Love this, it’s almost like people who were once younger and playing games have just… carried on playing them as they age?! What a wild concept?! 🤷♀️🙈 but I also love the older generations discovering games at 60, 70, 80. It’s beautiful 🥰 this reminds me of something I read ages ago about the housewife obsession with Star Trek and sci-fi back in the 70’s. Women have and always will be carrying the nerdy communities on our backs. ❤️
Yes! We are just growing older and still playing, and I love that for us! The average “gamer” is now 41 and almost half of us are women; the data speaks for itself ☺️
I recently came across an older streamer and omg I LOVED her vibe! Her chat was so kind. And in order to skip ads I used my prime sub to sub to her and she has this thing where every sub gets a little fishie and they get put in the tank and she was "welcome to the reef" IT WAS THE MOST CUTEST THING IVE SEEN ON TWITCH EVER. Her Twitch name is M0mmaFlash. I did just follow yours also! I may get back into streaming, it's just hard with a 3yo always like I WANNA PLAY TOO.
This was such a well written article! As a woman who grew up playing games casually and someone who loves cozy games and adventure platformers, it can be infantilizing when people begin to explain or mansplain without prompting.
I loved the part about the dichotomy of older women playing games and the “grandmother type”.
Thank you so much, this really made my day! And yes, the unsolicited explaining is so wearying, isn't it?! There's an assumption that if you're a woman, or older, or playing something that isn't a shooter, you must need guidance. The grandmother dichotomy really stuck with me too when I was reading the study. Really glad it resonated with you!! Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
I don't watch streamers, partly due to lack of time, but also the whole aura typical gamer streamers give off. I find it very off-putting seeing people just chasing fame and likes, being loud and in your face because everyone else is.
This notion of older gamers who just play because they want to play, and simply want to share their hobby, that I could get in board with.
I know exactly what you mean. It’s taken a lot of time to find the streamers that are calm and relaxing to watch. They are out there, but it’s not easy!
My favorite older gamer is GrammaCrackers on YouTube. I love her videos, but I've notices a lot of the commenter do seem to position themselves as helpers (some of them feel a bit infantilizing). But her videos bring me a lot of joy whenever see them, I've got something to look forward to when I get to that age!
Thank you Raquel, I'll check out her streams! It is frustrating when some commenters see an older woman as needing "rescuing", or that they may need help despite not asking for it! I think it's well meant, but I'm hopeful that if people are made aware, it will decrease.
This is so wonderful to read! As a woman who works in games, I saw how often the industry defaulted to a narrow idea of who gaming is for. People like her reshape that and, imo, bring a very important message. I love seeing how they change the standards and make the industry I love more open and diverse. That's what games are about and for. Thank you for writing this!
What an awesome post! Unfortunately, I don't watch many streamers, mostly due to struggling to find time to play games myself. But there's this one lady I occasionally check in on - Food4Dogs on YouTube. She's retired and plays a lot of jrpgs, has an extensive vita collection and does unboxings of games and related merchandise she's bought online. She's adorable!
Love this, it’s almost like people who were once younger and playing games have just… carried on playing them as they age?! What a wild concept?! 🤷♀️🙈 but I also love the older generations discovering games at 60, 70, 80. It’s beautiful 🥰 this reminds me of something I read ages ago about the housewife obsession with Star Trek and sci-fi back in the 70’s. Women have and always will be carrying the nerdy communities on our backs. ❤️
Yes! We are just growing older and still playing, and I love that for us! The average “gamer” is now 41 and almost half of us are women; the data speaks for itself ☺️
I recently came across an older streamer and omg I LOVED her vibe! Her chat was so kind. And in order to skip ads I used my prime sub to sub to her and she has this thing where every sub gets a little fishie and they get put in the tank and she was "welcome to the reef" IT WAS THE MOST CUTEST THING IVE SEEN ON TWITCH EVER. Her Twitch name is M0mmaFlash. I did just follow yours also! I may get back into streaming, it's just hard with a 3yo always like I WANNA PLAY TOO.
OMG. She sounds amazing!!! I’m going to follow and join one of her streams!!
Also thank you!! For following me on Twitch! I’m so new, don’t know what I’m doing, just hanging out on there 🤣
This was such a well written article! As a woman who grew up playing games casually and someone who loves cozy games and adventure platformers, it can be infantilizing when people begin to explain or mansplain without prompting.
I loved the part about the dichotomy of older women playing games and the “grandmother type”.
Thank you so much, this really made my day! And yes, the unsolicited explaining is so wearying, isn't it?! There's an assumption that if you're a woman, or older, or playing something that isn't a shooter, you must need guidance. The grandmother dichotomy really stuck with me too when I was reading the study. Really glad it resonated with you!! Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
I don't watch streamers, partly due to lack of time, but also the whole aura typical gamer streamers give off. I find it very off-putting seeing people just chasing fame and likes, being loud and in your face because everyone else is.
This notion of older gamers who just play because they want to play, and simply want to share their hobby, that I could get in board with.
I know exactly what you mean. It’s taken a lot of time to find the streamers that are calm and relaxing to watch. They are out there, but it’s not easy!
My favorite older gamer is GrammaCrackers on YouTube. I love her videos, but I've notices a lot of the commenter do seem to position themselves as helpers (some of them feel a bit infantilizing). But her videos bring me a lot of joy whenever see them, I've got something to look forward to when I get to that age!
Thank you Raquel, I'll check out her streams! It is frustrating when some commenters see an older woman as needing "rescuing", or that they may need help despite not asking for it! I think it's well meant, but I'm hopeful that if people are made aware, it will decrease.
This is so wonderful to read! As a woman who works in games, I saw how often the industry defaulted to a narrow idea of who gaming is for. People like her reshape that and, imo, bring a very important message. I love seeing how they change the standards and make the industry I love more open and diverse. That's what games are about and for. Thank you for writing this!
What an awesome post! Unfortunately, I don't watch many streamers, mostly due to struggling to find time to play games myself. But there's this one lady I occasionally check in on - Food4Dogs on YouTube. She's retired and plays a lot of jrpgs, has an extensive vita collection and does unboxings of games and related merchandise she's bought online. She's adorable!