How To Transform Yourself Into a Misogynistic Asshole

Girls, we need to have a talk. Is this a familiar scenario for you? You come home from a long day of work or school and are looking forward to relaxing on the couch to play a few hours of your favorite game. Within seconds, your husband/boyfriend/father/brother swoops in and starts harping in your ear, “Games are for boys, BITCH!” Tired of hearing the same crap in your ear every day? Want to play your games in peace? Better yet, do you dream of sharing your love without getting sexually harassed, talked down, or called male? Well, you came to the right place.

Straight from the mouth of a gamer who happens to be female, I will… well, I certainly won’t be making a stupid, sexist list that derides women as naggers and then tells you how to get them to play games. But I sure as hell will be critiquing one from a writer whose creds is that she’s a “female gamer” — but apparently that doesn’t exempt her from spouting a load of sexist crap.

  1. Never Forget That All Women Nag!
  2. Within seconds, your wife/girlfriend swoops in and starts harping in your ear, “I’m not going to spend another night watching you play that stupid game for hours…blah, blah, bitch, bitch, BITCH!” Tired of hearing the same crap in your ear every day?

    The author (sorry, her handle is too l33t for my poor female brain to type) opens up by playing unironically on the stereotype that women will nag and “bitch”. I find it telling that the one word in the entire paragraph that draws your attention is the only one she put in all caps: bitch.

    Women, please take note: While you may feel like “one of the boys,” and indeed they may tell you that you are, emulating them by putting down other women will not make you any less of an interloper. All it does is make you an asshole who alienates herself from both groups.

  3. Women Love Shopping, Tee Hee!
  4. Play your games after she goes to bed or when she is out shopping, or offer her a deal (i.e.-if she lets you play for an hour, promise to watch her favorite chick TV show for an hour.) You can suck it up for the sake of gaming. Once she sees that SHE is your priority, she should be willing to compromise a little.

    Just in case the hypothetical girlfriend was starting to look too much like an individual human being with all that talk about not playing games when you’re supposed to be spending time with her, our author had to throw in this line about shopping. Because shopping to women is like gaming to men! And, furthermore, that any TV shows that one gender likes the other will automatically hate. Because men and women are different!

    I also like how she’s like, “your girlfriend should be your priority” and then emphasises that it’s all a show to get her to compromise. Because loving relationships between women and men, especially gamer men — or any geeky men or any men with a hobby, really — can’t exist. Women are out to nag — excuse me, bitch, because that’s what we are, bitches and not people — and men are only interested in keeping their women for… the sex, I assume. Because the men she’s painting in this picture sure don’t seem to have girlfriends because they like them.

  5. Women Feel Important When They’re Stereotyped!
  6. You know girls, they are ALL about feelings… Point out your favorite character (unless of course, your favorite player is a D-Cup bimbo!) If you’re stuck on a board and can’t figure out where to go next, ask her to help you figure it out. Let her know that she is important enough to you that you want to share your gaming passion with her.

    But not, apparently, enough to see her as an individual rather than some sorry caricature of that “bimbo” (the woman-hating words come out again!) player this hypotheical guy may love. So far these non-gaming SOs have been painted as nagging bitches, shopaholics who watch “chick shows” whatever those are, “all about feelings” (because logic is for men!), and really not worth any time except that their nagging between sexual exploits gets in the way of what’s really important: game time.
  7. Electronics are Scary!
  8. For non-gaming chicks, the modern console and controller can be damn intimidating. Don’t hand her a controller and expect her to know what to do with it. If she handed you a makeup bag and a set of hot rollers, would you have any idea what to do with them? Make sure you teach her. Walk her through the controls. Explain things clearly, but don’t talk down to her.

    Intimidating? Comparing it to makeup? This author clearly has never had the benefit of reading any of the how not to write these types of articles guides. Personally, I’d say don’t write them at all. If men are ignoring their SOs because of the sake of games, it’s not because of makeup or intimidating controllers and everything about the sense of entitlement these guys have.

    Wake up call, people! It’s not the women who are the problem in this scenario, it’s the men! No person wants to be treated as an object for their partner’s amusement in a relationship. The men being described here — and I know they exist, because I have had the unfortunate occassions to hang out with some such losers — don’t respect women, don’t treat their girlfriends right, and then wonder why they get dumped. Telling them that their problems will be fixed by getting their nagging bitches of girlfriends into gaming solves nothing. It just lets them believe the fantasy that they don’t have to actually treat the women in their lives like they care about them, and in that scenario everyone loses.

  9. Chick Means Stupid!
  10. The key to turning a regular chick into a gamer chick is taking it slow and playing games that she is interested in and that are at her skill level. If your girl has never played before, or is slow to pick it up, throwing her head first into a first person shooter or 40 hour RPG is not the way to go. The trick is easing her into it with “chick friendly” games. Once she masters the “chick” games, then let her determine when she is ready to move on to more challenging games. She will progress at her own pace. Don’t push her too fast or she will only get frustrated with her skill (or lack thereof.) I know this may be boring as hell for you at times, but believe me, it will all be worth it. Here is a list of games that are great intros for her:

    Number of times the word “chick” was used in that paragraph: 4 And at least two of those was synonymous with stupid or non-complex. The games she suggests? Mario, music games, and puzzle games. Because, obviously, they’re “chick” games because they’re easy. Unlike first person shooters. Which are completely complex and require a lot of brain power.

