In the end I never really saw the big deal with “zomg girls play games too!”… My response is more of a “Yeah, I thought everybody knew that already” thing

Exactly the point I’ve been getting at all week.

To be 100% completely honest I’d been wanting to post a pic of me on my blog for a while now, just because I think it’s nice to have a face behind the words (maybe that’s just me though) and I wanted to offer that, Kestrel’s post provided me with a good excuse to go ahead and do so So it really is me, no trickery involved, though obviously I see your point (and I am in no way insinuating that you think the picture is not me, by the way! I definitely understand you are just making a point.)

When online or on an online game or whatever, I like to point out as soon as I can that I am a girl, mainly so that the correct pronouns are used when referring to me (it’s a bit disconcerting when people refer to me as “he”, which happens a lot– I guess that’s what happens when you play a female night elf? XD) but other than that it’s not a big deal, honestly I don’t think I’m treated very differently when people think I’m a guy vs. when people think I’m a girl, maybe I’m just not paying attention? *shrug* Oh wait, okay, I do get the occasional cyber request, but a guy playing a girl toon would get that too, so the gender of the player is irrelevant there =P

In the end I never really saw the big deal with “zomg girls play games too!”… My response is more of a “Yeah, I thought everybody knew that already” thing, it’s definitely fun to joke around with though, hence the post on my blog which was meant to be playful and silly ^^ as well as handily show my readers what the author actually looks like! If you want to talk about a place where I really am one of the few females then let’s talk about the Linux/open source community (which I am also a part of), there are far more video-gamer-chicks than there are Linux-chicks like myself =P So maybe I’m just spoiled when I say that I don’t see the whole “girls playing video games” thing as a big deal.

I really don’t know where I’m headed with this huge rambly comment, so thank you again for the link. =D And I may now have to start keeping an eye on your blog, so… be afraid?

Kirk, it’s unfortunate that language like that has evolved into everyday gaming use. I know I’ve been guilty of using it on more than one occasion. I guess it’s best to remain ever vigilant about the players we’re with.

Dyn, okay, you win. I will concede the fact that the only sure fire 100% way of verifying identity is to meet that player in person at a LAN center so they can prove their character is theirs. That may or may not violate your rule number 1 however.

You know what would’ve been funny? If they both turned out to be guys.

Also, the male-chauvinist-pig in me is a little offended at the amount of power you place into the female-gamers hands as well. The male gamers give them that power, and encourage the behavior you protest against when they “give in” to the “flirty” female’s request(s). In my opinion, short of meeting the individual in person, there is no way to validate their gender or most anything else about them. So, I treat everyone the same (gender-neutral) and expect the same.

It’s largely a matter of awareness. No, I’m wrong. It’s a matter of ACTING on our awareness. “Dude, WTF, why’d you give that stranger 1000 gold?”

Or my personal bugaboo. “Dude, we raped him.” I tolerate a lot of language – have no problem with most gutterals and anglo-saxon terms and so forth. That one, though… it’s got a contextual undertone that perpetuates what I see as a major problem. I know from bitter experience what happens if I try to squelch it in general chat – direct or whisper. But when seen by a guildie or in a group, I let them know that for a number of reasons I’d rather they didn’t use that term.

shrug – ymmv

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system

BBSes were the online communities that predated the internet. They had the same kinds of communities though, albeit on a smaller, more local level.