game girl advance: Play First, Look Later

Play First, Look Later

This article (thanks GameSpot) about two major girl-gaming clans boycotting the "Miss WSVG Contest" on the grounds that its requirements basically require you have a vagina and have heard of this "video game" thing that seems to be so popular these days.

Although the boycott won't create huge waves, I think this is a really good move on the part of the Frag Dolls and the PMS Clan. So far I've had a somewhat mixed reaction to girl-oriented clans. On one hand, I appreciate women aggregating together and creating teams with a unique perspective. However, I've also found it a bit unfortunate that both the media and many of the clans themselves have (intentionally or unintentionally) made them famous for being an attractive novelty rather than a skilled group of gamers.

Regardless, I think this is a great move in the opposite direction. The more seriously these groups take themselves, the sooner we can escape from the disingenuous treatment of women by much of the gaming media, as satirized in Richard Cobbett's recent article, Writing a 'Girls in Games' Article. Yeah, it's a huge gap to be filled, but I'm glad that some groups are willing to at least try to change perceptions.

Posted by Mike at June 19, 2006 07:24 PM

Interesting to me in the article, as well, was the last 'graph:

"Several of the more visible PMS members' Xbox profiles are readily viewable to the public via the Xbox.com Web site, and detractors have critiqued their low gamerscores--some of which don't even crack 500 points. Defenders of them are quick to point out that gamerscores only reflect Xbox 360 games played, and not other games, such as Halo 2, which the women frequently play in competition."

So the 360 Gamer Card is now the exclusive definer of how 1337 you are? It's always amazing (though never startling) how far people are willing to go to de-legitimize individuals or groups which don't fit neatly into their perceived community. It's somewhat axiomatic of the feminist baclkash that's permeated most levels of popular culture over the past decades.

Posted by: matt on June 20, 2006 11:53 AM

Oh my god those girl game clans are a bunch of bs. First of all game magazines use them to get horney male readers to subscribe. Sights use them to get publicity by hosting game matches with them. Xbox live even uses them to draw in the horney sexless nerds. I can't take this with any merit as they are a joke.

In any event if any of the frag dolls are reading this leave your number, all of your numbers. The more the merrier.

Posted by: undercoverrabbit on June 20, 2006 12:44 PM