Gamer girls, they just wanna have fun!
You know what they say: only guys play video games. A lot of recent research, however, proves that popular rumor false. The gaming population is in fact between 44% and 50% female, and these gamer girls aren’t all casuals, too! There are only slightly more hardcore gamer guys than girls, and both sexes enjoy the same types of video game genres.
We are steadily marching into a future where women are acknowledged as real gamers by both the gaming industry and the multitudes of male gamers worldwide. But what is it about gamer girls that we find so admirable?
In this article, which we’re calling Gamer Girls: 7 Reasons Why We Love Them, we salute all you gamers girls out there for your passion, your energy, and your contributions to the industry we all love!
1. They’re passionate about gaming
One need look no further than many of YouTube celebrities such as Dodger, Minx, and Melonie Mac to see just how passionate gamer girls are about video gaming. As any gamer would, these women go nuts for their favorite video game titles, characters, and genres.
But it’s not just these few famous women who enjoy games. You’ll find gamer girls raving about their favorite titles on your Facebook newsfeed, or posting fan art on sites like Instagram, DeviantArt, and Tumblr. You’ll see them in gaming conventions and eSports events. You’ll observe them buying games at your local games store, or playing MOBAs in internet shops. In fact, there are more women over the age of 18 who play games (33%) than males under the age of 18 who play games (15%). So if you’re still wondering if it’s possible for women to love games, let the facts speak for themselves!
2. They’re great gamers
Some of the best gamers in the world are women.
Kim “Aphrodite” Ga Young is a member of a professional South Korean StarCraft II team known as MVP. And this eSports champion just so happens to be one of the world’s most badass Terran players – so much so that she can make your most well-thought-out Protoss strategies look like an elementary school exercise. You’ve also got Kaitlyn “kaitlyn” Richelle, another StarCraft II player with some serious Zerg skills. She can kick your butt and make you call her “queen” any day of the week.
Then there’s Sjokz, whose sweet first-person shooting skills can make grown men weep (and who is so badass she named herself after the shockrifle weapon in Unreal Tournament); SSSniperWolf, who’s well-known for lining up the headshots in Call of Duty; and Rachel Quirico, an eSports journalist who also happens to be an amazing League of Legends player.
And the list goes on. This conveys a simple truth: if you’re going to enter the world of gaming, check your prejudices at the door, because the next person putting a bullet through your head in Battlefield 4 could very well be a woman.
3. They show the world that gaming isn’t a male-only hobby
The stereotype that gaming is an exclusive boy’s club has hurt the medium in many ways. For one thing, many developers have produced titles featuring content that are offensive to women (and to men who aren’t douchebags). Marketing a game exclusively to males could also be harmful, as it means the game could potentially make less money than if it were something both men and women are drawn to play.
Thanks to gamer girls, however, women are being increasingly recognized as a huge portion of the gaming market. Contrary to the stereotype, games that let you play dress-up or apply make-up to a cartoon avatar’s face aren’t that appealing to women. Gamer girls want action, adventure, and excitement as much as the next guy. Games like Call of Duty, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and League of Legends? Gamer girls love games like these, and they’re not too shy to share their interests with the world.
4. They’re encouraging positive changes in the gaming industry
Human sexuality is great and all, but some video game developers and publishers just take the “sex sells” adage too far. Gravity-defying breasts and attire so skimpy they look like they’re made of noodles? Stuff like that may make a 14-year-old boy’s palms sweaty. But for the rest of us, there’s a point when the line is crossed and “sexy” becomes “wtf are you kidding me???”
But with the acknowledgement that near half of the gaming population is female, the industry is starting to aim for a less sexist portrayal of women. Lara Croft now looks like a real human being as opposed to a polygonal inflatable sex doll. In Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft’s medic no longer speaks like she’s spouting lines for a porn shoot. Even Mortal Kombat X’s female warriors look less like ninja strippers and more like real, proper fighters.
