Guest Article : Ode to Male Gamers
18 12 2007A female reader by the name of Jypcee left this in my inbox one morning. Jypcee belongs to the GamerChix and also created an all female group called Femmes Fatales that actively works on improving their FPS skills together through communication, strategy, and lots and lots of practice. Apparently one day writing poetry was more appealing than working so here is the fruit of her labor. Enjoy.
All the ways you love me really makes me blush
The subtle annoying comments make my heart rush
The cursing and snide remarks would make any mom proud
To know that her precious son is disrespectful and loud,
For you to tell me I belong in the kitchen
Only makes me pause,
Because the last time I looked most males held that job
A new day has dawned where a girl can beat a boy
In a simple game of Halo on a simple little toy
To hear the things you spew makes my heart a flutter
But to own your butt in Gears makes it even better
Every time I sniped you filled me with glee
It only proved to everyone you are no better than me
When you ask if I’m a hottie, we all know that you’re not
You may be a desperate fool, but I am surely not
Let’s put your neolithic attitude where it belongs
Back in the past, back to the days of Pong
We know you cannot possibly understand,
That this is a really just a game
Not a one night stand or hookup for the really lame
When you try to prove your superiority
I giggle and I laugh because I took you with me
When I stuck a plasma on your …
So dear boys who think they rule the roost
You got owned by a girl and I’m the living proof!
“You got owned by a girl and I’m the living proof!”
So she’s saying that it’s bad that they got owned by a girl, but it’s fine to be owned by a guy? does it make much difference at all?
“A new day has dawned where a girl can beat a boy”
Because, they couldn’t before?
Gamers, male or female are pretty much the same to me, I treat everyone pretty much the same regardless of genders, so this poem sort of irks me a wee bit, but I agree with some of the points.
I don’t have the “you just got beat by a girl” sort of mentality but a lot of female gamers do. I’m actually really quiet in pre and post game lobbies. The only thing you will hear from me after a game is “good game”, otherwise I let my gameplay speak for itself. And my gameplay unfortunately says “I like to kill my teammates” but that is a different story.
I wonder if that general mentality comes from the abuse that we all (and I say we because everybody is picked on, not just females) put up with on Live. Do the sexist comments that some gamers say fuel the female “you just got beat by a girl” mentality? Does that mentality fuel the sexist comments even more? …
I sense a lot of frustration in this poem
Well it probably does fuel the sort of hatred female gamers have for male gamers, as obviously it is the male gamers who make those comments so those people who made the comments will in turn be disliked by the female gamer, which probably, on their experiences with some, and I mean some, male gamers brings up the various steriotypes tagged to male gamers such as we all think that they suck and belong in kitchens, when realy the majority of us couldn’t give a flying toss about it.
I’ve had experiences with female gamers, but they’ve all had the complete opposite atitude to the poem and are realy just their for a good time, but I can’t judge that on most female gamers since I only know 2 in real life, and only one of which I game with frequently.
The poem also irks me a bit because of the steriotypes, it feels like the writer suggests that all men are like how she described them in the poem, and that sort of thing just irks me.
You always have *THAT* person that has frustration with the opposite sex that brings sex into play, yet *THAT* person ends up doing just that.
The poem was creative, but for what it was really for, was pretty damn pathetic. Honestly though, if she’s always thinking “I’m better than you, and I’m a girl. HAHA” then someone just really needs to realize that no one cares if you’re a girl, and you kicked a guy’s butt, or vice versa. Just play the damn game.
If you dislike the attitude that the opposite sex brings into play, just let them be the ones doing it. You’re just as bad, and annoying if you play into it as well.
I mean, sure I can’t stand it when I get patronized by men on it, but I’m not going to waste my time or energy focusing any frustration or pent up anger on getting back at them. I’ll just sit back and quietly try to get our team to win, and call it a night.
*sigh*
Alright, I’m totally for the advancement of girl gaming and equality in the fun world of owning, but stuff like this kind of chaps my ass. Not a lot.
Just a little.
Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have even had anything negative to say (I won’t lie, it’s a clever little piece of poetry) but what really threw me off was the title.
