Female gamers are like mythic creatures to some players these days, more legend than truth. To others, they represent a cheesy niche market that only cares about horse grooming simulators and badly licensed games. These examples are just a handful of the stereotypes surrounding female gamers. Stereotypes that, if the quickly growing female gaming demographic has its choice, will be vaporized with a series of well-played "Rail Gun" rounds. Like it or not, female gamers aren't just going to be a part of the future, they're here now. So, to help you prepare, eSportsTV.com has put together this helpful introduction and survival guide.

The Entertainment Software Associations website claims that 38% of hardcore gamers are female, and that number has been steadily rising for the last few years. So, why then do we see so few female gamers? The answer is a bit simpler than you might think. Female gamers, like any gamers, just want to play, and, like male gamers, they don't want to be known for their sex, they want to be known for their skills. Many female gamers are intimidated by the male dominated image that gaming carries, and when you combine that with the vulgar and often racist comments shared in-game, it is easy to see why female gamers choose not to make their presence known. Yet so many gamers are female, it just proves how hardcore they can really be. Chances are, you've played female gamers and you've lost to female gamers.

If you want a good example of just how hardcore female gamers can get, look no further than any one of the growing number of all girl clans. At the moment, three clans have risen above the rest; The Frag Dolls, Girls Got Game (Gx3), and PMS Clan. The Frag Dolls came together after Ubisoft posted an add on CraigsList in 2004. Since then, the Frag Dolls have gone on to dominate in every Xbox tournament they have entered, ranging from Rainbow Six to Ghost Recon. Due to the clan's success both as a team and and as an advertisement, Ubisoft has gone on to create a Frag Dolls UK team and a Frag Dolls France team. The Girls Got Game Clan, or "Gx3," as they are known, consists of Alice Lew, Ashley Mowery, Carol Vuong, Juliette Tran, and Michelle Chong, as well as several retired and inactive players. "Gx3" is a CounterStrike clan and holds an impressive win/loss record of 21-7. Finally we come to PMS Clan. Originally titled "The Psychotic Man Slayerz," the group was founded primarily to make a place for female gamers to go, to not be threatened, and to have fun. Since then, they have competed in many tournaments across all platforms and have more than proven their mettle.

Female Gamers are here to stay. As the number of women playing games grows, we can expect the industry to start changing to accommodate them. The problem is, aside from a few individual cases, female gamers don't want people to change the way they act just because they are playing with girls. It is that concept which is at the very heart of the matter, and it is that concept which seems to be the hardest thing for male gamers to grasp. So here are a few common sense guidelines for dealing with female gamers. Maybe by reading and understanding these problems, we can help bring more women into the games we love.

Three Simple Guidelines for Dealing with Female Gamers:
1. Be Inviting and accepting of female gamers.
2. Treat them just like other players; they aren't here to find a date.
3. Don't be sexist if you lose.

In conclusion, female gamers are not a myth, and the success of gaming depends on them. They also represent a large block of gamers with interests as diverse as anyone else. The world of gaming is based on community, and it is high time that we open the doors of that community to female gamers. Because they will come, and if you can't beat them, join them. Together, we can all enjoy fragging some newbs.

PMS Clan
Audio Interview with PMS Clan