Introduction to Femme Gaming

Femme Gaming

By Chelsea Ward

Women in gaming isn’t a new phenomenon. In fact, we’ve made up over 40% of the gaming population since 2008. And yet, every time we join the chat in a new game, we hear the same old stale memes about how girls can’t and shouldn’t play video games.   No, Ryan, I won’t go and make you a sandwich – I can’t even make a grilled cheese without burning it, and I’m very sensitive about it. Stop asking!

And even though we know reacting to it only makes it worse, it’s hard to ignore the ways this behaviour affects our representation in the gaming industry as a whole.

That’s exactly why Femme Gaming was created. Instead of pleading for more representation in competitive gaming, we’ve decided to make our own online platform to support female gamers through competitive and casual play.

 

And unlike other gaming organizations, Femme Gaming is unique in that it provides a safe, encouraging and inclusive space for female gamers to compete and showcase their skills without bias, sexualization or tokenization.

At Femme Gaming, we believe in creating a gaming landscape that is welcoming, entertaining and free of gender discrimination in order to improve and foster the wellbeing of female gamers. We want female gamers, streamers and eSports competitors to feel creative, engaged and empowered when they’re playing games. It’s almost like that’s what video games are meant to do!

We also acknowledge that many of the problems faced by female gamers are problems that extend beyond the realm of gaming. The harassment that many women have become accustomed to online commonly shows up in other areas of our lives; in the workplace, in healthcare, on the street, in the household, and more.

 

That’s why Femme Gaming is committed to helping deconstruct the perception that gender-based harassment and violence are a part of the female experience, both online and offline. We want to change the narrative that women are lesser than men, and prove that they can kick butt in all areas of life.

To help us achieve this, we will be offering a variety of Femme Gaming merchandise and a portion of its proceeds will go to supporting a social cause for women. This means you can look good and feel good at the same time.

 

So go ahead, girl, treat yourself.

We’ve got some exciting things in store for you guys coming over the next few months, such as tournaments, live streams, giveaways and more. To stay up-to-date on these announcements, be sure to like and follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up to join our Femme Army.

In the meantime, we’d like to hear from you. At Femme Gaming, we have a variety of gamers in our community, each with their own playing style. Some of us exclusively play solo to unwind, while others prefer to keep it social and play online with friends. Now we want to know, how do you like to play and why? Sound off below!