Aibu to hate the girls can't be gamers stereotype

[coolmum223]

So I personally am a gamer. I'm not talking candy crush on my phone I'm talking uncharted, tomb raider and assassins creed on my PS4. But I've gotten a lot of hate on this at work saying girls shouldn't be playing games and what example am i setting to my daughter. The scary thing is this is women saying this.
Now I personally feel I'm setting a pretty decent example to my Daughter by showing her that men aren't the only ones who can play video games and that women can be just as good at them or better (because I always dominate at battlefield I'm not kidding)
so Aibu to think there's nothing wrong with women gaming and that women should feel free to do it if they want to/can

I love gaming, ever since first playing Silent Hill on the PlayStation in 2000. Played hundreds since then. I don't have a console now as I have a child and either sleep or gaming had to go, but I do still download less addictive games into my tablet (escape room etc) and dip in and out of them.

It works both ways some people complained that males should not be working in a nursery on MN. Of course everyone can be a gamer ! Gaming is a huge industry. I wonder how people in other countries view gaming. BBC has a video story about people who live in gaming cafes.

Sethis - totally disagree with your age bracket, another assumption

@ourkidmolly carry on sneering, my husbands mum used to switch the WiFi off at 9pm and feel all smug because she knew we couldn't play games then. We still laugh about that now 11 years later.. And we still play games together.
Your son will just resent you.

Sethis - away with your aegism!

Ageism, even. Arf!

Females can't be astronauts, engineers, fight in the army, fire fighters, surgeons, politicians, spies, the list goes on....

People over 40-45 tend to not really "get" gaming as a subculture because they missed the boat in terms of riding that particular tech wave.

Really? I was into gaming before most of mumsnet was born I expect, around 40 years ago I played my first computer game and never really stopped gaming.

YANBU. There are plenty of articles detailing the abuse women get when online gaming. And it goes deeper than that. Women trying to break into the gaming industry have been subjected to all kinds of threats and attacks: gawker.com/what-is-gamergate-and-why-an-explainer-for-non-geeks-1642909080

I'm a 27y/o mum of 2 and LOVE gaming (Tomb Raider, The Last of Us etc) but struggle to find the time with 2 under 2 and working! Really miss it though and can't wait to play the new TR!

Girl gamers are brill! I've been in top world guilds in World of Warcraft, have run my own guild and the girl gamers are pragmatic, proactive and tactically superior. Have also played Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm, Starcraft 2, Dota 2, and many more. Girl gamers are here to stay, and I for one think it's bloody fantastic.

The gaming industry is horrifically sexist so you’re up against all of them really

If they are so dismissive of gaming, and they think only men must do it, what does that say about their opinion of men.

I'm also a gamer and have been since the late 80s (I'm 32 now). People will always say that playing video games is a waste of time even though really it isn't.

People will always say that playing video games is a waste of time even though really it isn't

This stance could be used in most entertainment. Watching TV, a movie, doing makeup, spot of gardening. And so on. Long live (female) gaming says I.

Tbf apparently grown men shouldn't be gaming either! There must be a slight window between the ages of 14 and 21 where it is acceptable. Its surely better than watching "Real Housewives" and their cat/dog weddings?

I have four boys and some of their favourite gamers on YouTube are girls (little Kellie, caddie the cat, Madeline(plays with husband sundee), but if there are issues its that a lot of the couples on YouTube are a boy and girl team and basically the boy plays amazing while the girl screams all over the place saying she doesn't know what to do for comedy factor. None of my sons ever say boys are better than girls and actually they talk about the girls in their class who game the same as they talk about the boys. So I think you're just unlucky (or maybe we're just lucky!) because I've heard their friends talk and they'd talk about girls the same too!)

I worked in the games industry for years so whilst I think women can be fantastic gamers I think the whole industry is horribly sexist and in same cases misogynistic. Some of the heads of the main studios pretty much do believe women should be in the kitchen and some game narratives reflect that so if I had daughters i think I'd be wary about which games they played to ensure those stereotypical messages don't get reinforced. To all those of you who used to play WOW i really miss it too! Thinking about dusting off my mage and going for a wander now.....