    And I challenge her to a DDR match if she believes that it requires “less actual gaming skills.” What are gaming skills? Reflexes, ability to adapt to the new challenges of the game, and the ability to become skilled in the gaming environment. All of which DDR has, plus the added element of physical power. You need stamina to keep that shit up. I have played a wide variety of games in my 15+ years of gaming, and DDR remains one of the most challenging games.

The snobbery of the “boy’s club” is so apparent here, and what’s more sad is that it’s coming from a woman herself. Instead of challenging ideas of “hardcore game” = good versus “casual game” = bad, or challenging men to treat these women as individual people, the author has chosen to throw her lot in with deriding women with negative stereotypes, multiple uses of slurs, and insults to our intelligence. Yes, I may be a hardcore gamer, but that doesn’t mean I’m one of the boys. Frankly, when “the boys” behave like women are only around for their entertainment, I’d much rather be unpopular by calling them to task by it, than agreeing with them only to gain a bunch of friends who will never accept me because of my gender.

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15 thoughts on “How To Transform Yourself Into a Misogynistic Asshole

  1. Wait…the original article is serious?

    Oh, wow. Nothing makes me happier to be a gamer female than seeing another gamer female accepting misogynistic stereotypes in order to pander to male gamers. It’s heartwarming.

  2. Great response, tekanji, you hit on everything that was wrong with that article.

    Internalized sexism always amazes me, though not that I’ve haven’t struggled with it–especially growing up as a geek.

  3. Wait…the original article is serious?

    Oh yeah, completely serious. And according to the poll, most of the guys found it helpful. None said that they didn’t.

  4. Within seconds, your wife/girlfriend swoops in and starts harping in your ear, “I’m not going to spend another night watching you play that stupid game for hours…blah, blah, bitch, bitch, BITCH!” Tired of hearing the same crap in your ear every day?

    I’ve never been able to figure out how or why these people get together in the first place.

    I think part of it is the cultural narrative that men and women are so different that a heterosexual has to distinguish between friends of the same sex, with whom one shares interests, and romantic partners, with whom one has sex. But what do these couples actually do the rest of the time they’re together? Besides bicker, I mean.

    My advice for the gamer whose partner isn’t interested in gaming would be a little different:

    * Recognize that it’s okay to have some interests your partner doesn’t share, and to have some “alone time” to pursue those interests.

    * Learn to manage your time – don’t insist on doing “alone time” things when your partner is expecting to spend time with you.

    * If you try to introduce your partner to gaming, don’t be patronizing about it. In particular, don’t: (a) be a “controller controller” and refuse to let them play; (b) try to show off how much more skilled you are; (c) recommend subpar games just because they’re “easy,” or keep good games to yourself because they’re more complex.

    * Think about what your partner would enjoy most, not what you want or what fits the stereotype.

    * Take an interest in your partner’s hobbies if you expect them to take an interest in yours.

    * If you do manage to “convert” your partner, acknowledge that they have as much right to play as you, no matter how proficient each of you are.

  5. Oh yeah, completely serious. And according to the poll, most of the guys found it helpful. None said that they didn’t.

    Oh, that’s just wrong. If they truly believed that the article was helpful, they really don’t know enough to know better and need any help they can get. Unfortunately, “help” like this is more likely to hurt if it’s the only input they’ll have.

    I’m going to go throw out my computer and put some hot rollers in my hair now. You know, so a gamer guy knows what to do with me based on this article.

  6. Look, she thinks we’re humorless bitches (her word):

    A note from the author: if you are lucky enough to already have a tech savvy girl who dabbles in gaming from time to time, this article is not meant for you. This is not “how to transform your gamer girl into a hardcore gamer girl.” These helpful tips are for the ladies who have never held a console controller in their hands or who still think that Ms. Pac Man is the greatest game EVER. So before you flame me for being stereotypical or for suggesting that you “dumb it down” for the girls, I defy you to find me a chick who has never gamed before who could pick up an Xbox controller and play Halo out of the gate. …you won’t. Also, a pre-emptive strike for the militant femanist chicks who will flame me for being stereotypical….get a freaking sense of humor bitches!
    Hugs and Kisses,

  7. I set her chick wallpaper as my background.

    I didn’t even get linked in her rebuttle. She must not have noticed my pits of feminazi. Pity.

  8. Christ. I’d rather be labelled a militant feminist (that’s an insult?) than be seen as someone who bends over and takes it simply to be accepted.

  9. This reminds me of the “how to get your girlfriend to like sports” or “what to do when your man loves sports” type books and stuff that have become really popular in response to football and nascar most recently. i mean, i’d be one thing if it was just a general “how to get your friend, your partner to get into sports or video games” or even just a “video game 101, sports 101 for dummies” deal…but when people blatantly gender it with stereotypes, ugh.

  10. Mary: it’s clear that your boyfriend took pity on you and taught you how to post comments using small words and nice, colourful diagrams. See! Even a girl can do it!

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