TCB Aug. 12, 2021 — The Plight of the Gamer Girl by Triad City Beat

AUG. 12-18, 2021 TRIAD-CITY-BEAT.COM

GREENSBORO

WINSTON-SALEM

HIGH POINT

The Plight of the

LOCAL GIRLS AND WOMEN SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES FIGHTING IN-GAME SEXISM AND RACISM BY SAYAKA MATSUOKA | PAGE 11

NEW GAME CONTINUE OPTIONS Masks in schools PAGE 8

Vaccines for healthcare workers PAGE 6

Get the jab PAGE 10

AUG. 12—18, 2021

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

A brush with COVID-19

’rona. Because if I did, then I would have couple shed live virus all over my whole family and weeks ago, a couple people at work. We would have after I got to cancel a long-planned party for my inback from laws; it would interrupt the start of the fall a week in Boston, semester for my college kids; it would afI had a couple fect my wife’s business; and I would have to symptoms of spend the next two weeks in my bedroom, COVID-19. by Brian Clarey alone, to keep my virus to myself. It started out Another day and the infection had as a head cold, which I attributed to a day moved into my lungs, which after seven of air travel in a less-than-fresh mask — a months without cigarettes gave up ichorrunny nose, some sneezes. It felt kind of ous wads of phlegm with each painful like allergies. But I could still smell and cough. But I could still smell stuff! And I taste things, so I thought I was okay. could taste stuff! Sort of! But I was not up to speed on the Delta I couldn’t schedule a test variant, which landed in until Day 3, at the CVS out the United States hard It felt kind of like on Hicone Road because about the same day I got there were no appointto Boston, after spending allergies. But I could ments in town for weeks. I time in three international still smell and taste had been quarantining for airports. A friend told things, so I thought almost 48 hours and was me on my second day starting to feel a bit better. of symptoms that the I was okay. I drove out there alone, Delta variant presents as my wife and daughter in a head cold, or allergies. a separate car. And then I went back to I checked it out of course — only a fucking my quarantine space for another 24 hours, moron would take medical advice at face during which I began to feel a whole lot value from a guy in the office. better. I got the negative diagnosis the He was right. next day, and I felt better immediately. But! But this couldn’t be! I was vacciI hadn’t been that panicked about the nated! Moderna! I quit smoking! I’ve been virus since April 2020. But unlike then, working at my kitchen table for more than these days the math is on my side. a year! No way, man. No way I got the

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

We do know that children under 12 can be infected with COVID-19 and they can get ill from COVID-19 and they can also transmit COVID-19.

— Dr. Iulia Vann, Guilford County Health Director pg. 8 1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.256.9320

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS

Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

KEY ACCOUNTS

SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

Michaela Ratliff michaela@triad-city-beat.com Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com

EDITORIAL ADVISOR

OF COUNSEL

Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

ART ART DIRECTOR

STAFF WRITER

SALES SALES EXECUTIVE

Jonathan Jones

Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com Nicole Zelniker nicole@triad-city-beat.com

CHIEF CONTRIBUTOR

Robert Paquette robert@triad-city-beat.com

Drew Dix drew@triad-city-beat.com

Chris Rudd chris@triad-city-beat.com Carolyn de Berry, James Douglas, Matt Jones, Jordan Howse, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones

COVER The plight of the Gamer Girl: Cover design by Robert Paquette

(As of Wednesday, Aug. 11)

AUG. 12—18, 2021

Coronavirus in the Triad: Documented COVID-19 diagnoses NC 1,094,886 (+32,586) Forsyth 39,610 (+1,307) Guilford County

50,510 (1,150)

COVID-19 deaths NC

13,790 (+111)

Forsyth

435 (+3)

Guilford

731 (+0 last 3 weeks)

Documented recoveries NC

1,025,847 (+13,123)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

47,887 (+421)

Current cases NC

55,249 (+19,352)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

1,891 (+729)

Hospitalizations (right now) NC

2,304 (+724)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

89 (n/a)

Vaccinations NC First Dose

5,018,424 (+92,246)

Fully vaccinated

4,981,343 (50%, +46,603)

Forsyth First Dose

198,762 (+2,975)

Fully vaccinated

184,143 (48%, +1,402)

Guilford First dose

288,957 (+4,168)

Fully vaccinated

268,499 (50%, +1,879)

UP FRONT | AUG. 12—18, 2021

CITY LIFE AUG. 12-15 by Michaela Ratliff

THURSDAY Aug. 12

SATURDAY Aug. 14

Join Amy Ennis Monday-Thursday at 4:30 p.m. or Saturdays at 8 a.m. for an all-levels water aerobics workout for just $5. No registration is needed.

Eastgate Comics is hosting a free comic book day and cosplay event. Guests will receive one free comic per person while supplies last. Dress as your favorite comic book or anime character for the costume judging at 12! Find more information on the event page on Facebook.

Water Aerobics Class @ Grandover Swim & Racquet Club (GSO) 4:30 p.m.

Boss: The Black Experience in Business @ Bookmarks (W-S) 7:30 p.m.

