Why do gamer girls often hide it?

[Lysah]

Harassment.

Nooo waaaaay...

[Deleted]

Edit added quote:

Someone actually thought you were a chick, 'cause you rolled a "chick toon"? No, I dont buy it.

Maybe my realm is full of odd freaks then? I get asked this..but not a lot. Maybe 2 times in year. But thats cos I'm lurking a lot. (random "r u gurl?" whispers)

I was walking around something like barrens when I was levelling back in the day.
Someone asked me "are you girl" for about 5th time (because female toon = female gamer) and got tired of it and just jokingly said "yeah".
I thought I did it for the lols but after I got constant harassment of said player, love whispers, talk about private parts.. constantly getting "hey how are you dear? : )" every time I logged in I got scared. Really scared. I know it was desperate but lets face it. Most kids seem to be, heck even some adults seem to be.

Thats my opinion why they are not open at least.

Theres plenty of gamers they might just play singleplayers way more than us, so you wont find them at typical game fansites like this. Like.. what fansites are there for Dragon age? Not a lot that would be huge and with forums. Even then it would be pointless.
Also women are more sensitive most of the time. So people calling them noobs for no proper reasons can be frustrating (seen it happen a lot)

[Zoa]

Because they are ashamed what people will think of them (Fat, nerdy, ugly girl), and its vice versa with alot of men too, personally i don't care what people think when i tell them i play WoW.

soooooooo much of this ^

[Pocketzest]

Because they don't want a bunch of horny nerds chasing them.

[MrSerious]

For the same reasons many male gamers hide that they're gaming? People in general still have pretty bad preconceptions of gamers and gaming culture in general, not to mention gaming isn't something you really can discuss with non-gamers anyway.

Its this. Gamers are seen as basement dwelling nerds with little to no social life outside of what they get online. They are social outcasts of the world and just by merely mentioning the idea that you play games is seen negatively.

I went out the other night and this girl came home with me. Anyway I've played and won fps comps and have recieved a trophy for it. She noticed it and asked me what it was for. I jokingly told her it was for an extreme sport. But when I finally told her the truth I could tell she was a bit taken back. I could see the look on her face when I told her: "omg he's a closet geek"

[Ademptio]

YOU! Spitzo sends his regards.

On topic: They all have their own individual reasons. For instance, a friend of mine, doesnt want anyone to know, because she is afraid of getting picked on later.

ME! Hey hey funny meeting this in this kind of "thread"

On topic: Know quite allot of female gamers... some I didnt even know they were girls while raiding with them for a year till one day they left guild and gave me their msn lol. Yeah some girls dont like it. I really dont mind, they are fun to talk to and nice to see how they look at the game. Also they QQ less in my eyes about all the nerfing :P

[Deleted]

Oh look it's THIS thread again. I'm sure this won't go to 50 pages and end up being locked because it's nothing but a trollfest.

From what I've seen, "girl gamers" generally fall into three categories.

40%: The attention/drama whore. She needs to remind you constantly of her gender, and flaunts it whenever possible. Usually in close ties with the guild leader / officers. Say a bad word against her and you'll be gkicked. Also she's probably awful at the game.

40%: The girl who hides her gender. My girlfriend falls under this group. She doesn't like the extra attention, both positive and negative that comes with being female. So she just hides it and pretends to be male. Typically despises the first group.

20%: The "actual" female gamer. She just plays the game like you do, doesn't hide her gender but will let it known if asked. Also despises the first group.


More than anything, it's males that need to change. Stop treating girls differently in games. Don't be rude and sexist, but don't white-knight them at every opportunity either.

I'm beginning to think that you really can't post anything without ppl thinking that you are trolling.....

[Selxxa]

I'm beginning to think that you really can't post anything without ppl thinking that you are trolling.....

Elaborate? I'm not trolling in the least. Maybe you need to read a bit closer.

[Deleted]

Elaborate? I'm not trolling in the least. Maybe you need to read a bit closer.

I didn't say that you were trolling m8....

[Selxxa]

I didn't say that you were trolling m8....

Oh, whoops. Maybe I'm the one that needs to read a bit closer.

[Scratchee]

I don't hide or flaunt it. If video games come into the conversation I'll jump in, but it's not something I'm always avidly hiding or talking about.

[Deleted]

I doubt many people hide it, but why bring it up in open if none of you're friends are interested in gaming. If it happens to be about gaming I'm sure most would prob throw it in the open.

And to be honest, most girls I've seen ingame like the attention even if they are hiding it..but I'm sure a lot like to play in peace aswell.

[Volitar]

I think the appropriate question is:

"Why do the GOOD gamer girls hide the fact that they're female? And why do the horrible gamer girls promote the fact that they're female in any situation regardless of how off topic or relevant it is?"

Truer words have not been spoken.

[GoldFish]

I'm a 'gamer girl' and I don't mind telling people, my 'reputation' couldn't get much worse anyway hehe :P.
I don't shout it in people's faces. Its 'unpopular' to play World of Warcraft from where I am, well no one plays it where I am anyway, but I guess thats why people wouldn't say, same as males too.

[Atrea]

Because 'gamer guys' make threads like this.

[beanburrito]

Just go look at the "Post an image of yourself" thread on this forum and you'll see why most respectable girls don't flaunt their gender. Perfect example of what happens when you admit you're a girl to a bunch of frothing nerds.

[Deleted]

Because 'gamer guys' make threads like this.

doubt it...

[ashley2ashes]

i dont know any girls who hide that they like games... i think maybe you are confusing how we dont talk about gaming all the time like many guys do, to that means we must be hiding the fact we play games. when all it means is that we have an RL to talk about. lol.

[LeonardNimoy]

Who cares about our gender? Honestly, whenever I told a guy I'm a chick, they instantly flirt and some have even stalked me on several occasions. I have a male toon to deflect much of the weirdos. Not all guys are creepers, but sadly, on WOW (aka online game dating service) most guys do look for someone to flirt with.

Given my boyfriend and I who have been dating a year, met on WoW and now live together, I got lucky and he was a guildie, so he knew my gender :P lol

[Selkhet]

I'll give you an example then:

Back in Wrath, when ICC was fairly new, I saw someone on trade chat looking for a LW to craft some hunter pants. Having the pattern, I answered the guy. I was in a well-known Brazilian guild at that time, so after probably shift+clicking my name and seeing my guild tag, he started to talk to me in portuguese.

Chatted with the guy for a while as I waited for him to buy the mats for his pants on the AH, crafted his gear and gave it to him. He gave me a pretty good tip, I thanked him, mounted up and went away.

Thing is, in portuguese and other latin languages, words are mostly gendered. While a man will thank you by saying "obrigado", a woman will say "obrigada". When I thanked him, I gave away my gender.

Immediately after I left, the guy sent me a desperate whisper saying "OMG YOU ARE A WOMAN!!" and asking me to forgive him for using slang while talking to me (wtf?). He stalked me for a few days after that, sending me whispers and always talking to me in a very forced, over-polite way, asking me if I had a boyfriend, telling me he would give me gifts if I joined his guild and being fucking creepy on overall. When I finally put him on my ignore list, he started to annoy my guildmates looking for me, telling them to ask me to stop ignoring him. I did not, of course, and he eventually gave up, but it took several weeks.

And that's why women hide the fact they're women.