Got Girls? Gaming’s Demographic Expands

“You were beat by a girl!” It’s a schoolyard line we’ve all heard, primarily uttered to ridicule both the guys who lost and the girls who won. With the growing popularity of gaming amongst women, that playground taunt has taken on a new meaning, adopted by the self-professed gamer girls and spoken with pride. Don’t expect these video game vixens to go easy on you just because you have mesmerizing man-junk; they play to win. And sure, guy gamers are overly eager to hurl vicious, misogynistic insults thanks to the anonymity of the internet, but that doesn’t change the fact that girl gamers are here to stay (and pwn).

One of the most well-known, all-female gaming clans is the Frag Dolls. These feminine fraggers have demonstrated their controller mastery in the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon series and parlayed their skills into being sponsored by Ubisoft. Of course, competitive gaming doesn’t begin and end with these talented gamers. There are plenty of other female gaming clans out there: P.M.S., G.I.R.L., and Xbox Gamerchix all inject some much-needed estrogen into the mostly testosterone-fueled pastime.  The last thing you’d want to say to these death-dealing damsels is, “You’ve come a long way, baby,” lest you have a bib and diaper handy for the inevitable cyber spanking they’d give you.

While the hardcore gamer girls are racking up kills and dominating their male counterparts in CoD4, other female gamers are speaking their minds in video game magazines and websites. Jessica Chobot at IGN, Donna Park from Electric Playground, and soozyQ over at Xbox Live are leading the charge against the stereotypically sweaty male game journalist regime, bringing a new voice to the growing demographic. One of my personal favorite up-and-coming game bloggers is Kate, the Game Dame.  This dedicated dame dabbles in a bit of everything, providing regular news for the insatiable fact-mongers as well as artsy excursions into the seedy gaming underbelly via interviews and podcasts.  

It’s safe to say that the once man-centric hobby has evolved. Girl gamers are a quickly growing faction that can (and will) stomp guys in even the most manly, grunting soldier shooters. Female bloggers are injecting their unique outlook into the overly masculine video game dissertation. Yes, the video game landscape is changing, but instead of curling up into the fetal position and crying about how your favorite hobby is being overtaken by a bunch of girls, keep an open mind and remember this: Without women, you wouldn’t be alive, let alone a gamer.