“Ode to Male Gamers”
Really? If I ain’t mistaken…and I’m pretty sure I’m not..Isn’t the point of this poem to show us all that how irritating certain gamers can be, and how not necessary stereotypes are? Sure, that’s cool, but why “Ode to Male Gamers”. Why not, “Ode to Sexist Gamers”? too specific? how about “Ode to Annoying Gamers?” Naming it just ‘Male Gamers’ is just throwing more stereotypes around, I know plenty of guys who have absolutely no problem with girl gaming groups as well, and never throw around any kind of kitchen comments - just play like always.
Also the conclusion kinda made me think just a little bit.
“So dear boys who think they rule the roost
You got owned by a girl and I’m the living proof!”
Sooo the poem stands for ’sexism sucks we should all game equally’ right? So why this for the ending? It’s kind of like saying “We all have the same amount of potential for being an awesome FPS player, so it doesn’t matter if you get killed by a girl or by a guy. oh, fyi YOU GOT OWND BY A GIRLLLL”
So that’s the final insult? ‘Ownd by a girl’? That basically translates to - AND you got killed by a girl! You should feel ashamed of yourself because WHO gets Killed by a GIRL if youre SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD?!? OWND!!!
Tsk Tsk, just not cool. I’m pretty sure this kinda mentality just fuels the sexism even more because at the end of the day it doesn’t sound like you’re preaching gaming equality, you’re just tryin to piss off guy gamers lol
two things…. I think what is meant, is ode to male timmies. Or something like that.
And as for the “you just got beat by a girl” I used to use that once in a while but only if the person was judging me because I was a girl. It’s like someone saying “you can’t beat me because you are a girl” and then it’s like me saying “well a girl just beat you, so in your face.” lol. ha if that makes sense.
I usually just don’t say anything anymore except “good game”. I see everyones opinions though.
Two great points Chicka. And your retort in that circumstance makes perfect sense.
I loved the poem! My husband will only play me OCCASIONALLY in a game he knows I will win. Most of the time he prefers to battle in the arenas he knows he will win or has a chance.
HA!!! Angel you have a new fan, my 4-year-old son just said how pretty you were and then asked WHICH game you were!!!! HA!
OMG, pleeze pull your head out of yer butt and and laugh. Maybe all that dark and horrible pooh smell is screwing with your sense of humor. It’s meant to be funny….you remember funny??? You know when women get together we can uh LAUGH. Your right though, we should go back to being whiney little witches crying to moderators about boo hoo the boys said bad words….Spare me P.C. crap this isn’t a political arena.
Its funny as heck Jypcee and they know it. Jeebus forbid someone say something funny you might set the womens movement back a hundred years. Its far easier to critique than create.
Hm, maybe I’m a bad girl gamer, but I liked this poem.. it made me giggle. I dunno, I think it was written with a light heart and shouldn’t be over analyzed.
As for the whole “you got beat by a girl” thing - the only time I say that when I get comments like “girls can’t play video games” or the ever-wonderful “you should be in the kitchen” comments. but even then it’s VERY rare - I usually don’t say anything at all on XBL because whenever I do I get.. well, just read the “Top 10 Things Female Gamers Hear on Xbox Live” post!
“OMG, pleeze pull your head out of yer butt and and laugh. Maybe all that dark and horrible pooh smell is screwing with your sense of humor”
Oh yes, I forgot that having a poem trying to get a point across she hates sexist/male gamers but then leaving a sexist comment at the end which contradicts herself and makes herself seem sexist as well is completley funny.
Also -S- already pwned the article and the writer in his comment.
You know why she named it “Ode to Male Gamers?” Because it WAS directed at male gamers Lol. The point of the poem is, if being beat by a girl bothers men so much (not all men), and they are going to talk crap to us regardless, then hell yes we’re going to say, “you just got owned by a girl”. You guys are talking like we’re belittling ourselves by talking this way. Well you know what, there is only so much trash talking we can take before we get a bad taste in our mouths for male gamers. To me this poem is actually self-impowering. It’s saying, Bam, we can do it, we’re just as good. Its not about being sexist. Its more of, you thought I couldn’t beat you because I’m a girl, well let me show you a thing or two.
