Girl Gamer Stereotypes...or lack thereof?

[Djeta Thernadier]

So there have been , like, 4 different threads about gamer body image on the boards in the last month or so. They are all guy-centric. So what I'm wondering is , what sort of stereotypes are held about girl gamers? I've picked up little snippets in various posts from both men and women that lead me to believe that there are female stereotypes as well.

I recall a post from a male gamer who said something about girls who look like guys in big sweatshirts they always wear. (Like women have to wear tight clothes to be pretty?!) I remember another post from a girl gamer who said she was turned away by other girl gamers because she was dressed in business clothes and wearing makeup. In the post about atypical gamers , someone mentioned once DMing a game with all pretty women. (Like pretty gamer girls are atypical!?!)

I don't know a lot of female gamers in "real life". Really there is me , and a couple of friends who are into fantasy (don't game but would if they had time). The other handful I've known have all been good looking women. I've known one female gamer who wasn't attractive and that stemmed from her nasty personality ; not her physical appearance.

Looking at other women in the member gallery, I don't see anyone who’s not attractive. I'd give my left arm to look like Dragongirl for one day. Javapadawan is adorable and Acquana is the most photogenic woman I've ever seen. And if I missed anyone, it's just that those are the first three who popped into my head… (forgive me if I've misspelled your names).

I'm willing to bet the others who don't have pictures up are just as attractive. So I'm just wondering why a game full of "pretty women" would be considered unusual? Or why women would turn away one of their , um, gaming sisters because she was wearing makeup?

Or is it that there really isn't a girl gamer stereotype?

Discuss…

Djeta

 

[dave_o]

I, for one, think you're right foxier than Dragongirl.

I think I'm a really pretty gamer girl.

 

[takyris]

From my very limited experience, I'd say that gamer girls end up seeming a lot like drama girls. If I had to concoct a stereotype, it'd be:

Self-chosen differentiating feature, although this is often downplayed as "only logical" or common sense. Examples: Wildly colored hair, goth paraphenalia, etc.

Lack of makeup/accessories. If the hair isn't pink, it's usually straight and possibly in a pontail if long enough. Not a lot of makeup, not a lot of "accent wear" (ie, bracelets, pins, etc) unless they're different enough to be a differentiating feature (like a nose ring in the Midwest).

Nothing specific with regards to body type or fitness level.

One of the stereotypical gamer girls from my group once invited people to a formal New Year's party. We were asked to wear suits/tuxes or formal dresses. I showed up in a tux with my wife. The Gamer Girl was there in her formal dress, and it was a rockin' formal dress. She had the right skin-tone and body-type for the color and cut she was wearing, and from the neck down, she could have been the homecoming queen. But from the neck up, she had on no makeup, her hair was straight and unstyled, and she was wearing an enormous pair of glasses. Neck-down: Homecoming queen. Neck-up: Math geek studying late in the library.

There is NOTHING wrong with a woman not wanting to wear makeup or style her hair. Heck, I think my wife looks better without makeup, since that's the way I met her and that's the way I fell in love with her. But if you throw a party and request tuxes, suits, and formal gowns, it sorta seems like makeup or Doing Something to your hair would enter the picture, no?

Not to my Gamer Girl friend, from whom comes my personal stereotype.

(And I am aware that it's my stereotype and not a good way to judge any one individual person.)

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

But if you throw a party and request tuxes, suits, and formal gowns, it sorta seems like makeup or Doing Something to your hair would enter the picture, no?

I have never done anything to my hair (not even for formal events) because I don't know how, don't care, and think it looks ok down or tossed up in a hairband ; and I have never worn make-up (I'm really allergic..even the sensitive skin stuff irritates me).

But I don't have a problem with women who do. I was rather shocked by that one post where a woman said she was turned away by other women because of the makeup thing.

 

[takyris]

See, to me, that sounds like a self-chosen differentiating feature, although in this case, "Chosen" is a stretch. The Gamer Girls I know always have a really good reason for not wearing makeup or doing anything with their hair, like the ones you gave. But it is nevertheless part of the stereotype -- just like "Drama Geeks always wear black" being a reasonable thing for them, since they have to do stage-crew work in dark clothes.

And again, I repeat, not a bad thing, unless you organized a party with a formal wear restriction.

Re: Makeup -- I've got dermatographism, and my wife found me some skin-care products that are designed for sensitive skin. If you were interested in makeup stuff, there are some good websites. If you're NOT interested in makeup stuff, more power to you. I don't wear makeup, but I do use a lot of skincare products now, and my skin looks a lot better than that of the rest of my gaming group when we're standing under good light.

FWIW, I can't see your hair terribly well in your pic, but it still looks a ton better than hers did.

 

[WanderingMonster]

Gamers as a subset of society are diverse. The "Girl Gamers" are no less diverse. We won't reach a consensus on the question: Girl Gamers--Hot ro Not?? And why should we? We all have individual tastes and sensibilities as well.

Anyway, I believe that any woman who games gets an automatic +4 righteous bonus to any Charisma checks when dealing with gamer guys. I mean, c'mon! Gaming makes you Hot!

 

[I'm A Banana]

*shrug*

To a gamer, 90% of women are hot, as long as they can play D&D.

In addition, the 'girl gamer' stereotype is pretty similar to the 'guy gamer' stereotype: beefy, nerdy types who think of themselves as iconoclasts....

Meh. I've learned enough about gamers of all stripes to realize that no stereotype has been accurate for the group that I play with.....whatever.

 

[Elf Witch]

I was the one who had the problem with the female DM. It was back in the late 80s and back then women in any kind of fandom down here in Florida at least had an unofficial unifrom of jeans, con tees and no make up this showed how smart they were and that they were in fandom or gaming fo rthemselves not their boyfriends. The only women wearing make up was either the early goths or wives of the guys in fandom.

It was like a badge of honor one that I didn't feel the need to wear. I liked being a girl and wearing make up and nice jewelry.

I think a lot of this has changed today there are more women doing things like gaming. And there are so many different sub groups now I have noticed that the gamer girls who play Vampire tend for the most part to dress the part. And those who play fantasy like DnD come in all shapes and types.

 

[BSF]

It's funny, I probably have a few stereotype perceptions of gamer guys in my mind, but not of gamer girls. Heck, I wouldn't dream of applying one.

All the girls that I have gamed with would fall all over the board in stereotypes. I would classify most as pretty and attractive. Most of them were people that I knew before I ever gamed with them. Some of them were people that I helped introduce to gaming.

Perhaps a comment on a game full of pretty women is more indicative of the person that said it? I have had the honor of running a game with all pretty women (Heck, one was a woman I had dated and another was the woman who became my wife) and I didn't think it that unusual. If somebody had wanted to classify it as unusual, it would have been more that it was an all woman group.

Why would somebody turn down a gamer that wore makeup? That baffles me as well! I judge my gaming buddies on personality. Not(perceived) attractiveness, body style, gender, orientation, or whatever. If the person has a good personality, that person will probably be fun to game with.

I'm not sure that helps Djeta. But, I guess I would say that _I_ don't have a gamer girl stereotype in my mind.

 

[Teflon Billy]

...In addition, the 'girl gamer' stereotype is pretty similar to the 'guy gamer' stereotype: beefy, nerdy types who think of themselves as iconoclasts...

Bingo (if you are asking fro stereotypes and generalizations. It's as accurate as a generalization can be).