Gaming as a Girl and Running Co-ed

The prolific gamer Ninja once said something that seemed misogynistically ignorant. And be real, the argument behind the statement was still egotistical and childish. He professed his rule in regards to not playing with any fellow female streamers. I found the initial statement childish and self-aggrandizing but after a more assessed interpretation and integrating my own experiences in the Fortnite realm I have nuanced my position. I still find his statement overall sexist, however my position is that on average gaming with your own sex proves for more successful outcomes on a more consistent basis.

More investigation into the comment found that his argument came from a place concerning his marriage. For any public figure there is now a growing number of per-viewers whose sole purpose becomes the coverage and judgment of those in the public sphere. This is mainly due to the fact that too many media-addicted people make it their passive job to inflame social dialogue. Commonly known as 'Trolling'. Ninja was worried about this peripheral affect on his own relationship and the unnecessary stress it may lead to.

I was quick to criticism upon hearing the initial comment mainly for the sexist position of the argument. Such a flippant comment can be interpreted more as a deep down psychological fear-based stance that reflects one's own insecurities, in this case about fidelity. If one's marriage is so fragile that playing with female streamers may provoke discourse that leads to marital turmoil then the true root of the worry regarding perceived infidelity is not professional relationships with the sexually attractive. Does he play with chicks in his personal life, I don't know. A basic character assessment tells me he does not participate in a lot of co-ed activities. I know I wouldn't want to play with him, he is way too prone to tantrums.

Here I get to my partial agreement with the stance on co-ed gaming. Ninja is one of the largest-grossing streamers in the industry, coming to fame as a young man. As one of the first of a generation to create their wealth in the newly established job market of social media creators, there was an inescapable audience connected to each creator. A connection that regardless of popularity had never been so proactive in an individual's success. Streamers came with avid groupies, peripheral hangers-on, and overzealous subscribers, which became calculable variables for assessing long-term decision making as a means to sustain their careers. As a streamer, limiting one's exposure to adverse effects is a necessary risk assessment. Perhaps there was a good reason that Ninja chose not to boost his viewership by collaborating with female streamers, worried that it would inflame rumors of infidelity.

I can not pretend to know what kind of DMs he gets or friend requests that drop into his profile. My imagination is active but humans are the most unpredictable of creatures while still being driven by the same basic simplicities of life. It would be shallow of me to make an assertion that he is simply a misogynist and doesn't play with the female sex because he doesn't know how to interact with women without being a chauvinist. Instead, I have come to believe there is a level of validity to the idea. I have experienced it first-hand as a female gamer. Coming to the realization that I find more satisfaction gaming with fellow female gamers. Where I differ is that I have no issues playing with dudes as long as they are not giant douche-bags.

I do not limit myself to just female teammates. Some of my most compatible squad mates are men. But I sure as shit enjoy playing all-girl squads more. There is a distinction between girls and guys when cooperation is required. A lot of dudes will log on and their opening salvo is a rally-call about how they 'gonna win' and 'get this shit'. Like a mini 'Eye of the Tiger' mantra. When us ladies get on our tone reflects the desire to just have a good time. How you been? Where do we want to drop? What quests do we have to finish? Not that we don't want to get a win, that is a bonus but bottom line we are there to have fun. When it stops being fun, we stop.

There is an over-seriousness that some guys put into the games which usually leads them to be over-dramatic. In fact, Ninja as a centerpiece for the argument is a perfect personification of that over-dramatic whiny man-baby. Yes, men in general tend to be over-emotional, they get overworked about way too much. Get a bunch of them in a cock fight and someone's dick always ends up getting slapped and can turn into a metaphorical cock fight. And that's the way they like it, it is their own love language. I presume. A lot of the guys I play with think they are the best on the team, steal all the good loot -- even from your dead body, and possess a lackluster ability to communicate unless it is a back seat driver situation.

In the inverse, when I get on with my girls the team work is overall better not just in communication but in resource sharing. We get stoked on a win but don't get into a bitch session when we lose. The conversations are thoughtful and the jokes funnier. The outbursts are when something dope happens, not when someone feels entitled and runs a bitch-out session at another person on the team for not doing what the other said. Or rage quits, or dances over their teammates body instead of reviving them, or delaying a reboot by emoting. Which I might add usually karmically has a way of thirsting them. I am not going to deny there is no frustration sometimes. I am guilty of being a snot myself or what appears a snot, but I equally know when each goof was my fault and I take account. As do all the women I play with cause that's what we do, we got each other's backs.

Having digested all that as a reader and mulled over my thesis argument I know co-ed teams can be successful. One of my favorite groups of four is DrLupo's inspired equal split of male/female squads playing Fortnite. I really enjoy this male creator for his overall ability to process high-level information, communicate witty banter, and not feign from a battle. I don't get to enjoy these streams very often because he spends most his time playing Tarkov and there is no joy I get in watching him collect supplies. I do however love watching him when he plays Fortnite with Aims, Jenntacles and a male plus one. A good mix squad can be delightful, as long as you are all on the same energy.

What I have taken pains to say here is I enjoy playing with both dudes and women. If you're a good teammate you're a good teammate; sex don't matter. But there is some truth with choosing to play with your own sex for some games. From the friends I see online when I log on, my party invites are going to be sent to the female ones first. My reasoning goes with what I have outlined; they are more collaborative teammates, there is no big cock swinging situations, and the discourse is more compatible. Hobbies are meant to be fun and having fun can include a higher likelihood of success winning games but as long as you're still laughing upon logging off winning becomes subjective.