Sexism isn’t going anywhere so why can’t we (female gamers) play off what is being said to us in games every day?
I understand where your comming from Jypcee, not everyone likes conflict like us though
Thats why they just keep their mouths shut so no one knows they’re a girl. Screw that, I’m a girl and I’m going to let you know, and if you don’t like it, you can kiss my rear.
I play with Jypcee and am a member of the Femme Fetales. I don’t condone sexist behavior and I don’t really think this is a sexist remark. I’m pretty sure its a joke on a group of gamers that are insulting to the female players. She’s just poking back.
We are not man hatters…thats for sure! We play with alot of really great men and will continue to encourage an equal and respectful playing field.
What momo said! I don’t hate men, I married one! I guess I should have called it “Ode to ASININE Male Gamers” because it really is directed at them and them alone, the guys I game with are pretty cool!
There are however, those that continually prove that we still are not accepted because of our gender and their archaic attitudes! For example, the guy who kept telling me “I love you Jypcee” for several games in a row, or the guy who hears my friends voice and tells her “I got something for ya” (probably a disease- did I just say that?) and now is sending her msg’s and FR’s on a daily basis. It is also directed at the ones we played last night that said they would win b/c it was all girls on our team, they lost, so they said we must have cheated, whatever. It is that attitude I’m making fun of.
“My bad” for pricking your ire. I was poking fun, I was avoiding work, it wasn’t serious, it is drenched in sarcasm…
On another level, if it bothers you it’s because somewhere there is some truth in it…lighten up people!
Actually, being beat by a girl in Halo isn’t a bad thing at all. Heck, some of the girls in my clan can mop the floor with me in some gametypes. However, the really embarrassing thing is to be beaten in foil fencing (see Olympic sport) by a 90 lb teen age girl who is half one’s weight and a foot and a half shorter. And not just by a close margin either, but a score or 10 - 3.
I felt very pitiful after that.
On a more light hearted note:
“Every time I sniped you filled me with glee
It only proved to everyone you are no better than me”
If you think about it, Snipers generally do have more of an advantage in most games due to the fact usualy other people don’t have snipers, so if your playing something like Gears or Halo and pick up a sniper, your generally going to have an advantage over the person who’s only holding a Lancer/AR.
and now, i think it is time we stopped the arguing.
LOL at canvas grey! What game are you bs?! : ) Thats awesome!
lol yeah i totally agree that now is the time to stop arguing. don’t get me wrong i totally see the humor in the whole poem just the title was what irked me.
“An ode to assenine male gamers” works much, much better.
The title was the focus point and it’s too bad, since the poem had good and appropriate pokes. It would be easy to change the title and save the arguing….unless that’s what you want. I don’t think that’s your desire.
After 40+ years of life two years that recently ended as an Xbox MVP, the reality is that there are jerks in the world, male & female and that won’t change. What can change is how we respond. For the gamers who are jerks there are tools to deal with them on Xbox Live and messenger and the like.
1. use the Ignore button (it’s effective and silent and you don’t have to get into an unwinnable arguement)
2. use the Feedback (good or bad) after playing with terrible gamers or great ones too!
Use your energy for good and realize that you can’t go wrong, male or female, with silence and ignoring. Be a fanner of games and not a fanner of flames!
That said, I and many thousands of males, celebrate gamers, males & females alike! We support and encourage all positive gamers, including the Gamerchix and other clans. Feel free to stop by and say hi at http://www.bladesof360.com
Wow! amazing
I like that!
I understand the hurt the men are feeling here…I have sons who are gamers and they are decent guys.
But I dont think you have ever had to endure TRUE abuse in an XBL game. Yes we mute! But isnt it interesting that we HAVE to? You dont face this. A guy will say the most vile things that I cant even type them out at a liberal forum. He thinks his anonymity gives him the right to be a sex offender. I have had guys sneak up on me with comments before I realize I need to mute him and Im not going to mute everyone.
Ive even received offensive messages. I am sorry the men were offended here, and maybe the poem title could change, but you dont have to deal with this. Sometimes we need to vent and this was a humorous way to do it.
Very well put kilaMOMjaro.