can just make friends with men instead .
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On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL.
Can you link to the "shitstorm"? I seem to actually have missed it.
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I'm a female gamer too, though I'm not really that interested in competitive games. I prefer games like morrowind, zelda, etc. But I sort of understand your pains. A few of my friends are also into gaming, like bioshock for example. I think I'd be able to get them to play heroes of might and magic (<3) with me where we could play against each other, but that's pretty much where it ends when it comes to competition.
Most girls I know have no interest in gaming though, unless you count being a lover of the sims as being a gamer :p. Recently when a few friends asked me about my fav. game <morrowind!> I tried to explain them why I liked it, trying to avoid any jargon. But still after my explanation they stared at me and said "I have no idea what you're talking about" T__T
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On July 28 2011 19:54 pStar wrote:
I am all for girls gaming and playing. In fact, it would be absolutely awesome!!
However, what really grinds my gears is girls being stupid "OMG IM A GIRL AND IM STREAMING WATCH IT"
They think they can get attention because they are a girl.
But they do get more attention becuas they are girls, whether they want it or not. Have you ever looked at the non featured stream list? Chances are if its got 100+ viewers theres the word girl in the description. Men want to see girls, our hormones tell us to, and its never gonna stop. If you don't like it the only thing you should do is just not watch it yourself. Complaining just leads to tons of unnecessary HUUURRRRRR DURRR TL IS SEXIST drama.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On July 28 2011 20:13 Corinthos wrote:
welcome to the tl & community
i hope you will meet your counterparts and enjoy the game!
where have you been yo
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On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
After many months of being a simple fan of esports, and nothing more than a spectator, I became a female who plays SC2. :D
I went to MLG Columbus, furthering my love for esports. For the first time it REALLY hit me. It was early in the morning that Sunday at MLG. My friends and I arrived early to secure seats for the entire day. If you went to MLG Columbus, you know getting a chair was a freakin’ battle. As the convention center filled it really, really hit me - I was like, the ONLY girl in the room. Okay, maybe not the only literal girl (dr. pepper girls weren't too hard come by lol) but females were few and far between... The ones who absolutely love this game. I wasn't shocked, but I really thought there would be more of us. Amidst the "sausage fest" (ugh, I hate that term) I exchanged glances with a few other female spectators… We all shared the same expression.
Why, why, why?! I know with society/culture this isn’t surprising, but it hurts my heart there aren’t more of us out there! I want to share my love of esports and gaming with those of the same gender. Damnit.
Guys, you have no clue how difficult it is (not to mention sad) when none of your female friends have an interest in gaming. They’re just too rare – Ladies, let’s embrace and spread our love of gaming. I’m trying to make an effort, but I wish it were easier. Maybe in a few more years (as esports <3 hopefully <3 grows) we’ll see a substantial increase in the female gaming scene. It would make my heart happy! :D
This isn't true at all. I know way too many women who would call themselves gamers. Sure, some are shy but I wouldn't call them embarrassed by it.
I would call many of them casual gamers though if I were to compare them to myself because a lot of them fall into one of two categories:
a) play it socially
b) go at it solo to unwind
In many cases they have no idea about such things as MLG. Women are just as competitive as men when it comes to some things. If not more so, but when it comes to gaming. I don't see many of them throwing fits when they lose. They might do it in a joking matter, but they just don't take it as ''serious'' as my friends.
On July 28 2011 21:30 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 20:13 Corinthos wrote:
welcome to the tl & community
i hope you will meet your counterparts and enjoy the game! where have you been yo
Same sentiments. What the fuck man? You show up only when 3 major events are happening in one weekend! D:
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People say it's frowned upon for women to play video games, but where i come from it's almost the exact opposite. Girls playing video games is super cool, and most guys dream of meeting a girl like that, and nobody really frowns upon it.
I think the reason is just that women dont like video games. Plain and simple. And when they do play video games they tend to play Wii, or casual WoW or whatever, nothing too hardcore.
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On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL.
That's a complete crock. Sorry man, I don't agree with you at all. There are valid reasons why some people get the short end of the stick.
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United Kingdom10823 Posts
On July 28 2011 21:44 StarStruck wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL. That's a complete crock. Sorry man, I don't agree with you at all. There are valid reasons why some people get the short end of the stick.
totally agree, but then others get caught in the crossfire because of a few people
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On July 28 2011 21:21 KeksX wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL. Can you link to the "shitstorm"? I seem to actually have missed it.
