Gurl gamerzz /eyeroll

For non-gamers/people too lazy to trawl through another long post, here's a summary of my whole blog post: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/563041

(p.s. Cooking Mama is one of my favourite casual games ever)

My body is aching. Normally people would say that after a particular vigorous bout of exercise, but mine is due to the opposite - a complete lack of exercise. I've had DotA marathons for the past two days (and nights) - I played almost 12 hours straight from 6pm to 6am yesterday, stopping only for a shower and a meal.

I didn't even realize it. Only during the last game I decided to check the time - and it was 5.40 am! At that point, I felt like throwing up and was woozy from sitting/staring at a screen for too long. The first thing that came into my mind was 'SHIT! Have I really been playing for 12 hours already?' and the second 'oh my god no I don't want to be one of those gamers who have a heart attack and die after 40 consecutive hours of gaming.'

I used to think that oh, they're just exceptionally fanatical/stupid gamers who value their progress in the game over their own well-being, and should not be used as examples to represent the gaming community as whole.

And then last night happened.

I honestly didn't realize that I had been playing for so long, because I had excellent company and enjoyed the game. -__- Oh well, anyway I had just beaten my previous gaming marathon record of 10 consecutive hours on CS 1.6 (no food breaks though). Not sure how I feel about that, but now I have a new record. /shrug

Anyway, it was interesting that I met 2 self-proclaimed girls on Garena last night. (I say that because they may actually be guys who pretend to be girls for special treatment or whatever.) And oh my gosh! I was so irritated by both of them!

Girl no.1: Omg I'm a gamer princess your world revolves around me you silly boiz

The first girl was babbling on in the channel to some curious guys who were asking if she was really a girl, and she replied with 'ya, sorry girls can play dota also now ok?' And I'm like BITCH PLEASE. I've been playing DotA since I was 15 (2006...omg it's been that long already), and I'm absolutely sure that other girls have been playing even before then.

-_- Anyway since it's not common to meet other girls on Garena who expose their identity, I tried to make friends with her when she asked whether anyone had a team of 5. I said yes, I do; does she want to have a 5v5 match? I also said that my teammates were currently having a meal break though, and if she can't wait then to please go ahead and play against other teams.

And she responded with a few silly and/or irrelevant questions like 'really ah? you got 5?' and 'you wanna fight me ah?' and 'how long ahhhh? Later you waste my time and let me to wait zzzz', and I'm like ok fuck you ah lian, go and play with other people la. (Ok, I didn't say that, I just said 'ok go ahead and play first lo :)')

OH GOD FORBID SOMEONE SHOULD ALLOW HER TO WAIT.

I already said that if she couldn't wait, then DON'T WAIT FOR US. Instead, she made such a big deal about letting her princessy ass wait for a game. (Also, she was the one asking if anyone had a team of 5 who would like to play against her team, so when I respond that yes I do, I MEAN yes I do. Still need to ask 'really ah?', 'wan fight me ah?' NO SHIT, THAT IS WHY I RESPONDED TO YOUR REQUEST. You trying to act cute is it? asdf@££*$$@$*%!(*)$)

In my mind, I was wondering whether I was ever such a snobbish diva when I first started playing DotA, expecting people to accommodate my wants and needs 24/7. Geez, ok. =___=

Girl no.2: omg im a girl and i beat you yay hooray for me my vagina triumphed over all your penises!

And THEN. The second girl was even more annoying. My friend made a joke before the game started, saying he 'wanted to rampage, haha'. A rampage is when you kill 5 heroes consecutively within a limited time frame, and besides early game, this almost always means a complete annihilation of the opposing team by a single player.

So ok, I thought it was clear to everyone that he was merely jesting and the game began without any issues. However, from middle game, it was clear that we were going to lose. (1 friend disconnected, another was playing a new hero he knew nothing about, and I was playing Techies, which essentially is a passive hero that normally doesn't participate in active combat.)

