Would a “true” gamer have a girlfriend? :D

In my observations, gender wasn’t really a good predictor for who would be an arcade regular, but it was obvious that the female regulars were more likely to be there for rhythm games like DDR than for fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2. I have guesses as to why this is (which kind of diverge from the cognitively-oriented theories that many game studies scholars might prefer), but I already wrote that paper once, so maybe I’ll just let you read that. ;)

I note that you don’t mention gender or disability equity. I am continually finding people assuming that I do not like or am less experienced in games simply because I am female, or else because I am the girlfriend of a gamer. (But would a “true” gamer really date a girl who isn’t into games?) The only people who don’t make that assumption are my own friends, and my students, two categories of people who knew about me as a non-gamer before it came to their attention that I was a gamer as well.

I will admit that my gender is probably what leads to my *preferences* in games, but the frequency and my ability at the games I do choose to play is limited more by other obligations than it is by what I prefer to be doing when I do have free time.