Today’s article was just a short one, and engaging in what makes everyone roll their eyes: seeing something happen on Reddit and writing an article about it.
To cut it short:
- Billie Eilish (famous singer) uploaded a picture of her old Nintendo DSi in gallery of images, to her Instagram account
- Someone shared that on Reddit
- Half of the comment section slid straight into shitty gamer dude Hell (the other half did not)
- Some man on Mastodon attacked me
- Post removed from Reddit when moderators spotted the comments
…this is a fast-forward of the oddness, but if you want to read over my ramble here, and see some shittiness, the link will help:
https://gardinerbryant.com/you-dont-look-like-a-gamer/
I see this shit all the time, and it is not only exhausting, but something no one should see (no matter their identity) should be subjected to. Anyway, read on if you’d like!
socially inept incel gamer boys feel threatened by girls and women entering “their” space, and communicate in the only way they know how: by lashing out with gamer shittalking. it’s barely a step above toddler temper tantrums. unfortunately no one can force anyone to grow tf up, especially when part of their core identity is as some kind of someone within the anti-woman circlejerk. best practice is to just block them and move on. angry reaction is what they want. fuck that.
also, wtf is this new “larping” business?
I fucking hate how people throw this word larping around. Like there’s only ‘real gamers’ who can be ‘true gamers’, and if someone doesn’t use a device like them…they’re role-playing? So weird. SO weird. And cringe, too.
Maybe by ‘true gamer’ they mean someone whose identity is defined by gaming? Not for me to say whether or not that’s healthy, but it’s certainly extreme. And then going further to link this identity to gender is just weird. I mean, who cares? We’re all just text on the internet to each other, what difference does gender or sexuality or race etc make to gaming? Unless it’s a game that explores those themes, it shouldn’t, but here we are.
As someone who would admit to their identity being shaped by video games: I also play the Sims a lot, which (in the eyes of your typical gamer bro) isn’t a real game
There are sex differences in social behaviour, and gaming has historically been a male-coded status space. So when women enter that space, especially visibly, some men interpret it through suspicion: attention-seeking, trend-following, or identity performance.
oh yes they love dividing people into “real/true” gamers and “not” lol
these miserable children have nothing to offer the world except bitterness and drama. let them fellate each other to the end of time. i’ll be literally anyplace else, doing literally anything else
It’s fascism . Some are not aware it.
I am extremely aware if it, so I don’t entertain it.
That’s a very outdated way of thinking unless you’ve only hung out in boyzones. It is certainly true in many ways still, but look at the profile pics and usernames, for example.
I’m not sure if you’re misunderstanding who you’re replying to, or if I’m misunderstanding you in this reply, but I don’t think they’re saying “all gamers are incels who don’t like girls”, I think they’re saying “all the shitty people reacting poorly are the remaining socially inept incel guys”
Which are known for being truthful and realistic…
Just like online assumptions. The backbone of truth for all reactionary behaviour. In this case, mirrored essentialism.
You’re just ironically using the same reductive pattern incels use. Doesn’t matter if you’re on the other end of a spectrum to them, you’re just being the same type of person by saying that.