RiverRun in partnership with Bookmarks is hosting a screening of Boss: The Black Experience in Business, a documentary that tells the story of Black entrepreneurs in the country over a 150-year span. After a film discussion with Tiffany Waddell Tate, CEO and founder of Career Maven Consulting and Richard Williams, publisher and chairman of HBCU Matters Magazine at 7:30 p.m., the film begins at 8. Visit bookmarksnc.org/ event/boss for free registration.

Free Comic Book Day @ Eastgate Comics (HP) 10 a.m.

Talking to Children About Racism @ Scuppernong Books (GSO) 10:30 a.m.

Ease the difficult conversation about racism with children by joining this book reading and discussion hosted by White Voices Against Racism. Carole Boston Weatherford, author of Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins will be in attendance. Reserve your free ticket by searching for the event on Eventbrite and registering by 5 p.m. on Friday.

Taco & Margarita Festival @ Greensboro Coliseum (GSO) 11 a.m.

FRIDAY Aug. 13

Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs @ Bull City Ciderworks (GSO) 5:30 p.m.

Head to Greensboro Coliseum for the classic combination of tacos and tequila. Various taco food trucks as well as bars and beverage stations will be available. Find more information and purchase tickets at greensborocoliseum.com.

SUNDAY Aug. 15

Yoga & CBD @ Hemporia (W-S) 11 a.m.

Enjoy the live folk sounds of the Winston-Salem based Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs as they provide live music at Bull City Ciderworks. Learn more about them by visiting brownmountainlightningbugs.com.

Auditions for Sherlock Holmes @ Centennial Station Arts Center (HP) 7 p.m.

Children ages 7-17 are invited to audition for a role in the High Point Community Theatre’s production of Sherlock Holmes and the First Baker Street Irregular. For more information and to register, visit hpct.net.

Head to Hemporia for a CBD-infused yoga session. Try some before the class and have some CBD tea and coffee before going home. All levels of experience are welcome. To register and purchase tickets, visit Eventbrite.

Trivia Night @ Doggos Dog Park & Pub (GSO) 6 p.m.

Test your knowledge as Top Shelf Trivia invites you and your pupper to a night of trivia, prizes and drink specials. No dog? No worries! Just be 21+ to enter. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook. As always, read the house rules on Doggos’ website before going.

AUG. 12—18, 2021 | UP FRONT

NEWS | AUG. 12—18, 2021

NEWS

Anti-vaxxers protest vaccine mandate for nurses despite surge in COVID-19 cases, deaths by Nicole Zelniker

inda Williams is not a nurse, nor even a healthcare worker. But she stands against vaccine mandates at North Carolina hospital systems. At Monday’s protest on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem, she held up a green sign that said, “Stop the mandate” while standing with her friends, none of whom are nurses, who chanted, “Freedom, not force.” “There’s just too many unknowns concerning not only COVID, but also the vaccine,” said Williams, who says she does not know anyone who works in the Novant hospital system where she was protesting. “They tell me they’ve been working on it for years and years just waiting on the virus, but I don’t know. It makes me nervous.” Williams is not alone. Vaccination rates have stalled across the United States as people refuse the COVID-19 vaccine. Across North Carolina, similar protests have taken place in Greensboro, Charlotte, Durham and Goldsboro as hospital systems including Atrium Health, Cone Health, Duke Health, Novant Health and Wake Forest Baptist mandated vaccines for their employees in late July. According to a recent Census study, at least 18 percent of the adult population in the United States say they will probably or definitely not get the vaccine when offered. This is due to everything from mistrust of the government to mistrust of all vaccines in general. In North Carolina specifically, more than 20 percent of adults say they will not get vaccinated. Nurses and other healthcare workers across the country have been protesting mandatory vaccines at their workplaces, from California to Colorado as well. This is in spite of the Delta variant of the virus which is causing case numbers to rise across the county. In June, Georgia Public Broadcasting reported on a case of a cancer patient who likely contracted COVID from someone on his healthcare team. COVID variants have contributed to a 200 percent increase in hospitalizations within the Wake Forest Baptist Health network according to a statement from the hospital system. Of those new cases, they said, 99 percent are unvaccinated. The Cone Health hospital system in

JAMES DOUGLAS

A group of activists, most of whom do not work in healthcare, protested the vaccine mandate on Silas Creek Parkway on Monday. One called the United States a “Hitler country” with no freedoms.

