Gamers standing up for other gamers!

[Oryx Crake]

Ok so this has been rattling around in my head for a while now and I want to share a few thoughts.

Know beforehand that if your stance is that the status quo is the right way to go I will call you out on it and I would appreciate that you stay away from the topic if all you're going to do is to try to troll it.

So what am I on about?

I am publicly taking a stance against Guys abusing girls/women in games, on game forums and online in general.
I am so hellishly tired of "make me a sammich"... jokes... and menfolk just generally thinking it's ok to lazily have a go at girl gamers and women in general.

One of the best things about the wipeout community to me is that it feels like it's one of very few game communities that isn't mostly populated by misogynist 12 year olds who feel like the only way to feel like a man is to have a go at women.

I haven't seen a lot of this **** in our community but it does exist and I especially want to give a warning to those of us who just cannot accept that there are some stunningly good pilots out there who just happen to be women. WARNING: If you resort to misogynist crap and general berating of women in my presence from now on I will call you out on it and I will not want to race you ever again.

Enough is enough. I say that we have a very strong community of good people here, and I think that one of the ways that we can change the gamer community in general is to set a standard that shows that gaming doesn't have to be associated with misogynism and male dickishness.
So I want to urge other people on this forum to take a stand together with me.

Gamers for gamers, not guy gamers for girl gamers, just gamers for gamers. It's not just incumbent on the women who have to deal with this **** to do something about it. Us guys have to make sure ourselves too, that we aren't part of the problem.

Anyone with me?

For reference this is the kind of **** I'm talking about:
http://fatuglyorslutty.com/2012/10/05/advance-warning/

[KronicReaper]

I'm with you on this, I think female gamers have a same right to play video games with male gamers too. Who cares if you get beat by them, man up and be the mature one and respect female games and they can respect you too as a gamer and a person in real life. Respect is earned, not given.

[Knux_Chaotix]

Oryx mate, you've hit the nail so hard on the head!!! A gamer is a gamer. Gender dosnt even need to be a factor. Im not fond of the "Girl Gamer" tag.

While Im on Playstaion Home I've had mountains for crap from what I assume are guys for no reason other than my avatar is female and Im not interested in "talking dirty" with them. I try to avoid online gaming which sucks big time because Im a social bunny. Most games I would play online are VERY male oriented, I just dont want the crap. If Im about and I see it happening to others, Im usually the first to jump in and do something if I can. Some of the abuse that myself and my friends have had is unreal and very triggering.

Its not just an online thing though. I own a lot and I mean A LOT of gaming merch, clothes etc, stuff Im proud of and love to wear. There has been times when I have been called out in a public place because "Omg, who is she trying to impress, she wont have a clue what thats about" blah blah blah... Its upsetting to say the least. Im not trying to impress ANYONE!!! Im wearing what I want because I like it. Finally, if those people had actually spoken to me, they would be very surprised about my gaming knowledge. I've had guys in bars give me a proper slagging off because Im in some sort of tshirt that has a game character / reference on it. They think its oh so cool to try and call me out in front of their friends to try and prove Im just "doing it to impress the guys". Its amazing fun being able to embarrass people like that.

Thankfuly WipeoutZone and Wipeout has been one of the places I have felt very safe that I wont be called out or considered any less of a gamer for my gender. This community is one of the most friendly and welcoming ones I have ever encountered. There has only ever been 2 exceptions to that rule, but there always is. This is like a "safe place" to some extent. No one here looks at my gender, just how I pilot my ship or how many times I've blown them up on the track lol. I love the Wipeout community.

For now, as it has always been, the gaming community is still very male dominated. Stuff like this will still happen. Its not right, and its certainly not ok.

A gamer is a gamer. Gender dosnt need to be mentioned. At the end of the day we are ALL gamers.

[Azurooth]

I'm defo with you on this one Oryx, and it's a topic that has been going around in my mind for a long while now.

[Oryx Crake]

let's make the best community even better then friends! awesome to hear there is interest!

[Snakenator1]

I KNEW I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE!! :D

argh it drives me insane when I hear guys go "she's a girl gamer?!!" it drives me nuts all the time. I am so glad that everyone hear on this forum behaves like adults and treats everyone equally. That's why I love you guys :)

Oryx thank you for getting this out in the open, its so important this topic.

Just like Feisar's motto "RACE FOR E-UNITY"

[Dirtbag]

I didn't know this was still a thing. I'm not on the internet nor do I game much anymore so maybe my view is just skewed, but I'd always thought sexism died with racism. It's rather sad that this is still around and I'm assuming this is coming from the younger generations. Parents really need to start disciplining their children and caring for them, not sticking them in front of a tablet while they take a walk in the park or go to the store just to shut them up.

[Snakenator1]

^ yeah unfortunately this is still a real world problem, but you pointed out the main cause as to why *lack of discipline to children today*. My neighbourhood is filled with the children who are turning into *chavs* and its really annoying.

I can barely walk my dog without seeing children dressing, acting and behaving like *ahem gangsters*, it makes my skin crawl looking at the idiots.

I'm ashamed as to what most modern society has turned into :(

[KronicReaper]

The only problem in gaming is little kids on mics that cry and moan because they want too. I blame the parents for not stepping up and say no. That is why you get these rage videos on youtube seeing young kids raging on mics and cussing like an idiot, this is why I don't want a mic. Yes I get frustrated too with people on this site, but sometimes I need to be alone and cool my head and question myself why people act so immature around playing a video game. Sometimes people act immature because they want attention to make people upset and start raging on a mic or sending a nasty voice or text message on PSN or Xbox Live. I think people need to grow up and act mature and be a better example of a respectful gamer in the gaming community. I don't mind if you're a male or female gamer that wants to have a good time playing video games, but please don't act immature and that is a bad example for others. That's all I like to say here.

[MegaGeeza22]

Its mainly sad lonely people who never socialise with women and never leave there house and when they do see a woman online they get excited and start making rude comments. i used to hear it a lot on fifa and cod4 but that was a long time ago and i am rarely online anymore.
The few spoil it for the many.

[stin]

Oryx Crake

I wholeheartedly agreed with you all the way!

I don`t care who they are, what race or gender or anything on their beliefs, as long they can play a game, I`m happy with it. My daughter is a gamer and so is my son too.

Especially I`m deaf, I don`t understand of what they are saying through mic, so I put it on mute and rely on text messages. preferred it that way.

Bottom line is I do respect them as a gamer not idiots!

stevie:)

[Oryx Crake]

it makes me happy that other people here feel as passionately about this as I do. And I really think that if we as a community are proactive with this and show a united front against this sort of utter crap, whether it be bigotry to women, people of other races, people with dissabilities or different creeds, then perhaps we can make a bit of a splash in the gamer community as a whole (not a big one mind you) gotta start somewhere after all.

[possesed13]

oryx very pointy subject you came up with!!
i now there is always the bad and the good in cases of gender and our behavior in this matter!
and in my opinion its not expressed only in gaming!
its a fact that if someone does it in here he does it in his every day life...

nevertheless must be banned at least from this forum!
we enjoy racing and gaming!
we are not here to show that we have the biggest one!
its a story that troubles mankind from the beginning!

what a waste!!!

[Snakenator1]

I think this forum needs a secondary slogan to address this issue, like Feisar's "race for E-unity"

maybe "Wipeoutzone Racing for diversity and equality"

[terra-wrists]

Gamers 4 gamers... trolls can go skate. I believe it's a good thing that the in game voice chat is broke from day dot. Can u imagine the nature of trolling we'd experience of it worked?

Let's count our blessings on that alone.