by Badly Drawn Girl

Created on: March 29, 2008   Last Updated: June 26, 2011

Girls shouldn't be underestimated as gamers because they are actually the majority! It's a common misconception that gaming is a men's only club. The biggest reason this myth carries so much weight is because people are often focusing on console games such as those offered by X-Box or Playstation. It is true that women are a bit less likely to rush out and buy the new X-Box 360, or be first in line to snap up the latest installment in the Halo trilogy, but they are still the leaders in the gaming market. A recent study by the Consumers Electronic Association found that 65% of women in the 25-34 year age bracket play video games, while only 35% of men in that group said that they play video games (as cited by the New York Times.)

Women tend to be more drawn to puzzle type games, such as Tetris, or card games like solitaire. Online sites that offer a variety of mini video games have much higher numbers of women playing than men. It is believed that women are less drawn to the increasingly violent first person shooters that make up the bulk of the games marketed for the consoles. Women are more likely to jump online, play a few hands in cards, then men who seem to be more drawn to complicated games that often come with pages and pages of instructions.

With innovations in the gaming industry and the recent onslaught of "party games" that allow multiple people to compete against each other at the same time, or as a team, more women are being drawn into the more traditional gaming world. There is definitely still a largely untapped market out there. While games that have been specifically targeted at girls haven't fared well, games that aren't so gender specific but still allow a girl to feel welcome have done well. The biggest problem has been in fighting the myth that only boys play video games. And because of that, games are almost always aimed at boys, giving girls very few strong female characters to chose from and portray.

Growing up as a competitive tomboy in the 80's, I soon discovered the double standard in the gaming world. It was a lesson I would learn again and again as my interests and pursuits pushed me into the male dominated culture of games. I didn't want to play dolls, I wanted to play army. I didn't want to play softball, I wanted to play baseball. I had no interest in dresses, makeup, long hair, preferring a simple pixie cut covered with a baseball hat and jeans that would be inevitably covered in grass stains. As for makeup, well if you can

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