What if: there was a lady-type in core GB?

Avatar image for cheerupyuko
CheerUpYuko

148

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Hiya, I brought this up briefly during the last UPF chat, but since that's not actually the best medium for a real conversation I thought it might be better suited to a forum thread...

I've been thinking about this ever since I've gotten more into Youtube video game channels over the past 5-6 months and have had trouble finding any female video game "personalities" that I really gravitated to. It's still pretty much an all-boys-club overall, and I guess I'm trying to figure out if it just works better that way for some reason. Often my problem with those (women) I've seen is either they're kind of in the background and don't seem able to participate on an equal footing, overly styled and primped (as if they're just there for eye candy) and/or overly self-conscious on camera (acting out a role or just generally behaving unnaturally). I know there are some channels where females are more prominent members, like Yogscast, which is nice but in that case I just didn't find the style of commentary that engaging. I'm not sure if it's my fault as a viewer for feeling this way (some kind of primal female competitiveness effect that's making me allergic to other female gamers?), or if what I would like just isn't out there for me yet. I will say that from a ruthless practicality perspective, all-boys-clubs do at least eliminate the distraction of sexual politics from this kind of content. Female gamers are usually being appraised heavily based on their merit as potential girlfriends, and face being immediately devalued if they don't measure up on that scale. The things that the GB guys get away with, i.e. being ultra casual in dress/disheveled and it being alright to be a bit overweight (i.e. the rebellion against self-consciousness that I really appreciate in this channel), are fundamentally much harder for females to get away with on the internet.

So any thoughts on whether you think a woman could really fit in as a prominent member of the Giant Bomb quick-look/bombcast environment? Or do you prefer it as an all-male group? Also, I was curious about what female gaming personalities people here think well of now or have liked in the past.

Avatar image for video_game_king
Video_Game_King

36563

Forum Posts

59080

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 54

User Lists: 14

I guess gender follows Pokemon rules?

Avatar image for toowalrus
toowalrus

13408

Forum Posts

29

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

I'd love to see woman join the Giantbomb crew, but I'm not sure hiring a female for the sole reason of having one is the right move. I've never had a problem with Leigh Alexander, she usually knows what she's talking about and when she doesn't, well that's entertaining too. And of course I had a crush on Carrie Gouskos in high school like everyone else, she's smart, funny and pretty to boot. No women come immediately to mind when thinking about who Giantbomb should hire, but their judgement has always been pretty great in the past so if they chose to bring in a mostly unknown woman as a new hire, I'd be open to that.

Avatar image for jorbit
Jorbit

552

Forum Posts

1810

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I vote no simply because if there is a female at Giant Bomb then I will probably fall in love.

Avatar image for cheerupyuko
CheerUpYuko

148

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@toowalrus:

To clarify, I'm not in any way suggesting quota-oriented hiring. This topic is just a general hypothetical.

Avatar image for aetheldod
Aetheldod

3914

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

#6  Edited By Aetheldod

I dont see why not .... could bring a new perspective to the site. I still remember how Sara Lima was really good during Happy Hour and hit it well with Ryan and the rest , so I fail to see that the duders would be a hindrance to a female crew member. Now on the other hand I doubt the GB community ... I remember the chats on Happy Hour and see how rude they were when Sara Lima come up on air etc.

Avatar image for toowalrus
toowalrus

13408

Forum Posts

29

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

@toowalrus:

To clarify, I'm not in any way suggesting quota-oriented hiring. This topic is just a general hypothetical.

Oh, I know, didn't mean to imply that.

Avatar image for milkman
Milkman

19372

Forum Posts

-1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 3

#8  Edited By Milkman

First off, lady-type?

Second, I would love for Giant Bomb to hire a woman. Watching Drew, Alexis and Ian create Sims of the GB crew this morning reminded me of what a sausage fest this place is. There are plenty of qualified ladies writing about games right now. Some diversity would be nice.

Avatar image for ch3burashka
ch3burashka

6086

Forum Posts

100

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

...you do realize they're real people and not a "cast", right?

@milkman said:

First off, lady-type?

I think he wants to see some ladyboys...

Avatar image for mike
mike

18011

Forum Posts

23067

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: -1

User Lists: 6

#10  Edited By mike

What the hell is a lady-type?

Avatar image for turboman
turboman

10064

Forum Posts

19

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 23

User Lists: 11

I remember Carrie Gouskos being an awesome member of Gamespot before leaving for game development. But yeah, I'd love to be able to follow a female personality, but most of the ones out there just seem like they're trying too hard in one way or another, either that or relegated to the "hot chick that reads the news and has her picture on the video thumbnail cause she's a hot chick".

