Can we just NOT?

I AM PISSED. Not only because the creamer in my coffee is making my throat hurt. No. My nail polish is black and I'm ready to rant. I'm extremely annoyed with this:

Not only was this image enlightening, but the comments were astonishing:

"Oh, I am DEFINITELY the one on the right"

"Way more like the one on the right"

"I HATE the one on the left"

"At least I play retro-modern games not stupid mainstream ones like COD"

With over 6,000 likes and 11,773 shares...This is kind of a popular way of thinking. At least among certain circles. I've done so much research on this over the past few days that my poor computer can barely handle all the tabs I've opened at once.

SO MANY GIRLS ATTACK OTHER GIRLS ON THIS, TOO! WHY?!

I've read women say flat out that any girl like the one on the left are slutty whores unworthy of respect. They're not worthy of your respect?! They're human beings! I HIGHLY doubt they're playing video games just to get male attention, and whatever, even if they are. That's their own self-esteem problem, how does that justify disrespect? Maybe they just really enjoy COD and DS games? How does that make them any less of a legitimate fan of video games? The girls playing that card ("That slut's just saying she likes video games so guys will want to sleep with her!!!!!") are also the ones who follow up with: "I'm totally the one on the right hehehahahahhehhahhah I swear like a sailor aoidaddjlkgdh." Yeah, whatever you're sooooo superior. I'd put a lot of money of the bet that you're pretty insecure about yourself, too. 

There's no set box everyone's supposed to fit into, not everyone has to like the same thing in the same way. If someone enjoys casually playing games like COD and wants to label themselves as a "nerd" for whatever reason, that's them. You don't get to decide who calls themselves what. That's just not how it works. Call yourself whatever you want. Someone who only plays a few games is not a lesser human being than someone who plays a myriad of games. No one's inherently superior than anyone else for liking something more. You may be more skilled at the game, but that's about it. 

Everyone needs to stop deciding who is a "real" fan and who isn't. Where is the line drawn between someone who's a "wannabe" and someone who just is? Isn't wanting to be good enough? Stop judging everyone on such simple minded context; humans are fucking complex as SHIT. Just because a girl likes to wear lingerie and play Call of Duty doesn't mean she's not a reeeeallll "gamer girl", no. She's fake. Ugh. Gross. Slut. How about NO.

If you don't do this, or read this, or know that, or see that, some people decide that somehow that makes you less of a fan. Sure, as a massive Harry Potter fan, it baffles me when people are fans of the movie but haven't read the book. I don't get it. I don't understand. I don't really feel any desire to discuss the plot with them, but I'm not going to attack them. Whatever floats their disappointing, little boat; It's their life! Who are you to decide whether this person is validated or not? No. Get off your ultra manly high horse of manly-ness.

RAH THIS GIRL IS BETTER THAN ME AT CALL OF DUTY AND DOESNT WANT TO SLEEP WITH ME IM GOING TO MAKE A PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE PICTURE. 

Even when a girl shows interest in the predominantly-male gaming community, if she doesn't act the way they dictate she should, she gets shut down! Why do some people make it so difficult to join something new, to feel apart of a community? One long comment from a girl talked about how much crap she gets from guys for even opening her mouth on mic while they play. "Oh, you're a girl that's why you suck."; "You obviously have no life, you must be ugly."; and how she gets "pointless sexual comments just for talking."

I have taken over my boyfriend's microphone while he's playing and yeah, that's basically how it goes. They all know I'm not the one playing but they immediately start spewing exhausted "women" jokes about making sandwiches and our "lack of rights" and how utterly hilarious our existence is. I take comfort in the fact that they've never come close to touching a woman and the fact that my boyfriend is not friends with them. 

The woman that spoke up about receiving shit also said that when people play games, they aren't a gender, they're gamers. I think it should be possible to accept each other without having to disregard gender. Get over it, boys, girls are going to want to play, too.

I don't play any video games other than A Series of Unfortunate Events on PS3 and my brief history with DS games like Lizzie McGuire and Finding Nemo, and I by no means identify with being a member of the gaming fandom, but I respect video games. They're genuinely cool and interesting and I'm glad they exist. The fandom, however, has got some serious dark spots. Such is with every fandom, I'd say. That doesn't mean we can't do anything to change that.