Where are the nerd girls - Page 9

On April 09 2012 21:50 Haemonculus wrote:
RedJustice's words pretty solidly reflect my own thoughts. Especially the part about female gamer's negative experiences not being taken seriously. I'm not sure what's more annoying, the actual sexism you run into, or that you're expected to just roll with the punches and take it.

Or the ever lovely, "Well just don't tell anyone you're female! Clearly by mentioning your gender, you wanted this attention!" Again, as if this is just some inherent part of the gaming culture that you're just supposed to accept, and even censor yourself to appease instead of anyone even considering that perhaps the culture itself needs to change a bit. Sure, I'll just not stream, or never talk, or not show up to live events, or whatever makes you comfortable, -.-;

Sometimes the sexism is very blunt. I used to get "wow she's hot" or "wow she's fugly", or "get back to the kitchen" comments pretty much daily when I used to stream. Sometimes the sexism is really subtle. People assume X Y and Z about you, simply because you're female.

Now all that said, there are plenty of great guys in the community as well. I've met plenty of awesome friends over the net and in games who couldn't care less that I'm female, and take me seriously as a person and gamer. Those folks are awesome, but the community at large tends to still be pretty sexist overall.

On April 11 2012 08:47 khaydarin9 wrote:


Maybe we're going to have to write this off as another one of those ridiculous fundamental differences between men and women, because I really don't think it's true that any activity that blends males and females together will lead to romantic interaction.

But maybe that's because I have a FRIENDZONE ... haha ...

On April 11 2012 10:34 Chef wrote:
Sorry to take a page one comment, but it interests me:



I don't think these experiences are limited to the gaming community, are they? Online anonymity as a whole breeds racism, sexism, any kind of ism you can think of. Sometimes I think it's just teenagers testing their boundaries and what they can get away with on the internet, sometimes I think it doesn't matter what age they are, they're just horrible people showing their true colours in the one place they think they won't be reprimanded. Which is why TL and the people you've come to know show a much greater concern. It's stops being anonymous when you come to identify yourself with your online ID, and the consequences of what happens to that ID are a reality. That's not to say that the people who've been on this site are secretly racist or sexist, but at least as much to say that the internet doesn't function as an outlet for 'politically incorrect' opinions anymore, which might only be appealing for people who can actually get along with human beings of various backgrounds.

All that to say that I think the general online experience with anonymous users (youtube comments, 4chan, low post count on any forum) is pretty horrible. For everyone person with a witty one liner, there's 100 arguing about Nazis, saying the n word, or otherwise recording their nugatory thoughts for all the internet to see. I realise that your point is about the female experience specifically, and I don't want to degrade that, but I believe (misanthropic as I am) that it goes beyond the gaming community.

On April 09 2012 20:48 Zandar wrote:
I mean we are the nerd squad.
I always thought that if there's one group of males that would value personality, intelligence etc above physical beauty it would be the nerds.

Of course there are handsome male players and casters, but also a bit less and in the end, who cares how they look? Nobody.
I don't care if you're fat, ugly, awkward, because fellow nerds don't judge nerds about that, these traits don't matter.

But why do the girls on stage all have to be cute? Why do I get mostly "hot female gamers, sexy female gamers" links when I do a google search for "female gamers"
I have nothing against Seltzer, Smix, Anna etc. I really appreciate them for trying to make e-sports a less male only environment.
And besides that they are good at what they do too.

But why do only girls like them succeed? With above average looks. Why do they always have to dress hot?

Kpop is even worse. Those girls are all selected purely for looks. All the same hight and sizes. It doesn't even matter if they can sing, they can just moderate their voices.

It's the kind of sexism that doesn't belong with us nerds I think.
We were always ignored by the cheerleader type of alpha girl, but there were always other girls, maybe more shy, less popular, but for me, usually more interesting, because they were more like me. They exist for sure but where are they in this community?
Is it because they avoid the spotlight themself? Or is it because when they try to, they only get judged by their looks instead of who they are. Or because they get judged by their environment when they find out she plays games?

I think by always having non-nerd girls on stage we don't give our fellow nerd girls a real chance.
I'm pretty sure there are girls out there that don't have the pop star look but a lot of game knowledge. There are plenty of female gamer leagues, surely one of them has casting skills too. Why don't tournament organisers scout her instead of the beauty pageant? I'd love to hear an insightful female voice.

Scarlett is like the first girl who fits the profile a bit, even if she's cute, it seems she's a real fellow gamer nerd at heart. And it took her a while to make the step in the public, even with such great skills. I hope she'll be an example for many girls/women.
The amount of fans she got in a few days gives me hope!

And to you gamer nerd girl anywhere around the world, I love you and hope to see more of you.