Oh, didn’t you hear? The Witcher Also for girly girls
I am a person who identifies as very girly gamer. In fact, my TikTok algorithm figured this out pretty quickly, which means my For You page is full of creators with similar interests to me, which usually equates to looking cute and playing. video games. One of them happens to be a girly game creator named Navami Nethravathywho passed? @pinkjusitsu on the app.
Yassification of Gaming
My favorite series she does is called “The Yassification of Gaming”, whose premise is to let gamers feminine express how they can play games in a “girly” way. Terms “yassification“Like today’s most popular slang, comes from LGBTQ Space + dates back to the 1980s, and especially from people of color. It comes from the simple term “yas,” which is an over-acceptance of something – having to describe it like this makes it uncomfortable for me to have to explain why a Joking is funny, but I digress.
Then, Yassification takes it a step further, and thanks to Urban Dictionary, is defined as “the process of making something significantly better than its original version, or having something appear noticeably better. compared with similar or comparable predecessors”. Meme swept Twitter last Novemberfill our timeline with photos of historical figures and fictional characters with new hairstyles and full faces of virtual makeovers that have been created in FaceApp.
An example of “yassification” related to a gaming scene is a viral image of the before and after scenes of someone doing Aloy makeup from Horizon series to lament the crimes of the developers that did not make her pretty enough. One key difference here is that the person who posted the photo initially seemed to lack a sense of self, while those who posted the meme are now doing so ironically.
This is the original Yassification pic.twitter.com/AUr0OhgbUZ
– only strömb (@merestromb) November 18, 2021
Then the kind of content one would expect to see from “Yassification of Gaming”, are titles like The Sims, Stardew Valley, and Mule – the game is inherently considered more “feminine” because of its relaxing gameplay and large number of female players. You know, the kind of games that only girls can play because they’re so frivolous compared to the more intense, masculine titles they offer.
Reclaim “masculine” games for girls
But the great thing about Netravathy’s series is that she chose to focus on titles like . instead Skyrim, The Witcher 3and God of War, just to name a few. Anyone who’s played the game for more than a day knows these games are considered some of the most “masculine” titles you can play, and are mostly white male fans. Rather than shying away from these titles because of their reputation, Netravathy describes how to play them from a female perspective in a way that’s really eye-opening and quite entertaining.
@pinkjujitsu games for girls: 3 ???????????????????? #fyp #foryoupage #girlygames # witcher3 #xyzbca
The Witcher 3 is feminine because “you can ride unicorns, date hot women, and adorn your sword with ruby, which proves that accessories are the best weapons.” In the 2018 reboot of God of War, You can “earn flowers in the witch’s magical garden” and use them to “heal the creatures of the forest”. BioShockThe appeal of girly gamers is “obvious” because you “really get to live your mermaid dream”. My personal favorite is to include Cattailsbecause there is nothing more feminine than “fending for oneself in a cruel and ungrateful world”.
One of her TikToks even includes her getting the Link from Breath of the Wild on a “self-care picnic” because “even the hero of Hyrule needs a break sometimes,” which I think is one of the coolest examples of role-playing in a game. that I have ever seen.
I love the energy of her site so much, because there are so many layers here. While her tone is purportedly silly and sarcastic, she really appeals to those who enjoy feminine and aesthetic activities in a way that helps break up the creepy, guarded feeling that the corner plays. This game tends to have and present more girly gamers. great title they could not have tried otherwise.
@pinkjujitsu cozy link ???????????? Reloaded with better quality footage because people like it. Do you guys want more in-game videos like this? ???????? #botw #cottagecore #fyp #for you #browntiktok #browngamergirl #SmellLikeIrishSpring
Something else going on here is the improvement of the “girl” or “feminine” label. These terms are often used to refer to women even after they have matured (when was the last time you heard a grown man called a boy?), and are used for rejuvenation. , depreciating or demeaning women in subtle ways. We have seen a strong resurgence of women withdrawing derogatory terms that have been used against them in the past (“biochemistry“The movement is a great example of this, and goes hand in hand with ‘yassification’.) It’s great to see someone like Netravathy present ‘feminine’ gaming as a fun, uplifting thing to do. do, especially because of how historically the game industry has been sexist.
There are many ways to play
Apparently, some of the male viewers who watched her video weren’t overly emotional as she presented their favorite “masculine” games as something feminine. A lot of women have noticed men’s trends look down about things women love, treating anything feminine as inherently of little content or importance—a popular pop-culture phenomenon that has been around for years.
I find any backlash to Netravathy’s video rather ridiculous, because the perception The Witcher or Skyrim as a girly game in no way negatively affects anyone. The beauty of interacting through games is being able to experience a fictional world however you please, and for some of us, that means making things look good. beautiful and riding around.
Sometimes not taking things too seriously and just enjoying them for their aesthetic beauty or the feeling they evoke in us can be fun, and even liberating. She never said there was a right or wrong way to play – something some male players seemed adamant about – but instead simply presented a new way to interpret the content.
Gender in the game
Another great thing about Netravathy’s discussion of how to play girly games is that it also shines a light on gender performance and how the game creates a safe space where we can play the way we want to be. present yourself. We’ve seen this for decades with character creators and even more recently with character creator allows user to select gender outside of male/female gender. Games with gender options include running gambit, from Dream Daddy arrive Forza Horizon 5 arrive Cyberpunk 2077.
The same can be said for LGBTQ+ players who have the choice to explore their identities in the virtual world, but the actual game outside of the character creator is not a conversation I have seen. regularly. Use The Witcher 3 again as an example, the player has no choice but to play as Geralt, and while the player cannot change his appearance or even romanticize anyone who is not a woman (at least especially to my knowledge), the player can choose to assume that Geralt’s actions are more feminine – which is where Netravathy’s examples of riding unicorns and decorating your sword with gems come in .
Calling the game feminine in the face of male fans’ insistence that The Witcher maybe only interpreted as a super macho game, because at the end of the day, gender expression depends solely on how you choose to follow or reject the arbitrary rules our culture has laid down for them You and I can play around with those rules in a lot of really fun ways in an interactive art medium.
@pinkjujitsu is bringing the kind of girlish energy I’d like to see more of into the game space, because at the end of the day, they’re for everyone. Games are entertainment – their general purpose is to have fun, so just play them however you want. And if you want to try something new, maybe try playing your favorite game in a girly way, if you haven’t already.
