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<blockquote data-quote="jdavis" data-source="post: 967639" data-attributes="member: 8704"><p>A lot of the problem has to do with stereotypes, gamers are geeks, rich people are snobby, politicians are wormy, lawyers are slimey bottomfeeders, people in the south are rednecks........... I could go on and on. The people who most readily represent the gamer stereotype are the people who are the most vocal and seen, stereotypes are not generalizations they are parodies. That annoying guy who carries his book bag to the mall just in case he meets somebody who wants to game is not the generalization but he is the most visible. Lots of people game but most of us do not go around bragging to strangers about our +2 swords, most of us don't brag about gaming in general, heck I'm sure a lot of us have gotten the &quot;I didn't know you were one of them&quot; looks from people when they found out you roleplay. Yes a lot of gamers are shy people who use gaming as a escape from the real world (like me), but that has nothing to do with gaming, there are a lot of shy people who don't game. If I said, &quot;I am a huge fan of pro wrestling&quot; then you would make assumptions about me, &quot;if I said I build my own computers&quot; you would make assumptions about me, &quot;I like anime&quot;, &quot;I like '80's metal music&quot;, &quot;I like &quot;50's era Hot Rods&quot;, &quot;I used to work on a oil rig in Alaska&quot;, &quot;I didn't date till I was 18&quot;, &quot;I like Pro Football&quot;..........I could go on and on here too, but that's enough to make the point, which one of those little snippits tells you who I am and what I am like socially? Every one of them has a stereotype attached to it, but all those stereotypes don't mesh together. The older you get the less these types of stereotypes matter but people are always trying to fit you into a catagory that makes sense to them. A prime example of this is all talk surrounding Vin Diesel being a gamer, why should him liking to game make people think any different of him? Gaming carries a stigma brought on by the stereotype of the annoying guy who rolls dice to see if he will tip the waitress at Denny's or not, just like popular rich kids carry the image of being the bad guys in teen comming of age movies. Not every Star Trek fan wears a uniform in public and not all gamers are socially inept, those are just the ones who get all the public attention.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="jdavis, post: 967639, member: 8704"] A lot of the problem has to do with stereotypes, gamers are geeks, rich people are snobby, politicians are wormy, lawyers are slimey bottomfeeders, people in the south are rednecks........... I could go on and on. The people who most readily represent the gamer stereotype are the people who are the most vocal and seen, stereotypes are not generalizations they are parodies. That annoying guy who carries his book bag to the mall just in case he meets somebody who wants to game is not the generalization but he is the most visible. Lots of people game but most of us do not go around bragging to strangers about our +2 swords, most of us don't brag about gaming in general, heck I'm sure a lot of us have gotten the "I didn't know you were one of them" looks from people when they found out you roleplay. Yes a lot of gamers are shy people who use gaming as a escape from the real world (like me), but that has nothing to do with gaming, there are a lot of shy people who don't game. If I said, "I am a huge fan of pro wrestling" then you would make assumptions about me, "if I said I build my own computers" you would make assumptions about me, "I like anime", "I like '80's metal music", "I like "50's era Hot Rods", "I used to work on a oil rig in Alaska", "I didn't date till I was 18", "I like Pro Football"..........I could go on and on here too, but that's enough to make the point, which one of those little snippits tells you who I am and what I am like socially? Every one of them has a stereotype attached to it, but all those stereotypes don't mesh together. The older you get the less these types of stereotypes matter but people are always trying to fit you into a catagory that makes sense to them. A prime example of this is all talk surrounding Vin Diesel being a gamer, why should him liking to game make people think any different of him? Gaming carries a stigma brought on by the stereotype of the annoying guy who rolls dice to see if he will tip the waitress at Denny's or not, just like popular rich kids carry the image of being the bad guys in teen comming of age movies. Not every Star Trek fan wears a uniform in public and not all gamers are socially inept, those are just the ones who get all the public attention. [/QUOTE]

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