I am not a gamer, DH is and him and DD play together or she watches when he plays a game she is too young for in terms of reaction times etc. I know that many gamers are mentally stuck in the dinosaurs era when it comes to gender equality and I think they're pretty stupid, luckily not my DH's case.

I think it's because gaming is such a time sink, and there's an expectation in society that women should always be busy and bloody useful. The busy mum. Women and multitasking. "Me time" (20 minutes in the bath one Sunday a month after supervising everyone's homework while preparing a presentation for work about the empowering nature of doing more work). I am very happy to model gaming to my girls as a way of showing that it is not necessary to always be busy - that sure, if you want to pack your life out with tons of commitments you should totally do that but if you want to bumble along doing stuff you like, you shouldn't feel guilty about that. And also there's just nothing more companionable than sitting next to someone going "get the pig! Quick get the carrot out!"(we play a lot of Minecraft )

I have been very fortunate that I played COD for about 15 years and played with alot of males, I received alot of teasing and had to listen to male banter however I gave as good as I got including being an excellent team killer.

A few years back I went on holiday and actually met up with one of the guys and his wife that I was part of a group with. He was lovely and my DF also played in the same group and was fine with it all. The guy and his wife were as lovely in person.

I think there is a certain stigma around gaming but if you can't beat em join em. Also there are alot of Americans who love a female British accent

OP "I'm not talking candy crush on my phone I'm talking uncharted, tomb raider and assassins creed on my PS4."
You probably didn't mean to but you've fallen for the stereotype of the 'proper' gamer here! One of the ways to push back against the idea that games are not for girls/women is to include all games (which actually results in there being more female gamers than male I believe!) Of course another is for more girls and women to play more games stereotypically associated with men.

I am 45 and have been playing computer games since I first played Space Invaders with my dad at about age 5 (he moved the joystick and I pressed the fire button!) I've played PC and console games and currently love playing Neverwinter on the PS4 with my DD6.

To some extent, I have often enjoyed people making the assumption that I would be crap at games due to being female, as it's given me the opportunity to challenge their assumptions by wiping the floor with them, often in front of their mates 😎

People over 40-45 tend to not really "get" gaming as a subculture because they missed the boat in terms of riding that particular tech wave.

No, it's really not an age thing. Gaming has been around since the 80s - I started on a Commodore 64 - plenty of people over 45 are gamers. I think (and expect a flaming for saying this) it's about attitude and aptitude. I meet plenty of under-35s who don't get the concept of gaming, but I find they don't get technology generally.

And OP, YANBU, it is good that you are showing your daughter that her interests are not defined by her biology.

"People over 40-45 tend to not really "get" gaming as a subculture because they missed the boat in terms of riding that particular tech wave"

So for us over 50, Female gamers, we face double decrimination.

My Mum went from living in a house with gas lighting to being a supervisor over a tech based team until she retired. She started gaming with my youngest. That generation will have embraced new technology like no other will.

Gaming is a fantastic outlet for my DD who has Autism, I've always encouraged it. There's a whole online Society, which isn't the abusive etc most people think only exists.

I'll play games on anything, so I agree with including Candy Crush etc in gaming. To my Adult children's shame, I've admitted in public that I used to play the games on FB. It's meant that I've got people from all over the World as friends and its interesting when anything politically is happening (which is why it's come up in conversation).

I loved the excuse to play on my 3 year old Granddaughter's Kindle games so she had extra points and money etc.

Gaming kept me sane and happy during a period of disability.

I think it can be mentally/emotionally better for Girls/young Women than males, tbh. Studies have shown that Women tend not to becone as insular/aggressive and emotionally cut off like Males do, who game a lot.

YANBU. Reminds me I need to go back to Planescape.