This might be a good example. Its started out all nice and then began to go downhill until day[9] complimented her in the thread and then everyone behaved afterwards. One minute people were calling her attention whore and all kinds of shit and post-day[9] everyone was like "i love ur blogs" etc. But its a good example of how rough this community will get towards females.
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your Country52797 Posts
I wish more PEOPLE knew about starcraft in the US.
I live in eastern US, and I know 7 people who have heard about starcraft (mostly my family )
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On July 28 2011 21:45 Hassybaby wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 21:44 StarStruck wrote:On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL. That's a complete crock. Sorry man, I don't agree with you at all. There are valid reasons why some people get the short end of the stick. totally agree, but then others get caught in the crossfire because of a few people
Air high five my brother and sisters!
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On July 28 2011 21:46 SaRrAceN wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 21:21 KeksX wrote:On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL. Can you link to the "shitstorm"? I seem to actually have missed it. This might be a good example. Its started out all nice and then began to go downhill until day[9] complimented her in the thread and then everyone behaved afterwards. One minute people were calling her attention whore and all kinds of shit and post-day[9] everyone was like "i love ur blogs" etc. But its a good example of how rough this community will get towards females.
That's not a good example at all. Tail end of rubbish and it went on a lot longer than that. Either way, it's already been addressed.
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On July 28 2011 21:50 StarStruck wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 21:46 SaRrAceN wrote:On July 28 2011 21:21 KeksX wrote:On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL. Can you link to the "shitstorm"? I seem to actually have missed it. This might be a good example. Its started out all nice and then began to go downhill until day[9] complimented her in the thread and then everyone behaved afterwards. One minute people were calling her attention whore and all kinds of shit and post-day[9] everyone was like "i love ur blogs" etc. But its a good example of how rough this community will get towards females. That's not a good example at all.
Yeah, this is a way better example...and the final conclusion is just too good.
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On July 28 2011 21:42 Deadlyfish wrote:
People say it's frowned upon for women to play video games, but where i come from it's almost the exact opposite. Girls playing video games is super cool, and most guys dream of meeting a girl like that, and nobody really frowns upon it.
I think the reason is just that women dont like video games. Plain and simple. And when they do play video games they tend to play Wii, or casual WoW or whatever, nothing too hardcore.
I think the frowning upon it is done more by other girls than guys, though I've never had much comment on it. I think it also depends on what kind of people you hang around with.
But on a sidenote, as a female gamer, I find a bit on the scary side how excited guys can get when they hear you enjoy gaming. They treat you as some rare, desirable treasure, but sometimes this liking is also a bit unsettling, because I would like people to like me for who I am, and not base their opinion on me because of one single hobby I happen to have.
http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=338 this comic sort of illustrates it :p getting this response isn't as fun as you might think it is.
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I feel for you. My ex recognized Boxer but that's about all. From my experience most of the girls I know just aren't comfortable playing something like starcraft. Paper Mario however is A-OK lol.
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The sad truth is that girls are not motivated to play Starcraft. There are far too many other real world attentions out there. Simply put: girls do not need to play Starcraft.
Ignoring the fact that the community is sometimes hostile towards females, there is a stigma about the community. Many of my friends play Starcraft and I will talk openly with them about it (although I reckon their girlfriends could care less), but if I were talking to a stranger you can bet that I will never mention Starcraft first. Girls do not want to associate with people who carry that stigma; they are insecure and would not want to appear party to a community that carries with it a stigma of antisocial and unpopular behaviour, which is what gaming is, according to laymen.
So, if you ever hope to see girls in the Starcraft sphere, you're going to have to change people's attitudes about the community. This will not happen anytime soon. You'd basically have to start Hollywood-ing it up; dress up the community as something cool and awesome, and have smart-looking, attractive spokespeople, alongside good-looking ladies' men players who make lots of money. As long as the frontrunners are pulling in <$200,000 per year and don't shave or can't control their weight, Starcraft is not going to become overly popular; women are attracted to money, fame, and prestige, and we have to sell that.
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I welcome girls, I despise wow players.
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Most girls play this game called life... When they lose though, they don't GG . They just go shopping. Usually with daddy's or hubby's credit card.
