OMG Girlz Don't Exist On Teh Intarweb!

She has teh b00bies.

Excuse the following comments:

Paul, you're proving yourself to be a f***ing moron on numerous levels.

Thank you.

"Is that really a good point? That is a pretty casual and common clothes girls wear, you know. It would have been another thing if she ie wore a mini skirt and showed cleavage."
But nice choice of regular clothes, a tight t-shirt and tight jeans. Sure lets see how baggy t-shirt and sweat pants work. The fact she posed for article means it isnt good enough for words, not many would buy it.
"Since when is that a typical "male" thing to do, acting effeminate? :P"
Since when is it typical for a girl to be playing video games? Break down stereotypes.

I myself dont see why people get all noobish when they find out the person that killed them is a girl........My sister rules ass at counter strike.She is always getting the !!11!11OMG YoUs ArE Teh FeMaLe!1!11!!!!.....shes 30 years old and does'nt care when they act liek that cause she says simply "boys".Its funny when people start acting all picture hungry,cause I go and own there horny asses.Then she's always like haha like that shot by my bro?


...Girls on the net = Not all that uncommon

My point wasn't her clothes (although they ARE tight-fitting and belly-baring) but the fact that her WHOLE RANT is about guys asking for her picture and her belief that she shouldn't be a sex object, and she accompanies this rant with what? Sexy pictures.

It would be kind of like Jack Thompson complaining about video game violence by writing a proposal suggesting the murder of the head of Take Two Interactive and innocent GameStop employees.

In other words: SHE'S A HYPOCRITE!

All I'm saying is that if she wants people to respect her as a gamer, and not as a piece of meat, she might want avoid including her sexpot pictures in her articles. Think of it this way: When Dan Hsu writes for EGM, all he includes is a goofy shot of his face, and NOT a full-body picture of himself in tight jeans with a "come get some man-meat, baby!" look on his face.

She complains about boys being sex-crazed and begging for pictures when they find out that she's a girl, but she can't write an article about it without sexing it up with photos? How much can she contradict herself in one article, anyway?

There's a reason girls like this- and about 75% of the Suicide Girls- piss me off. They complain that they are treated poorly because they're girls, but then they give feminism a bad name by making everything they do revolve around their looks and their sexuality.

True equality comes when you don't feel the need to mention your gender AT ALL when it doesn't matter to the subject at hand. This girl is the type who will go to work and expect that she's being treated poorly because she's female- never even CONSIDERING the possibility that it's her attitude, her work ethic, her risque skin-bearing outfits, or something else that might be the cause of her problems.

And for the record, she objectifies men just as much as she complains about being objectified herself (and almost as much as she actually objectifies herself with those photos). As an example, her comment about Johnny Depp wasn't making note of his keen intellect or his acting skills, but his looks. When guys direct the same sort of comments toward her, she freaks out. Double standard? NAHHHHH...

When she's older, she'll understand that not everybody judges her because she's a girl. Most of us simply don't give a $hit, as long as she brings skill and brains to the table.

I suppose a possible motivation for wearing distinctly feminine attire is to disprove the idea that an attractive girl cannot be a serious gamer. Then again, by some standards, close-fitting T-shirts and jeans are considered risque, while by others, they might be thought of as prudish (as not enough skin is revealed). The outfit chosen is probably typical of what the girl wears, and not much thought may have gone into its selection. Perhaps we'll have to ask the author of the article (who we're assuming posed for those photos), but you're always making a statement with a shirt that says "geek" up front-and-center.

"Perhaps we'll have to ask the author of the article (who we're assuming posed for those photos)"
Wait, that might not be author?

Oh my GOD. Reading these comments has made me lose all faith in humanity. I'm going to go shoot myself in the FACE now. First I have to step over Grandma's controller cord to get the gun cabinet... then- dammit! The ammo is past my little sister's room (Metroid Prime 2) I hope she doesn't bug me with her usual "Hey Tim! I beat your time! You SUCK!"