And that was alright, because you win some, you lose some, right? But NO, at the end of the game when the opposing team was about to seal their victory, one of the opposing players decided to talk shit and it went something like this:

"haha so noob say wan rampage is it? noob gg la"

And I replied jokingly, no we can't rampage because there's only 4 people. (The opponent had 1 leaver as well.)

And the player replied: "fukin noob we also 4 ppl la" and I was like yes, that's EXACTLY what I meant. -_-

So we had a little 'chat' going back and forth for a while until the player ran out of logical things to say, and this little gem came out:

"noobs i'm a girl you all lost to a girl haha so noob"

And my friends started laughing over Skype as I replied:

"Well, I'm a girl too. Fair? Are you that proud to be a girl? What do you want? Want us to give you a cookie is it? Here have a cookie for the amazing achievement of being a girl! *gives cookie*"

(Ok, it wasn't phrased as eloquently as that, but you get the gist of it.)

My friend and I started laughing at her (actually, just typing 'hahahaha' in public chat. Yea ok, lame right?) and she remained silent until the game ended shortly after.

I REALLY hate girl gamers like these. For one, saying 'haha you lost to a girl' is sexism towards your fellow girls. You are implying that girls are naturally not as good at games, and by using it to insult male gamers, you are effectively saying 'you play worse than a girl, you noob.'

*throws hands in the air in frustration*

Here's the basic protocol all female gamers SHOULD abide by:

1. Don't expect special privileges for simply having an extra X chromosome. People shouldn't be expected to accommodate your every whim just because UR A GURL, oohlala! 

2. Don't ask people to 'go easy on you because you are a girl.' It just devalues your own capabilities and those of your female peers. 

3. Don't EVER, EVER use the line 'haha you lost to a girl' as an insult. Because the only person you're insulting is YOURSELF (and other female gamers).

My friend has been guilty of throwing the 3rd line as an insult to an opponent before, but I forgave him because the opponent was totally goading him and trying to light a fire under his ass (and also because it seemed to work -o- sigh.)

Okay come on now, fellow girl gamers. We are just 'gamers', not 'GIRL gamers'. Whether you have a vagina or not does not dictate how you should be treated and how you are expected to perform in games.

Anyway, I'll conclude this post with an eloquently-put statement that sums up my feelings about GURL GAMERZZZZ:

Click on the picture to enlarge, or click [here] to go to the original tumblr post.

Nature vs Nurture

In the future, if I have a daughter, I will dress her in all colours of the rainbow instead of forcing her into pink frocks. If I have a son, he will not be stuck with red and blue as his primary colours. Of course, it may be hard to find pink outfits for little boys, so I'll put him through his pink phase when he's a toddler and can wear pink rompers.

I really don't know why so many girls love the colour pink. I mean, I like the colour myself (it's my favourite after shades of purple) but why do so many girls love pink, as opposed to red/blue/green/orange/black/etc?

Is it because we girls are brought up in a world where 'pink' symbolizes femininity? Is it because we were brought up in pink rooms and pink clothes and pink accessories? I don't really know, so I'm going to test it out with my children :D Of course, it may happen that my baby girl loves pink despite any attempt to bring her up without any conditioning. :/ 

How hard is it to de-condition after being brought up in an environment that insists that 'pink is for girls' and 'blue is for boys?'

But I think it will still be interesting to find out, and I'm sure it will irk some of my family members when I attempt to dress my little girl in tomboyish clothes. But I will be very fair! I will dress her in frocks and jumpsuits and jeans and let her choose what she likes.

When my mom came to Australia, she bought sticker books for my niece and nephew. A Harry Potter themed one for the boy, and a Disney Princess one for the girl. I asked her if my niece really liked pink princessy things, and my mom was like 'YESSS she loves princessy stuff!' I shrugged and said ok.

However, when I went to Penang this holiday with my cousins and aunts (an all-girl holiday except for my 10-year-old nephew), I discovered that my niece does NOT, in fact, love pink things! My cousin told me that she's always in pink because she looks adorable in pink dresses. When I asked my niece how she feels about them, she shrugged and frowned, clearly unhappy with the fact she was all dolled up and girly-fied.

