The beginning of female gaming

The birth of women’s gaming can be traced back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this time, a handful of video games featuring female protagonists began appearing in arcades, including Ms. Pac-Man (1981) and Donkey Kong Jr. Math (1983). These examples were groundbreaking for their time, as they allowed players to assume the role of a female character, rather than playing exclusively as male protagonists.
In the decades since, the growth of women’s gaming has been exponential. According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 48% of gamers in 2020 are female. Furthermore, women have found success as professional esports athletes, streaming personalities, and content creators. This growth has been fueled by the success of games like Fortnite (2017) and Overwatch (2016), which feature diverse casts of characters, including both male and female protagonists.

Breaking myths

The stereotype that women don’t like gaming is based on a lack of interest in the past. For many years, video games were seen as a boy’s hobby and were geared towards male players. Games focused heavily on combat, guns, and violence which may have been unappealing to female gamers. Furthermore, the male-dominated gaming industry made it difficult for women to feel included. This created a stigma that girls would not be interested in gaming, which has unfortunately persisted over time.
However, times have changed and more and more female players are emerging. As the industry has evolved, so too have the types of games available. Many new titles feature stories centered around female characters, and many game developers have been creating products that appeal to a wider audience. With the increasing number of female gamers playing video games today, this stereotype is quickly becoming outdated. Girls are just as capable and enthusiastic about gaming as men, and it’s time for the stigma to be put to rest. It’s time for everyone to be able to enjoy the same games together, regardless of gender. Everyone deserves to have fun and play!

Will it be possible to get rid of stereotypes?

The increasing popularity of women’s gaming has also had a positive impact on social media, with numerous online communities dedicated to sharing tips and celebrating female gaming achievements. In addition, many game developers have sought to create more inclusive gaming experiences by introducing female characters and enabling gamers of all genders to play together.
As the industry continues to evolve, it is clear that girl’s gaming has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the early 1980s. With an ever-growing number of female gamers taking part in competitive gaming, streaming, and content creation, it is clear that the future of women’s gaming looks brighter than ever.

Women in Gaming Today

The rise of women in gaming has been remarkable, and with each passing year new opportunities for female gamers continue to be presented. Professional esports tournaments are becoming increasingly gender-inclusive, with teams of both men and women competing against each other on a global stage. Female streamers have also seen an increase in popularity, as more viewers turn to their channels for entertainment . Furthermore, the success of YouTube creators such as Pokimane or GuardianCon has shown that women can be just as successful as their male counterparts when it comes to video gaming. All of these factors have helped to create a more inclusive gaming environment, and are paving the way for future generations of female gamers to continue making their mark in the industry.

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According to the researchers, the loss of interest in game-making happens at a time when gender stereotypes regarding games and IT in general are gaining strength.

To illustrate this, experts from Google asked girls to draw a picture of a person who creates video games. And they found a stark difference between what young and grown-up girls draw.

Eighth-grade girls draw women – beautiful, long-haired girls sitting with glasses at a computer, while high school girls (in grades 11-12 in the United States) draw men – bald, bespectacled, fat. And this is a reflection of how perceptions change with age; how stereotypes are internalized and become an obstacle [to working in gamdean].

In general, this can be said about all technical professions – it’s harder for women to get into it, even if they have a predisposition and ability.

Education is partly to blame for this – children are not taught that there is such an industry as gamedev, and that there are a huge number of professions other than programming.

There should be more women in gamedev. At the very least, because women are a huge audience, and if they are also directly involved in development, games can become more diverse and friendly to other types of audiences.

However, not all companies have been able to achieve this so far – and, for example, deliberately including female characters in games “for a tick” is a sign of “flawed feminism.

Yes, we don’t like (and I speak for myself, too) the ticking off of boy-babes and LGBTQ characters in video games. It’s frankly a stretch. When in a game about a historical period, the developers forcibly introduce women into the setting who were not present in that context and did nothing, it looks awful. I think it’s flawed feminism.

Feminism itself only benefits video games. A variety of characters, strong and interesting female characters–can this make a game look bad if it’s done tastefully?

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There is even a separate article on Wikipedia devoted to female gamemongering. It turns out that sociologists are very interested in this topic, they even do research on the subject. The conclusions of these studies are as follows:

“Despite the fact that, according to 2015 statistics, 48% of U.S. women play computer games, only 6% of them count themselves as gamers, while among men this proportion is 15%. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, the percentage is higher, at 9% for women and 33% for men. Half of U.S. female gamers consider themselves hardcore gamers. According to EEDAR research about 60% of women gamers prefer to play mobile games and 63% of these women play multiplayer online games.

That is, women are in gaming and if research is to be believed, there are a lot of them out there. But, for some reason, we don’t see them much among the players, in chat rooms, forums and communities. Where are they? Perhaps men and women play different games? What kind of games do they play, then? If you believe the researchers, life simulation games, such as SIMS, are of particular interest to girls. Aren’t there any common genres that have equal numbers of male and female players? Why is it that the industry is full of women, but we don’t see them? Have you thought about that? What are your thoughts on this?

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