Greensboro reported that the vaccine is harm than good if we can avoid it.” 85 percent effective in preventing hosShe understands that some oppose any pitalizations and death from the Delta sort of infringement on their ability to variant. choose whether or not to get the vaccine, Despite the rising numbers due to but “we come into contact with people the highly infectious and deadly Delta in their most vulnerable state,” she said. variant, USA Fact’s COVID-19 vac“We hear that from our teams, but we cine tracker reported that 60 percent of feel our commitment to our patients the population has received at least one trumps that at this point.” dose, which means about 40 percent For some who are opposed to the have not taken any vaccines at all. They vaccine like Michelle Daniels, who is estimate that, right now, just over half of also not a healthcare worker, the issue is the population has been fully just that. With no freedoms, vaccinated against COVID she says America is a “Hitler ‘If you want country.” and just under half is not. In Guilford County, 55 “Freedom of speech, freeto slap a percent of the population has mask on, dom of whatever you want to gotten at least one dose of the do,” she said. “If you want to that’s fine, vaccine and just over 51 perslap a mask on, that’s fine, but cent are fully vaccinated. In I’m not going to. but I’m not Forsyth, just over 53 percent “You’re not doing right by going to.’ are partially and nearly 50 all these people,” she contin– Michelle Daniels percent are fully vaccinated. ued. “And what about all the Even if the vaccines, which people who have died from are currently authorized under this or have had allergic reacemergency use authorization, get regular tions from the vaccine?” FDA approval, Williams says she would While the CDC has reported 11.1 not get the vaccine. cases of allergic reaction including “I wouldn’t feel any better about it,” anaphylactic shock per one million doses she said. “I’d feel forced.” of the Pfizer vaccine and 2.5 cases for Unvaccinated healthcare workers are every one million doses of the Moderna a cause for concern for both patients and vaccine, it is an established fact that seritheir fellow healthcare workers who have ous illness and death from COVID-19 been vaccinated. Dr. Pam Oliver, the is must more likely. The WHO has president of Novant Health’s physician reported 612,060 deaths and 35,657,845 network, says a mandate is one of the cases of COVID as of Aug. 9. That best ways to prevent further cases. amounts to about 17,164 deaths per one “We’ve committed to flu vaccinations million cases. across our systems for years, and that’s Many of those opposed to vaccines because our patients deserve to be safe,” are also opposed to masks, like Daniels, said Oliver. “We don’t want to do more but not all.

“If it makes people feel safe, that’s something I’d be willing to do that for other people,” said Briana, a local organizer who did not give her last name. “I personally disagree with mandates and I think masks do more harm than good. But a middle ground is a happy place.” Research out of the University of California San Francisco found that masks work very well against COVID-19 as what they call a “source control.” This means they prevent larger droplets from evaporating into smaller ones that can travel further. But they only work if everyone uses them. Briana says she is a nurse at a local hospital, though she did not specify which one. She says the responses to her protests have been positive overall. At the action outside of the Novant Health system, she said she did not know anyone there personally. Her Facebook page, Stop Healthcare Mandates, was recently shut down by Facebook “for violating community guidelines.” Despite the protests, hospitals continue to mandate vaccines for employees for patient health. “Throughout the pandemic, our teammates have courageously cared for our patients, their loved ones and each other,” said Wake Forest Baptist Health CEO Julie Freischlag. “The COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be safe and effective and mandating them for our health care workers will ensure we are doing all we can to keep our patients, our teammates and our communities safe.” James Douglas contributed reporting.

AUG. 12—18, 2021 | NEWS

NEWS | AUG. 12—18, 2021

‘Masking is what made the difference’: Guilford County and school board pass mask mandates despite anti-mask protesters by Sayaka Matsuoka

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

After Guilford County Schools mandated masks for children, some parents protested before this week’s school board meeting. Board member Linda Welborn, who along with Anita Sharpe voted against the mask mandate on July 27, said of the parents: “They’re questioning the evidence that forces young children to be masked.”

uring a school board meeting on July 27, Guilford County Health Director Dr. Iulia Vann delivered some stark data to the board. “The number of cases in Guilford County is definitely on the rise,” she said. “These are numbers not seen since April of this year.” Vann noted that since the beginning of July, the number of daily cases for the county were averaging at about 80, when before, it was about 15 or 16 cases per day. The test-positivity rate had increased steadily for the past 14 consecutive days, rising to 4.5 percent. Hospitalizations at the beginning of July had been about 6. As of July 27, there were 37 people in area hospitals. And that was all two weeks ago. As of Wednesday, there have been more than 50,000 confirmed cases in the county with the number of daily cases averaging about 160, a number close to Vann’s prediction from two weeks ago. Active cases hover at just under 2,000 and there are currently 89 hospitalizations. The test-positivity rate is now at 8.2 percent. “Overall the metrics that we’ve been reporting on and keeping an eye on for the last year and a half are not moving in the right direction as they have been so far,” Vann said on July 27. “This is

not only in Guilford County, We are not in a bubble.” Given the alarming data, the school board voted 6-2 during that meeting to mandate masks in schools, require COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated student athletes and coaches, as well as those students who participate in highrisk activities such as chorus or marching band, and to collect vaccine status for that group as well. The move came as a relief to many parents in the district but a vocal group opposing the measures showed up to protest outside of the school board meeting on Tuesday. By around 5:30 p.m., about 100 people had gathered outside of the school board building holding signs that read “Freedom to choose” and “Mask vaccine test mandates are child abuse.” One of the group’s leaders, Stephanie Mitchell has been reported by Triad City Beat as being the organizer of Take Back Our Schools, a conservative community group that has protested against critical race theory and amended suspension policies in the past. On Tuesday, Mitchell and others chanted into a speakerphone as the board meeting started: “We want choice!” However, around the same time that the group was protesting outside, an emergency county commissioners meeting was being held a few blocks away.