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Calgary25980 Posts
None of my friends have an interest in gaming either. I'm a man. Somehow life goes on.
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On July 28 2011 18:25 Porcelain wrote:
Maybe in a few more years (as esports <3 hopefully <3 grows) we’ll see a substantial increase in the female gaming scene. It would make my heart happy! :D
Maybe. Gamers have a negative stereotype that depicts us as socially inept characters who don't know how to function in the "real world" and would rather play their game than real life. In reality, my practicing SC2 to improve for my campus starcraft team is no different than someone practicing chess in their spare time. Unfortunately, most my nongaming friends only see the stereotypical WoW-addict when they think of gamers, not social people like myself.
As for MLG - it happens. Plenty of girls play this game, and I'm sure plenty more will start coming to big events. So long as you don't put your gender on a pedestal you're a welcome participant in the sausage-fest
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FuDDx
United States5008 Posts
On July 28 2011 18:43 Endymion wrote:
To be honest it's the duty of every gamer to their community to get their girlfriend or spouse into gaming, no exceptions.
Do you have a lady? Not trying to be smart ass but my lady literally kicks and screams if I try bringing up her coming to a video game lan/tourney or just watching some games at home.
Once in awhile the best I can get from her is sitting down to watch a fight or two (UFC/MMA/Boxing) She enjoys that mostly so she can make gay innuendos about why I like watching scantily clad men rolling around together.
I love my lady but I know she would rebel if I tried forcing any of my (nerdy kid stuff) on her.
(edit: nerdy kids stuff her words not mine)
On topic : I can not imagine how hard it would be to have a love for this game or any other and want to be a part of teh community. Unfortunately a community filled with many of us having no clue how to interact with the opposite sex. As Esports (hopefully) grows I would love to see more Females competing and supporting events and games and the communitys that grow from them.
Best wishes for you!!!
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I don't know any other eSports fans IRL. At all, either gender. I'm a boy, I'm not sad though.
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On July 28 2011 21:57 Lucumo wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 21:50 StarStruck wrote:On July 28 2011 21:46 SaRrAceN wrote:On July 28 2011 21:21 KeksX wrote:On July 28 2011 21:15 OpticalShot wrote:
This is probably going to be poorly received by the general TL public - not because this blog isn't genuine or whatever - but mainly because of the recent shitstorm (man I use that word too often nowadays) involving Riku and her blogs. Oh well, bad timing rushes can somewhat be amended by pro micro right?
Welcome to TL. Can you link to the "shitstorm"? I seem to actually have missed it. This might be a good example. Its started out all nice and then began to go downhill until day[9] complimented her in the thread and then everyone behaved afterwards. One minute people were calling her attention whore and all kinds of shit and post-day[9] everyone was like "i love ur blogs" etc. But its a good example of how rough this community will get towards females. That's not a good example at all. Yeah, this is a way better example...and the final conclusion is just too good.
Ya that one was a way better example. If it wasnt for day[9] the other one would have been the same shit again.
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On July 28 2011 18:36 Roe wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 18:31 Porcelain wrote:On July 28 2011 18:29 xarthaz wrote:
All good. Just dont go overboard with the promotion like some... incidents with girls have happened here, with unfortunate consequences O.o Incidents?! Like what, may I ask? He's probably just talking about stuff with Riku(people complain she keeps saying she's a girl then tries to get everyone to stop talking about the fact that she's a girl) and Slayers Jessica/Slayers (I forget her name, the new girl they put on the team even though she's diamond and they even said she's on the team because she's a girl.) Those are two that come to mind.
Slayers Eve, I think.
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I have molded my little sister into an avid gamer so I am doing my part. Though she prefers console over PC. T_T
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We just need a couple more bisus and we'll be fine...
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United Kingdom10823 Posts
On July 29 2011 03:39 omgCRAZY wrote:
I have molded my little sister into an avid gamer so I am doing my part. Though she prefers console over PC. T_T
I'm slowly trying to mould my cousin into watching SC2, but its slow going.
My target is the Blizzcon invitational for HotS, or just the first MLG after its release, whichever comes first/actually happens
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Oftentimes, I wish my female friends would go ":D" instead of ">_>" whenever I bring up Starcraft into our conversations and activities.