The industry is also becoming more inclusive. 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate boasts a female protagonist, which is a far cry from the previous year’s Assassin’s Creed Unity, which is notorious for its lack of female avatars. This year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III gives players the option to play as a female soldier.
The gaming industry workforce is still largely male-dominated. But more and more women are taking on artistic, technical, and supervisory roles in some of the most well-known game development studios. You can read about five of them in our article, 5 Really Cool Women in the Gaming Industry.
5. If you’re a gamer guy, you can totally be yourself with a gamer girl
Gamer guys like nothing more than chillaxin’ with a keyboard and monitor (or a gamepad and TV) in front of them and blasting away at some demons, aliens, or human scum. Well, if you’re with a gamer girl, she’ll probably be sitting next to you and doing the exact same thing.
The reason gamer guys like gamer girls so much is because the latter just understands them. While other girls will be asking you to take them out to dinner, gamer girls will be having pizza delivered to your doorstep so that the two of you can invest more time offing zombies. In other words, their priorities are your priorities.
As a gamer guy, you also don’t have to explain yourself whenever you spend more than two hours playing Diablo III. Or why you empty your pockets buying all those Civilization V DLCs. You don’t have to explain, because they already know why you do these things. Heck, they do them too. There is nothing more comfortable, nothing that makes a gamer guy feel more secure, than being friends with a gamer girl.
6. They’re usually into other geeky stuff too
If you’re a gamer girl, chances are you’re into other geeky stuff too. Like science fiction and fantasy. Superhero movies and television shows. Comics. Speculative literature. Anime. Action figures. Board games. Cosplay. The list goes on.
What’s awesome about being a gamer is that, officially, you’re also a geek. And being a geek is one of the greatest things anyone can be, because it means you also live in a world of cool ideas. You thrive on creativity and imagination.
You enjoy video games because they satisfy your need for fantastical what-if scenarios, for things no one has ever seen or experienced. And it’s for this reason that gamer girls – and most gamers, for that matter – also enjoy watching Star Wars on the big screen, collecting Play Arts Kai action figures, or raving about Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Many of the most popular cosplay girls – such as Jessica Nigri, the Spiral Cats, and Alodia Gosiengfiao – are gamers. And, if you observe, they also do cosplay of characters from geeky movies, television, and comics. Likewise, video game music cover artists such as Lindsey Stirling and Taylor Davis are gamers who also enjoy other forms of geek entertainment. Those artists you see on Deviant Art, Tumblr, and Instagram? A vast majority of them are geeks and gamers.
7. They’re just fun to be around!
Gamer girls know how have some good, clean fun.
This, of course, applies to all gamers. Why hang around bars getting smashed when you can spend time with your friends sending hordes of demons back to hell in Diablo III? Why squeeze into noisy, sweaty, and smoky clubs when you can be blowing robots up and saving the world in Call of Duty: Black Ops III?
And as fans of the medium, gamer girls are fond of the best kind of earworm: video game music. They have impeccable fashion sense, as can be evidenced by their awesome cosplay activities. They also read the best books and comics, collect the coolest toys, watch the most fascinating shows on television and in the cinema.
Additionally, because of their routine exposure to some of the coolest stories and characters in gaming, many gamer girls have more vivid imaginations than non-gamers. So if you’re looking for creativity, look no further. Add humor to that list, too. Heck, even intelligence, because, as recent research has proven, there are certain types of games that actually improve our ability to think.
Want to have the kind of fun that you know you won’t end up regretting? Hang out with gamer girls!
Thus, we come to the conclusion of Gamer Girls: 7 Reasons Why We Love Them. What about you, fellow gamers? What is it about gamer girls that you love? Share your opinions with us in the comments section below!
Love girl gamers? Check out the following articles!
5 Really Cool Women in the Gaming Industry
11 Gamer Girls Who Are Captivating Male Gamers Worldwide