At that meeting, a decision was made by the board to institute an indoor mask mandate for the entire county starting this Friday at 5 p.m. With its move on Tuesday, Guilford County joins a growing list of cities and counties in the state that are imposing mask mandates once again including Durham County, Orange County and Boone.

‘Masking is what made the difference’

uring the July 27 meeting, Republican board member Linda Welborn of District 4 pushed back on Dr. Vann and school administrators’ assertion that masks kept people safe. Welborn and Republican board member Anita Sharpe were the two “no” votes to the recommendations. “Some parents feel it’s very unhealthy for their kids to be wearing these masks,” Welborn said. “They can be associated with the germs… They’re questioning the evidence that forces young children to be masked.” During the presentation Vann and others repeatedly pointed to the county’s rising COVID-19 metrics driven largely by the highly contagious Delta variant, and noting a Duke University study finding that masks prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in schools. According to the study, which was published

at the end of June, 1, 281,202 students at 100 school districts and 14 charter schools across the state were monitored from March to June of this year. Among the report’s findings were that “masking is adequate to prevent within-school COVID-19 transmission, with no difference between schools requiring greater than 3 feet of distance between students compared to those requiring less than 3 feet.” The report also noted that “proper masking is the most effective mitigation strategy to prevent secondary transmission in schools when COVID-19 is circulating.” The findings come at a time when the Delta variant is tearing through communities and increasing the infection rate, not only for adults and the populations who have been vulnerable to COVID-19 in the past, but also for younger adults and children. According to new reporting by the American Academy of Pediatrics, almost 94,000 positive cases in children were added in early August, a substantial increase since the beginning of July. As of Aug. 5, children represented 14.3 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the United States. The accumulated number of child COVID-19 cases increased 4 percent in the two weeks from July 22-Aug. 5. Locally, positive cases for the age range of 0-17 is at 11.6 percent. For

To learn more about the county mask mandate go to guilfordcountync.gov. To learn more about the school’s new policies, visit gcsnc.com.

PARTICIPATE IN OUR RESEARCH with Dr. Blair Wisco at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

WE’RE EXAMINING: emotional and physical reactions to memories of stressful or traumatic experiences. YOU MUST BE: •Age 18 or older •Able to read and write in English THE BASICS: •5 visits to our lab within 2 weeks •$150 total compensation

WHAT YOU’LL DO: •Interviews and questionnaires (3 hour visit) •Monitor your bodily reactions while you think of past experiences (2 hour visit)

AUG. 12—18, 2021 | NEWS

those under the age of 20, the ages of 14 to 19 years old makes up about half of the cases while the rest of the age groups range from 10.1 to 13.9 percent. One of the most alarming statistics is the fact that besides the 14-19 age group, the second highest age range for positive tests for people under the age of 20 is the “under 5” category which sits at 13.9 percent. That’s concerning for many parents and healthcare professionals, because none of the COVID-19 vaccines are currently authorized for children under the age of 12. “We do know that children under 12 can be infected with COVID-19 and they can get ill from COVID-19 and they can also transmit COVID-19,” Vann said during the July 27 meeting. At the state level, positive cases in those 14 and under make up about 9 percent of the total cases; three children have died. And while that number may seem low, medical experts and school administrators are concerned with the current exponential growth they are seeing. “It is hard because we had a more normal summer, things were easing up, everybody felt like, Wow it’s starting to end,” said Nora Carr, the school district’s chief of staff. “And now it’s hitting us again but our 12-year-olds aren’t protected. Masking is what made the difference,” Carr said about the findings of the study. “The [schools] that did really well even ‘The number of if community numbers cases in Guilford are increasingly had a dramatically different rate County is definitely on the rise. These inside schools and it was dramatically attributed are numbers not to the universal masking seen since April of policy and the consistency with which our educators, this year.’ and our students and staff – Guilford County Health Director Dr. Iulia Vann followed it.” Despite some parents and community members’ concerns about masking their children, Carr also noted that kids were much more resilient than those adults gave them credit for. “The adults ended up being much more concerned about it than the kids,” Carr said. “The kids did fine, including many kids with special needs. They did just fine. They adapted; it became a part of the routine.” School administrators said that all schools will be given clean, disposable masks so students can switch them out throughout the day. They also noted that they have encouraged teachers to hold classes, lunch and other activities outside when they can so students don’t have to wear the masks for long periods of time. The mask mandate is also meant to keep teachers and school staff safe as they reenter classrooms too, said Superintendent Sharon Contreras. “The recommendations are our efforts to keep schools open as long as we can and to have enough staffing to transport students to school,” she said. “If staff is quarantined, if students are quarantined, we can’t keep schools open so that’s our goal with these recommendations.”

•Wear a cardiac monitor and answer questions on a tablet computer on 3 days (30 min set-up per day)

WANT TO SEE IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE?

