Women in Gaming Seminar

[Doug McCrae]

For years now, the vast majority of the player groups I've been in have not been 100% male. Howevever it's very, very rare for there to be more than one female. In other words almost all the groups are 1 girl + X guys. Anyone else experienced this? Any ideas as to why that should be?

 

[Mark]

Well... Now that I have attended both of the seminars on women in gaming and including women that do game, I can tell you what I learned...

::What I picked up at the Women in Gaming/Gamers and Geek Girls Seminars::

1.) There are more women than I thought that game for the sheer joy of gaming. Until this weekend, I simply assumed that most women started to game because of their boyfriends/girlfriends husbands/wives. I knew that some women that gamed started on their own... but, didn't realize just how many found gaming without the guidance of a boy/man.

2.) The number of women that game is on the rise. GenCon is, at this point, around 25%-30% female and that number is slowly rising... Partly due to what seems to be the lack of force holding women down in gaming. The gaming world is open to females--there really isn't any discrimination and so, as more and more women become interested, more and more women get involved in the gaming industry.

3.) Men aren't very good teachers. Or at least, that's what it seemed like a lot of chicks were saying. Men, when in the beginning stages of teaching a women to play a game--whether it be role playing or video--go too fast and don't both to teach the rules and the like... instead, kicking our butts and laughing about it. So, women get frustrated and quit.

4.) Chicks that play because their boyfriends play that don't really like the game miff everyone. They are annoying not only to the men but the women, too.

5.) Mystic Station Games is female owned. Cool, huh?

6.) Some men come to these seminars because they want to talk about the current status of women in gaming... not just to try to get a piece... VERY refreshing!

7.) Women can like killing monsters just as much as men.


...and, there's so much more... but, that's just what I can think of right now.

Anyone else that was there-- what things do you have to add??

Thanks for the summary, QD.

I believe, if I am not mistaken, that I met you and The Universe briefly when I was taking photos of the ENnies Tables.

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=98461&page=2&pp=37

(Please check photo 30n_ennies_tables.jpg and help me out with IDing some folks, eh?)

It is particularly good to know that information in regard to nunber 6. As a burgeoning publisher I had thought about penciling in such a seminar for next year's Gencon but was not sure how it would be perceived.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

For years now, the vast majority of the player groups I've been in have not been 100% male. Howevever it's very, very rare for there to be more than one female. In other words almost all the groups are 1 girl + X guys. Anyone else experienced this? Any ideas as to why that should be?

I think that the lack of women is mainly due to the lack of knowledge of the game. I know a couple of guys that hide the fact that they do game to friends outside of their campaign group for fear of rejection/mocking... and so, they never get around to telling their other friends-- ESPECIALLY their female friends-- that they enjoy role playing.

Over the past few years, women have gotten into the game-- but not nearly at the same rate as men. And, I like to think that the number is rising slowly.

But, that is all just my opinion...

Currently, there are 3 women and 4 men (3 PCs and the DM) in my group and I think it is the perfect balance. Provides a really nice perspective and highlights the different things and similar things that men and women experience while role playing...

 

[Buttercup]

For years now, the vast majority of the player groups I've been in have not been 100% male. Howevever it's very, very rare for there to be more than one female. In other words almost all the groups are 1 girl + X guys. Anyone else experienced this? Any ideas as to why that should be?

Well, the games I run have always been at least 50% women, including me. I think the trick to getting more women playing is to recruit them. (It's what I've done.) Find a smart woman who likes fantasy fiction, and invite her to observe a session. Odds are, she'll then get hooked.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Well, the games I run have always been at least 50% women, including me. I think the trick to getting more women playing is to recruit them. (It's what I've done.) Find a smart woman who likes fantasy fiction, and invite her to observe a session. Odds are, she'll then get hooked.

I think, in a lot of ways, observation is the key to getting anyone who is not familiar with the game to game... woman or not...

D&D, to someone outside out little world, has got to seem strange... even explaining it to people that have never played is rough... "we play pretend"... but, given the chance to watch makes it easier to explain... seems like it would make the rules a lot easier to understand...

 

[WizarDru]

I wish that all attendees had been at CONvergence over the 4th of July to tell the WiG panelists there those very things. This link to my convention report tells why.

You lost me after you walked out of Mask of the Phantasm.

Personally, I haven't had a gaming group without at least one female player since......1984. And I did have female gamers, then...just not all the time. I try to bring gamers of all stripes in.

However, I should point out that it's amazing to see how many women have finally come into gaming. Back in 1984, girls in gaming was more of an aberration, whereas today, it's much more commonplace. The horror stories of the past aren't just stories, though: I've seen some of them with my own eyes. I'm glad to see that we've moved on and that the hobby, as a whole, has matured.

 

[jester47]

I have noticed a disturbance in the lexicon related to this issue.

It seems to me that male gamers that have little interaction with women in general tend to use the word "female" in casual conversation when refering to women. Its like they are male Zentradi.

Male gamers who have wives, regularly have girlfriends, and generally get to interact with women regularly refer to women as "women."

Psychologists and sociologists can have a field day with the above information.

I would agree that guys by and large are bad teachers.

Aaron.

 

[Incenjucar]

While to a degree that's true, Jester, you seem to be forgetting that not all females are 'women' yet. I, for instance, only call someone a woman if they're 18+, and are -legally- a woman. Younger than that, I generally refer to them as girls, and I'll call either 'gals' or 'ladies'. Neither would I call a boy (0-17) a man (18+), but I'd call either 'guys' or 'dudes' (I'm from the CA coast, so sue me).

Indeed, I've also found that not every gal/lady likes to be called a woman. 'Female' is a nice, clean, neutral term.

 

[WizarDru]

(point taken, PC)

 

[Piratecat]

Kwitcher hijacking, gang.