DISCLAIMER: Rest assured that we B2G staff are experienced gamers and know female gamers who can pwn someone with epic skills, or have enjoyed the game without caring about what people think. The “Pinay Gamer” section offers these girls who do so. (Speaking of which, what happened to that section, Kuya Vince?)Â This is also not an official advice guide. This is generally from my experiences with meeting a few who are pretty much those… type of gamers and how I try to help them make video games a focus in their adventures as gamers.
If you, the reader, are pretty much offended by these tips, I deeply apologize. Feel free to track me down. Just send your hatemail and I will respond with my home address. Come at me bro. I regret nothing.
Ladies and Gentlemen, on this special post of B2G we dive into a special subbreed of female gamers: those who play and enjoy video games and happen to be female… and the “gamer girls.” This is about the latter.
FIRST OF ALL: What is a Gamer Girl?
Females have made up of about 40% of the gaming population and in recent years, these gamers have grown to balance out the male-dominated gaming world. While many females in the gaming population have been joked around by the male counterparts to go to kitchens and make sandwiches, you got to admit that the gaming population is growing fast and well, and both genders are growing to respect each others in regards to gender equality, to know that gaming knows no gender.
Yet in the recent years, a new breed of attractiveness has risen from the internet where we spot pictures of beautiful women kissing their controllers or use them as censor items to cover their naughty bits. We see those girls who are incredibly vocal with their genders and the fact that they are gamers, hoping to get some attention while playing against a room full of guys in a very famous shooting game. These girls who flaunt their bodies while shooting a few headshots. You know… those girls. Sure there is nothing wrong with flaunting our love for the game with some apparel and maybe dressing your avatar in something that shows popculture interest, but what irks me that they use video games and treat it as  fashion accessories. This eventually became the equivalent of going to clubs and hooking up with boys. But replace “clubs” with “video games with epic fantasy setting” and “boys” with “manly powerful avatar”.
Another feature that the “gamer girl” is known for is on how they are treated as the weaker sex by the male gamer population (to be fair, many male gamers tend to be extremely harsh to their female counterparts, while others are accepting of them to the point of dating or defending them) and are claimed oppressed to the point that their only form of payback is by showing  how badass they are just by flaunting on how much they can kick ass (performance may vary). And while some of these gamer girls have the ability and can prove to play well against guys, some tend to either boast and brag about such achievements when they win (“How does it feel to be pwned by a GIRL!”) or complain and be sore towards such when they lose,  creating a sense of annoyance towards the people around them (“YOU ARE SO SEXIST uhuhuhuhuh!”).
Of course, how a gamer girl is defied is up to you. But to me, being a gamer does not always involve your gender, and respecting other gamers no matter what the games you play. But sadly, we do have to meet these “gamer girls” one time or another, and it’s up to you to ignore it or simply help her not make a fool of herself.
tl;dr: Attention-seekers who thinks that now geekiness is a fashion trend that it’s time to get some attention from it.
So how can one no longer be labelled a “Gamer Girl”?Â
1. STOP Labelling yourselves or other female gamers as such.Â
First of all,  stop using the words “gamer girl” or  “girl gamer”. Or “gamer chick”. Remember that gender has nothing to do with interests. I mean, if you hear “female reader”  or “male chef”, you might respond with ‘DAS BULL”, right? So yes, don’t give labels to other gamers.  It’s not making the community more equal if we separate everything by gender.
2. Add more variety to your gaming genre and experiment your gamer horizons.
Yes, you can perfectly play an overexposed warfare shooting game just fine, and you can zap a spell or two on an overexposed MMORPG, but that is not the point. Video games have a wide range of genres and themes where anyone from this day and age can jive on.
Every gamer has their weaknesses and strengths when it comes of the certain genres. Aside from the usual, try to broaden your horizons with a fighting game, adventure game, puzzle game, beat game, any game on the market really. It’s all about flexibility and versatility and it’s truly up to preference if you wanna pursue new ways of gaming. Also, go to an arcade or an internet cafe and try out some games that you will enjoy when you go for the long run. You will never know that you can unleash your inner gamer just by trying something new.