Ya, I have big bony feet D:

Also, it's worth mentioning that at barely 5-years-old, she's already very self-conscious about her weight. I was told that she even goes on diets, because people constantly call her fat (including her parents, grandparents and brother).

ISN'T IT HORRIBLY DEPRESSING THAT A MERE CHILD CHOOSES TO PUT HERSELF ON A DIET?

It's insane!

Some of my family members say it's 'for her own good', citing the example of one of my cousins who was allowed to be fat during her childhood and remains, to this day, bigger than what is glamourized in TV and magazines. No one highlights the fact that people still find her very attractive and in my eyes, she is not FAT at all! Just that 'she's bigger than she would have been if she didn't eat so much as a child.' -__-

Of course, people cite health reasons and her future self-esteem as excuses to encourage fat-shaming a little girl. 'She'll thank us later' seems to be the underlying motto in these situations.

But COME ON LA. Do you know how bloody fat I was as a child? I had THREE fucking chins at one point of my life! I looked like the offspring of the Michelin man and the Fat Lady. And look at me now! I'M 'TOO' THIN for society!

Me at ages 3, 6, and current (I was the fattest around 4-5 years old but do not have any photos on hand):

3 years old with 不倒翁

6 years old with mom (my face is no longer U-shaped)

20 years old. Looks like I deflated over the years. (See, it's possible -_-)

I highly doubt that being fat as a child automatically means that you will be fat as an adult. My cousin that's constantly being brandished as an example was merely a coincidence (and I STILL don't think she's overweight at all - she's actually in the group picture above - you try and pick her out la. CANNOT RIGHT?). I mean, most toddlers are viewed as chubby, happy bundles of joy...how is it acceptable to allow a child to go on a diet because she is pressured by people around her to be 'healthy' and 'lose weight'?

She's FIVE, people. FIVE. Not even in kindergarten yet and she's already so embarrassed about her weight. So what if this makes her a thin and beautiful teenager? What if her self-esteem is irrevocably damaged by all the snarky comments from the people she loved and trusted as a wee child? I still think that what people FEEL is more important than what people LOOK like.

I mean I'm not saying people are wrong and ignorant for being self-conscious if they're overweight. I'm saying that a person should have the right (and a child an actual CHANCE) to choose HOW to feel about their selves, and not just measure their self-worth with society's almighty ruler of acceptable appearance.

Okay, I don't know why almost every time I blog, I end up ranting about something I just meant to mention briefly. -__- Sorry sorry, okay I will talk about other things in a separate post, ok?

Body-shaming is not okay

One thing I really, really cannot stand are people shaming other people for their appearance.

I just read an article on facebook, apparently written by a Malaysian who was seated next to a fat person on a flight. The author was repulsed at first sight, but grew to realize the fat woman was a beautiful lady because 'her personality was beautiful.'

Hopefully [this] links to the post on Facebook.

My first reaction was to roll my eyes. I don't know what it is with people who automatically feel disgusted by fat people and treat them worse than they would an average-sized person, just because they don't look the way you think they should. But anyway, I'm not here to complain about the author. But holy shit, the comments are filled with such contempt and self-righteousness that I feel like tearing my hair out!

***

"the fact that she is funny has nothing to do with the need to lose weight. fat people eat too much, consume too much of the earth's resources. I will love her, hug her and be friends with her. BUT she still need to lose weight."

What the fuck is wrong with you? Consuming too much of Earth's resources? Some of the biggest eaters I know are skinny guys; weight doesn't always directly relate to how much you eat. Anyway, how much more can fat people eat that they are dangerously depleting the earth's resources? /eyeroll

At best, it's a pitifully ignorant excuse to pick on fat people. And wow, you will love her and hug her and be friends with her? You must be such an forgiving and accepting person! Here, have 10 pats on the back for your awesomeness!

