The Same Old Gamer Biases, Next Generation
Friday, the Little Jedi started summer camp. Saturday at dinner, she says “Bob1 says that I can’t play Minecraft because I’m a girl.”
As we asked for more details, we learned that Bob, like Little Jedi, is six years old. And he thinks that girls can’t play video games.
What the everlovin fuck? (Momrage!)
The Little Jedi, mind you, has been playing Minecraft for months and, now that she can read, needs virtually no help. She’s been playing video games since she was old enough to hold a controller, and started playing more complex PC games at age 4 (particularly the lego series).
We started reminding her of all the games she’s played in the past, and how she was able to handle them, and that made her feel better. Uncharitably, I also told her that Bob is a moron.
Why should a six-year old boy already have these prejudices? I expect it from the old school, but not from the next generation. Maybe their dads are passing down bad habits and outdated opinions.
Why should we need to cheer her up by cataloging her geek girl cred? She will probably recite her achievements to Bob, next time he bothers her, to shut him up, but she shouldn’t have to. When she says “I play minecraft,” the response should be “yeah, cool.”
There’s no doubt she will still have an easier time of it than we did. She does have friends who are boys with whom she chats video gaming, and they don’t question or sneer. However, these insidious relics of opinions are still present.
Now to cheer everyone up after that… not-so-heartwarming tale, I present a creeper on a wrecking ball. It’s our favorite.
- Names have been changed to protect the stupid. ↩