Gamer girls all have their story about how they got into games and why they still play them, and I guess mine is that I was an only child raised to like everything. My parents wanted me to try a bit of everything to get an idea of what I liked, even if it was boys’ toys or football. I had an enormous amount of Barbies, Polly Pockets and girly girl friends, but also sitting near my bunkbed was my Sega Pico and my Nintendo 64.  When I wasn’t glued to the systems in my own room I was at my friend Jessica’s house playing her brother’s NES or at Erica’s house playing her brother’s SNES. Then came PC gaming, then the PlayStation, then Gamecube, PS2, and etcetera. Games are fun and I’m proud to be a gamer of the female variety, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come without its frustrations. I hope I represent the gamer girl community well when I discuss some of these facepalm moments.

1. Do you enjoy working at a game store?

No, I do it for the minimum wage and to draw in customers. Of course I like working at a game store. I get all the latest and greatest on new releases, coming soons and get to literally be surrounded by video game culture all day. It’s pure bliss being in a game store, let alone getting paid to be in one. It’s a blast helping customers choose what games to get with their new PS3 or which 360 system to buy. My female co-worker and I get asked this question quite a bit.

2. Do you know anything about _______?

Well if I didn’t I wouldn’t have gotten hired, silly. You can’t just walk into (most) game stores and expect to be hired because you’re of the female variety. You have to know what you’re selling. When I was interviewed at AGS it wasn’t just “sign along the dotted line, please.” I had to tell the manager which systems I owned, why I preferred each one, which games I was familiar with, how long I’d been playing games and how willing was I to familiarize myself with unfamiliar systems and games. One time a man came in and asked me some questions about the differences between the 360 systems. I gave him the scoop and for some reason he wasn’t satisfied with my responses so he proceded to ask my male co-worker what was up. Don’t ever do this. My friend Tiff  is a savant when it comes to video games. She knows way more than most dudes I work with/meet, which is probably why she moved up to the assistant manager position in less than eight months. I dare guys like the dude mentioned above to challenge her in a battle of wits over video games.

3. Are you a girl or a 12-year-old boy?

This question is a typical XBOX Live question. Why does it matter? Either way you’re going to get pwned by my battle rifle, so just play the game. Also in World of Warcraft everybody assumes everybody is an overweight 40-year-old man living in his parents’ basement, so once the news breaks out that you’re a girl irl, no one really believes you and the crude jokes start coming in. This is why you don’t ever let your gender identity out in battlegrounds or it’s over.

4. You play games?… well, it’s probably like Mario and Wii Sports.

Actually, it’s more like Halo and Silent Hill. The same games you play, male specimen. And even if a girl plays just Mario or Wii Sports, they’re still games, aren’t they? They’re just preferences, just like what guys have. Guys don’t want to play the latest Hannah Montana or Lips karaoke game, and maybe girls don’t want to play the new Godfather or Call of Juarez. It doesn’t make us less of gamers, it just means we have different tastes.

5. Since you’re a girl, you must not be as good.

This is probably the biggest irk we experience. How this stereotype came about I’m really not sure, but it’s totally fabricated and has little truth behind it (ask Josh about World of Warcraft). A couple of times when my friends and I got together earlier this year, Street Fighter IV made an appearance. Guessed who showed everyone how it was done? Miss Erin. Maybe next time they’ll think twice when they see her wielding a 360 controller and Dhalsim.

Related posts:

1. The August Video Game Blues