Yggdrasil - I dont think it is particularly fair to blame girls for the negativity direct towards them. You cannot blame women for assuming cloaked roles because they only mean to protect themselves from hostility. While you blame this on the cycle women created, it is hard to assume the role of the minority. Most of the points I have seen this far in the thread have been male-centered and do not take the feelings of women into account.

Certainly, I will admit that the last dozen posts have gone off the topic of the "Fragdolls" and have focused more on female gamers. I understand on one hand we have male gamers who encourage female gamers to play but see them being the problem within the gaming community and creating the cycle of hostility. While on the other hand, Devo, Russ and I believe that the male gamers were hostile first resulting in the female obscurity in gaming.

To those males, I have to say that with most females gamers I have encountered, all have experienced sexisms towards them. The hostility directed towards women is not a joke or an illusion. In fact, I have talked with my friends about this issue. In many ways, the male hostility is an extension of male dominance. Many male gamer friends of mine are ashamed to loose to their female counterparts. These individuals also happen to be the same guys who hate loosing to women in sports and any sort of sports and consequently tell sexist jokes in their free time.

At the same time, I understand the argument on the otherside. While women are afraid of being ridiculed, you must band together and muster courage. Your combined strength can overcome name calling and hostility. You dont have to put yourself on center-stage and become a company's spokemodel of exclusively female gamers. Create a respectable clan and show the male community that female gamers are just as good. Change is not a rapid process. Just as women's sports have emerged as a respectable franchise over the past several years, it will take strong, progressive female gamers to break the boundaries set. I must admit, I myself see the fragdolls as a "marketing gimmick" although I would definitely like to see the spotlight on more female gamers.

Really, this plea is too the users responding to the thread. Carefully read the posts before responding and take into consideration the feelings and perspective of the opposite side. It will lead to less tension. This thread is meant to be a discussion and while there is no write "solution" or manner to discuss the topic, there is certainly a neccessity to adhere to etiquette.

That's my point, dude. Why does there need to be a special group of female gamers? It makes no sense. I know movies as a whole are not generally gender specific, but movie genres are. You think of romance movies, that's for women. You think of action movies, that's for men. You don't see groups of hot women action movie watching groups, or macho men romance movie watcher groups. Why does there need to have a group of chicks form some kind of group of female game players as if they are some kind of special skills. If they were highly skilled, fine, I'm all for it. But I've heard they are not even any good, so the whole thing is completely pointless other then to say "hey look, we're a bunch of chicks who play games". LAME.