the play girlz gaming blog

Gender Quandries

by Erin on December 15th, 2006

Interesting piece at WomenGamers.com this past week, written by Michelle Clay, a current employee at Turbine. Clay gives a humourous, honest take on being female in the gaming industry and talks with (obviously) extensive personal insight on many of the issues facing women in the industry. These, right down to the ‘improper language apology’, reflect my own experiences as a member of the gaming media.

Although the article is a good read in its entirety, the author has chosen to speak with some emphasis on a subject that I feel is much more important than cute anecdotes. In mentioning the struggles of previous generations of women, she says:

I am deeply grateful to them that I live in a society in which I can work with the boys in such equality. But their efforts don’t mean that gender-based stupidity doesn’t still occur. It means, instead, that we have the tools to fix the problems as they occur, on every level from the massive lawsuit down to the friendly conversation.

She acknowledges the pros and cons of being one of few women in a male dominated environment, but Clay gives equal voice to cautioning against what I call the ‘inequality witchhunt’.

Feminists may scream, but what I’m referring to isn’t a complete disavowal of presence of inequality, particularly in the gaming industry where I do feel that it’s over-represented, but instead I’m expressing a frustration at the current ability to pawn off responsibility for reactions good and bad, simply on gender.

Some women seem almost eager to write off unfavourable employment decisions as being a result of being female, while the attribution of successes and promotions to these very same biological conditions is just as common. As an individual, stand up, own up, and either take the credit for a good move as earned for a job well done, or conversely, realize that a disappointing situation may also be the result of plain, old, you. Stop worrying what others might be thinking/saying/doing because you’re female, get out there and be the star in your own show, not one of self-marginalization.

Clay writes very similar statements (and more coherently — I’ve been sick for a week, what do you want?) in her own article and by her words challenges industry folks of both genders to more closely examine their own attitudes on the subject.

Pic | TenTonHammer

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POSTED IN: Musings