And I know Mom is playing Sly Cooper 3 out in the living room, and she's going to give me a hard time about the whole ...you know, suicide ...thing. At least after she's done with the next boss.

Oh wait, Girls don't game! I must be imagining all this! Thank you for pointing out my family are nothing but hallucinations, now I can finally get the help I need.

I liked the article. This shit happens all the god damn time to Grandma on XBox Live when she's not wearing the headset and can't respond.

"As for Whitney seeking undue amounts of attention because of her gender, it seemed from reading the article that she generally goes to the opposite extreme in not advertising it whenever possible"

see, i didn't see that at all. in fact, i was quite irritated when reading "Jack sparrow is so hot" in the same breath as her talking about how she likes to keep her gender secret.

it's obviously an attention ploy, and i'm not buying it.

Judging by the comments on this article I have to say she has a point. Its responses like this that give the reputation of immaturity to the community as a whole.

Also as an aside for those who believe she's trying to get attention, well the intelligent response to that would have been to give no response at all, the fact that you guys responded as you did does give weight to her argument, by responding as you did you create the very same unwelcoming environment that many girls feel is prevalent in the gaming community towards them.

As another aside for those who believe that the placement of the pics makes her a hypocrite, its more likely the intent of the pics was to take advantage of what she feels guys are like, kind of like when you want to attract sharks you throw chum into the water.

LISTEN TO ZEROCORPSE!!!!

he's right, and i agree 100 percent (especially the first and lst posts, numbers 16 and 54respectivly) i challenge anyone male or female to find fault with any argument, in either of those posts

I concur with Batman.

Zerocorpse is 100% on the money.

I think you're all missing the point. The point is that she is unnecessarily harassed by guys in a game... for some reason, whenever it becomes known (or suspected) that she is female by some guy on the net, they immediately begin placing unreasonable demands on her. The fact that guys can't just say "oh, cool" and keep playing as before is pretty sad. How would you like it if you got singled out on a server as different, and was bombarded with idiotic comments constantly?

ZeroCorpse: "It would be kind of like Jack Thompson complaining about video game violence by writing a proposal suggesting the murder of the head of Take Two Interactive and innocent GameStop employees."

Wait...that was irony, right?
Cause it happened...
;)

I agree with everything Zerocorpse said. Anyone notice that most girls on XBL seem to be in a clan with the words "sexy" "grrl" or "hot" in them? But if you say "You're a girl" when they start talking they reply in a snotty tone "What, have you never met a girl before?" If you want to be treated like a guy don't be in a clan that brings up the fact that you do, in fact, have a vagina.

I don't agree with ZeroCorpse. What do you suggest? Force Julianne Greer to include pictures of hideously potmarked harpees with armpit hair just barely showing the nested insects that reside under the stench of the 100% cotton pink babydoll "l33t" shirt that hasn't been washed since the release of Lunar 2?

Would that make you happy?

Or does including a simple image of the girl, that she dare show her face from under the burkha of anonymity, completely negate the rudeness of players she's faced online?

I suppose your right, it would be best if she didn't tell anyone her horrible secret. Girls are, afterall, unclean pets made by our lord for the entertainment of assholes on WoW who not only show their hostility towards women, evidence of homophobia, and downright stupidity, they give the rest of us gamers a bad name.

I've never played WoW - and I never will. Yuck. BUT - I have been playing CS for 5 years. I don't think the guys who play CS are nearly as bad as you've painted the guys who play WoW (which in my opinion is more geared toward women). I still get asked if I'm a girl (because boys often would chose the name Chicky and then sound like I do...) but rather than bring the attention to myself, I quote pinocchio "I'm a real boy".

I'll admit there are some real girl haters out there, hence why when I got married 2 years ago, my husband and I started our own gaming clan. Rather than deal with the asshats, I just kicked them - or ban them. I'm also an admin for a very popular gaming league and although I occassionally get the, "omg! you're a girl?!" for the most part, it's not something I can't handle.

