> Games are doomed by femininity. Across media, genres marketed toward women are deemed lesser than their masculine counterparts: romance novels are trashy, chick flicks are shallow, and pop idols are embarrassing.

I was excited to read the love letter to girl games, but this article is more of a disparagement, as if everything that appeals to women is regarded as trash. There are plenty of things made by women for women that are universally loved. There are shallow chick flicks, yes, and they're not trying to be anything more than they are (I love a lot of them). It seems that the author is the one framing all these things as worthless. Is a game worthless because it never hit the (very competitive) mainstream?

The game mentioned in the article, Consume Me, has 922 written reviews, the majority of which are very positive. It has the description: Consume Me is a semi-autobiographical game that depicts dieting, disordered eating, and fatphobia. In my opinion, the art looks cool and the game looks fun enough, but I don't get the impression it was aiming for mainstream appeal. Why should it? Mainstream games are often addiction traps meant to separate players from their money continuously.

This article needs more love and less disparagement.

In the broader context of all things that are marketed for consumerism, I think it's hard to draw any other conclusion than that items marketed to women are generally treated as lesser and often simultaneously sold at a premium price while at the same time often cutting corners in manufacturing.

However, I think it worth pointing out that gaming in general has always been looked at as lesser. That has eased over time as gaming has gone from a rather small, niche activity to a huge industry, but gaming is still looked down upon. Ironically, as it relates to the article, I've read recently that gaming is top on the list of hobbies that are turn offs women have for men they date.

I can read a trashy romance novel on a bus. But if I crack open a skin mag, I am a weirdo.

So which is the lesser?

Actually… false comparison. They make skin mags featuring men too.

So let’s try this:

Woman reading a romance book. Vs a man reading a romance book.

One of those is “weird”.

> I don't really agree with the author's assertion that things that appeal to women are treated as inherently lesser in general compared to things that appeal to men

Really? Do we live in the same society and culture?

It is not called the "patriarchy " ironically, but literally

Things have improved over my life, but until very recently anything not clearly labeled as "for woman" was absolutely designed for men

Most things "designed for women " were more expensive, lower quality and less available

This article is about the history of gaming, a world where the misogyny has been legendary