This is not going to be a complaint lodged at the mythical phony gamer who happens to be female, no it is the annoyance such Internet memes can bring to the rest of us. I had never really thought it would happen to me, but it did: a guy actually tried to test my gaming “cred”. It went a bit like this:
Is that a Vita?
Yeah. You must have kids who play it or something.
No, I’m actually child-free.
You play games?
Yes.
Are you sure you know what a Vita is? Are you really a gamer?
Yes. I’m a member of Playstation Plus and-
What’s your favorite game on the Vita?
Hotline Miami.
Never heard of it, but you convinced me by knowing what Plus is.
I had always thought that if such a situation occurred I would have some stupid, equally immature comeback, but unfortunately I was at work, not a sleazy bar or convention, so I was caught a bit unawares. I should have said something about the PC Master Race to shut him up, but alas, hindsight.
It’s one of those situations where the more I think of it, the more annoyed I become. I mean, yes I’ve experienced the surprise from male gamers when I mention playing Mass Effect over the weekend or whatever, but it’s usually of the pleasantly surprised reactions not the disbelieving. There has never been any testing of knowledge just a sharing of a pastime with a fellow gamer.
The whole thing reminds me of how if a game has a heavy female audience it is almost always discounted as a “real” game. The Sims? Not a real game. But Hearthstone is, because it’s similar to Magic, another male heavy arena. I’m not one to cry sexism everywhere I look, but I am tired of my private parts determining whether or not I’m a “real” gamer.
I hear you!