I'm probably going to take serious flak for this but I'm posting it anyways.
I've been looking around the internet at site for girl-gamers, and Frag Dolls seems to be one of the biggest. And certainly the message boards here are the amongst most active. But I read this quote from Valkyrie in the "Welcome" thread and it's had me thinking (to the point that I felt I should register and get the opinion of the FD's and others)
"The purpose behind FD is to dispell (SIC) the myths that exist about girl gamers, and to kick some butt and prove face-to-face we know what we are doing."
Nothing wrong with this. However the group IS comprised entirely of cute girls (same goes for the UK crew). While there's nothing wrong with cute girls, it seems to me like one of the myths you're trying to dispel is that the only girls who play video games are overweight and unattractive, and you do this by showing that gamers can be/are models (I make this assumption from the professional photoshoot pics in each girls bio). Certainly there are attractive girls that can kick *** at games, so this does ring true to some extent. But my question is, are the Frag Dolls models first, and gamers second? Or are they gamers first and models second?
By this I mean, would an overweight and less attractive girl be allowed onto the team, if she were a quality gamer? If such a girl were able to trounce every other Frag Doll at their best game, certainly her qualifications as a gamer would not be in question. But as I see there are no girls of this physical description in either the US or UK group, would she even have a chance at membership? Likewise if something happened to one of the current Frag Doll members where she gained an extraordinary amount of weight or was disfigured and thus no longer so easy on the eyes, would she get cut from the group? Because it seems to me that the major prerequisite for being a Frag Doll is your appearance, and that your ability to play video games comes second.
I only ask this because I think that it sort of follows the bias towards females that modeling and Hollywood promotes, in that to be successful, you must be thin and pretty. Clearly the way you look has no bearing on how well you play a video game. Certainly there's other tournament groups where your appearance has no bearing on your standing. As was stated in the "Sexist" thread, for guys it's essentially a moot point. You can be the ugliest dude in the world, but so long as you rock at Halo, then who cares? But as the Frag Dolls do get a lot of press (and I'm sure some of that is due in part to the Ubi sponsoring), it does set something of a different standard for the rest of the female gamers. Sure you can be the ugliest woman in the world and still compete in tournaments, but it's going to be the young and attractive girls that get corporate sponsorship and featured in magazines.
Perhaps I'm way off base in saying this. And I don't mean to diminish the Frag Dolls skill by any means. I'm sure they could all school me in virtually any game. But I think there's a valid point to be made in that membership seems to be contingent on more than just their video game skills.
Originally posted by MyInquiry: But I think there's a valid point to be made in that membership seems to be contingent on more than just their video game skills.
You are right in that there is a lot more to these girls than video game skills, but they are definitely not just pretty faces either
I've met all the dolls, played games with them and gone to several different events that they have attended and yes, there is definitely more to these girls than awesome video game skills! I think that Valkyrie's quote was well put and really does state the intent of the dolls existence.
"The purpose behind FD is to dispell (SIC) the myths that exist about girl gamers, and to kick some butt and prove face-to-face we know what we are doing."
In order to achieve that you do not need physical beauty, but you do need that PR flare that every one of the girls has. What the girls look like is not as important as the message they send. When you meet them and game with them are they going to leave you with the impression that "Wow! These girls really know their stuff! They game hard and they stand out!". And it's hard to stand out, to deliver the message if you don't have the charisma that these girls do.
You say that "You can be the ugliest dude in the world, but so long as you rock at Halo, then who cares?" and you are right to a certain degree. But that's not entirely what the girls are about. If that same guy took pride in himself and in other people and did whatever he could to show gamers in a positive light, if he was charismatic, a leader and a role model he'd be far more comparable to the frag dolls. He'd also probably do what he could to make himself presentable, do the best he can to put on a celebrity face. You don't have to be pretty to be in the frag dolls, but you do have to be someone that people look to and remember in a strong, positive light.
They're attractive AND highly skilled gamers. Why can't they be both? Why is it so difficult for people to accept that? Yes, the good looking people of the world will always get special treatment. This is the way the world works. The way it's ALWAYS worked. Deal with it.
Originally posted by IversonXover83: They're attractive AND highly skilled gamers. Why can't they be both? Why is it so difficult for people to accept that? Yes, the good looking people of the world will always get special treatment. This is the way the world works. The way it's ALWAYS worked. Deal with it.
I'll deal with it, the same way I dealt with Curley Jefferson...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just because you think they are all cute, doesn't mean that everyone does.
Honestly, mainstream women generally find it easier to relate to women who are more attractive than average. I have some female friends who expected some super geeky unattractive girls when I told them about some of the fragdolls, and after they met them in person, told me those are the kind of girls they would be friends with. The thing about the girls is that they look normal.
If you just saw a FD in a crowd in the street nothing would stick out about them that they play games unless you looked really close and knew what to look for. That is what women can relate to.
I don't knwo what you're all talking about, I'm A FREAKING MODEL PPL, also I had beer and french fries for breakfast in the last trip home to deal with my hangover.... models eat that right?
Originally posted by Mischief_FD: I don't knwo what you're all talking about, I'm A FREAKING MODEL PPL, also I had beer and french fries for breakfast in the last trip home to deal with my hangover.... models eat that right?
i think models just eat lots of ham. like lots.
they just shovel ham in their mouths, drink dark beer, burp, and fart.
MyInquiry is obviously new here so s/he asked a common new-to-the-Community question. At least s/he had the decency to phrase it nicely.
Our friends here have already explained this (Kezz was especially eloquent and Stonelance had great points too). None of us have ever been models. Those professional pictures have all been taken as part of being on the Frag Doll team which serves a marketing and promotional purpose for Ubisoft. We were hired to kick *** at games, promote Ubisoft's games, and represent the growing demographic of women gamers. All of this representing and promoting requires being on camera, being in front of crowds, and generally having the confidence under public scrutiny. That confidence plus some camera magic may make us look like models, but as was pointed out by others, we're normal cute girls who love video games and have spent many years getting pretty damn good at them.