Avatar image for adoggz
adoggz

2081

Forum Posts

165

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

i though we had all agreed that brad was the girl of giant bomb.

Avatar image for hatking
hatking

7673

Forum Posts

82

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#13  Edited By hatking

I'm all for it. To me, what's most important for this site is charisma. They should be looking for somebody charming and funny, first. I honestly think that is more important than somebody who is super knowledgeable, not that the two are mutually exclusive. I'd rather listen to somebody who is well-informed and entertaining than an encyclopedic brick wall. There's no reason they couldn't find somebody who fits that description and is a woman or belongs to some other less represented group. That said, as long as person is good at their job, I'd ultimately be fine with it. Though, if it's another white dude, I might be a little unimpressed.

I'm really hoping they pull somebody in who is unknown. They have their big names, hiring another proven writer who's already in the club isn't impressing anybody. Find somebody who is just as good or better - they exist - and isn't already writing for a website with a giant userbase.

Avatar image for cheerupyuko
CheerUpYuko

148

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@mb: Lol, I was debating over what word to use in the topic header and decided to go for something really stupid-sounding to diffuse preemptive misunderstandings about the thread being some kind of activist crusade. Also being a female gamer often still does feel like a bit of an alien/"other" anyway, so I'm sure that fed into my... coinage.

Avatar image for themanwithnoplan
TheManWithNoPlan

7843

Forum Posts

103

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 14

#15  Edited By TheManWithNoPlan

I totally think a female editor could join the group. It might take a bit of adjusting for some parts of the audience, but then again that would go for anyone who joins the crew. At this point it just comes down to who's going to be right for the job. Being comfortable on camera, able to clearly express their opinions on different subjects and ready to jump right into the content machine are a must for this job.

Tara Long over at Revision 3(I think she still works there?) immediately comes to mind for me as a good example. She's been in a prominent position for her respective sites for a while now and she fits the bill for what I described above. Unfortunately for her she's had some of the most disgusting and sexually perverse comments hurled her way throughout the years. That's one of the main reasons in my mind why there aren't as many "regular" women in the gaming media scene. That's why you get the eye candy girls (no offense to them at all) and not female Jeff Gerstmans who are just regular people.

I will say however, that if anyone could kindly welcome in someone (who just happens to be a female) for a position as a gaming personality, it would be the Giant Bomb community.

Avatar image for video_game_king
Video_Game_King

36563

Forum Posts

59080

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 54

User Lists: 14

#16  Edited By Video_Game_King

@mb said:

What the hell is a lady-type?

No Caption Provided
No Caption Provided
These are all lady types.
These are all lady types.

Avatar image for glots
glots

5169

Forum Posts

74

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

As long as that wouldn't bring back the creepy commentary from whenever a...*gasp*...woman appeared on the background of a video like Mailbag, and you'd read some posts that made you cringe so hard that your face broke in half...and we know that'll never change. Or well, I'd guess it wouldn't be my problem if the person in question could just shrug those off, but still...*shivers*

Avatar image for cheerupyuko
CheerUpYuko

148

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#18  Edited By CheerUpYuko

@ch3burashka said:

...you do realize they're real people and not a "cast", right?

@milkman said:

First off, lady-type?

I think he wants to see some ladyboys...

I'm really not understanding what point you're trying to make... Is this because I used the term "personalities"?

Avatar image for gunstarred
GunstarRed

6071

Forum Posts

1893

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 10

Yuck! No girls allowed!

Avatar image for Levius
Levius

1358

Forum Posts

357

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

I would be fine with a female staff member, because gender doesn't matter to me and I trust Jeff and the team to make the right decision. Re female personalities, I guess Kathleen De Vere at Loading Ready Run would be my favourite, she is just really funny, upbeat member of that team.

Avatar image for gruebacca
Gruebacca

813

Forum Posts

2

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

A lady could work. Whoever they hire, though, it will take time for them and the community to adjust to Giantbomb. If Giantbomb hires a lady, she will eventually get used to it and find her place, and whatever reservations those on the Giantbomb community have about a potential woman on the team will fade away after a few months. Patrick Klepek went through this, and so would a lady.

Avatar image for chtasm
Chtasm

464

Forum Posts

5

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#22  Edited By Chtasm

Carrie Couscous or bust.

Avatar image for superfriend
superfriend

1786

Forum Posts

10

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@chtasm said:

Carrie Couscous or bust.

Um... yeah, you might want to check that spelling. Carrie would be a good fit, but she´s far away doing game stuff.

That´s like saying Greg Kasavin (Castle-in, hah) would be great. He would, but he´s living the dream with Supergiant.