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The sad truth is that girls are not motivated to play Starcraft. There are far too many other real world attentions out there. Simply put: girls do not need to play Starcraft.
As long as the frontrunners are pulling in <$200,000 per year and don't shave or can't control their weight, Starcraft is not going to become overly popular; women are attracted to money, fame, and prestige, and we have to sell that.
These are two essentialist statements that do not accurately reflect "what women want" or "need." No one "needs" to play Starcraft. But a lot of people really want to. The main issues preventing women's participation in e-sports in my mind is two fold
(1) The e-gaming community is profoundly patriarchal. The language it uses, the culture it creates, the Dr. Pepper girls that sponsor it, etc. When women entering into the gaming world they are confronted with the option of hiding who they are or risk being harassed by others. Watch a few commentaries on female gamers or the comments under commentary by female gamers and it becomes explicit. Hiding who you are to participate in a community is not an open one. Until this chances women entering into e-games will face a hostile community that doesn't foster their continual participation.
(2) The cultural conditions that allow people to say the two statements I quote at the start of this post. The belief women are X, men are Y helps to perpetuate the belief that Starcraft is no place for women so there's no reason working on correcting the other problem I state above. If you look at the other threads like gender disparities in e-sports you'll notice time and time again that the community responds in way negatively toward changing it or opening it to others because the belief is the community exists as it does is natural. Ie, there aren't women playing because women don't want to (many people assume for biological reasons).
The solution to me consists of (1) promoting the existence of high-level competitive female gamers to create role-models for other female gamers; (2) report people to Blizzard who you see harassing or demeaning people for people women; and (3) be open to the realization that cultural conditions can and do change... and that everything we do either works to solidify things how they are or break them down to form new conditions.
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Lots of positive comments, I totally appreciate it. <3 Some negative stuff is to be expected, but I'm glad I got over my anxiety and posted! If I wanted attention I'd go elsewhere.... :D I have a lot of faith in this community lol. I'm glad to see some other girls posting. That was the main goal I was hoping to achieve in posting this blog. Thanks everyone!
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Those are illusions.
I don't know why you people have to keep bringing up such people like Kelly Milkies, who sticks out like sore thumb. It's a terrible example to refute that argument because there is so much more to it.
Almost everyone who casts gets shat on. Guy or girl. If you are going to embellish you might as well add every caster.
You know how people talk about the forums being a cesspool of shit? Yeah, well... more so in the chat rooms for streamers. There is no code. You can boot them from the channel all you want. They'll just keep coming in droves.
Women will come when they realize how main stream it actually is. Same rules apply to things like Comic Con. They see how big and fun it is. They will show up. Sure, there will always be a few douchebags who yell out, "show us your tits." You give them attention and they'll keep trying to egg you on. C'est la vie.
As for your solutions...
I would love to see a person like Pikachu compete with the boys in MLG. Someone has to break the ice and compete with the boys in the open bracket. Sure. The more women competing and jumping in with both feet are the ones who are going to carry the others further.
All they have to do is compete and they'll get exposure. No bones about it. You want to make headlines, just register to play. It doesn't matter what league you are in. The guys will respect you. It worked for Danica Patrick, Hayley Wickenheiser, etc.
Number 2. We have something for that already. You can block people you don't want to talk to.
Number 3. Sociology 101. Don't let the douche bags win. If you want to break down barriers you take initiative yourself.
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As a girl SC2 fan, I have to agree with what most guys are saying about 'competitiveness'. Having a male dominated community tends to 'make it easy' for girls. Normally you'd expect sports to be divided between males and females, but now that it's mixed up, girls probably feel less compelled to commit to hardcore competition with all the guys. It's like you won't expect girls to do as well in a typical sport as guys anyway, so partially it's that gender stereotype. Which is why I tend to experience the urge to get better at the game more when someone like megumixbear pops up.
To be honest, initially I found the game very hard to get into in SC1, both thanks to the poor graphics and difficulty in understanding the game. I think what really helps is having a few friends that are patient enough to lead a new Starcraft gamer to the right directions. I play the game more socially/entertainingly than competitively, both due to self interest and conflict of time with other commitments in life. But I believe that anyone can get better and do well at this game if they devoted time in practicing and learning (guy or girl).
