Being a Female Gamer

Being a female in the gaming community has its ups and downs.

As a young girl I was happy to be called a “gamer girl” but only recently started seeing this term as derogatory. Why is it that only us females are called gamer girls when you have never heard of a gamer boy? Is it because the gaming community is largely male dominated?

My very first memory of playing games was Worms Armageddon, Heroes of Might and Magic 3… Ahh and the classic Warcraft 3. Since then, a 6-year-old me was hooked. Growing up with two brothers in the gaming community I quickly picked up how “the guys” would behave towards each other and soon towards me. 

 “Just because I’m a girl does not mean that I can’t beat you… in fact I CHALLENGE you!”

There is that typical stereotype of female gamers not being good in games but rather just playing to impress the guys. This is untrue. There are a lot of toxic players online, and for some reason females just get treated differently, “go easy on her, she's just a girl”. It’s like they don’t respect the fact that you're good at gaming.

“Playing games these days it’s quite hectic because men have these ulterior views when it comes to women playing games … when guys see or hear that a woman is playing, they immediately believe that they aren’t going to be good.”

Melissa Spagna

Being a female in the gaming community is not easy, but if you have the right attitude, it’s fun when you can kick some ass. I always enjoy playing in silence, especially if it’s with a new group of people because they just assume being female would make me a bad player… and that’s the moment I enjoy the most … the element of surprise and taking the lead. Practice makes perfect! It’s all about what you enjoy and playing towards your strengths. You can master any type of game if you are willing to commit the hours.

On the bright side, if you’re female and you do enjoy playing a game or two, there is a whole gaming community and teams just made up by females who would love to support you! 

“I have seen girls are less competitive and thus nicer and more fun to play with because they don’t get as upset as the guys” - Mireille Havenga

Jessica Jordaan

“I was scared to compete online because I always had the indication that guys were better than girls. But in high school I started playing more, and with the help of friends I realized that I really loved gaming. If you make a stupid mistake everyone gets super mad and annoyed with you, but when they find out you’re a girl they switch their attitude completely, then it’s fine to have messed up. The “gamer girl” community is awesome because most of us aren’t toxic or petty and we actually go out of our way to help and support each other.”

Statista.com states that from 2006 to 2020 there was a gender split of which 41% was female gamers. The female population of gamers has increased over the past few years and we as female gamers should embrace our love for gaming.  

Just because I’m a female does not make me any less worthy of being a good gamer. Some of us actually enjoy playing because we love the artwork and story line. The gaming community is bigger than ever and we as female gamers should not be scared to stand tall and take our wins. We are still the minority in the male dominated industry but let’s stand together and support each other to make the gaming industry a gender equel industry.