By Anindita Basu
When I chose to critique GameGirlz, I did so because I expected to
see a site comprised of hardcore feminists, and I was curious to see
which kind. Were they the women who believed in making games more
accessible to girls through the Barbie Interactive method, that is-computerize
traditional girls' play patterns-or were they women who could play
the shoot 'em up games just as well as any testosterone-ridden teenage
boy, thank you very much? The GameGirlz site surprised me because
I had to go looking for my loudmouthed feminists. The site was more
about games themselves rather than the politics of gaming.
The site has a small banner saying, "GameGirlz.com - 'Cuz Girlz
Play Too!" and the page is titled, "Your Source for Games:
From a Girlz' Perspective :)!" There are game reviews, previews,
screen shots, news, editorials, downloads, girl gamer links and spotlights
on women. First, I wanted to see what type of game would be featured-were
they shooting games or "girly" games? I found reviews for
everything from Diablo II to YM Makeover Magic and Nancy Drew-Stay
Tuned for Danger. The spotlights on women were features of women who
work in the gaming industry, again, not very extreme in either feminist
direction, and the girl gamer links had links for both shoot 'em up
games and games "for her," besides links to clans and guilds
for girl-gamers, downloads, tournaments and humor.
In the editorial section, I finally found the feminists I was looking
for. There were articles on how girls can play as well as boys and
complaints about the portrayal of women in games. Overall, however,
I was very pleased to see a site that was truly devoted to games,
from both schools of feminism, so any girl can check out games.