On topic: A "lady-type" would work, as long as whoever gets the job is fit for it. Maybe we´ll get some news at E3?! Would be nice to have a GB press conference where they drop the bomb.

Avatar image for ch3burashka
ch3burashka

6086

Forum Posts

100

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

@ch3burashka said:

...you do realize they're real people and not a "cast", right?

@milkman said:

First off, lady-type?

I think he wants to see some ladyboys...

I'm really not understanding what point you're trying to make... Is this because I used the term "personalities"?

I'm saying that they're not interested in "hitting that target demo". They do what they do, for better or worse. I don't think they've ever considered hiring a person or adding them to the regular rotation because they would fill a "role".

Avatar image for capum15
Capum15

6019

Forum Posts

411

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Hmm. I enjoy the content both Hannah and Kim from the Yogscast put out just as well as any of the other members. Though Hat Films probably tops the rest.

As for the GB staff, I don't really care as long as they mesh well with the rest of the staff, be it lady or man.

Actually scratch that, stealing Danny from Gamespot would be great.

Avatar image for stonyman65
stonyman65

3818

Forum Posts

1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 4

@turboman said:

I remember Carrie Gouskos being an awesome member of Gamespot before leaving for game development. But yeah, I'd love to be able to follow a female personality, but most of the ones out there just seem like they're trying too hard in one way or another, either that or relegated to the "hot chick that reads the news and has her picture on the video thumbnail cause she's a hot chick".

This.

I miss Carrie, she was awesome.

Avatar image for cheerupyuko
CheerUpYuko

148

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@bunnellius said:

@ch3burashka said:

...you do realize they're real people and not a "cast", right?

@milkman said:

First off, lady-type?

I think he wants to see some ladyboys...

I'm really not understanding what point you're trying to make... Is this because I used the term "personalities"?

I'm saying that they're not interested in "hitting that target demo". They do what they do, for better or worse. I don't think they've ever considered hiring a person or adding them to the regular rotation because they would fill a "role".

*head scratch* Yep, still not seeing how that relates to my op... Are you sure you didn't misunderstand what I wrote?

Avatar image for superkenon
Superkenon

1730

Forum Posts

1141

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 8

There's no reason why a lady wouldn't fit in with the crew. What's important for their next hires is that they mesh well together and promote the same fun, goofy, laid-back dynamic. Gender plays no part in that.

Avatar image for chtasm
Chtasm

464

Forum Posts

5

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Avatar image for somejerk
SomeJerk

4077

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#30  Edited By SomeJerk

Most of the people in the industry are men, nothing can change the tiny amount of women entering and finishing computer-science courses. I'm stating the obvious again and again, it sucks.

If they found someone suitable and matching for the positions open and it happened to be a woman, that would be absolutely great. If they found another man that would be absolutely fine though that would raise a lot of "GB/CBSi are womanhaters" hell from people who should sleep in coffins and not as vampires.

Best case scenario is that they indeed find one for the tech position working mainly behind the scenes, but that she's also able to chill and goof off on UPF and whatever, be an on-screen staffer when the need comes. A lady who knows she can take it easy and mentally let her hair down with that gang, one who knows to not care about dickheads judging her and being asses over the internet. (Same applies if they get male employee but a lady would be a breath of fresh air from middle-age-balding-tubbyman-bomb.com)

Avatar image for mattyftm
MattyFTM

14914

Forum Posts

67415

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 11

#31  Edited By MattyFTM  Moderator

People would freak out for a week or two, then the vast majority of people would get used to it and get on with life. A small minority will act like assholes about it at every opportunity and those people will get banned.

Pretty much exactly what happened with Patrick. And pretty much exactly what will happen if they announce another man-type to join the crew. Man or woman, I don't see it making a lot of difference. People will act like the world is ending for a while, then the majority will realise that the sky isn't falling. A few will carry on acting like the end is nigh.

Avatar image for conmulligan
conmulligan

2292

Forum Posts

11722

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 11

I think Giant Bomb would benefit from more diversity in general, but especially from a woman. There's also a ton of exceptionally talented women they could try and poach; Cara Ellison, Nika Harper and Danielle Riendeau immediately spring to mind as talented writers who are good on camera and funny enough to go toe to toe with the existing crew.

Avatar image for diamonddog
DiamondDog

71

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

As long as they were being hired for their abilities and charm, and not just to fill some quota, I'd be all for it. It would be fucking havoc for months though. It'd make the furore surrounding Patrick's hiring look insignificant in comparison.

Avatar image for generic_username
generic_username

943

Forum Posts

1494

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 7

I'm all for it, though I'm scared of how much hate will get dumped on her.

I don't think the hate will be because she's a woman, it'll be because she'd be new and different. Like all of the weird, creepy Patrick-haters.

