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Female clans launch protest News
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by
Ellie Gibson
Two all-female gaming clans are protesting against a new beauty contest which they say could damage the way women gamers are perceived.
The winner of the Miss World Series Videogames contest will receive $1000, a contract to appear at all WSCG events, and will be featured in a forthcoming game. The only gaming-related entry requirement is that entrants state what their favourite game is.
Both the US Frag Dolls and the PMS clan are boycotting the contest - and have decided to hold their own Mr WSVG competition in protest.
"It's not really a videogamer [who'll be crowned]. It's a model," PMS co-founder Amber Dalton told US newspaper The Courier-Journal.
Ubisoft's Morgan Romine, who's in charge of marketing the US Frag Dolls, said it's important to "fight the perception that we're booth babes," adding: "We're gamers first. We felt that this [beauty contest] was threatening that."
In a post on the Frag Dolls' website, 'Valkyrie' also defended their position, writing: "What the heck is this crap? How is a Miss WSVG being crowned based on a beauty contest and has nothing to do with gaming?
"Why not re-evaluate this contest and do something that would make this event more positive, like have a real contest for girl gamers based on all things: a complete package that includes gaming skill and knowledge."
The WSVG aren't too happy with the ladies' antics - or the fact that they're planning to hold another Mr WSVG contest in Dallas to protest against the next Miss WSVG regional final. "If this happens, and in order to be fair, the WSVG may feel compelled to run another Miss WSVG competition as well," the company said in a statement.
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Poster
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SgtJericho
20/06/06 @ 12:31
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As much as I love the Fragdolls, and there is no doubting their gaming skill and knowledge whatsoever, they are UbiPuppets....
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most recently on 20/06/06 @ 13:32
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Carpathian
20/06/06 @ 12:35
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The nature of true sexual equality and true democracy is that if women wish to enter the contest then they should and if others think it's wrong then they're free to protest equally as much.
Totally true that the contest is a shoddy idea that's easily hijacked by somebody who only knows of one game title they've read about but the fact remains the same. |
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Wrestlevania
20/06/06 @ 12:49
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As much of a fan of the female form as I am, I still think this is an utterly irrelevant marketing platform and nothing more. However, Frag Dolls et al are doing a grand job of drumming up publicity for this thing.
Probably would've been best just to ignore the whole charade entirely. I doubt very much that anyone in their right mind would take it as being 100% credible at face value (pun intended). |
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Thamuhacha
20/06/06 @ 12:51
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They'd have been better off if they had offered to play the finalists at something
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reality_cheque
20/06/06 @ 12:53
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@strangeed: Nah, she'd probably just ignore him like the insecure fool that he is :)
So how do I enter this Mr WSVG contest then? And do I get to meet Meredith or Catherine from the Miss WSVG comp if I win? |
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smoothpete
20/06/06 @ 13:05
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It's quite shit that such a contest even exists, but the fragdolls are the last people who should be complaining about it. "We want equality for women in games so we're going to form an all girls clan with corporate backing". Fuck off.
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The way i see it, these girls are hot, and they want to show people that theyn are hot, so they enter a contest. Its up to them, you dont like it, go elsewhere. Its not like they are being forced into it shotgun style are they, and they know its gonna be seen by a bunch of gamers.
Sigh, want cant people just let others have some fun once in a while. |
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rogermellie
20/06/06 @ 13:18
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If they want to be treated seriously then I suggest they drop the all female clan marketing tags and play on-line against men. :-)
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KingOfSpain
20/06/06 @ 13:25
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If I wanted to join the Fragdolls, could I?
No i couldnt. so fuck off. At least they are not EA puppets eh? |
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Xiphos - "online clans will be a mix of both male and female by default "
absolutely, and so they should be. Which is what makes the FragDolls "yeah we're first and foremost gamers, but oops, we all just happen to be what is commonly regarded as aesthetically pleasing, although I'm sure we can't have been selected on that basis, despite the frequent photoshoots and PRs we have to do for our sponsors" thing is quite as annoying as it is - there's nothing natural, organic or by default about it, and it's disingenous to argue otherwise. |
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Other beauty contests are still around too.
We dont have to look at this from the prepective of the female gamer, stereotypes exist and will consider to exist or you think women dont look at men using stereotypes ... that we all drink beer, like sport and are useless in the kitchen outside taking the garbage out. This is funny because we see corporate sponsored female only clans complaining about a beauty contest, who does more to continue the stereotype that women are not gamers? Perhaps someone needs to look for the definition of "equality" ... Oh and Rui is not a girls name damn it.
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most recently on 20/06/06 @ 14:50
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wolfblitzer
20/06/06 @ 13:57
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Who cares,
Fuck the Fragdolls. It seems to me they are just trying to get atenttion. How do they represent feamale gamers? Is like a CSS clan trying to represent all the male gamers,it makes no sense. |
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PearOfAnguish
20/06/06 @ 14:07
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A more important question is why these girls are wasting time playing games when they should be in the kitchen cooking dinner for their husbands or boyfriends.
