“Aren’t you a little young to be playing this game?”
It’s the question I’m pestered with every time I bother to use a microphone for online games. Whether it be on “Roblox” or “Team Fortress 2,” since I was 16 any attempt to open my yap in a virtual world has resulted in people assuming I’m a prepubescent boy who somehow got a hold of his daddy’s video game console.
It wouldn’t be that bad if proving I was an adult wasn’t eerily similar to filling out a college form, as I have to confirm my sex and college major for anyone to even start to believe me.
Oftentimes, though, bothering to correct these presumptions leaves me worse off than I started, as it unlocks Pandora’s Box of sexist statements.
“How do you feel that women have their own chess league because they’re not as smart as men?”
“Wow, you must have it so easy; men probably protect you as soon as you open your mouth.”
“Does nobody buy you dinner because you’re gay?”
It isn’t just the degrading words that upset me. The worst part is nobody else dares say a word in my defense. The betrayal of friends I’ve known for months turning the other way as I am torn to shreds by a pack of misogynistic hyenas is one I’ll never forget.
I hate that if people start spewing sexist nonsense, I’m just supposed to ignore it. I despise that if I’m upset by what people say, I’m the one who’s supposed to leave the game. I loathe that if I stand up for myself, I’m labeled as overly emotional and sensitive. It was “just a joke,” after all.
These perceptions send one single message: we, as a community, would rather have bigots in our games than women. The moment a misogynist joins a lobby and nobody says a word, everyone else there is a misogynist.
So despite the demeaning phrases, frustration and not even being sure if the term ‘woman’ really applies to me, I won’t stop using my voice online. I will be heard, and I have things to say, whether it be warning a teammate to look out behind them or revealing that I am not actually a prepubescent boy.
