~ Female Gamers and the Online Gaming Industry ~

                                                                                                                             December 29, 2022

Hola everyone,

Welcome to my Blog! My name is Giselle Cobb and I am a full-time student at the American Military University, currently progressing through my Bachelor of Science in Computer Technology with a concentration in Web Development. I enjoy playing video games.  It has been a passion of mine since I was around 7 years old.  The love began with the local arcade and grew with my very first console, the Atari 7800. This would progress with many more consoles and my very first pc (well the first one I personally owned at least). I was 16 and was able to purchase not only the system but my very first 2 computer video games: The Dame was Loaded and D.

This led me to my research paper for our Internet Concepts course.  It would be based on the women in the gaming industry and the struggles and tribulations of being accepted and included in such an empire.  I have been involved in the computer industry in some shape or form since the early 2000's when I ran my own computer repair/installation store.  The narrative back then was that women were not welcomed nor appreciated in that industry, unfortunately, the same logic exists today in the gaming industry and atmosphere. 

Although women are literally half of the gaming representation, the industry does not take them seriously. It is actually seen as the most imbalanced of all the creative industries, according to Women in Games. Within the e-gaming industry, only 5% of competitive gamers are females. This is crazy because if you spend more than 30 minutes searching through gaming broadcasting sites such as Twitch, you will become aware of many females playing competitively (and winning) in many different categories. The availability is there, the gamers are there, and the representation is lacking.  There is not enough interest from the e-gaming managers nor the event organizers, it seems, and thus the inclusion of female gamers in the competitive aspect is severely lacking.

The gaming industry is well aware of this but is honestly doing nothing to rectify or try to fix the situation.  The inclusion of female characters in games is often as a damsel in distress or a sidekick.  Women are not elevated in 90% of video games and are often seen as the weaker person, just like most gamers view female gamers.  The gaming industry could be doing so much more lifting up female gamers by encouraging younger girls to play; putting more females in the limelight with a variety of games; creating an organization that teaches and encourages inclusion for all within gaming environments. Representation inadequacy is not the only downfall of being a female gamer.  The toxic and downright dangerous environment that women are often placed in while gaming is unequivocally the worst of the situation.  Women/girls have often yelled at, leered at, swore at, and demeaned not only by the opposition but by their own teammates when they find out that the person playing that particular character is actually a female.  Some even received death threats unless they were willing to quit playing the game. 

To amplify that the common grown for the threats is the female gamers just existing, Women in Games Argentina ran an experiment with professional male gamers and Valorant.  They had these male gamers play the game as themselves, and they received the normal "insults" that are expected in these types of games, which were all based on the fact that they had just killed one of their characters.  When these same gamers altered their voices to sound more feminine, the atmosphere within the gaming environment completely changed.  They were now receiving death threats, sexual harassment comments, screamed and yelled at to leave the game, and inserting the usual stereotypical comments regarding 'where a women's place is'. The male gamers were left dumbfounded at the amount of hatred they were receiving, and this was by their own teammates! They had no idea that women were vilified like this on a daily basis when trying to participate in something enjoyable like a video game. 

The disdain that male gamers have for female gamers is quite toxic.  This can be felt by most girls and women throughout their entire life, whether it be at school, work, or in a creative environment.  The gaming environment is such a precious place because gamers are often disregarded and disrespected by the rest of society.  For us, it is a safe space where we can explore and let our minds unwind from the everyday tribulations that we have to deal with. It is a place where we are able to team up with friends and strangers and enjoy ourselves for a few hours a day.  Why does the gender of the player matter? Everyone is either good at a game or not, the ability to play is not defined by what your look like but by your gaming skills.  I'm not a great FPS but I have thousands of kills in Battlefield 5 because I enjoy the game and I am able to team up with my husband.  In fact, I have more kills and a higher score than him and he loves First Person Shooter games. There needs to be encouragement and representation for female gamers of all demographics and those in the industry with power need to stand up and denounce all verbal attacks and exclusions presented at all female gamers.  It would be a much more welcoming environment for all in the end.

Ps. I have been playing Fornite for over 5 years, Save the World that is, so I decided to give Battle Royale a try.  As a 41-year-old woman in the last 4 days, I have won 4 games (meaning I beat 99 other players to receive the crown at the end). Out of 50 games played, I was in the top 10, 31 times and in the top 25, 38 times. Ladies, just play whatever your heart desires, and kick butt while you do it!

Fornite score for Uniquemami (aka Giselle)