Yes, we are still being heard.
I’ve read a lot of comments offered in the name of feminism lately that promote an attitude of “We did it! We’ve arrived! So quit whining already”.
Now, I will be the first one to point out that yes, we are still moving forward. But in terms of having “arrived” at equality – ummmm, no. So it’s always encouraging when we read stories like this one…
14 year old Lexi Peters of Buffalo, NY plays hockey in real life. She also likes to play the video game version of it called NHL by EA Sports. She was, however, frustrated that each new version of the game continued to only offer male characters to choose from.
Rather than sit around fuming over it, Lexi took action. She wrote a letter to EA Sports, one of the biggest video game companies in the world.
CEO Peter Moore read that letter and acknowledged Lexi’s complaint. Having the power to make such a change, Peter met with the game designers and for the first time ever, NHL 12 will feature female characters.
And the really cool part? The default female avatar was designed to look like Lexi.
So guess what? It still pays to complain or whine or whatever you want to call it in order to move closer to “arriving” at gender equality. I call it “making progress”.
Mega kudos to Lexi for speaking up and taking action, and high-fives to EA Sports for listening and bringing female characters to NHL.
And by the way, EA Sports has female characters in several of their other games. Hockey may not be the final frontier here. If you’re a gamer and find your favorite video game is missing female avatars, follow Lexi’s lead and write a letter. Maybe you’ll find yourself playing yourself on the screen.
5 comments
Just tring to help
Since he’s ur father you gotta be careful. Don’t scream or whine cuz it’ll get you nowhere. Show him that your good and that you can do soccer. Also tell him it’s not a boys sport cuz its really not. I know dozens of the girliest girls you will ever meet but they are seriously good at soccer. Does your school have a girls team? If not you may want to talk to them about that or just join the boys team. Either that or a club. You might also want to get your mom to help you out. Hope I helped
MadonnA
:(
Mona
that’s cool.i have a problem too : i really like soccer and i want to learn everything about this sport in a club.my mom told me to do whatever makes me happy but dad,said that its not for girls,its like wresling ,what if u break your arm or your leg?i told him dad please i love soccer and im really good at it .he said go learn tennis or guitar or something related to music .now i dont know what to do or how to convince him . does anyone have an idea?
Terri Bard
This is so inspirational! I am a Girl Scout leader at the Junior level and will be showing this to them! Girls CAN make a difference in their worlds! Thank you for writing about this!
Tahlia Newland
Good on her for speaking up. Go girl and a honk for you.