If you don't feel the need to speak up (being afraid to talk on Vent... wtf?!) then you are just adding to the problem. Guys don't ask for my picture - maybe because it's readily available on my clan site with all the other clan members pictures - or maybe because I don't make a big deal out of being female.

I would like to point out one thing tho. Females who create "female only" gaming clans or clubs only add to the problem. We don't like it when the guys create "male only" clans, why should we in turn do the same thing. Besides, part of the appeal of playing with a bunch of boys - no pms. I'm in no way saying all female clans are like this - but omg, so many are.

All in all - this article is way exaggerated.

There are lots of girls in my internets.

Maybe I'm on the wrong internet O_O.

ZeroCorpse, you said everything I wanted to, but I have too big of a lack of vocabulary and too little an attention span to say.

I know lots of girl gamers, and they would rather people online not know they are girls, and not because of the "OMG YUR A GRL!?" crap, but because they want to win fair, and not be handed a win because they have boobs.

I think that any girl who goes out of her way like that to say she is one want's things to be easy, and wants items/kills handed to her. It's very simple though, if you don't want attention, don't draw it.

I'D HIT IT

I never said she shouldn't be seen. I also never stated my gender, and you'd be wise to remember that. What I said was that she seems awfully hypocritical in every sense of the word.

She complains that guys only want to see her picture when they find out she's a girl, rather than just taking her words as they are. So naturally, for her big essay on the subject she includes a bunch of pinup photos, right? This makes no sense.

She complains that guys treat girls as objects, then admits that her own kneejerk reaction to a Johnny Depp reference was to exclaim that he's sexually appealing to her. By her own standards, shouldn't she be admonished for this?

You know- I face plenty of rude people online (and in person). I've faced rude male AND female gamers. Rudeness is not exclusive to boys who are threatened by female gamers. In fact, I would like to point out that I've seen hundreds of blogs written like her article; Self-important essays (accompanied by sexy photos) by grrl gamers who only seem to gripe about being a girl in a man's world. Strangely enough, I have yet to see a blog or essay where a guy laments the stereotypes he faces from girl gamers who instantly assume he's a man-hating sex fiend just because of his gender.

This whole "woe is me, look at me" attitude is not empowering to women. It's sad and pathetic. "Boo hoo hoo. Boys flirt with me! Boo hoo hoo. They want to look at my body. Boo hoo hoo... So, like, here are some pictures to go with my essay. I totally look hot in that shirt."

I challenge anybody to find a gaming blog out there with a bunch of sexy pictures of the male author, who talks about his experiences of being a male over and over.

Men deal with stereotypes, too. One need only pay attention to see it. I don't know how many times I've listened to girls talking about how "dumb" men are, how men are all stupid, sex-crazed jerks, and how they are worthless unless they're built like an athlete with the brain of a geek. Men are under pressure to be overtly masculine, to the point of being jerks, lest they be seen as wussies by their peers. I wish I had a dime for every woman who came to me complaining about how she never finds a nice guy, and how guys always treat her like crap, but then when given the chance to go for a nice guy, she almost always ignores him and picks the good-looking a*hole who cheats on her, beats her, and treats her like property. She then holds it against all men, wandering around with a chip on her shoulder until she sees another hunky stud that makes her ignore her own advice in favor of having a cuter boyfriend than the other girls.

Women can be just as nasty, rude, vile, rotten, competitive, angsty, touchy, foul-mouthed, presumptive, stereotyping and gender-biased as men. And when women do it they are much more venomous!

I know I write a lot, but damn! -This sort of thing is what sets back feminism by ten years! You don't gain equality with men by screaming about your gender at the top of your lungs. "I am woman, hear me roar!" is all wrong. "I am human, treat me like you want to be treated" is what SHOULD be said, instead. She'd get a lot more respect if she had more respect for herself.

