Dichotomy [dahy-kot–uh-mee]

a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

In the #GamerGate Files: Misogyny in the Media, GamerGate is described as a culture war for the soul of the gaming industry. That there is a dichotomy of casual vs. hardcore gamers.

The above picture seems to be an advertisement by ASUS on their Transformer Book Flip. As you can see the big bright text of, “What kind of gamer are you?” It gives you 2 options: either a hardcore gamer or a casual gamer. What makes this media piece great is the fact how the gender roles that play between both titles. There is a male illustrated as a “hardcore” gamer and a female illustrated as a “casual” gamer.

In the gaming community there is always a dichotomy between gamers either being hardcore or casual. When you are a female, you are automatically labeled as being a casual gamer. As seen on this media piece, it represents that women are automatically labeled as casual gamers. They are described as being not knowledgeable to what the Ring of Death is to how pristine their keyboard is. It is absolutely ridiculous! It is labeled as being sexist.

I feel that who cares for these “titles”, many people enjoy video games. The difference is how difficult the game is and how much people wanna dedicate their time to the game. It is either you are playing The Sims or even playing Overwatch. It doesn’t matter with the labels, it’s really how much you dedicate to the game and time people are really willing to put in it.

The importance is that people are having fun and that video games can bring people together and closer. 

Females aren’t all casual gamers, and I know females that do compete in tournaments themselves. Practicing and matching their male counterparts, does that make them hardcore or casual gamers? No, they simply do it for the love of the game and as for their enjoyment.