Fanboys Anonymous

As I'm sitting here watching a video made by a very good friend and fellow writer, I am in nothing but agreement with him about Anita Sarkeesian. Now, this woman is the epitome of feminism. She has made a video, here:


She talks about how women are misrepresented in video games and that there is an extreme sexist view of both women and gaming in general. Now, I agree that in some video games women are made out to be a very sexually oriented, or very ill willed, lower character. For example Dead or Alive, Rumble Roses, and many Japanese based games, but not all games put women in such light.

Some such examples as Portal 2, Metroid, Mirror's Edge, and Claire from Resident Evil 2 who was just a normal college student who also loved motorcycles and also drops everything when her brother, an elite soldier trained for combat, goes missing, she was quick to jump into action to locate him, despite having no formal training.

Faith Connors from Mirror's Edge

She also goes on to state that women, or girls, are at most time the target of most online "cyber mobs". Now, in my personal experience as a female gamer, I have been the target of online bullying and misogynist comments via online multiplayer gaming. Maybe at first it was extremely hurtful, and alarming, but I grew up. I realized that I gamed because I loved it. I gamed because I loved that I had a passion that would stick with me for life, and by realizing that fact, I've earned the respect of my fellow gamers for being a female gamer, and playing because I love it. Not because I have something to prove. Anita, on the other hand, has painted women as damsels in distress and it sickens me, because I am not one of them. I know many women who game, and have so much respect in the industry and among their peers that they don't have nasty things said about them, and I know real women who can outplay most men in what she calls a "Male dominated space". Granted, more men do play video games, but from the trends I have seen over the years, women are becoming more outspoken and aware of gaming that eventually these sexist views won't even exist.

So, to end my little rant and pet peeve of ignorance, I'm going to say this (with help from a friend): I play because I love it I play because I'm good at it. I do not play because I'm a woman, but I play because I am a gamer. I see no gender, no colour, I just see something that is fun and that is my life's passion.