I’m treading down a pebbly path, but here it goes. In the world of sports women always get the short end of the stick. Most popular, mainstream sports are played by men. Men play in the MLB, the NFL, and the NHL. It’s a boys club, always has been. And the stereotype is that women are nothing more than a pretty face on the screen interviewing the waterboy on the sidelines.
How does one go up against the men? The Schwabs if you will. It’s all just facts right? So the more facts you know about a sport, the more of a fan you are? Knowing stats back to 1972 proves you belong? An endless pit of figures proves your experience? But anyone can study enough to memorize stats, no?
Much like real sports, video games have been the stereotypical playground of boys and manboys. Girls have been (and are still) the minority in gaming, but recently girl gamers have gotten some press around the blogosphere. From Halo clans to Guitar Hero shredders, the girls are gaming and they’re loving it…and they’re good and they can prove it.
Since sports is nothing but names and numbers, it will always be hard for girls - or anyone for that matter - to prove themselves against the Schwabs of the world. They’ll never be accepted. But in the world of gaming one’s acceptance is granted with skill and ability, and not the “simple” ability to memorize facts, figures, and percentages. It actually doesn’t matter if you’re female or even a 10-year-old boy, if you beat people in the gaming arena then you’ve just proven your worth.
If proving yourself gains you entry into “the club,” then entry into video games is a much lower barrier for girls than regular sports.
…or is that just grabbing for straws?
