Why I hate "dudebro," "brogamer," etc.

[o.pwuaioc]

So did you step down from mod so you could tell people to go fuck themselves? I kid but really I don't think anyone takes it seriously. It is a term used for people who just play Madden and COD and honestly if you told those people that nerds called them DudeBros they would probably think it was a bad ass name. Besides, I can't stop thinking of Dean from Code Monkeys every time some one says it.

I know you hate dudebro, how women are shown in gaming, and many other things. Be all the activist you want to be but don't expect everyone to follow it. I love games and their history and future just like everyone else but its just games. It isn't cancer, slavery, animal abuse or inhumane acts. Its just a bunch of pixels. You'll never be able to stop things you don't like that other people do. And when you think they are stupid for it then you are the one creating the class system. I know you will have very good rebuttals to this but this is going to be the only thing I say in here. I have pro gaming topics to jump on.

PS This makes me miss Inazuma.

Full of win.

[Menegrothx]

That said, I do think that because gaming culture has a history of being a refuge for people who were bullied, outcast, ridiculed, etc. that anything that smacks of elitism, sexism, racism, etc. is especially detestable, hypocritical, and should be stamped out. If that means the culture changes, then I'm all for it.

I dont know where you get this idea that gaming culture is some sort of a refuge. Its more like people who were bullied because of their hobbies dont want that their ex-bullies will now change the nature of the hobby that has always been dear to them.

You will find hypocritical people from all outcasts, from immigrants, religions, political stances, homosexuals and different minorities to subcultures.
Many times when a culture is forced to be nonselective and open arms when it comes to all new comers, the old set of prejudices will just be replaced with a bunch of new. The way many Western countries are being told to be more tolerant of Islam and adopt muslim culture over their native culture as immigration from muslim countries to christian countries grows is a pretty good example, as quite many of the actual muslim immigrants are actually more prejudiced and intolerant than the ”intolerant” natives in the countries where they immigrate to. Nerd/gamer culture and brogamers is a pretty similiar situation in my eyes.

[noiseredux]

for what it's worth, I've been a gamer my whole life. I was never bullied.

[AppleQueso]

I remember when we just called people who mainly play Madden/FPS "casual gamers" and left it at that.

The phrases "dudebro" and "brogamer" are so incredibly silly that I find it kinda amazing that anyone can use those terms with a straight face.

[FiftyDollarCurse]

I hate these terms too. They are obviously meant to be condescending. And that's what people do when they are so incredibly insecure that they have become what most of us would call an asshole.

If you use these terms, then you have become more of a "bully" than the imaginary person you think you're rallying against. Congratulations.

[Menegrothx]

Just for the record, I never use this term myself. Except in this thread

If you use these terms, then you have become more of a "bully" than the imaginary person you think you're rallying against. Congratulations.

So if you want to differentiate South Korean professional Starcraft player, sponsored WoW/CS player, all-around gamer, a person who plays sports and console FPS games casually and a soccer mom who plays Facebook games and solitaire every few weeks for 5 minute to 10 minutes from each other, you are a bully? You can treat people as individuals and still use these type of terms as mental shortcuts, as Zing said it. Using rough stereotypes to categorize different things saves time and is efficient - that doesnt mean that you will have to act like a dick to a person who enjoys playing game X

[Jmustang1968]

I dont like the term because it is dumb...People getting labels because of what games they like...If a guy plays sports games, I just think of him a sports gaming fan. Or a guy who plays CoD or Gears if a shooter fan... Gives me a pretty good mental shortcut of what they like... the brogamer term just makes me think of the niche gamers or retro gamers as being spiteful or petty and acting hipsterish...

[equalsign]

Thought I would be raging (to myself) at an elitist thread. Glad to see it is an "anti" those terms thread. I certainly think those terms have a "get off my lawn" vibe. I don't really see why they're necessary. Just play games and be glad it's not as much as a stigma as it used to be. Nowadays such a huge variety of people have realized games can be fun. I think that's great .

PS: I haven't really read the thread or anything, so this is not a response to anybody here.

[sbk]

I dont like the term because it is dumb...People getting labels because of what games they like...If a guy plays sports games, I just think of him a sports gaming fan. Or a guy who plays CoD or Gears if a shooter fan... Gives me a pretty good mental shortcut of what they like... the brogamer term just makes me think of the niche gamers or retro gamers as being spiteful or petty and acting hipsterish...

What is the difference between calling someone a brogamer and a retrogamer? If you say the context it infers then you associate negative terms with one and not the other then that is on you. I don't think it makes anyone "worse the a bully" to say brogamer instead of saying COD fan. Just like saying Retrogamer for a Monster Party fan.

[pepharytheworm]

Would this even upset you if you weren't such a FPS fan? I never use the term, cause all this usage of 'bro" this or that lately is weird to me.