Misogyny in Gaming
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/08/sexual_harassment_in_the_gaming_world_a_real_life_problem_for_female_gamers_.html?wpisrc=newsletter_slatest
I find this article fascinating, and disturbing in equal measures. Now, I know next to nothing about computer gaming. For the most part, it leaves me cold, and doesn't satisfy what I look for within the hobby (camaraderie, a social excuse, etc.). But pre-electron gaming I'm something of an expert on. 40+ years ago, it was all wargames - board and miniatures. And I honestly don't think there was a single woman seriously into the hobby, (with one exception which I'll get to in a moment). Oh, if there was a big game meet, they'd publish a photo featuring some young lady staring blankly at the table, but it was just some one's girlfriend whom he'd forced to hang out with the rest of us that day. There...were...no...women. As someone who really likes the ladies, I found this disturbing, but what are you gonna do? In 1969, Wanting to talk about the D-Day invasion or the battle of Borodino was purely for guys, as far as I've ever been able to determine. (I've no idea, now). But I never got the impression that I was alone in wishing women were into the hobby. And, having attended dozens of gaming get-togethers, Cons, and events in those days, I don't think I ever heard a misogynist statement regarding the possibility (I suppose jerks were out there, but it would more of been along the line of a panting loser accosting any woman who showed up). If someone brought their girlfriend to an old gaming event, the odds are that one or more geeks would try to flirt with her, sometimes tactlessly, but hardly in a derogatory manner.
The one exception to this state of affairs was the game of Diplomacy. At least in the by-mail games, I'd guess that maybe 1-2% of the participants were women; we actually had a couple here in NoVa in the mid-70's that were pretty darn good. And again, I never witnessed, nor heard from them, about the noxious behavior described above.
In 1974, D&D was released, and within two or three years, I'd guess that perhaps a tenth of the players, nationally, were women. This made it a virtual harem, by wargaming standards. And once again, I didn't witness anything like what is described in the above article. Quite the opposite. Women were welcomed in all of the games that I played in. One of the original Gamemasters in the DC area declared to me that he always tried to get at least two women in every game that he was running - first. After that was accomplished, getting fellows to play was damn easy.
So, what this whole little history comes around to is that I am interested in the ignorance and hatefulness that the computer/electronic evolution has led to. In the 'olden days', I think gamers would have been thrilled for the hobby to expand beyond our narrow little mono-sexual geekdom. Now, the opposite appears to be the case. There's a doctoral dissertation in there, somewhere. Glad I don't hang out with computer gamers....
I find this article fascinating, and disturbing in equal measures. Now, I know next to nothing about computer gaming. For the most part, it leaves me cold, and doesn't satisfy what I look for within the hobby (camaraderie, a social excuse, etc.). But pre-electron gaming I'm something of an expert on. 40+ years ago, it was all wargames - board and miniatures. And I honestly don't think there was a single woman seriously into the hobby, (with one exception which I'll get to in a moment). Oh, if there was a big game meet, they'd publish a photo featuring some young lady staring blankly at the table, but it was just some one's girlfriend whom he'd forced to hang out with the rest of us that day. There...were...no...women. As someone who really likes the ladies, I found this disturbing, but what are you gonna do? In 1969, Wanting to talk about the D-Day invasion or the battle of Borodino was purely for guys, as far as I've ever been able to determine. (I've no idea, now). But I never got the impression that I was alone in wishing women were into the hobby. And, having attended dozens of gaming get-togethers, Cons, and events in those days, I don't think I ever heard a misogynist statement regarding the possibility (I suppose jerks were out there, but it would more of been along the line of a panting loser accosting any woman who showed up). If someone brought their girlfriend to an old gaming event, the odds are that one or more geeks would try to flirt with her, sometimes tactlessly, but hardly in a derogatory manner.
The one exception to this state of affairs was the game of Diplomacy. At least in the by-mail games, I'd guess that maybe 1-2% of the participants were women; we actually had a couple here in NoVa in the mid-70's that were pretty darn good. And again, I never witnessed, nor heard from them, about the noxious behavior described above.
In 1974, D&D was released, and within two or three years, I'd guess that perhaps a tenth of the players, nationally, were women. This made it a virtual harem, by wargaming standards. And once again, I didn't witness anything like what is described in the above article. Quite the opposite. Women were welcomed in all of the games that I played in. One of the original Gamemasters in the DC area declared to me that he always tried to get at least two women in every game that he was running - first. After that was accomplished, getting fellows to play was damn easy.
So, what this whole little history comes around to is that I am interested in the ignorance and hatefulness that the computer/electronic evolution has led to. In the 'olden days', I think gamers would have been thrilled for the hobby to expand beyond our narrow little mono-sexual geekdom. Now, the opposite appears to be the case. There's a doctoral dissertation in there, somewhere. Glad I don't hang out with computer gamers....
posted by mendip at
5:39 PM
1 Comments:
Rob, the only woman I can remember in boardgaming was a Naomi Goldwasser. She was, and don't hold me to this, an afficionado of SPI in New York City, when that got going.
She was mentioned in S&T and I think she had a column in it for a very short time. The introduction to her, Red Simonsen may have written it, noted how few women there were in the hobby, and hoped this was a sign of the future. (HAH!)
Have to agree on the lack of women in wargaming. They did not get interested until RPGs.
All I can guess from the article is that these nerds have no social skills, resent anyone who can game better than they do, and particularly resent anyone different.
My guess is they would hate being bested by anyone who was asian, or east European, gay, or female.
And if you send your mind back, you will recognize this type.
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besilarius, at 6:45 PM
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