Speaking of which…
3. Nothing’s really wrong with being a little oldschool.
Waiting for that super-new overused shooting game that involves warfare and ZOMBIES? It’s sometimes best to wind back and play those oldschool games of yesterday.  The ideal about the games back then is that it shows what gaming is like back then and how it has evolved.
Go around the house, find your old consoles that no one ever plays, and give oldschool games a shot. Best way to play these types of games is a hell lot of imagination, since pixels cannot match the High-Definition graphics we have today and it gives off a demonstrative history on how great franchises start from humble beginnings.
Another good way to play oldschool video games is the use of Emulators. Sure it may seem a little unorthodox…  and unacceptable to many, but in a time where buying old original consoles and cartridges might cost a fortune it’s one of the more accessible ways to play nowadays. If I were you, pop out your computer and download a few roms and play them. You won’t be dissappointed on how these games can make a good impact. 🙂
4. Know what you are doing.
Do not complain about the game’s difficulty when you lose. Don’t also be braggy and high and mighty when you win either.  There are other people like you who are in it to win the game as well.
Also, if you can’t stand the more advanced modes of a game, start with a practice mode to test your strengths and try out the game’s strengths. It’s also advised to start on basic or easy modes and slowly challenge yourself with harder modes bit by bit.  Yeah, it won’t give you as much of bragging rights, but you should at least be aware of the game’s mechanics first and practicing them before playing with the big boys.
5. You are not the only female gamer in existence. So don’t claim that you are.
Just remember that you are not a special snowflake. Being a female gamer is neither a social statement nor a political revolt. You are simply playing a video game with a ton of people you do or do not know.
Sometimes you might find a person like yourself in one of those games who liked to brag about their gender while playing video games and maybe you might form some kind of grrrl gamer alliance or whatever.  And then you might find another… and another… until your entire club is full of girls like you. You have no complaints, though. They are special snowflakes like you and maybe one day you and your special snowflake army will dominate this male-crazed world with hotness and pwnz0rs!
Or just tear and made dramu out of one another.  Whatever. But awareness is the key. Treat your female gamers as equals and for God’s sake, do not bash them for being gamer girls either.  With that comes to my next advice…
6. Be a bro to the community.
One thing gamer girls are known for is that their attention is so showy that men who are attracted by such girls might give them aide or even some incredibly powerful items hoping that they can end up dating such a sword-slinging belle in real life. Finding a boyfriend in a video game may look great on a dating list, but you are here to game. Finding a social life in that game might suck the fun out of other gamers who are not that interested or do not have your purpose.
If you are though interested with making friends with other people, try to join a guild or sometimes accept a party request… or ask (politely). Â Parties are also great if you need aide with certain missions or quests, but remember that your party is also going through them as much and as badly as you do. So do your part well.
And it’s perfectly fine to play the game alone as well. We are not judging you. Just be polite and respect opinions. 😀
And finally…
7. Enjoy the game, not simply the hype and the attention.
One thing that gamers love about playing video games is the different worlds that they can venture to and how they become the hero of their world. Pretty much escapism. There is nothing wrong with appearances when it comes to you as a gamer and I know some gamers who are feminine but can still play a game real well. We just need to remind ourselves once in a while that we are in a video game is play and appreciate the content of the game itself.
If your purpose is to socialize and make new friends, by all means do so. But remember that in a game, you have to play it.
In the end, labels do not make the gamer. Genders do not make the gamer. Video Games make the gamer. It’s cheezy, but I have no final thought. And I hope this list can help people make gaming a more equal community for both men and women alike!
And if I see someone post another pic of a woman who kisses or licks her controllers because it might attract the male population, things happen. Mostly involving changing to another window. XD