CONTACT US TO GET STARTED! You will be asked to complete screening questions online and over the phone. Email or call us to get more information and be directed to the online survey. Or, scan the QR code to take you straight there. Dr. Blair Wisco - UNCG

copelab@uncg.edu

OPINION | AUG. 12—18, 2021

OPINION EDITORIAL

A prayer for the unvaccinated

his is for those who remain unvaccinated despite a massive resurgence of COVID-19 in North Carolina and elsewhere. This is for those who don’t trust the scientists, who have done their own research, who refuse to live in fear. This is for those who are afraid of needles. This is for those who heard the vaccine has a microchip inside it, for those who believe it will make them magnetic, for those who think a vaccine is what turned everybody into zombies in the film I Am Legend, starring Will Smith. It was not a vaccine that turned everybody into zombies in I Am Legend. It was a virus. This is for those who think it is safer to get COVID-19 and be naturally immunized against it than to get the vaccination. It is not. This is for those who believe that the Delta variant is mostly affecting people who have already been vaccinated. It is not. This is for those who say that vaccinated folks are just as likely to land in the hospital as the unvaccinated. They are not. This is for those who won’t get vaccinated for political reasons. This is for those who won’t get vaccinated because someone they trust — on TV, in church, on social media — told them not to. This is for those who won’t get vaccinated because they already told everybody they wouldn’t, and they don’t want to back down. This is for those who still believe the lies, and this is for the liars themselves. This is for the people using fake vaccination cards and for those thinking about getting one. This is for the just plain lazy, and for those who are too busy to get it in their schedule. You are in danger. We all are in danger. But not as much as you. Get the vaccine. Get The Vaccine. GET THE VACCINE. It will not make you magnetic. But it will make us all safer. Right now, that’s the best we can do.

by Sayaka Matsuoka

t’s got a bit of a negative connotation these days. Often envisioned as highly sexualized imposters who play for attention, the idea of “gamer girls” has been co-opted over the years by predominantly male gamers while being simultaneously rejected by many girls and women who play video games. And who could blame them? Despite societal advances towards equality, particularly post #MeToo, the gaming industry and video game culture remains one of the most sexist and toxic subcultures that exist. According to data by Google and Niko Partners published in a Forbes article this year, women made up about 41 percent of all gamers in the US in 2020. And despite their prevalence in games, 77 percent of women surveyed by Reach3 Insights said they had experienced gender-based discrimination, according to an article by Paste magazine. And because of how common these type of interactions are, 59 percent of women surveyed in the US, China and Germany said they mask their gender while 55 percent said they use non-gendered or male gendered identities when playing online. The Gamergate controversy during 2013-14 encompassed some of the most visible examples of women facing harassment within gaming. During those years, prominent female game developers and game reviewers such as Zoë Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian and Brianna Wu faced online harassment that ranged from rape and death threats to the doxxing of their private home addresses. And while regular female gamers may not face that level of vitriol on a dayto-day basis, a few local players say that sexism and misogyny within video games still exists.

‘THEY KEPT SHITTING ON ME FOR BEING A GIRL’

annah Bowman, a 22-year-old who lives in Winston-Salem, plays video games on her laptop. She mostly likes to play first-person shooters like Valorant but also plays puzzle games like Among Us and Pico Park. She said she started playing video games with her stepbrother when she was in high school. One of the earliest memories she has from that time was when she was playing Call of Duty and the online play-

Culture

ers found out she was a girl. “I remember they found out I was a girl, and I hated it,” Bowman says. “They kept shitting on me for being a girl, I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ And especially even now in Valorant, I won’t solo queue because I’m a girl, even if I do solo queue I definitely won’t speak.” Solo queue refers to when a player hops onto an online game and plays with only random other people as opposed to queueing and playing with friends they know. Bowman, who says she spent a lot of time gaming in the past year because of the pandemic, says she’s had a lot of negative experiences dealing with other anonymous players in video games. Typically, she says the players sound like boys or young men who they belittle her by saying things like, “Oh, we’re going to lose now” or “Oh my god, she’s a gamer COURTESY PHOTO girl.” Because of that, Bowman says she Hannah Bowman plays Valorant and says she avoids solo-queueing these days because rejects the phrase. of the sexism she’s experienced as a woman in online gaming. “I hated it,” she says. “When you’re a girl you instantly get sexualized,” she says. “I hate being called a ‘gamer girl.’ I think it’s a negative connotation being called a gamer girl. I have a negative relationship with that term. I think what it has to do is when someone calls me a gamer girl, they’re already underestimating me. They think I’m bad at games, and then I feel pressure to actually play well and I feel the need to play good but I don’t want to necessary be like that. I don’t want unwanted pressure that I didn’t put on myself.” These days, Bowman says she mostly plays with friends she’s met online and queues with them or she plays with her boyfriend. Annelise Kniseley, who is 18 years old, says she also tries to play with friends she’s made online and avoids talking into her mic if she solo queues into a game. “I enjoy gaming, but I also get anxiety from gaming because I’m like, I’m playing bad and letting people down,” she says. “And I don’t want to deal with the guys calling me a gamer girl.” Kniseley also plays Valorant and says that she’s been called “stupid” and a “bitch” on a few occasions. When that happens, she says she immediately mutes people so she doesn’t have to COURTESY PHOTO listen to them in-game. Like many of the girls and women I spoke to for this article, I Emi Vener is founder of the Athena Alliance CLT, an organization out of Charlotte that promotes women in gaming. also turned to video games as a release and an escape over the last year. When Valorant was released in June 2020, my fiancé, “chink.” It was the first time in my life that the racial slur has my future brother-in-law, my sister and I all downloaded it so been thrown my way. And for women of color, the addition of we could play together. The game quickly became our go-to racism on top of sexist remarks can be draining. hang out activity and we ended up playing for hours every “I’m Afro-latino so I’ve heard the N-word,” says Emi Vener, evening while we were cooped up inside. And like Kniseley and the founder of Athena Alliance CLT and the owner of the Bowman, some of the worst things I’ve ever been called were Gaming Goddesses stream team. “I’ve had people rail in on while I played Valorant. During one particularly toxic game, me. Most of the time it’s unprompted.” a player who recognized my voice as a female, also deduced One of the most recent examples was when Vener was playfrom my gamer tag that I was Asian and started calling me a