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regmund
i saw the uk Frag Dolls on gamer.tv once. They did not strike me as active video game players or being particularly intelligent. Quite the opposite in fact. Hey, I resent that remark! FragDoll Kitt FDUK is quite the opposite of both! I should know, we used to post on the same forum years ago, before the whole FragDolls thing started. |
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MrGrumpy.au
20/06/06 @ 14:26
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I'm not suprised one bit, anyone could realise companies didn't care about their gaming skills at all but the old "sex sells" skills are more important to the marketers.
Just listen to the Major Nelson podcast (#171) where he interevied the PMS clan and finished it off by attempting to organise a mud wrestling match between the PMS clan vs Frag Dolls. Girl gaming is not really the companies main aim, rather it be 12-18 year old boys gushing over playing girls/ladies online. /rolls eyes |
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projectmayhem
20/06/06 @ 14:30
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please, the fragdolls were picked because they're eye candy and will sell t-shirts and shit... not because they're amazing gamers.
anyone would be a good gamer if they were paid to practise daily. |
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"NEWSFLASH - Women think games are pointless and boring - don't tend to play them so much."
True, many women have that opinion, but not all. A sizable number are getting into games, and that number will only grow as gaming becomes increasingly accepted in general. Let's not forget that until the Playstation generation, games were generally seen as the domain of either children or geeks - even now, you'll come across people with that view, both male and female. Contests like this do little to challenge this perception; it perpetuates the impression that the games industry is catering for spotty teenage boys. Plus the title of the competition is misleading; it suggests that the competitors will be judged on gaming skill rather than looks, when it's the opposite. That said, if it was judged on gaming prowess alone, I'd still think it was sexist. It'd suggest that girls can't compete on a level playing field with men, which is patently bollocks. All girl clans? I don't get them either - you can't demand equality, then exclude men on the grounds of gender. |
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MrGrumpy.au
20/06/06 @ 14:43
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@projectmayhem, if you're referring to my post well I was just being polite.
One thing that annoyed my just a little was the MN podcast where the clan mentioned in my previous post were seemingly given 360's + freebies to move them across the the new gen console (none of them really seemed overly excited about it either), too bad for normal gamers though. /goes back to watching the World Cup. |
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1. There is nothing wrong w/ an all female clan. They are making a statement that girls can play video games competitively. The impact of that statement would be lessened if they opened up the grp to both genders. Also, I'm sure the current members of F-Dolls could beat the crap out of most of us in whatever games they play and were not selected on looks otherwise they wouldn't have much legitimacy. Albeit I'm not familiar w/ the F-Doll clan.
2. There is nothing wrong w/ being corporate sponsored. Pros and smart people get sponsors. 3. There is nothing wrong w/ speaking out against things you think are wrong. The idea of just ignoring everything you don't like is for daisy dorkers. They should form their own female clan and call it the double deez. Nuts.
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most recently on 20/06/06 @ 16:16
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projectmayhem
20/06/06 @ 15:16
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@MrGrumpy.au: not at all mate, i was just replying to the article itself moreso.
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wired009
I think there are two debates here. The 'girls can't play video games' argument is clearly rubbish. And I agree whole-heartedly that sponsorship and of itself is a sound professional move, and that the argument that "anyone could do it if they get paid to practice" is irrelevent - the fact is that its become their job and they're good at it. fair play. the question comes as to whether by defining themselves as 'girl gamers' they're actually drawing attention to the very characteristic that most people would say doesn't matter - their gender. If your a kick-ass gamer it shouldn't, we're suggesting, matter whether you're male or female - and especially online, where you *can't tell*. saying things like "...anyone who plays against us will quickly learn that we mean business and shouldn't be mistaken for models hired to stand near games." http://www.joystiq.com/2005/01/05/interv... draws attention to the very fact that they *might* be mistaken for models who stand near games, underlining the very slavering-spotty-teen appeal that we're supposed to think isn't in the equation and which an online gaming existence would allow people to ignore. If they wanted them to. |
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smoothpete
20/06/06 @ 15:32
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Everyone knows girls can and do play games, but why the fuck would you want to make a statement about it? It's just normal life, blokes and girls like games. No, sorry, people like games. Why differentiate? What's the point?
If anything, forming an all girl clan is reinforcing the stereotype that girls aren't gamers, which is bollocks. It's pure marketing, nothing else, and it's not even marketed to girls for fucks sake! The fragdolls were partly chosen for their looks, which would suggest to me that a) they should shut up about this beauty contest and b) they were put together to appeal to men. Pure and simple. I have no problem with the fragdolls as individuals, nor the girls who have entered this contest. Do whatever you like, but see the reasoning behind the marketing shite |
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Mr_Whacker
20/06/06 @ 15:49
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This all a crock. Not the issue but the way its a media circus. I'm sure a lot of people are genuine about this but I don't care as its all so very full of hidden agenda.
/goes to play a GAME. |
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