Being a female gamer (the short version)

I game, therefore I am.

In this day and age, it's hard to be a female gamer. Revealing yourself to be a girl online can lead to mixed reactions (some good, some bad, some off the wall, all of them being varying degrees of wtf-ness) that can lead to harassment or white knighting. Both being equally annoying. Gaming companies still act like the general audience is teenage males despite the fact that there are a lot of female gamers. And there is a shortage of playable female characters or even female main characters. 

But it's not just that. There is also the sense that if you're not against something in a video game, then you're doing your gender a disservice. I'm the type of gamer that honestly does not care if a female character is in a short skirt or if she has huge breast or if she flaunts her sexuality. The thought of some male gamer finding a female character attractive doesn't bother me, because how can I when I'm drooling over characters like Dante or Nathan Drake? Sex sells, and characters are created with sex appeal in mind, even bald space marines.

I don't like being accused of being a bad feminist because I enjoy games like Bayonetta or because I like female characters with jiggling boobs. If given the choice nine times out of ten I will choose to dress my characters up in a mini-skirt or have them wear a school uniform.

Does that mean that I will ignore the problems in gaming? No. Does that mean I am settling? No. I just don't have a problem with the same thing that people have a problem with. And I find it a bit unsettling when female gamers tear down a female character based on things like clothing or her appearance. I've read comments like "Oh I'd like the character more if she didn't dress/act like a whore" on sites that are supposed to be female-positive. Or complaints that reduce a female character to nothing but ass and tits (Laura Croft was a strong female character, but all anyone can ever talk about is how big her breast were and how short her shorts were...yeah, way to not stigmatize a woman for what she wears people). 

And speaking of Laura Croft, I just love how a lot of people were so overjoyed about her new look. It's nice to know that having big breast makes a person look unrealistic, and that being a strong female means getting a breast reduction and smearing some dirt on your face. And not, you know, being a female Indiana Jones.

It's bad enough that I have to deal with bullshit from male gamers, can I not have to deal with bullshit from other female gamers as well? Is that too much to ask? Is it?