AUG. 12—18, 2021 | CULTURE

‘Gamer girls’ share experiences fighting sexism, racism in gaming

CULTURE | AUG. 12—18, 2021

ing Overwatch. She says she was talking into the mic when a guy started harassing her. “He was like, ‘Who let this N-word in here? She thinks she’s better than us,’” Vener recalls. And because she wasn’t on video and didn’t reveal her race, she knows that the player wasn’t targeting her specifically because of her race, but that he was just using the word as a general pejorative. And as Vener noted, unfortunately, that’s a common refrain in many video games, according to data collected by the Anti-Defamation League. Vener, who is 28 years old, says she’s been gaming since she was a child. She remembers playing Spro the Dragon on the original PlayStation as the first game she ever played. Over the years, she’s played a number of different video games ranging from first-person shooters like Overwatch to puzzle and strategy games, which she says are her favorite. After playing for several years, Vener realized there was a need in the community for a female-centric gaming organization. So, in November 2019, Vener founded the Athena Alliance CLT in Charlotte. The organization is run by women for women and hosts events such as community outreach to try and get more women into gaming. Over the last year and a half, Vener says the community has grown from 80 women locally to about 500 members worldwide after they moved their events online and started meeting up in the online voice community, Discord, and live streaming on Twitch. Initially Vener says that the community was started so that women in the area could get into gaming and create friendships. During the pandemic, the organization has taken on new meaning for many of its members who talk every day and even meetup offline. “It’s one thing to know there are women gamers out there but also to get together, it’s something to bond over,” Vener says. “Gaming during the pandemic definitely brought people closer together, and then it also introduced new people into gaming as well, like people who maybe didn’t game before.” And that’s important, Vener says, because it’s hard to get into gaming when you don’t know anyone. Like Kniseley and Bowman said, playing online with random people can be a bit of a crapshoot. “When you wanna play a game, you can play with random people, but I’ve always thought a big part of playing games is being able to foster relationships,” she says. “That’s a big reason I started the organization. And when you’re playing with people you don’t know, you’re just hoping that they’re at least decent to you or then you’re thinking, Are they being decent to me because I’m a woman? But most women just want to play the game.”

‘GAMING IS A PART OF THE WORLD’

aura Colson, the vice president of academic affairs at Bennett College said they have been trying to find ways to promote esports and video game creation on campus. Colson was recently a part of an online event hosted by the Wilson Center that looked at how HBCUs are encouraging students to be more involved in video games. “From a Bennett College perspective and being an all women’s college, we look at gaming and esports from probably a different lens than everyone else does,” Colson says. “We are truly a liberal arts college so we look

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

Sisters Cyrah, 13, and Victoria Hardy, 11, started playing video games when their dad introduced them to Grand Theft Auto. These days, they mostly play Sims and fashion games that let them personalize their characters.