Yay for you, sweetie! You have perky breasts! Now, instead of showing them off while you complain about the way boys react to them, maybe you should Just Write, and let the words speak for themselves. Perhaps a nice, tasteful, non-tarted-up photo of your face is OK. After all, some journalists rely on a headshot to accompany their writing, although this is usually reserved for the most recognized of writers.

In summation: Your words shouldn't need tits to have an impact on your readers. Try using reason instead of sex appeal when complaining about having sex appeal.

For the record, I do have a sexy picture on my own blog... But then, I'm not writing about how objectified I feel when gaming online.

I also never clarify whether or not I'm a male or female, or which picture is me and which is somebody else.

Why? Because my gender doesn't matter. All that you should care about is what I say, and you'll note that I don't insult or objectify anyone based on their gender. I am an equal-opportunity bitch.

And by "bitch" I don't necessarily mean female.

I didn't read everyone’s comments so I am not sure if this is covered.

But the reason why guys need pictures and then still don’t believe it is a girl has nothing to do with any prejudice against girls. It is the inherent fear of being duped by a guy and actually thinking that they are talking/attracted to a girl when it is really a guy. We have all heard of the horror stories. They are just afraid of being gay.

-LDS-

Oh, and CtrlAltDel (you know, that breaks down to CAD as an acronym, don't you?)... For future reference, the word you were looking for was "pockmarked." (although I'm sure "potmarked" harpies would be rather fascinating.)

No... My objection wasn't that she showed her face. It's that she felt compelled to show her body in an article about how she hates being asked to show her body.

And finally, before I crash for the night, I would also like to point out the fact that if she weren't a cute girl her pictures wouldn't have accompanied that article at all... You can bet a billion bucks on that, baby.

ZeroCorpse, my god you're right. I guess I never saw it that way. Thank you for enlightening all of us, I will look at gender and the necessary ambiguity of gender representation in a completely different way. Thank you. Your words, like sweet prose whispered in my ear by the lips of some soft and fragile creature straining to sing her song to her man; O that man who sits patiently at work doing man things in a manly way, his thick stubble brushing against her effiminate skin...

Oh, and ZeroCorpse, (you know that was actually the middle name of James Woods's father; no kidding) yes, pockmarked. You got me there. Boy am I stupid. I am hereby "pwned" and such. Hows about you and me have a drink sometime?



...or don't you like being talked to that way? Her intentions don't really matter, yes? I thought the point of the article was stupid people suck. If I meet somebody on CS blathering on about how much they like watching WWF, chances are I'll treat them the same way I would talk to someone who keeps talking about ponies; regardless of gender. We would all probably say, what? "Shh, shoot that guy over there..." rather than "U SuK f4gg0t!"

Look, if the author of this article e-mails Joystiq or whoever and says, "Yes, I wrote the article, had my producer (I'm a model you see) take some of the photos and we went through the shoot to find the best ones that say "jaded and Sexay!" for The Escapist to use.." then I'll say the article was an attention whore trying to get pity from us. Until then, I still don't see anything wrong with it.

Well said, ZeroCorpse. Though I can't help but note two things. Firstly, it's the Escapist's style to have full-on, lavish graphical imagery everywhere. Secondly, I can't help but wonder that if no photos had accompanied the article, the trollish replies would simply centre around "omg it's not a girl" -- I've seen that sort of reaction before. Hell, it's not uncommon for random people on the Internets to tell me that I'm a bloke, which amuses me immensely.

And for the earlier comments about not finding girls who can play FPS games: check out http://www.pmsclan.com if you want a fair number of living, breathing, counterexamples.

I would have to agree with Zero. I would of taken the article more seriously if she didnt put those glamour shots in there. I would have responded better if there was a picture of her in front of a monitor while she played WoW.

