Gamer Girls- They can often be seen playing Call of Duty talking about how much of a "nerd" they are, taking s***ty pictures of themselves while holding a controller, and just generally being attention w****s- Urban Dictionary.

So, beyond all of that nonsense, I am a female. I play video games. I am NOT a "girl gamer," nor a gamer. I am a female who enjoys her Zelda, Call of Duty, and Mario Kart just as much as another person.  I love intensely yelling at my TV when I get long-shotted during a match of Team Deathmatch , then going back and getting them across the map, getting the points I wanted. I am no MLG, and I know I am not the best player, but I do this for fun.  When I see girl gaming clans on my PS3, and talk to some of them, it just makes me think, why? Why do women objectify themselves in a matter where they are , some sex goddess to men, just because they can 360 no-scope across a map? The way women throw themselves out there with their Instagram's publicizing how cute they are by holding up their controller, with a headset on, usually setting them up for disaster- especially when their KIK is in their bio.  I then figured it out; this makes some of them feel that they should self-censor themselves, just so they can fit in with the community.

When I was young, I played my share of Pokémon and Tekken, and it was normal for us kids, to be kids. As I got older, I noticed my female friends not being as into the gaming scene anymore, but I still loved Nintendogs, and Dr. Mario.  Believe it or not, now the Internet Advertising Bureau revealed that 52% of the gaming audience is made up of women. Yes, you read that correctly- a majority of the gaming world is women, but many think that the average gamer aggressive male with every single system, raging on the internet because he wasn't in first line for the next gen system.

Before you ask, no we don't just play The Sims or Animal Crossing, but we play awesome adventure puzzle games like Portal, or my personal favorite game Mortal Kombat. Women are considered outsiders to this community, which is such a bad problem now due rape threats, sexual harassment, and even Doxing their systems. Women are exposed to misogynistic and violent remarks, because they want to enjoy a video game.

Even in video games, we don't have many role models. They've oversexualized us, degraded us, for their prioritized business partners: men.  Lara Croft, with her gigantic breasts that are disproportionate, and of many of my male friends stated "opened their sexuality." or even the women characters in GTA V, which nonetheless are always treated like hookers- because in that game, that's all they are.

I have been hit on countless times, with male gamers asking if I am really a woman, or getting friend requests the minute I enter a public lobby. It makes me disgusted, because when people I find are supposed to be fellow players who enjoy their games; I get bombarded with sexual comments.  If women try standing up for themselves, we get shunned and shut down, and even booted from lobbies.

I love video games, so when I hear these repulsive comments I disregard them, but this should not be a problem in the first place.  I should not have to leave an almost therapeutic environment, because they want to know my ASL. I play to enjoy, and I want that to be for all. Girls who want to enter the gaming community do not deserve to fear the comments,  but face them head on and keep doing what they do best- gaming.