at esports and gaming from that perspective.” women, Colson says it’s up to Bennett to center Black As a college that is looking at teaching from an interwomen in all aspects of society, particularly ones in disciplinary approach, Colson says that they are looking which they have been marginalized or erased. at esports the same way by breaking down the mak“We want to spearhead the focus on gaming and ing of a video game into its different parts such as the let it be known that as with racecar driving, as with storytelling aspect, the visual arts, the engineering and aviation, it doesn’t matter the area or the career, that even the sound design. For now, rather than focusing there is space for everyone, especially African-American on the playing side of games, Colson says she wants her women,” Colson says. “Gaming is a part of the world, students at the women’s college to see themselves on it’s just like social media. People were resistant to it, the backend of creating games. but now everyone is a part of it. It’s a part of everyday “It’s becoming a very lucrative way for young adults culture and the norm and we want to stay up to date on to generate revenues,” she says. “This allows us to be the trends.” frontiers from this perspective. We’re looking at before While traditional sports teams had to pause their you even get to the competition, such as the develseasons during the pandemic, video games and esports opment and equality and justice and women in the saw a huge surge in the last year, according to research limelight.” by the Nielsen Corporation. Colson, who says she And as popularity for video doesn’t play video games but Learn more about Athena Alliance CLT games increases across the has children who do, says globe, local businesses and on Facebook and Instagram. she has seen the disparities organizations are cropping in not only how women are up to capitalize on the rising Learn more about the city’s esports treated but how women are program at greensboro-nc.gov/depart- interest. portrayed in video games. If Jacob Neal is the operaments/parks-recreation/sports/adult- tions there are more female cresupervisor for Greensators, Colson believes that boro’s parks and recreation sports/esports. could change. department and is helping to HQ Gaming Lounge is located inside “Most often, women are facilitate a new esports prolooked at as more of a sexual gram within the city. The idea the Four Seasons Mall. Learn more at character,” she says. “Just started last fall and has bloshqgaminglounge.com. looking at the characters, the somed into trying to host young ladies their clothing is regular leagues for games sexualized. So we’re looking like Madden, Rocket League, from that perspective and what kind of impact can we Fortnite and 2K. Neal, who is 29 years old, says that he have on it.” grew up playing video games and saw the creation of an And as a historically Black college that has only esports league to be a natural continuation of the kinds

Annelise Kniseley plays Valorant and says she’s made a lot of friends through onling gaming. “You can meet a lot of cool people when you’re gaming,” she says.

of programming he does with in-person sports through the city. “Having sat here through COVID, obviously our youth sports program hurt quite a bit,” Neal says. “I just wanted to find something that was a good pivot point,. So if we can’t do in person sports, what can we do? We were trying to keep that competitive aspect in the program.” Drawing on his personal history of playing games, Neal introduced the idea of hosting sports video games like Madden and 2K as part of the city’s recreation program for kids. Then, he started to add some other popular games like Rocket League and Fortnite. Still, with the program’s rising popularity, Neal suspects that most of the players involved are boys or young men. “It appears to be mostly male players, which I’m sure is not all that surprising given the video game world which is something that we would like change,” he says. “What appealed to us about video games was its inclusive nature, that anyone can play. We want the demographics to be a little bit more varied; we want our program to grow.” HQ Gaming Lounge, located in the Four Seasons Mall, is another entity which is looking to foster a community of gamers. With more than a dozen gaming stations located in their shop, owner Bobby Jordan says that their business charges people by the half hour or hour to play video games on different consoles. On a recent weekday, the store was filled with about 10 kids, most of whom were young boys. And that’s pretty common, Jordan says. “I do see girl gamers but it’s not often,” Jordan says. “They’ll come with their brother. It’s always a group when a female is involved.” Part of that, Jordan says, is because of how video games are perceived in society, he says. “I think it’s probably because of what you see what’s portrayed out in the gaming world,” Jordan says. “You don’t see a lot of female gamers but as far as gaming,

they made it seem like a guy thing. While the girls play with the dolls, the guys are gaming, you know? But you are seeing it more often now.”

‘IT’S YOU AND ME NOW’

or 13-year-old Cyrah Hardy and her 11-year-old sister Victoria, representation within video games is very important. While the two have been playing games since they were younger, it’s only been in recent years that they’ve seen themselves as Black girls represented on their screens. One of Cyrah’s favorite games to play is the Sims and because of the game’s historical whitewashing and marginalization of Black characters, she went searching for custom-made game packs made by other Black gamers who created more realistic skin tones and hairstyles for players to download and incorporate into their game. In addition to Sims and some fashion games, the two also play Grand Theft Auto and Fortnite, a popular battle-royale shooter. The sisters say they got into playing games because their father was interested in gaming. Their mother, Christina Yongue, says she preferred the days when they would play dance games on the Wii. When the girls revealed that they too have had to deal with sexist or racist comments when playing online, particularly on Fortnite, Yongue says she was shocked. “That makes me very uncomfortable that they have to combat that and just try to learn to play, play the game and have fun but that’s in the environment,” Yongue says. “I know that there are bullies everywhere. I’m not surprised because I know when people are anonymous, they are more likely to be bold with being mean because they can get away with it more.” Both Cyrah and Victoria noted that they have heard people say the N-word on voice chats in game and praise Trump. Some players if they noticed they were girls, would ask them if they were good at the game.