Overall I just find the people in this community and the culture really cool and FAWKING HILARIOUS and keeps me intellectually stimulated.
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I think as long as we're welcoming of anyone who wants to play the game and don't make people feel shitty about it, we don't need to try and force people to do something they don't love. In general, girls are less competitive in sports and less goal-oriented, so it makes sense that on the whole don't love starcraft as much as we do. But if there's a girl (or guy) that's interested, we'd better make sure we don't drive them away.
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On July 28 2011 18:43 BabyToss! wrote:
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People put too much emphasis on genders n' stuff. It is a fact that girls are sometimes insulted by their male-counter parts, despite of some guys wanting girls to play. Seems to me that even the guys can't make their minds what they really want. At one side, they say that they wish girls would play games (SC2 in this case) more, and at the another instance, when they see one, they instantly go and bash on how bad of a player said girl is or how hot/ugly she is. Thing is, if they really want girls to play, they should not act that way and instead, accept them as part of the community, without pointing fingers 'HEY, IT'S A GURL' kind of style. Not only it gives an unwanted attention to that girl, but it also excludes them from the community.
In the end, like I said, gender doesn't matter. The passion we share love for, however, does. Wish we'd move past the stage that women are seen as either unusual, bad or even worse, judged by their looks, instead of for their passion & love for the game!
The first paragraph I quoted here was basically what I was going to re-iterate. Many guys here make it sound like they want more gamer girls - but then you see how gamer girls are treated by many gamer guys and you have to wonder.
Gender does matter in many cases because there are some differences. Although I agree that women should feel as welcomed to the gaming community as men, that simply is not the case at the moment, and we cannot keep doing the same thing hoping for a different reaction (namely, we cannot keep saying women should be treated "the same" and then not make them feel welcome).
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I personally know of no real SC2 female players. You are way more likely to run into someone who pretends to be a chick (cough Testie) than really is one.
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iNcontroL
USA29055 Posts
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NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
I'm not exactly a lurker, but I am a female gamer (People seem to assume I'm only a retired eSports photographer/journo.) I adore playing games, but they're all single-player affairs (well except for being horrifically bad at beat-em-ups like Soul Caliber and the Tekken series.) My genre of choice is survival horror. I'm a sucker for a good plot, interesting visuals (character design, costuming, locations etc.) gore/creepy elements, and OSTs. I used to spend more time gaming back in university than I did studying.
I got my start playing Tomb Raider on my old PC ^_^;
My favorite games are; Fatal Frame, Resident Evil (By far the series I've played the most), Forbidden Siren, Silent Hill (Especially 2.) Terrible, but amusing SH games like Obscure (I like laughing at bad voice acting) Plus RPGs such as Final Fantasy. I'm looking to expand into playing things like Zelda etc when I go home to my consoles.
As for non-console stuff I like mystery games such as Phoenix Wright. I do indulge in the odd cute game (Cooking Mama, Nintendogs etc.) I really want to try a wider range of DS/PS3 games, but it's hard to find them here in English (and I lack a TV) so I've not gamed for ages!
I'm not particularly good at them, but I do enjoy watching others play RTS (SC:BW obviously) plus FPS like Sudden Attack, Quake, Doom, Counterstrike etc. I was a real junkie for going to the non-SC leagues, and doing photo shoots/supporting the teams. Even if it wasn't 'official' eSports journalism.
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I was at MLG Columbus and there were a LOT of girls in the crowd, many of them fans of the game not just there with someone else, not sure what you're talking about :x
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On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
My favorite games are; Fatal Frame, Resident Evil (By far the series I've played the most), Forbidden Siren, Silent Hill (Especially 2.) Terrible, but amusing SH games like Obscure (I like laughing at bad voice acting) Plus RPGs such as Final Fantasy. I'm looking to expand into playing things like Zelda etc when I go home to my consoles.
As for non-console stuff I like mystery games such as Phoenix Wright. I do indulge in the odd cute game (Cooking Mama, Nintendogs etc.) I really want to try a wider range of DS/PS3 games, but it's hard to find them here in English (and I lack a TV) so I've not gamed for ages!
Well, you are definitely on par with a lot of Japanese (girls). For some reason, they really like those kind of games.
Err, "non-console stuff"? Those games are console ones as well ^_^ And since you are in Korea, you should start playing MMOGs, he he.
