For the first time ever I joined a voice call while playing a game (among us) and as soon as I said something everyone immediately started going "Is that a female??" "You're a female??" "There are females here??" I get that it was supposed to be a joke but fuck it felt so alienating to be bombarded with that in my first attempt at gaming socially
I don't define myself by playing video games any more than I do as someone who watches movies or goes for walks or anything else, but...
If pushed I'd simply say that I'm someone who plays video games. I hate the way game has become a verb and I genuinely think it helps reinforce the often toxic culture of the hobby.
The connotations of gaming are of game theory, of cheating or exploiting a system, of winning at all costs. Playing on the other denotes creativity, fun, immersion, imagination, and shared experience. But it's never been embraced because of people's paranoia about the idea that they're doing something supposedly childish, which has been a stigma for an long time.
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