AUG. 12—18, 2021 | CULTURE

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

Despite their mother’s concerns, even at their ages, both Cyrah and Victoria seem to take the comments in stride and brush them off easily. When in doubt, just mute them, they say. And unlike some of the other players interviewed for this article, both Cyrah and Victoria said they felt like there were an equal number of girl and guy gamers out there, but just that guys may be more visible than girls. For Hannah Bowman, that’s why it’s important to develop and maintain friendships with other girls who game when they meet online, even if it’s randomly. “It’s basically instantly like, ‘Okay, we’re friends now if there’s another girl in my queue,’” Bowman laughs. “Like, there’s no question, and it’s nice because that was always reciprocated. It’s like, ‘It’s you and me now.’” Bowman says that kind of instantaneous connection with other girls in games comes from the desire for friendship but also to protect one another from toxic players, she says. “Girls have to have each other’s backs especially when gaming,” she says. “I think a lot of females feel that sentiment towards that. Like once you find another girl, it’s like, ‘Oh hey girl.’ It’s just comforting to not be the only girl. And when you have another girl, I would stick up for her if someone started saying shit and I feel like they would for me too, especially the sexist comments.” And for those who are looking to get into gaming but feel intimidated by the culture of it, Annelise Kniseley says if they can be brave and give it a try, they might just find other people who share their passion. “The worst that can happen is that you hate the game and it’s just really not your thing but if you do end up getting into it, you’ve just found another hobby that you love and you join a whole other community besides other things you do,” Kniseley says. “Because the gaming community is actually really huge, and you can meet a lot of cool people when you’re gaming.”

Tips for newer players: 1. Start with single player games that interest you: “Focus on whatever your interests are,” Vener says. “Visual novel games are good for beginners because they are more focused on the story and less on the competitive aspect.” 2. Mute toxic players if possible: “Just ignore the people,” Bowman says. “There’s a reason you can mute people in game.” 3. See if you have friends that you can play video games with: “I prefer gaming with other people because it’s more fun that way,” Kniseley says. 4. Sign up for Discord and find other players to play games with: “Believe it or not, there’s actually a lot of Discord servers where it’s girls only,” Bowman says. “Try to find a public server.” 5. Remember that the point is to have fun: “Keep your head up and think about the reason you play games,” Bowman says. “Just enjoy the game for what it is.”

SHOT IN THE TRIAD | AUG. 12—18, 2021

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

Guilford College Woods, Greensboro

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Site of the Underground Railroad tree. The tulip poplar dates back to before 1800 and was present during the operation of the Underground Railroad (1819-52). It bore silent witness to the lives and actions of African Americans, enslaved and free, along with their white allies, including many Quakers from New Garden.

‘Exchanging Letters’— a different kind of letter-change puzzle.

by Matt Jones

SUDOKU

AUG. 12—18, 2021 | PUZZLES

CROSSWORD Across

1 Is perfectly snug 5 “___ and the Tramp” 9 Barroom battle 14 Home of the Jazz 15 Presque Isle’s lake 16 Lofty nest 17 A short and unsatisfying dating show (from an ITV/CBS reality dating show)? 20 Word after social or mixed 21 Luggage on a winter vacation, maybe 22 Uranus, for instance 24 “Aladdin” monkey 26 Cannes entertainment 27 “I think I know this one!” 28 English-speaking country of Central America © 2021 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 31 Jerk-faced jerk 32 Mixtures that create purple (from a 1999 high school football movie)? 36 Actress Shire of “Rocky” 37 Rogue computer in “2001” 38 ___ apso (small terrier) 42 Mount where transactions take place (from a 1999 horror video game-turned-movie)? 45 Revolutionary Guevara 48 Pick Answers from last issue 49 Singer Corinne Bailey ___ 50 Aloha garlands 19 Trooper maker 52 “Life ___ Highway” 22 Put on Snapchat, say 53 “Doctor Who” broadcaster 23 “Livin’ La Vida ___” 56 Oscar-nominated composer Danny 24 Country on the Adriatic 58 Landing site 25 Listed on a program 59 Dairy product that hides facts under the lids 29 Branch of philosophy (from a thicker variety of a dairy product)? 30 Long swimmers 64 Got down, perhaps 33 Cage piece 65 Remove from the schedule 34 Compliment 66 Those things, to Tomas 35 Quieter “Quiet” 67 Sets up a vendor booth 39 Photo touch-up tool 68 “I cannot tell ___” 40 Bacon hunk 69 “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” actress Caroline 41 “Match Game” host Baldwin

Down 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 18

It gets petted Suburban suffix Mausoleum built by Shah Jahan Martin of “The West Wing” #1 Beatles tune of 1970 Pavarotti specialty God, in Italy Tokyo currency Enjoy the beach (if you don’t burn easily) Archaeological find “Lawrence of ___” (1962 epic) Grammy-winning gospel singer CeCe Cliff protrusions AB followers

43 Le Havre’s river 44 Do an old printmaker’s job 45 Early Kevin Smith movie 46 Cosmetician Curtis 47 French engineer Gustave 51 One of the five senses 54 “Ni ___, Kai-Lan” (Nickelodeon cartoon) 55 “The ___ Sanction” (Clint Eastwood film) 57 The A in STEAM 58 “Ice Road Truckers” truck 60 Magic org. 61 ___-de-sac 62 Sturgeon eggs 63 Agcy. at a gate

(editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

Answers from previous publication.

If you read

then you know...

• What ‘critical race theory’ is. • Who’s getting evicted in Winston-Salem.

• Which local diner made a

cameo in RiverRun this year.

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