So I admit it: I'm (gasp!) a feminist. And yes coming out to that on the internet is still seen as something dirty to many eyes, especially in the gaming community. Many think extremes of trying to think that women are superior to men and that we all want to usurp the men around us by validating our womanly agendas. So stop that right now, because that isn't what it's about at all. You've been misled and uninformed for probably good reason.
When I talk about feminism (and while this relates to games more it applies to everything else as well) I'm talking about equality and balance here. Everyone is good at doing different things and that goes right into gaming. Different genres and scenarios/tropes appeal to different men & women and that's just peachy. I like RPG's because they're story driven and I enjoy searching every nook and cranny for that elusive sidequest or weapon that I missed, or jonesing after that 100% map completion. That's something I attribute to me being more "girly". It also seems to me why JRPG's in particular are a dying breed in America at least. Many developers gear FPS's to guys for catering a sense of masculinity. In manipulation on both ends to generate sales and Many companies unfortunately are in denial about the demographic of their gamers nowadays in addition to the buying power that women have in regards to their game purchases. At the very least, you have mothers and siblings and daughters wanting in on what their other male family members enjoy to such a degree, but what I've heard o' too often is that a strong female protagonist doesn't sell. That I will say right now is bullshit.
This is according to the ESA
In the world of MMO's a fair amount of male gamers pick female toons because they would rather look at a female than a male while playing. I was mistaken for a dude awhile back when I mentioned my fiance could help out in Guild Wars 2 when suddenly a party member ditched our pickup group in the Molten Facility dungeon. I was amused rather than taken aback because I tend to play females as I identify with them more as well as that they don't make very many good looking male toons to play. That this is a normal thing to do begs the question then of why. While it used to be vastly skewed that you'd find the token gamer girl within a group that is not the case. There are plenty of girls around but feel they have to hide their gender as they'll be treated differently in addition to having to fend off being hit on or harassed. I've heard of women modulating their voice in vent because some gamers wouldn't play with them if there was a female in the group. Feeling like they are intruding on a male haven, they are either belittled (oh isn't she a gem trying to kill that zombie with a shot gun!) to insulted in ability based solely on gender (regardless of verified game time or experience) to being sexually harassed (creepy pm's or blatant come on in chat) it is still very much a man's world in the gaming community.
I do not blame men as a demographic though, since that would be just as bad. Generalizing and being prejudiced blindly would be reciprocating the exact opposite of what should be done. It's a little bit of everyone fault here but I frankly don't care about handing out blame. What I want is a discussion and progress towards making games a more inviting environment for men, women, gays, trans, etc. It doesn't matter what's under the pants, it's the mind, mentality, and skills that matter. If you can pick off a Boomer with the grace and agility of a proper sniper- that's what I care about. If you can place first in Mario Kart because you know how to control Luigi like a boss- that's what I care about.
I'll probably get some backlash for even discussing this issue which is probably a zombie horse by now nonetheless needs to be restated again and again. The adverse retaliation to Anita Sarkeesian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian is unacceptable. Death threats, sexual insults, etc etc are the type of crap women (and men) have to deal with when simply addressing the issue and trying to bring change. It's 2013 and yet we still (And women are sometimes the worst of this) have a 50's mentality of roles of men and women when video games didn't even exist back then.Just take a Bechdel test and see how things have degraded some of the more recent releases for instance. Everyone has a mother (Sorry Batman), a female friend, a sister that I sure as hell they wouldn't want treated as such, yet might be unknowingly perpetuating such a mindset. What I'm asking of everyone is to be conscious of such things and choose hard and carefully of your actions, whether it's something you type in local, something you say on vent, or an action you do in a game.Anita's show Female Frequency is a good review of some of the most common issues with the condition in gaming. While a bit slanted, from my personal opinion that facts themselves can't really be refuted as while it is hard to prove why exactly, such things are happening.
Granted, this type of armor would kill you alot quicker too...
And while this is one aspect of a "solution" if you will, what essentially it boils down to is that there are too few female developers making some of these decisions. STEM majors are vastly geared towards men and boys from an early part of our childhoods. The competitive environment deters many women from completing degrees or (if they do) from getting a job within gaming companies in key positions http://www.igda.org/sites/default/files/IGDA_QualityOfLife_WhitePaper.pdf.
The same problems in game permeate to the workplace unfortunately. Brosie the Riveter is one of the newest "switches" - that of putting male characers is sexualized clothing and posing usually retained for their female counterparts http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/05/hawken-brosie-meteor-k2/. A wake up call like this is an extreme case of stating the obvious, but it seemed to have made a dent in their boss's awareness in the office environment. Granted this particular issue has been recently brought some awareness and has been taken into account with a fair number of top games. Hilde from Soul Caliber, Shepard from Mass Effect, some of the Skyrim armor, and others have made great attempts at making more realistic (at at least practical) armor that protects better than a metal bikini. Not to say they aren't beautiful in their outfits, but more of how that number is going to deflect a sword blow.
Finally I'd like to conclude with my uncertainly over being considered a bitch, and why that is either a good & bad thing. A contronym meaning that it means it's opposites makes using the term in context that much more important. Bitch can be good in meaning taking charge and not letting anyone push you around but also being a stubborn or strong female (She's/He's such a little bitch right?). If directed at a man, implies that being female is something of a lesser quality blah blah. The fact, it's ambiguous and contradictory use makes it an overpowering negatively skewed word. You should both want to be a bitch but not be a bitch simultaneously (If that's not misleading...). Frankly I'd rather you use some varying length of adjectival descriptors and be a bit more witty rather than calling me out as a one syllable insult I'd respect you a bit more.
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