Boy Games and Girl Games…Really?

Me at work in my Tyvek deliciousness

My Saints Row character

A recent occurrence got me thinking. Well, actually two recent occurrences. First was this f@%k-wit on Twitter who went on a rant about who is and isn’t a “real gamer”. Sorry, I shouldn’t call him a f@%k-wit. How about a$$hat? Nope, that’s not nice either. Neanderthal? Hmm, no, that’s insulting to Neanderthals. Okay, this unenlightened dude, aside from attacking casual gamers, spewed some nonsense about women not being real gamers either. And let me tell you why. He asserted that games like Pokémon and Stardew Valley aren’t real games and that tagging along with your boyfriend while he kills everything doesn’t make you a gamer.

Okay let’s unpack this bull$hit one point at a time:

1 – No one has the right to determine who is and isn’t a gamer. As far as I’m concerned if you consider yourself a gamer then yeah, good enough.

2 – It’s 2023, verbally assaulting and stereotyping a whole group of people based on gender, so NOT cool.

3 – Ummm, Pokémon is one of the most successful gaming franchises ever. And Stardew Valley has a huge following,  male and female and non-binary.

4 – Check my list of games played. You won’t see Pokémon or SDV or anything cute and sweet on that list. I’m a middle-aged woman with middle-aged grown up stress. I wanna beat the f@%k out of something on the daily. Might as well be some NPCs. I ain’t tryin’ to catch a charge, lol.

5 – A lot of the time I game alone. But when I do game with Charles, I at the very least hold my own, if not get more kills or points or whatever. Suck on that, Mr. F@%kwit A$$hat Neanderthal.

And this brings me to the second occurrence that got me thinking about girl/boy games. So, while Pokémon isn’t a franchise I indulge in, Charles loves it. He also quite enjoys Dragon Quest Builders 2. He’ll often call himself silly for playing such games. Now, hold on, before you get all outraged, you have to understand, we come from a time where boy and girl stuff was very delineated. And as much as we try to change with the times, some of that $h!t sticks. It just does. Early indoctrination and all that.

The way I see it, if the way you live your life ain’t hurting anyone else, then you do you, boo boo. Just like we shouldn’t be trapped into only gender traditional occupations, neither should gamers be limited or judged by the titles they play. It’s 2023, people.

But here’s the thing: my sweet lovin’ man is a 6’2 cowboy from Kansas. He served his country in Iraq, he’s never lost a bar fight, and he works as security at a city hospital. How much more traditionally male can you get? But does that does that mean he should only play steeped in machismo. Hell no! Just like there’s nothing wrong with me loving ultra-violent games such as GTAV or RDR2 or the Ghost Recon series. They help a lot with perimenopausal mood swings, I can tell you that!

In fact, I think it’s the role reversal that draws us to polar opposite games. Charles spends his days breaking up fights and restraining patients who would harm themselves and others so more violence during his time off just isn’t what the doctor ordered. I on the other hand, work in a lab where order, reason, strictly enforced processes, and best practices dictate my every move. When I get home I crave chaos, blood guts and gore. I need to go a bit feral. So is it silly for either of us to play games that step outside traditional gender roles. Not at all. Makes sense I’d you really think about it.

What games do you play that are “unexpected”? Drop a comment! I’d love to hear about them.

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