I cant help but notice what type of guys she chose to their little "experiment" to begin with? Sheesh of all those guys on the internet them? Makes me think she's only looking publize her article. And I cant help she's throwing her gender around, and expecting a "good" response, knowing the guys were weird to begin with.
Basically I find the whole guy and girl thing, stupid. I'm tired of the "I'm a girl gamer, worship me I'm a princess the world revolves around me" or the generalization of guys only play games. Lets all enjoy games and quit bitchin'.

ZeroCorpse, you know you're right when your opponents only focus on one or two points of your argument and continue to pound on them ad nauseam.

bandersnatch-

"Opponents?"

Whachoo talkin' bout? Is that what we're doing here? It's all about sides?! YOU WANNA GO?? I can see where ZeroCorpse is coming from, I just liked the article. I don't like the way folks talk to us LBGT people online. This is sort of the same. The photos don't really matter to me.

Just to dispel any further speculation, I contacted Whitney -- perhaps using her name will help people be less rude? -- and she informed me that she is the one featured in the article's photos, though that's not her in the headset and keyboard pics.

In her own words: "...one of the members of the creative team took the pictures and then used them to enhance the irony and satirical humor of the article."

It's your prerogative if you want to call her hypocritical for letting those pictures be taken and used for the story, but they were intended to have an ironic/satirical effect.

"In her own words: "...one of the members of the creative team took the pictures and then used them to enhance the irony and satirical humor of the article." "
Sorry I just dont see it being ironic or humorous in a satirical way.
I really believe she some self-absorbed girl who complains generalization and makes broad generalizations herself, she's really fixated with the idea "guys dont give her the attention she wants and she is a victim". I can see that some male gamers act like that I'm sure the same could be said for female ones (yes women can be bad too) as well as racist people and homo-phobic, I agree people like that suck. I just find it rhertoric thats a groups called pms clan or any other one gender only clans, when they're talking about gender equality in gaming, when they're trying proving point male or female gamers. Well anyway I think we should leave all hate outside and enjoy gaming, since games are forever.

Nothing like a girl to whip a bunch of videogame playing dorks into a flame frenzy......

Play Halo 2 with a girl frequently. She pwns. But not one session can go by without some incredibly lame behaviour.... as soon as the dirty secret gets out - that a girl can and will kick your ass - everything turns into a testosterone explosion....

'I bet you're an ugly slut.'
'You must be a whore.'
Teabags and screaming and harassment deluxe.

Eventually - someday in the distant future - doods will realize that having an opinion on girl gamers is lame..... You play. They play. We all play. Just have fun.

CAD,

I like it when you talk to me with such a feisty tone. ;)

Sorry, this is never going to go away. Not in our culture.

There will always be a new crop of teenage boys coming up, highly competitive and equipped with years of "girls are dumb" reinforced in their heads, to mesh with the new "women are sex objects" signals they are now picking up. Putting down girls to look good for the other boys is a foregone conclusion, as strange as it seems.

And there will always be a new crop of teenage girls coming up, trying to figure out their role in our male-dominated society, and realizing that the best way to get attention among boys is to flaunt their awkward new sexuality.

Eventually men will realize that the women are just like them, but with slightly different brain wiring, and women will learn that they can't change the behavior of a man by manipulation, and that whorish behavior will get you attention, but not respect. But by then, there will be another batch of teenagers ready to stumble their way through learning our culture's gender roles.

Unfortunately, the people who populate online gaming are often those who haven't figured the whole gender thing out yet. People like Whitney Butts, and the guys she meets when gaming.

As a girl, I can assure you we're not all as retarded as this one. That probably isn't her real pic, probably stole it from google.

A real girl gamer doesn't ask to be treated any differently, and they do not constantly spout that they are female in video games. We do not create online handles such as "sechsybabe69". It's retarded. I didn't find this hilarious. I found it stereotypical, and just a cry from a [censored insult] who wants attention.

bandersnatch-

Oh I knows that ya do ;)

omg she is so dam hot i just love her if you what to talk just contact me a bad_brad_49@hotmail.com k