Gamer Girl?

I've recently gotten a lot more into video games, and I partially blame Interim for introducing me to nerdy gamer friends. One friend plays Magic the Gathering, while another got us both into playing Hearthstone and DOTA (well, me, DOTA). I played Diablo III a lot two summers ago, and even though I'm rusty, I did not suck at the game. I actually played a Wizard and a Monk, and anyone who's interested can ask me about my build and why I chose it. I did not chose the wizard because she was pretty- I picked her because she was super cool. Yes, I started playing because my boyfriend talked me into it, but I also played independently enough to say that I was not playing solely for him. 

Magic the Gathering is fun because the game is very customisable. You can basically play any way you would like, and there are so many cards that you can always improve. However, it's a really expensive hobby since Booster Packs are $4 each and you end up buying a lot of them. Both my MTG friend and I are missing land cards, which is basically how you get the power to play anything. Sort of like wanting to bake a cake, but not having enough flour. It's possible to play, but it can be really miserable. 

I'm just getting into DOTA, and am not sure if I like it yet. The learning curve is horrible and the game is very time consuming. However, it is also a lot of fun because there are so many different ways to play. We'll see. 

Here's the thing about being a girl gamer, which I sort of consider myself to be. If no one knows you are a girl, you're fine. People won't judge you, or laugh at every mistake you make. Rather, they just call you a newbie, chuckle, and move on. However, if you declare that you are female, or it comes up, suddenly every mistake is because you are female. Every victory was somehow easier because the game is nerfed for girls or something, and guys online do not hesitate to assume that you are ugly. Not really sure why this is, but it's annoying. Everyone has internet names that they use to identify themselves. I've changed mine from very feminine to slightly-less-feminine, not because I dislike the name I was using, but because I don't want to have to deal with people knowing my gender up front. This is just silly.  

I'm honestly the only girl I know who plays MTG and Hearthstone. I do know at least one other girl who tried Diablo III just because it was so popular, but that's cool. However, I haven't tried  DOTA enough to say that I play it, so I'm not sure about the gender specs over there. 

It's weird how every now and then, women are reminded that we are supposed to be the fairer sex. We aren't supposed to do male things like play video games, and we get heckled for it when we violate the "dude zone". Boys, grow up please! Women have every right to play what you all play, because they want to!