“Holy crap, are you a girl?” It is a sentence repeated so often most of us don’t even hear it anymore, much less respond. Most never bother to plug in our headsets in the first place. In a world dominated by the male half of our species (the world of Gaming, people), female gamers, also known as Gamerchix, have had to struggle with being the so-called underdog for years. With the majority of online games becoming increasingly violent and boob-filled and geared towards guys in general, where do the timid, quiet, geeky girls (yeah right) go to get their gaming fix?

The answer is simple. We are not going anywhere. In fact, we are starting to outnumber you[/i]. You guys with the hundred-thousand points and beyond gamerscore? Congrats. Now all you have to do is get a real life. Please note that being known online as “L1CKoMYoSHAFT” or “Stallion83” does NOT help you with this. Don’t forget the guys with the 100 rankings on Gears of War 2, guess what? I may only be a level 60 or so, but I can guarantee that it was earned without glitching, lag-switching, or playing for 3 days straight only during double XP weekends. Challenge me to one-on-one. Last but certainly not least, let’s not forget my personal favorites, the blockheads who persist in mentioning anything about my tits. Really? Really.[/i] [/i]

Speaking of the Gears of War Franchise, I am super excited about the next installment due next April, which is why I was a little disheartened to read about the real[/i] reason the producers of the game decided to add female COGS to the story, divulged at the Gears of War 3 Comic-Con panel, 2010. 

[= 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif]“When asked why female squad members were included, (Ron)Fergusson said that he was surprised at how many women were fans of the series and that he wanted to represent them as well. (Cliff)Bleszinski said he knew there were a lot of girl gamers out there and wanted them to taken seriously."       [/][/i][= smaller] [/][/i]*See source: [= smaller]http://comic-con.gamespot.com/story/6270866/gears-of-war-3-devs-torn-on-carmines-fate-talk-film-adaptation[/] [= 8pt; line-height: 115%] [/]  You mean we were not being represented by Jill Valentine? Or by Lara Croft? What about Samus Aran, Kitana, Yuna, Alyx Vance, Sonya Blade or Rayne? To say nothing of Clair Redfield or Aerith Gainsborough would be doing both characters poor justice indeed. There are dozens of names I have not mentioned but it all comes down to the same thing: You are wrong, Mr. Bleszinski. I am not going to ditch Dom to play as some newcomer girl COG. I’m fairly certain the majority of boys playing aren’t going to give a bird’s crap either, in the grand scheme of things.

What little respect we earn as female gamers is ours and ours alone. We do not put up with the harassment, the belittling, the bullying or the annoyance of online idiots only to have that pride of victory stolen by your so-called respect for and desire to “represent female gamers.” We represent ourselves. We do not want your pity. There are those of us who are taken seriously because we have earned[/i] that right. In a world of men, we have proven we do not need your help. We are Gamerchix... no matter what you think about why we are here or how good we are, this is how it is: We promise to play the shit out of the game anyway.