But the conversations about their dislike of this new personality will devolve into some pretty horrible and accusatory conversations, I'm absolutely positive about that.

But really, if they find a girl that's entertaining, I would be super stoked to see them hire her. Fuck all the weird hate-types. (Hate-type is weak against lady-type but strong against water-type.)

Avatar image for htr10
htr10

1395

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

We had Sara Lima from Comic Vine on Whiskey Media Happy Hours for a long time. It worked well, except for the part where she could feel a certain segment of the community trying to touch her through their screens and had to quit (I'm pretty sure that's how that went down).

Bottom line is that only one woman thus far has had the chops to handle being a part of the Giant Bomb community and that's Dave's sister. She is the only right choice for a permanent female addition:

Karen Synder on TNT

Avatar image for kishinfoulux
kishinfoulux

3328

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I'm sure there's one out there who would be a fit, but all I see from female journalists and constant sexism articles. Keep that away from Giant Bomb.

Avatar image for vinny_says
Vinny_Says

5913

Forum Posts

3345

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 14

#37  Edited By Vinny_Says

I don't see why everyone's trying to force it. Why have a woman just for the sake of having a woman? If anyone is to join the crew it should be because they are the best at what they do and they fit in the best, not because of what's between their legs.

Avatar image for conmulligan
conmulligan

2292

Forum Posts

11722

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 11

#38  Edited By conmulligan

@vinny_says:

Giant Bomb is a personality-driven site and gender is a huge part of personality. As Giant Bomb expands, it makes sense to hire people with new and different personalities so they can bring a fresh perspective to the site. Hiring a woman would be a great way to do that.

Avatar image for cheerupyuko
CheerUpYuko

148

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I don't see why everyone's trying to force it. Why have a woman just for the sake of having a woman? If anyone is to join the crew it should be because they are the best at what they do and they fit in the best, not because of what's between their legs.

I don't think anyone's trying to force anything here. Obviously personality is the most pivotal element.

Also: "[...]not because of what's between their legs." Blaarhrhrheeerhrheeeerhhreeehrhr. :/

Avatar image for fredchuckdave
Fredchuckdave

10824

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

#40  Edited By Fredchuckdave

If her voice is annoying that would be bad, if her voice isn't annoying who cares? No reason any woman can't perform 99% of the duties that a man performs with equal efficiency.

Avatar image for alexw00d
AlexW00d

7604

Forum Posts

3686

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

As long as they hired said lady based on her merits and skills and not based on her being a woman then yay.

Avatar image for gunstarred
GunstarRed

6071

Forum Posts

1893

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 10

If her voice is annoying that would be bad, if her voice isn't annoying who cares? No reason any woman can't perform 99% of the duties that a man performs with equal efficiency.

What's the 1% they can't perform?

Avatar image for ares42
Ares42

4558

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Considering the vast majority of the content on the site is generally not showing the editors, and if it does it's just some small cropped part of the video I don't really see why it would matter. This site is all about personality, not video reviews and news videos with presenters.

Avatar image for bwheeeler
bwheeeler

967

Forum Posts

7

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

This is a weird question! It seems to imply that "I don't think a woman should work here!" is a valid response.

Avatar image for clonedzero
Clonedzero

4206

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I'm not for or against it. I want any new staff to be firstly cool and interesting. If its a dude or lady, or white or black doesnt matter. Cool should be first priority. Plus we got patrick for the "female perspective".

If they find a cool lady, im all for that. Though i would dread reading chat whenever she appeared on screen.

Avatar image for cheerupyuko
CheerUpYuko

148

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@bwheeeler: Technically it is a valid response. Especially since this isn't about just working in the office in general, but for a role with very subjective demands that may not function within the politically-correct ideal. The video game community often responds to males and females differently; that's just the brutal reality.

Avatar image for fredchuckdave
Fredchuckdave

10824

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

#47  Edited By Fredchuckdave

@gunstarred: Bahahahahaha; that's great. Let's go with male pornstar for starters. You are the worst person on the planet.

Avatar image for gunstarred
GunstarRed

6071

Forum Posts

1893

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 10

#48  Edited By GunstarRed

@fredchuckdave: Whaaaaaaa? I mean, what has being a pornstar have to do with working at Giant Bomb?

Avatar image for jasonr86
JasonR86

10468

Forum Posts

449

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 17

User Lists: 5

The forums would be a nightmare. I would love it though. I like it when the people in the forums lose their shit over nothing of real consequence.

Avatar image for jimbo
Jimbo

10472

Forum Posts

2

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Get that Danni O'Dwyer, I love them Irish lady girl types!