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NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On July 29 2011 10:10 Lucumo wrote:Show nested quote +On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
My favorite games are; Fatal Frame, Resident Evil (By far the series I've played the most), Forbidden Siren, Silent Hill (Especially 2.) Terrible, but amusing SH games like Obscure (I like laughing at bad voice acting) Plus RPGs such as Final Fantasy. I'm looking to expand into playing things like Zelda etc when I go home to my consoles.
As for non-console stuff I like mystery games such as Phoenix Wright. I do indulge in the odd cute game (Cooking Mama, Nintendogs etc.) I really want to try a wider range of DS/PS3 games, but it's hard to find them here in English (and I lack a TV) so I've not gamed for ages! Well, you are definitely on par with a lot of Japanese (girls). For some reason, they really like those kind of games. Err, "non-console stuff"? Those games are console ones as well ^_^ And since you are in Korea, you should start playing MMOGs, he he.
They're handheld - I don't consider those to be the same as my consoles that require being hooked up to the TV.
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Go cheer on megumixbear in the open bracket at MLG this weekend!!
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Don't be sad. Turn that frown upside-down. o.o
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On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
(People seem to assume I'm only a retired eSports photographer/journo.)
The only thing I've ever assumed about you is that you like Kamen Rider/Super Sentai. Learning that you're a girl, you're another extremely rare kind that watches KR/SS.
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On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
I'm not exactly a lurker, but I am a female gamer (People seem to assume I'm only a retired eSports photographer/journo.) I adore playing games, but they're all single-player affairs (well except for being horrifically bad at beat-em-ups like Soul Caliber and the Tekken series.) My genre of choice is survival horror. I'm a sucker for a good plot, interesting visuals (character design, costuming, locations etc.) gore/creepy elements, and OSTs. I used to spend more time gaming back in university than I did studying.
I got my start playing Tomb Raider on my old PC ^_^;
My favorite games are; Fatal Frame, Resident Evil (By far the series I've played the most), Forbidden Siren, Silent Hill (Especially 2.) Terrible, but amusing SH games like Obscure (I like laughing at bad voice acting) Plus RPGs such as Final Fantasy. I'm looking to expand into playing things like Zelda etc when I go home to my consoles.
As for non-console stuff I like mystery games such as Phoenix Wright. I do indulge in the odd cute game (Cooking Mama, Nintendogs etc.) I really want to try a wider range of DS/PS3 games, but it's hard to find them here in English (and I lack a TV) so I've not gamed for ages!
I'm not particularly good at them, but I do enjoy watching others play RTS (SC:BW obviously) plus FPS like Sudden Attack, Quake, Doom, Counterstrike etc. I was a real junkie for going to the non-SC leagues, and doing photo shoots/supporting the teams. Even if it wasn't 'official' eSports journalism.
Speaking of which, Neggy...
Steam pre-order for Dead Island!! :D You said we'd play! :3
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NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On July 29 2011 12:28 dabom88 wrote:Show nested quote +On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
(People seem to assume I'm only a retired eSports photographer/journo.) The only thing I've ever assumed about you is that you like Kamen Rider/Super Sentai. Learning that you're a girl, you're another extremely rare kind that watches KR/SS.
I know quite a few KR/SS watching ladies. However, the fandom seems to be concentrated mostly around the main forums (Henshin Justice etc.) and I've heard there's quite a lot of petty drama on them. I tend to stick to chatting with my friends on messaging services instead. (Oh and making precisely a billion gifs of OOOs and Gokaiger) each week ^_^; I regularly drive my other non-tokusatsu watching friend a bit mental by dragging him off on searches for certain types of merchandise.
@Torenhire: Aw hell yeah. I'll ask my friend about helping me pay for it.
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Woo! Lemme know if your friend is lame! :p
*end hijack*
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On July 29 2011 14:27 NeverGG wrote:Show nested quote +On July 29 2011 12:28 dabom88 wrote:On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
(People seem to assume I'm only a retired eSports photographer/journo.) The only thing I've ever assumed about you is that you like Kamen Rider/Super Sentai. Learning that you're a girl, you're another extremely rare kind that watches KR/SS. I regularly drive my other non-tokusatsu watching friend a bit mental by dragging him off on searches for certain types of merchandise.
Would so totally buy a Mobairite if I had the money to import it.
