After the PC Gamer video podcast was released, we heard murmurings of disapproval from some of our peers and community.  We expected a little negative feedback.  Afterall, people have tried to use our jeans and t-shirts as proof that we’re “only about looks”, so we were willing to accept that the shorts and high heels would be troll bait.  What surprised us was that this sentiment was expressed by those who can personally vouch for our skills and passion as true-blue gamers.  This smacks of miscommunication, so I’d like to provide some background to make sure our actions (and wardrobe choices) are understood by those who matter. 

We are highly competitive and passionate gamers, and we have spent the past three years proving this.  From our first tournament sweep at PAX in 2004, to our win at CPL Winter 2006, to our current journey through the MLG circuit on Rainbow Six Vegas, we have been true to ourselves as gamers.  The result is that those who have played with us have learned to take us seriously.

We also happen to be GIRLS.  The fact that we spend way too much time playing games does not and should not take away from our feminine identities.  We must be true to this element of our personalities as well, or else our struggle to help earn recognition for girl gamers will lose steam.  You can’t represent a group if you are not willing to enjoy some of that group’s defining traits. 

Assuming that our clothing was the main point of contention in the video blog, please remember that the video was filmed during a photoshoot for the September issue of PCXL. I can’t think of any girls who would prefer to look frumpy in pictures rather than have fun and look hot.  We did nothing we felt uncomfortable doing, wore nothing we were uncomfortable wearing, and had a blast.  In fact, we actually picked out all the clothes ourselves, kept some, and now wear many of those pieces regularly (except the leg warmers.  I still don’t have any idea how to make those look normal in real life). 

We are normal girls who were lucky enough to get to do a fun photoshoot with fancy hair and makeup and good lighting. In my case specifically, I am a size-8-on-a-good-day kind of girl with athletic legs and lots of curve. This is NOT a combination of traits that you see on women in pop culture photos these days and I’m proud to be able to be an example of how women don’t need to be a rail-thin supermodel to look good in pictures.

Dress-up is fun and photoshoots are the best excuse since Halloween.  The black-and-pink short-shorts will never become part of our regular uniform, and even if Puma starts making high heels I seriously doubt we will want to wear them around an event all day (we gamers like to game comfy).  But when called upon to be girly, as long as we can do it on our own terms, we will gladly answer.