***

"I really hate it when people just get upsets when people is telling a them to lose weight, they are merely stating a fact. It's just like a person telling another person to stop smoking."

You know why people get upset when others tell those people to lose weight? Because you are a nosy prick who thinks you know what's best for someone, and feel that because 'your intentions were good' that it is okay to tell them someone that THEY need to change themselves BECAUSE YOU DON'T AGREE WITH HOW THEY LOOK, ALTHOUGH IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU.

The difference between smokers and fat people: smokers can harm people around them as well as themselves; fat people only harm themselves (if they are even unhealthy at all, which YOU DON'T KNOW).

(To be clear, I have nothing against considerate smokers; it's the inconsiderate ones I cannot stand. The ones who smoke in non-designated smoking areas, who throw cigarette butts everywhere and accidentally stub people with smoldering cigarette ends in clubs. If you have the right to smoke, then I have the right to breathe clean air too, and that is why considerate smokers smoke OUTDOORS or in designated smoking areas. But I digress.)

***

"What I believe is, there's no such thing as to "born fat and not able to lose weight". NO! The truth is as long as you are not dead and however low your metabolism might be, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT.  

And I hate it when they just won't admit that they are simply eating too much and their lifestyles are way too sedentary.  

Yes, she has a good personality,I don't doubt that, but guess what? A good personality will not bring you good health."

Again, I hate it when people get presumptuous about MY health and pretend to care when IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM. Every time someone says that I'm so skinny that I can't be healthy, I feel like punching them in the face. For the record, I am considered healthy and rarely ever fall sick. The only problem with me is my relatively high cholesterol, which ironically, is generally attributed to fat people. -__-

The point is, you simply cannot tell a person's state of health by their appearance alone, and to presume things about people is pure arrogance. To tell them that THEY should change because YOU don't THINK they're healthy? Well, if that doesn't stink of arrogance and lack of empathy, then you should probably take a moment to step back and think about it.

***

Anyway, I just got really irritated at these self-righteous people saying 'oh fat people are just making up excuses for their obesity'. Excuses? For what? Exactly what crime are they committing that they need to make up 'excuses' for themselves?

If they are indeed obese and unhealthy due to overeating and an unhealthy diet and lying to themselves about it, how does this affect you? If they AREN'T obese and unhealthy due to their own inability to maintain a healthy diet, again, WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH YOU? Are you so affected by their supposedly feigned ignorance/acceptance of their weight, that you would feel better if they were unhappy about it instead?

Why do people get so offended when people have different ideals about body weight and appearance? If a fat person is happy being fat, then good for the person! If I like being skinny, then let me BE skinny.

Interestingly enough, most people who condemn the obese for being unhealthy are the same people who tell me to eat more candy and fatty food so I can 'look better'. Hypocrites? Indeed. These 'concerned' people don't give two shits about your health. They just want you to look the way they think is most acceptable; if you don't, then they feel it's their sole responsibility to make sure you understand that your appearance is NOT acceptable.

Last week, I went for a full body massage with my mom. The masseuse kept harping on and on about how skinny I was, and how I should eat more while clucking her tongue like a concerned mother hen. Between these comments about my weight, she made sure to exclaim how much she wanted to be skinny like me and that my body was 'beautifully skinny.'

So what is it you want? Am I attractive or am I not? You like my skinniness but at the same time you want me to eat more to rectify my skinniness. Do you just want me to eat more and look more like you so you can feel better about yourself? The funniest part was that SHE WAS SKINNY TOO. Why she was feeling envious, I do not know.

Have we become so used to conforming to society's expectations that we HAVE to feel bad about perceived imperfections?

Well, if you want to be unhappy about your appearance, then by all means, go ahead. But DON'T try to bully others to buy into YOUR ideals about how we should look.

If not, you'll be as much of as an asshole as those people who made the above comments.

Promote acceptance; don't be an asshole.

Body-shaming is NOT okay.