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NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
On July 29 2011 17:34 dabom88 wrote:Show nested quote +On July 29 2011 14:27 NeverGG wrote:On July 29 2011 12:28 dabom88 wrote:On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
(People seem to assume I'm only a retired eSports photographer/journo.) The only thing I've ever assumed about you is that you like Kamen Rider/Super Sentai. Learning that you're a girl, you're another extremely rare kind that watches KR/SS. I regularly drive my other non-tokusatsu watching friend a bit mental by dragging him off on searches for certain types of merchandise. Would so totally buy a Mobairite if I had the money to import it.
We've just gotten the Goseiger toys here (We're almost one year behind Japan, and they skipped Shinkenger due to it being too overtly Japanese.) and I got my Leon cellular :D We've only got Gokaiger capsule toy machines here for now, but my mini (working action) mobirate is so cute!
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On July 29 2011 17:58 NeverGG wrote:Show nested quote +On July 29 2011 17:34 dabom88 wrote:On July 29 2011 14:27 NeverGG wrote:On July 29 2011 12:28 dabom88 wrote:On July 29 2011 09:04 NeverGG wrote:
(People seem to assume I'm only a retired eSports photographer/journo.) The only thing I've ever assumed about you is that you like Kamen Rider/Super Sentai. Learning that you're a girl, you're another extremely rare kind that watches KR/SS. I regularly drive my other non-tokusatsu watching friend a bit mental by dragging him off on searches for certain types of merchandise. Would so totally buy a Mobairite if I had the money to import it. We've just gotten the Goseiger toys here (We're almost one year behind Japan, and they skipped Shinkenger due to it being too overtly Japanese.) and I got my Leon cellular.
Don't really care much for Goseiger. And I think Shinkenger may have also been skipped due to Korea's ban on I think Samurai images (due to bad relations with Japan). It's the same reason Mitsurugi was excluded from many Soul Calibur games in Korea.
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I'm sure there's a sizeable number of female SC2 fans, and even more female LoL fans, but it takes another level of fandom to go to things like MLG.
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My ex-gf could 3 hatch hydra bust in ZvP quite well. She got C- in less than a month
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On July 29 2011 04:26 sailorferret wrote:+ Show Spoiler +The belief women are X, men are Y helps to perpetuate the belief that Starcraft is no place for women so there's no reason working on correcting the other problem I state above. If you look at the other threads like gender disparities in e-sports you'll notice time and time again that the community responds in way negatively toward changing it or opening it to others because the belief is the community exists as it does is natural. Ie, there aren't women playing because women don't want to (many people assume for biological reasons).
The solution to me consists of (1) promoting the existence of high-level competitive female gamers to create role-models for other female gamers; (2) report people to Blizzard who you see harassing or demeaning people for people women; and (3) be open to the realization that cultural conditions can and do change... and that everything we do either works to solidify things how they are or break them down to form new conditions.
This post is far too naive and idealist. We're not creating Business Executive Barbie for girls to use as role models - we're trying to get women interested in something that right now they don't find interesting. Go for that angle after you get the audience, if only to get the women that care about that kind of thing (since the rest don't).
So how do other prestigious sports leagues get female fans, especially when most sports have single gender teams? One answer is to have a women's division. With the competition so low for women right now, this is impossible. It would be like having the LPGA Tour with less than 10 good female golfers.
What we need is to accommodate the female audience with full realization of the male dominated field - even in the face of rampant pandering to men. One league does this probably better than any other, and that's the NFL. You'll notice that even though the majority of NFL fans are male, there are still tons of female fans. The NFL has top-of-the-line strategy, competition, and dyntastic sports franchises as its big hooks. It also doesn't hurt that there is the popularity of cheerleading, the draw of big muscly men, the fact that they are highly paid, and the fame and recognition that comes with all of it. Women are attracted to this as much as they are to the game - you can't win fans based on the game alone; that's not how marketing works.
So make e-sports big, don't play down the male fanbase, and give women a reason to watch other than the fact that women are playing the game. Then maybe one day we'll get a Liquid Barbie doll, and it'll attract more women into the sphere of E-Sports as a positive role model.
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EPT
![[image loading]](http://www.truthdig.com/images/arts_culture_uploads/computernerdbarbie_300.jpg)
