Originally posted by die_kluge
I wonder if this breakdown might finally help answer the age-old question - "Why don't more women game?"
KitanaVorr said:
I can answer that at least from my personal experience.
I was drawn to the richness of the world of gaming when I was younger along with my female best friend. However, the overwhelmingly visual of half-naked insanely buxom rather over sex-ed caucasion female images is a HUGE and might I repeat HUGE turnoff for us to find gaming group. Why? The overwhelming female stereotypes bordered on sexual harrassment sometimes and made us uncomfortable and enforced the stereotype of gamers in general in our minds.
I'm still very uncomfortable gaming in person but places like enworld have offered me a place where I can indulge my favorite pastime of writing and still feel comfortable. And of course disabused me of the gamer stereotype.
Dark Jezter said:
And men aren't portrayed in a similar cheesecakey fashion?
Yes, there are lots of girls in chainmail bikinis, but there are also lots of men in fantasy/RPG artwork with bulging muscles who like to wear only loincloths, or at least go shirtless everywhere they go (even in the frozen north). But I'm a guy, and this dosen't offend me, nor has it made me reluctant to play RPGs or read fantasy novels.