Anyway. IAHGames has partnered with the cosmetics company L'Oreal this September 2008 to turn the spotlight onto that elusive and near-mythical species, the Granado Espada Girl Gamer. This month, GE girl gamers can attend Ladies Day every Tuesday at the IAHGames iCafe in Singapore; and the SEA / ANZ Granado Espada Homepage is hosting an event called GE Gamer Girls Season 1.
Full Disclosure before I continue: Yes, I'm part of that event. I received the questionnaire from RCM Hrin some time ago and have mailed it back with my responses. I don't know when mine will be up.
Now that's out of the way, a little discussion. Discussion and comments on the GE Gamer Girls Season 1 event are in this forum thread [login required].
Browsing through the first few pages makes me feel a little irritated, a little resigned, and a little bit sick.
There are the usual trollish responses that either say the girls must be fake girls, and/or come very close to the old challenge to anyone claiming to be female on the Internet: "Tits or get the F out!" There are responses that say IAHGames is exploiting its female gamers to lure in more male gamers. There is a lot of inanity that centers on the so-called Rule 16: "There are no girls on the internets [sic]."
The actual girls in that thread waver between being amused, insisting that Rule 16 is not true, and giving dire warnings that all the girls who are going to be featured will have to brace themselves against sexist responses from the male gamers.
And I just have to say it, offense and defense be damned: All of these responses are missing the damn point. The male gamers SHOULD NOT say those things, whether they are joking or serious. And the female gamers SHOULD NOT be defensive about their gender!
Granted, the event is a PR stunt, and the tagline is, Granado Espada appeals to everyone, whether they be male or female. But that's not something to fear, or jeer at, or be defensive about! It is in fact something to celebrate: Granado Espada is a game that both male and female players can play, and play with pride.
Okay, so you tell me I'm taking this too seriously, and maybe the people in the thread are just joking. But you'd be quite right: I AM taking this seriously. I have been taking this issue seriously for a very long time, ever since I started playing MMORPGs.
I'm not going to preempt my own answers to the questionnaire. I hope they print it in full because I took pains to outline precisely WHY I am a crusader for the cause of the girl gamer, and specifically for the cause of the girl gamer in GE.
I'm here to fight back against "fishbowl syndrome". I'm here to fight back against the taunt of "Tits or get the F out". I'm here to sound the clarion call of "Screw Rule 16". I am a girl on the Internet, I am a girl in Granado Espada. I have never hidden my gender online despite the jeers and the outright stupid taunting. I am a female in Granado Espada and I won't hide it - on the contrary, I am proud to be female.
Try to tell me otherwise and I will not only sic these on you,
but I will also fight back.
6 comments:
I miss the times i was part of the whole "Girl Gamer" thing.
Wouldn't E-Games also host something like the whole L'Oreal-association thing? Not only is it a campaign for Girl Power but finally the long awaited possible endorsement for Granado Espada!
Keep on showing them Girl Power Nine Moons! ^_~v
-Joan aka Sigrid
I am a Girl Gamer.
@ lady 'k
you can always come back, you know... besides, so long as you are still playing video games, you are still a Girl Gamer.
i don't know about e-Games's plans. it's a shame because Hrin credits Veya for getting the idea in the first place. now that V is out, we don't know what will happen to the Girl Gamer initiatives here in PH. we can probably try to talk about it on Saturday.
thanks for the support.
I also think that the girl-gamers idea is a marketing ploy to lure guys into playing GE more. But I don't go to the extreme as to ask someone to prove their identity for me.
However, I have observations, which may explain the fishbowl syndrome:
1) The gaming population is still predominantly male
2) Most of these guys are actually without a significant other, and is in varying degrees of fervent desire for it. (The problem is not the lack, but rather the desire).
3) However, due to their addiction to these games, they have little or no access to social venues where they can meet girls.
4) And everyone knows about the stories of real-life guys pretending to be girls in the online world. Hahaha!
5) And so begins the mistrust, also mostly by people in #2. Those who don't belong in that category probably won't care much.
-or-
It could also be that, guys are asserting that gaming is their domain. Like a territorial thing, or they're looking at this issue as a competition, and they won't ever want to lose. (Instinct, perhaps?)
@ kincaid
1 - agreed. that's because the males harass the females who try it, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
2 - agreed.
3 - agreed. EBs don't count.
4 - agreed. so much so that we evolved several words for the phenomenon: chiksilog, Many Men Online Role-Playing Girls, Guy In Real Life, etc.
5 - agreed. i only wish there were more who didn't belong in #2.
i also agree with your final assertion. some men just don't want to lose to anyone, and count losing to a woman as an even bigger loss.
I met my wife in Pristontale Philippines and we've celebrated our 3rd year Anniversary last August.
I guess the problem are Men's Ego...
The Stereotyping...
Maybe these other guys would shut up if there will be a "Granado Espada Guy Gamer Feature"
Leave the gratifications to the Girls please...
@ Palukz
gratz to you and to the wife!
a guy gamer feature would actually be a good idea, come to think of it, para may equality naman.
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